Capturing the elusive Mary

You remember Mary, don't you? Toddler Jeneric's Imaginary Friend (JIF)? We've been attempting to capture Mary on film for weeks - quite the challenge.

Toddler Jeneric assures us Mary is bouncing in the excersaucer.

Random Wednesday

1. Presenting for the first time... pigtails!


2. Some girls can sleep through anything - even an egg fight!


3. It's getting difficult to tell Toddler Jeneric's shirts from Baby Wily's dresses.


4. Toddler Jeneric is a keen observer - two orange slices make one butterfly.

A graphical Interlude

Normally, we (attempt to) refrain from direct comparisons between Toddler Jeneric and Baby Wily. However, we hope you'll indulge a brief lapse as we indulge our geek-i-tude.


Figure 1. Mean Wily Jeneric height from the time period of birth through 6 months.


Figure 2. Mean Wily Jeneric weight from the time period of birth through 6 months.

What can we conclude from this limited data set?
1. Apparently, our parenting is such that we can produce and maintain near replicates (well, pseudoreplicates at any rate).
2. Despite actively refusing all bottles, cups and droppers, Baby Wily is no worse for the wear.
3. Older versions of MS Excel 2008 for Macs did not include an option for custom error bars. The standard error as calculated by Excel, was, in Jenni's words, "wonky."
4. Your conclusion here - leave your ideas in the comments.

Butterflies vs. Water

We went on a field trip this weekend to a big garden to see the regionally famous butterfly exhibit. We thought this would be great fun, since Toddler Jeneric likes to frequent the local (small) butterfly garden. One catch... the local garden puts out nectar pots so you can lure the butterfly into landing on our finger, but the fancy garden doesn't allow for such frivolity.

While Mom and Dad looked at the bright and big butterflies and moths:

Toddler Jeneric pointed out one butterfly on the ceiling of the cave:

then moved on to the waterfall and pointing out birds in the underbrush:

The water outside was also a big hit:

In case it wasn't obvious, she used the boat to move water from one side of the pool to the other.

The wheels on the bus go...

Oink, oink, oink. Someone had a good time at small animal day this past weekend - many of our favorite songs have been re-engineered by Toddler Jeneric to include a farm animal or two.

This is the way we milk the fake cow...


Okay, Daddy. I petted this animal. What's next?


Toddler Jeneric, sheepdog in training.




No milking this animal!


Ho, hum, says Baby Wily.

Interlude

Fact: the current selection of children's music in the car will eventually drive you to putting on Christmas carols in April.

Vital update!

Thanks to all 11 poll takers! The results are in!


(Drum roll, please)


Middle fiddle is the correct answer!


Height: 27 and 1/4 inches (86th percentile)
Weight: 18 lb, 8 oz (83rd percentile)
Head: 44 cm (82nd percentile)

Three shots and one oral vaccine later and we were out the door. We'll check in again in 3 months.

Interlude

Last week, the moon was made of chocolate ice cream.

Spring has swung

Temperatures soared into the 60s this past week, so the girls hit the local park.

Can you guess their favorite activity?

Knock, knock!

Who's there?
Esther!
Esther who?
It's the Esther bunny!

The entire Wily Jeneric family headed to our local science museum for breakfast with the bunny. This is as close as Toddler Jeneric got to the Big Bunny:


We had much better luck looking at the chicks,


playing in the Discovery room,




and dying eggs.

Interlude

Does it count as Baby Wily's first word if she said:
"BabababaDaddybabababa"?

(Look! Over there! In the top right-hand corner - it's a new poll! Voting closes at 12:01 am on Monday, April 20.)

Sour grapes

Well, sour apples and apricots, at any rate.

A day in the life

of Toddler Jeneric, and her sister, Baby Wily (with a cameo by Mama).

Rise and shine. Well, maybe not shine just yet.


Get dressed - and don't forget your most important accessory!

(Is there a 12-step program for book addiction?)

Head to music class, where we can tap sticks,


scarf dance,




scarf dance with Baby Wily,


and play the xylophone.


Then it's off to school for a picnic with Mama.


Back home! Today, we got a box in the mail with hair clips!


Hair clips also work swell on overall pockets.


A quick bath,


and we're off to bed.

Another fish?

Despite the snow, the Wily Jeneric family hit the local Y for Baby Wily's first swimming experience.

Don't let the concerned look fool you - she enjoyed every minute!

Lessons from Toddler Jeneric

What can we learn from the following video?

1. Toddlers do not like wearing pants.
2. Toddlers think waaaay outside the box.
3. You can run a triathlon in your own living room.
4. When "It's your tourn" you'd better hand over the camera.

Interlude

Toddler reasoning for why we should get dogs (yes, plural - a single dog won't do):
1. The cats are noisy and need dogs to quiet them down.
2. The cats are misbehaving and need dogs to keep them in line.

We have no plans to acquire one or more dogs.

The family that reads together...

Oops!

Right hand yellow

No, your right hand. Right! Yellow! No, not blue. Yellow!



Toddler Jeneric and Eric had a play date on Saturday while Jenni worked. Toddler Jeneric and her guest busted a move with Twister.


Then capped off the morning with a little Bob the Builder video-game action.