We're Not Obsessed!

Squeaker and I had a nice long weekend with her extended family, though unfortunately I had my camera hidden away and didn't get any pictures. I can say for sure that her Aunt Nancy was elevated to rock star status. Squeaker discovered (as part of her usual conversational routine) that Aunt Nancy has a pet Bunny.

The pictures are of our adventures yesterday. The first is from another bike ride, finally got on the trail I have been looking for, so this time we ran out of time before we ran out of pavement. It was also getting really muggy (which makes me feel better about some of the times I had decided not to take her out last year). After our ride we headed an hour west and hit the local children's museum for a couple of hours. Finished with that, we headed west again for another hour and had a picnic dinner at a local playground. Squeaker discovered that the blackberries blend well with the brie when you mash them up with the crackers (and yes, Brite the spots did come out of her new purple and white shirt).

Have a good week!

PS Those are bunny ears she's making in the pictures. And you thought I was the obsessed one with all the rides...

The Running Naturalist

Squeaker and I continued our outdoor adventures this weekend. Our bike ride was some what disappointing this weekend because the rail trail we picked had the decimal to the left of the 5, not the right. Despite this challenge, Squeaker was a champ when I tried to take her through the nearby cobble stones. Well, she was a champ for the first five feet, but she found it too difficult to drink from her water bottle and made me turn around.

Yesterday we went on our first hike together. We went to a nature area near our house (not being sure of how long we would be out, it didn't seem worth driving too far). I should probably note that Saturday we had spent a little time in a city park. We went the long way around a small lake to get to a playground. Squeaker had insisted on running much of the trip. When she runs with me she can't help but giggling, so we couldn't help but have a good time.

As we were driving to the nature area Squeaker kept insisting that we would run. For my part, I kept suggesting that she needed to be careful running on trails. The trip got off to a rocky start (pun intended). Shortly after we slipped beneath the canopy, she wanted to go back to the car. I suggested we push ahead, but again a few yards later, she wanted to stop again. This time we took a knee and discussed the issue.

Squeaker was worried that the woods might hold creatures that wanted to eat her. The one she seemed most concerned about was a fox (whenever we drive home at night, we look for the neighborhood fox). I listed the woodland creatures that we were likely to see, deer, squirrels, birds, and yes foxes and suggested that all were likely run as soon as the heard us. Moreover, I was fairly sure that foxes were nocturnal and so would be asleep anyway. That seemed to quell her fears so we headed on down the trail. We stopped and looked at new ferns beginning to unroll, wild flowers, and ant hills. Mostly we walked, but sometimes we ran, and we had fun seeing the sights. In the midst of one of our giggly jogs squeaker stopped in her tracks and found a piece of fruit full of ants.



While we were still looking at the fruit, we heard a rustling in the woods nearby. I caught a glimpse of a small form darting though the leaves and got Squeaker turned around to see it. It paused for a few seconds to consider us, then headed on its path, perpendicular to our own. It was a large, red fox, with a bushy tail following it through the woods. Fortunately, Squeaker was excited, not scared, though she did question my credentials as a naturalist, "Daddy, you said foxes were nocturnal." I don't think she bought my excuse that it was looking for a midnight snack.

Once we cleared the woods, we ran the quarter mile back to the car. She was tired and stopped whenever I got too far ahead of her, but persevered and ran the most of way. I let her get to the car first and on the way home, she suggested a schedule of who would win the race back to the car (first we would alternate, then she decided it made more sense to let each of us win ten times in a row).

I put her down for her nap after we got home. She hasn't slept at her nap lately, but I think this time she was out before I had cleared the stairs...

Outdoor Adventures

A while ago I bought Squeaker that trailer so we could go on bike rides together. Until this weekend we've used it once. She didn't appreciate our one ride on hot day down our bumpy dirt road. So the trailer has lain fallow in our garage through two falls and a spring (I don't count summer, because I don't want to bake her). This weekend we've had two great (if short) rides. She had a blast looking at the trees as we rode around our first capitol.

Seriously she was looking at the trees and was not bored. She was looking for good climbing trees (smooth bark, well spaced limbs). This tidewater forrest had an ample supply for her to examine. I was happy with to have the trees because their absence meant that I was fighting with 20 knot winds.

