Stranger Than Fiction!

You've gotta love the Interweb. After putting in a search for the words Stella and Marni, what should Google pop up but a book entitled Assignment Stella Marni. Written in 1957 (the year I was born!!!), it seems to be a steamy private eye novel centered around a dangerous blond who was "murder on heels".

What an strange coincidence.

I've purchased a couple of copies of the old paperback. A nice oddity to have around. Although I don't think it will be one of the books we read to the girls each night.

Season's Greetings

From the world's cutest elf... Marni Narno!

Stella-isms #1: I'm all finished!

"I'm all finished" is used in one of three ways:

1. To indicate she is done eating.
2. To indicate she is done sleeping (she yells this down to us when she is sleeping up in our bed).
3. To indicate she is all done peeing or pooping on the potty.
   

Off to visit "The Tree"

For probably the third year in row, the Shepard family joined everyone else in NYC and trekked to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

The subway ride was quite exciting for the girls. We're getting very good at carrying the Phil & Ted double stroller up and down stairs with Marni in it and with Stella walking along side us!

The crowds were thick as usual at The Tree. And two seconds later, we were done.

Off to Sacks so mommy could pee. At this point Marni was getting a little bit difficult and insisted on walking through the crowds on the street and in the store on her own. After a few near misses with shoppers, she was put in the stroller which led to the most energetic meltdown of her short life. The meltdown was so traumatic (for all) that Marni fell asleep afterwards. This allowed the three civilized Shepards to share a big pretzel and walk down to the Bryant Park "village" for some sightseeing and noshing.

The little restaurant in the village was even nicer this year then in previous years. Stella and mommy and I shared hot choco, chili, corn bread and salad. Marni was still passed out.

After lunch, we watched the ice skaters for a few minutes and then headed to the subway. Marni stay asleep all the way to the station, down the steps, and onto the platform. An incoming subway train woke her and she was back in good spirits.

The subway ride home was uneventful and we got home safely. Once home, we wondered (as we do every year) "why do we do this"?

First Snow!

This morning NYC was covered by a light coating of dry snow.

In the Shepard tradition, it was time to take the kids for a drag around the parking lot. After WAY too much clothing was forced onto them by mom, the girls were ready to play in their urban winter wonderland.

We walked, touched snow, cleaned off some cars, took a toboggan ride, threw snow, and ate some snow.

Then Stella declared that it was freezing outside so it was time to go in.

Thanksgiving 2007

We were back at "The Gris" in Essex, Connecticut after a 1-year hiatus.

Everyone arrived Wednesday afternoon and checked into their rooms in the Hayden House. Lunch was at The Gris. The weather was nice enough to allow everyone to take walks around town and do some shopping. Dinner was at The Black Seal.

Thanksgiving Day was exceptionally warm and everyone walked down to the water to play on the grass and look at the boats and ducks. Harold kicked around a ball with Lisa. We pretty much took over the entire Hayden House and there was a nice nosh put out to tide everyone over until turkey. Thanksgiving dinner was at 4:30. It was very nice aside from a metldown from Stella that required both of us to go back to the room to calm down.

Friday was spent in Mystic at the aquarium with Nana and Papa Hoffman and Toots and Glenn. The girls had a blast. Then a nice lunch at The Ground Round with Nana and Papa Shepard topped it all off.

Overheard #2

Stella has some interesting phrases and customized words that should be noted:

• "Prettyful" - This seems to be a cross between beautiful and pretty.
• "C'mon, you can do it!" - She uses this when encouraging others.
  
• "Listen to my words!" - When you aren't paying attention to her, this is what you get.
  
• "I want something really, really special!" - Usually pertaining to a present or food.
  
• "You saved the day!" - When someone does something to fix something.
  
• "That's my rule." - When she explains how something is going to go, or what her plan is.
  

Off the Bottle

Last week Marni went cold turkey and kicked the bottle habit. It took a couple of days of crying, but she did it and is now exclusively in sippy-cup land. A couple of years ago when Stella was weaned off the bottle, she went two days without drinking any milk before she finally gave in.

The Marni Vocabulary - Part 3

The latest to pop out of Marni's mouth (other than half-chewed food) are: apple, pizza, papa, bubbles, and balloon. Also... "piece" as in "I want a piece of that to eat".

Marathon Girls

The Shepards hosted yet another NYC Marathon Party today. Special guests were Nana and Papa Shepard. In total we had about 18 people drop by. Lisa provided quite a feast.

As far as the girls were concerned, the most interesting guest was Margaret's dog named Luke.

The Littlest Trick-Or-Treater

Halloween 2007 was Marni's first as a walking person. Evidently, humans are born with the trick-or-treat gene, since Marni instinctively knew what to do. Outfitted in her pink ballerina costume and a fuzzy white sweater, Marni grabbed her white candy bucket and insisted on walking around on her own.

She watched Stella to see what the routine was and happily went up to each treat-giver, picked her treat, and placed it in her bucket. There was no stopping this girl.

When we finally made it to the parade, she was fearless and marched down the street with all the other ghouls and goblins.

PS... the headless clown in the photo is Lisa Stefanoff.

