Fuzzy Wasn't

For whatever reason, I decided to teach the girls the children's poem "Fuzzy Wuzzy". In case you don't know it...

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?

They mostly got it. Mostly.

Last night, while in the bath, I asked them to give the poem another go.

Marni got the first shot. Her video starts with her trying to cross her eyes. This she accomplished. She didn't do so well with the poem.



Next, Stella got a crack at it. You'll notice that she takes a swipe at Marni's failed attempt, but she fared no better.



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Toothpocalypse: A New Beginning

Well there's one less hillbilly in Brooklyn today.

At about 1:15 this morning I was jolted out of bed by Stella yelling my name. She was standing in the middle of her room. Little did she know that I was right behind her, sleeping in Marni's lower bunk.

Long story. 

Luckily I didn't do a Three Stooges maneuver where I jump up and whack my head.

Stella was standing there, very excited, holding her stubborn front tooth in her hand.

Finally!

She apparently poked it out herself in the middle of the night.

We took it upstairs to show mommy and then bagged it for safety.

I quickly went online and checked the schedule for the Tooth Fairy. Unfortunately, the Fairy passed through our part of Brooklyn at 12:38 and was long gone. So we will have to put the tooth out for financial remuneration tonight.

And if you're keeping score... that's tooth number 7. Nothing on the wiggling horizon right now. Everyone relax!

So They Think They Can Dance

We've been invited to a lot of dance performances lately. But not from Alvin Ailey or the New York City Ballet. Our recent performances come from Stella and Marni, and they are so cute that I can't stand it.

This past weekend Stella heard a song on the car radio and told me she wanted to dance to it. So I bought it on my iPhone and she grabbed the phone from my hand and ran into her bedroom to choreograph.

10 minutes later she came out (outfitted in her "wedding dress") and demanded that everyone assemble on her top bunk for the performance.

Below is a video of the performance (she demanded I record it). So proud!

The other video is of a second performance interrupted (hysterically) by Marni.





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Independence Play

And now for a quick wrap-up of the 4th of July goings ons...

This year we stayed close to home and started the weekend with a trip to our favorite summertime cousins, Joel and Adriane. Pool, dogs, food, fun. This year Stella screwed up a little more courage and began diving into the water. Probably prompted by her ultra-brave cousin, Tyler.

Sunday was spent in New Jersey visiting with co-worker Martha, husband Carlos, and baby Christopher. The weather was a little gloomy, but that didn't stop most from enjoying their great pool, their great food, and their great hospitality. They really know how to throw a party! Co-worker Pradnya's family also joined as did the Stefanoff/Imhoff clan.

Monday, the 4th, was a hot one and we took the girls to visit The Highline for the first time. I gave them maps of the park so they could follow where we were. They found it pretty interesting, but were mostly excited to get to the weird little Rainbow City park that greeted us at the 30th Street end of The Highline. After bouncing around in a giant inflatable mushroom, and some delicious ice cream, we headed home to prepare for a BBQ with Sherri Bubbles, Rick and Laurie.



And there you have it!



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Bunk!

The morning after.

A few months ago it became apparent that, even though they are almost midgets, our children would soon outgrow their toddler beds. So we took a ride out to our favorite kid bed store in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey to see what they had for us.

When we got there the kids did their best Goldilocks impression by trying out every bed in the place. Unlike Goldilocks, they liked every bed they tried.

We eventually settled upon a princess-like bunk bed set. After hearing the price we realized that we would be ready to buy it for them just as they headed off to college. But a surprise tax refund sent me back to the store to make the deal.

Delivery was set for Thursday, and the girls were very excited. They huddled in negotiations and decided that Stella would be on the top and Marni would be below in the "princess castle". The night before delivery I was awoken by Stella who requested that I come and sleep in their room so that she could enjoy her last night in her little bed (rather than her sleep upstairs with us). This, of course, meant that I had to sleep on the floor. But, being a good daddy, that's what I did.

Yesterday we cleaned out their entire room to make way for the new monstrosity. Lisa kept me updated on the installation process with photos, phone calls, and videos. After installation she worked hard to get the room put back together for them.

We decided to make a video recording of their first impressions. Lisa had her camera rolling as they entered the room and the footage speaks for itself.



They spent the rest of the day playing on the bunk beds and excitedly dragged me in there when I got home. They even had neighbors drop by to show them.

As bedtime approached, we had to come up with a new routine. No longer was there a rocking chair in the room (no room for it), and no longer could I lie on the floor between their two beds and hold their hands as they drifted off to sleep.

It was decided that I would hang out "upstairs" with Stella first since she was a little nervous about sleeping up so high. I rested at the end of her bed until she drifted off to sleep. Then I moved down to Marni who was patiently waiting in her "princess castle". After about 10 minutes, she was asleep too.

The foot.

I checked on them throughout the night. Stella never fell off. Occasionally a foot would poke out from the "princess castle" curtain.

Stella came up in the middle of the night to sleep with us, as usual. So she obviously didn't plummet to the ground after forgetting she was in an upper bunk. Marni woke up happy and crazy as usual. So, all is good.

The girls have cooked up a plan to switch beds every 22 days (don't ask). We'll see if that ever happens. But right now it appears that we have two very happy bunk mates.


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Return of the Happy Campers

Less than 24 hours after the end of their school year, the girls were sun-screened, lunch-boxed, and outfitted in their stylish Park Slope Day Camp t-shirts, and... off to camp!

Only minor resistance this year.

A few months ago I reached out to each girls' classmates to see if I could arrange for friends to join them at PSDC, It seems to have worked out.

Stella has best friend Sasha with her from day 1. This has made her adjustment painless.

Marni will have 4 or 5 classmates from PreK joining her, but none the first week. So she's been a little sad, but no major meltdowns.

Just like last year, the girls come home dirty and tired (just like we like them). And, they seem to be having fun.

Although Stella complained that she thought camp was supposed to be fun. I said it was, and she replied that it wasn't fun if she had to learn something. And by something, she meant swimming.