Yesterday, we got in two trips, a short bike ride and kayaking on a local lake. The ride was on our town's one off road, paved bike path, with a round trip of four miles. We started and finished from that playground, so this time she was mainly concerned with when we could turn around and go back to the playground.

Kayaking with Squeaker was fun too. We saw turtles and a few fish. She listened to me about where to sit and not to stand up. She really wanted to paddle (something like an African Swallow carrying a coconut across the English Channel). We compromised by paddling together for a while.

We finished our day with a little soft serve ice cream. I decided that we would share a cone. That went pretty well at first. She took a bite, and by virtue of my size and having provided the day's locomotion, I would take a larger bite. As we got down to the cone, Squeaker started taking two or three bites. As we moved down the cone, in her sugar haze she stopped handing the cone back to me. Picture if you will my sweet little girl holding the cone with both hands and pulling back with all her might. It was all I could do to pull the cone close enough to me so I could take a bite. It is kind of hard to fight over an ice cream cone without spilling it or breaking it, but we did it.

When we got home, she didn't ask to play before bed and is still sleeping too boot....

Princess Arctic Fox

I am tempted just to let these pictures paint a picture of the weekend, but then you wouldn't hear about the snake Squeaker held or that she's really tough unless it comes to scrapes and hydrogen peroxide. And no, I didn't tell her to put the pelts on her head. She did that purely by instinct.

HAPPY EASTER!

Squeaker is Tough

She might seem like she's not, but Squeaker is a tough little girl. As I was putting her to bed tonight, she rammed her head into a doorknob. She held it together for about a minute, no tears or crying but when Daddy asked if she wanted her boo boo dog, she lost it a little, but story time went on as planned. Hopefully, no bruise will appear in the morning, but if it does, I'll post pictures...

Workin' Girl

Squeaker and I had a nice weekend planting flowers and enjoying spring with Momzie. I think the pictures tell the story pretty well, so I am going to let them do it!

Have a good week.

Squeaker's Playlist

Squeaker and I find ourselves in the car fairly often, so long ago the Daddy person compiled a playlist for us. I put together some silly kid songs, music I listen to, and some songs I think she should know. For a long time I just played the list on random, but this fall I started to order it according to songs she would ask for or would want me to play when the came up. Here's the part of the list that comes up most often. Most of them have a story of some kind, and yes, that is the Amy Winehouse. I think Squeaker likes the bass, and it will go away once I have the sense she's trying to learn the words to anything other than Waltzing Matilda.

So, here's the list:

Waltzing Matilda - The Sun Harbor Men's Chorus
Black Horse & The Cherry Tree (Radio Version) - KT Tunstall
Elvira (Single) - The Oak Ridge Boys
Y.M.C.A. (Single Version) - Village People
Old Dominion - Eddie from Ohio
Thief - Crimson
Bonnie Blue Flag - The Americus Brass Band
VMI Spirit - VMI Regimental Band & Pipes And Drums
Johnny B. Goode (Single) - Chuck Berry
You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse
On The Road Again - Willie Nelson
Man In Black - Johnny Cash
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
Tell Her About It - Billy Joel
Tractor Tractor - Andrew Peterson And Randall Goodgame
Who's Got the Ball - Andrew Peterson And Randall Goodgame
Piggy Little Toes - Andrew Peterson And Randall Goodgame
The Intermission Song! - Aaaardvarks
Cows - The Seldom Herd
I Like Blue Lemurs - Baby Loves Jazz Band
1234 (Sesame Street) - Feist
Peter and the Wolf Op. 67 - Sir John Gielgud/Academy Of London

Recently she's started to add thing to the list (by asking me to play them again when they have come up in some other context). For example Thief and Bonnie Blue Flag popped up on random and she wanted to hear both again and even asks for Bonnie Blue Flag as "the one without words".

Peter and the Wolf is the most recent addition. She didn't ask for it by name, but she kept pointing out the sound of a flute during songs. I realized she was talking about guitar rifts so I decided it was time for a little guerilla music appreciation training. She recognizes a lot of the songs by the artist. When "Walk the Line" comes on Squeaker says "not Johnny Cash Daddy", but doesn't mind "Man in Black", even though I'm pretty sure she knows that's him too.

Any rate good luck with your Brackets. I tried to get her to pick teams last year, but it didn't work, maybe this year is her year!