Dino Girl

While walking through The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze with the girls and the Hills and the Ackermans and Ms. Stefanoff... Stella was looking at the pumpkins carved into dinosaurs. I pointed out some of the dinosaurs and she (correctly) pointed out that the one I was referring to was a triceratops. Who knew she knew?!

Turns out that they talk about dinosaurs a lot at Raindrops. We don't pay those guys enough!

A Lull

While both kids struggled to get over their first big colds of the season (and Marni's latest ear infection), Daddy jetted off to L.A. to attend the last two performances of Genesis during their 2007 reunion tour. Sweet!

While I was away, the gals attended cousin Tyler's 3rd birthday party. A great time was had by all.

Meanwhile, Marni continues to smarten up at an alarming rate. A lot more words (including "eyes", "shoe", "bye", and "hello") and a very good understanding of what's going on around her.

Most importantly, the ladies at her daycare provided her with her first-ever hairdoo!

The Tale of the Tape

Since this past July, Stella has sprouted up about 1/4" while Marni has added another 1 1/4" to her substantial altitude (and attitude).

The Marni Vocabulary - Part 2

Recent additions include: "pee-pee" (including pointing at you if she sees you peeing), "baby", and "more"

Apple Picking 2007

The Shepards were back in the apple-picking business this year (after a one-year hiatus involving the snake-bite incident).

This year we went to a farm in East Brunswick with the Hoffman clan of Bridgewater.

We all met a 11 am and headed out into the pumpkin patch. Marni had some trouble with the vines, but she prevailed.

Next were pony rides for Stella and Tyler and then a hayride for all but hayfever-afflicted Brian. We saw all types of crops and animals.

A picnic lunch was followed by lots of apple picking. Then we piled our tired broods into our respective mini-vans and headed home (we headed to the Atlantic Antic to visit with Bubbles and the Leons).

Marni Gets Hooked Up!

After a couple of febrile seizures, we were advised to take Marni to a pediatric neurologist. So a couple of weeks ago we took her to see Dr. Daniel Miles at NYU. Nice guy. Did a bunch of little tests on Marni (touch this, grab this, watch this, etc.). Marni was in rare form. The results... she seemed normal to him (although he could not tell if she was left or right handed). Dr. Miles suggested we take her in for an EEG to check her brain waves.

Last Tuesday Marni, Lisa and I headed back to NYU for the test. Miss Marni was not at all happy getting 24 leads glued onto her skull. But a VHS machine in the room playing Mickey Mouse cartoons help a lot. After 25 minutes of measurements, it was time to remove the leads. This was very unpopular with Marni. But we got through it and she was as happy as could be afterwards.

No results of the test yet, but it was quite an adventure. And hopefully this whole brain thing is behind us.

Dance School, Day 1

The moment Lisa has been waiting for all of her life has finally come. She gets to take her daughter to dance school!

Stella enrolled in the Creative Movement class at Sherri's (aka "Bubbles") studio.

Stella was lookin' great and she participated in some (but not all) of the dances. This is pretty much her style as this is new to her and she's pretty shy. Sherri tells us that Stella was especially cute doing the "frog" dance.

Check out Sherri's studio at www.creativeartsstudio.com.

The Girls Meet Their Match

On Saturday we headed to Karen and Glenn's to meet their new dog, Macy Cake.

The first 10 minutes were chaos as the dogs and the girls collided. Eventually things calmed down. Stella was shy but curious. Marni was fearless. She bounced around between Brody and Macy like a pinball machine ball.

Glenn and Karen whipped up a fantastic lunch.

As the day progressed, the tables turned and it was the dogs that were looking to find a safe place to hide. The girls poked, prodded, and petted Brody and Macy with new confidence (as the dogs tried to sleep). The girls had a blast and we had a blast watching them.

The Holidays

The family traveled north to Natick for Rosh Hashana. Since Marni is in the middle of her "girlie-girl gone wild" period, I didn't hold out much hope that we would actually spend a lot of time in services. Stella and Lisa headed to the pre-school services where Stella actually participated! Nana, Papa, Marni and I headed to the main services. The Tasmanian Devil behaved herself for at least 20 minutes before getting cranky. Then she was banished to the lawn. But while she was in services, she entertained everyone around her for several rows. Day 2 was similar to day 1. Stella started in pre-school services (at her request). Marni behaved herself in the main services until we split just before the Rabbi's sermon. All in all, not nearly as traumatic as I expected.

Overheard #1

While visiting Aunt Toots and Uncle Glenn, Stella picked up an Ikea catalog to read while she headed to the "potty". Glenn asked her why she needed it. Stella responded "it helps my poop come out better". Like father like daughter.

First Day of School

The girls headed off to year two of daycare (aka "school") today. First we dropped off Stella at Raindrops. She was thrilled to be wearing her new M&M shirt. Marni had a great time playing at Raindrops as I read a book to Stella. Then, it was time to go. And, unlike last year, there were no tears.

Next, Lisa dropped Marni off at Kiddi City. Again... no tears.

Both girls had a great time at school. Marni didn't even bother to acknowledge Lisa when she came to pick her up. She was too busy playing.

