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Ned loves caves. She enlists our help in the construction of them most every day, usually involving sheets on the bed or blankets over tables, not to leave out the occasional cardboard box model. And both Grandma and Nana have play tents--but use the word "tent" and you'll find quick correction: "Caaaaaaave."
So when I asked her this morning if she wanted to see a real cave, she said, "Oh, yesh!! CAVE!!!! Turtle come?" 100 miles later, we were at Wisconsin's famed Cave of the Mounds. (I have no idea who "famed" it, but they swear it's famed.)
The verdict? Super cool. On top of being amazingly beautiful, the cave stays a constant 50 degrees year round, meaning we did something out in nature and didn't run the risk of digit loss given our current tundra-like conditions. And Ned loved the maze of dark and mysterious caveness. As we were leaving she said, "Come back? More cave?" (My guess is that our home cave construction is gonna have to ratchet up a few notches.)
(Oh, and in case you're wondering, Turtle really liked the cave, too. He told me so on the way home.) 
Ever since her first haircut a couple months ago, Ned's had this new play routine involving a plastic step stool, kitchen towel, brush, tubing from her plastic saxophone crudely shaped as a hairdryer, "finger scissors", and a willing client, a.k.a. Baba or Mama. Anyway, we sit on the stool, she puts the kitchen towel around our shoulders and gives a brief, chaotic cut and dry before announcing "baby's turn" and hopping on the stool herself.
But then Baba asked me to cut his hair. (I've long cut Dan's hair in our basement with a clippers...ever since I accompanied him to his haircut years ago and went, "Seriously?? $40?!?! For that?!?!" and promptly purchased my clippers from Sears. If I do say so myself, I'm pretty skilled with that clippers.) Anyway, Ned overheard his request and responded, "Baby??? Cut hair?? Basement? Baby do it???" And Dan told her okay...and gave her the clippers.
Notice the look of incredible satisfaction on her face, even whilst holding the clippers upside down.
And then there's the 'baby bra' incident. Ned's friend Zhi got her these dressable wood animals for Christmas. They come with these cute little reversible tie-on outfits. Seems like such an innocent gift... except that some small person decided that the tie-on outfit is better suited to herself as a--and I quote--"baby bra"... 
Never dull. Ever.
Hoppy Boday, Baba! :) (I finally caught a few seconds of it on video--too cute.)
Dan's birthday is tomorrow. Ned's been preparing by repeatedly rehearsing the "boday song". She sings it around the house, out in the yard, at the grocery store... Good stuff.She and I went shopping for Baba's present on Monday. We went to Erehwon and she picked out a pair of socks for him (ha!) and I got him a pair of fleece pants. She walked all around the store (painstakingly selected socks in hand...) singing the "boday song", only interrupted by the occasional yelling of "yellow boat!" or "blue boat!" as she toddled under the suspended kayaks. As we shopped, I talked to her about birthday presents, and that we want to keep what we choose for Baba a secret so that he's surprised on his birthday. "Ohhh-kay. Secret. S'prise!" she says.
Yeah, right.So we get home and sit down to supper with Baba. Mid-bite of spaghetti she sets down her fork, looks at him and--with that little glint in her eye--says, "boday present...you!" Baba responds, "You got me a birthday present?! Is it tools?!?" Ned says, "Nooooooo, socks...pants!"Good times. :)
In 2005 Dan and I had the amazing opportunity to travel all around Iceland with our buds Holly and Pat. We did lots of amazing things while there, one of them being a glacier trek. We had such a blast and came back from that trip joking how Milwaukee needed a glacier of its own.Well, Holly and Pat, it turns out we have one...at least in the winter months on the shores of Lake Michigan at the Audubon Center. Our friend Elisabeth blogged about the fantastic 'ice volcanoes' there last week and it inspired us to climb around on (and in!) the ice for a few hours this Saturday.
Amazing world we live in--from Iceland to Milwaukee. :)On our way down the steep decline to the lake level. (Yes, turtle is wearing a scarf. Ned insisted. "Cold 'side. Turtle. Scarf." Kid is funny.)
And here it is! Milwaukee's glacier. Complete with crevasses.
Baby in the hole, a.k.a. "cave" or "ice 'cano". (She looks happy, but she was a little nervous out there. Glaciers are "sippery" and you have to be "caufel." She kept reminding us to go slowly. Cute, especially from her generally pretty daredevil self. Good to know she has reasonable limits--it was icy as all heck out there.)
Family in the hole! 
Okay, this was hilarious. Ned's become rather serious about her photography and uses her "cam-ruh" pretty much every day now. When she heard we were going to the "ice 'canoes", she promptly grabbed her camera and stuffed it into our bag. So here she is all National Geographic style with Baba's tripod:
As if the self-initiated tripod use wasn't funny enough, then she tries to adjust the tripod height, just like Baba.
Turtle in his Ergo.
Thanks for the tip, E! Milwaukee's glacier rocks!
"Draw Mama. Eyes...nose...mouth...ears...hair."And here you have it. This is how my daughter sees me:
The nose is pretty much right on, wouldn't you agree? :)