So Ends Another Summer

As if someone had flipped off the Summer switch, Maine was cold, dreary and deserted when I flew up for the last time on August 31. Marni and Lisa greeted me at Portland Field. Stella was already in Natick with my parents.

It was a very unusual and wonderful experience having Marni around as an only child for two days. Taking care of one child never seems easier once you are use to taking care of two.

Friday was taken up with packing.

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. We said goodbye to Steve Goodman, Barbara, and Linda and headed to Stonewall Kitchen in a car bursting at the seams.

Leaving The Cottage has never been more difficult. The girls absolutely thrive there. Both of them have grown up so much in the past month. I only pray that The Cottage (or something like it) stays in our family for many more generations.

Now.. onward and upward. They head back to school tomorrow, and the adventures continue.

Stella Leaves Home -Wrapup

Turns out Stella ate all of Papa's spaghetti!

She had a wonderful time at Nana and Papa's house. They took her to a petting zoo/orchard where she fed goats, saw llamas, and picked apples.

This was a real milestone for Stella (and for my parents!).

When Lisa and Marni and I showed up at my parents' house on Saturday afternoon, I was greeted by a big smile, a hug, and stories about everything she had done for the past two days.

Stella Leaves Home

A couple of weeks ago my parents mentioned that they wanted to pick up Stella at The Cottage on the last Thursday of August and bring her back to their house for a couple of days. Lisa, Marni and I would pick her up after we closed The Cottage on Saturday.

We weren't sure if she would go for it. She loves Nana and Papa, but she's never been away from us for an extended time. A few days later we asked Stella if she would like to do this. She seemed to be excited about it and said yes.

As the fateful Thursday approached, we asked Stella a few more times to make sure she understood the plan. She still said yes.

Last night Stella excitedly helped Lisa pack her things. Clothes. PJs. Books. Bear. Toothbrush. Before she went to sleep, she reminded Lisa not to forget to move her car seat into Nana and Papa's car.

This morning my parents showed up at The Cottage. Stella was still psyched. By mid afternoon she was ready to go (well before my parents were ready). She even offered to sit in their car and wait.

The car ride home was uneventful. Stella slept part of the way. When she got to Natick, she immediately got into the swing of things and pulled out all of her toys. Tonight they go out for spaghetti.

She's going to have a blast!

The Marni Vocabulary - Part 1

At 16 months, here's a recap of the Marni vocabulary. She knows how to say mommy, up, Dora, Elmo, bye, and - on occasion - Stella. Additionally, she understands bottle, airplane, daddy, doggie and can identify her mouth, eyes, head, feet and ears. If you ask her a question like "Who likes ice cream?", she will reply "me!".

Fascinating huh!

Ooops... And One More Thing - Me!

Seems I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Steve. I'm an I.T. manager on Wall Street (use to be a tv producer in an earlier life). I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn with the three girlie-girls. Originally from Natick, Massachusetts. What's on my iPod? A lot of Genesis and Tom Jones. Before Stella came along I don't think I had even picked up a baby my whole life. I really had no interaction with kids (since being one myself). That's all changed... BIG TIME! I've always heard that having kids changes your life. That's an understatement. But it's all for the better.

Fun at the Beach

The girlie-girls have been "summering" in Maine. Between splashing in the surf, digging holes in the sand, and eating Popsicles; Stella and Marni have learned a few new "tricks". Stella has figured out how to call me (endlessly) on the office phone that I've installed in The Cottage. Just today Marni learned how to call the receptionist and giggle. Marni has also begun to potty train herself. Yesterday she opened the lid on Stella's potty, crawled onto it, and pooped. Although she was still wearing her diaper.

The Cast of Characters

It all started with "Mommy", aka Lisa; the love of my life. Met in 2000. Our first date was a 35-mile bike ride complete with two punctures (mine). Married in 2002. Popped out Stella in 2004 and Marni in 2006. When not being a fantastic Mom, she's busy running her own personal training company, Solo Fitness (www.solofitness.com).

Next came Stella in May 2004. Lisa was in labor for 36 hours and almost had a c-section... but everything ended up ok. Living with Stella has been amazing. Although shy with others, she is razor-sharp, kooky, sweet, and stubborn as a mule. Every day has been a wonderful adventure. She has a sparkling smile and a mop of Shirley Temple curls.

In April 2006, Marni came along. Her delivery was fast. A few days after her birth she popped out a tooth which had to be removed shortly thereafter (it was loose). Till this day she has just one new tooth (the others are afraid to come out!). Marni is quite different from Stella. She is much more easy going and independent. She's a daredevil and is game for anything.

The Beginning

Better late than never. Stella is a little over 3 years old right now and Marni is a little over 1. I've thought about documenting the experience of being a Daddy to these two beautiful girls but, until now, I haven't done anything about it. So let's see how the blog thing goes. I mean... pretty much everyone else has a blog by now. Why not me?

This blog may not be of any interest to anyone else. That's ok. It's purpose is to allow me to chronicle the adventures of Daddyhood and to pass this on to my girlie-girls when they get older.