Overheard #31

On our walk to camp this morning:

MARNI: Daddy, this is the restaurant that we are taking you to tonight for your birthday.
STELLA: Marni! It's a secret!
MARNI: Oh. Daddy, pause your brain so you don't remember.

Do Angels Sleep?

Apparently.

Fore!

Stella and Marni watch golfers with cousins Tyler and Delia at Capital Hills in Albany.

Ice-Walking at Tanglewood

For most people, the lure of Tanglewood was the Boston Pops with special guest performer Arlo Guthrie (heard singing in the background).

But for the kids it was all about playing with a pile of ice left behind by a departed Ben & Jerry's ice cream cart.

(This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website.)

Interesting

For a number of years now I have been observing my two Earthling daughters with fascination.

Recently I have noticed that the older female, Stella, has been acting in a very peculiar fashion.

For no obvious reason she suddenly gets very affectionate, comes over and hugs me, and tells me she loves me. Now that's very nice and all and I really appreciate it, but I haven't been able to figure out why it comes and goes.

Until today.

This morning was a little more frantic than usual as I rushed around trying to get the girls ready for camp. Lisa had left for work already and I was behind schedule.

I don't like to be behind schedule.

I run my mornings with military precision. But today I was not on my game. I hadn't even showered and gotten dressed, and departure time was fast approaching.

Things were getting tense as I implored the girls to put on their shoes and socks. I was clearly getting frazzled while trying to shove Marni's water bottle into her already overflowing backpack. And that's when it happened.

Stella saw how tense I was getting and came over to me. "Daddy, I love you". She gave me a big hug and clung to me.

It finally began to compute.

Stella is sensing when I'm stressed or unhappy and she's trying to tell me that it's ok. And she's doing a pretty good job of it.

So now Stella is beginning to take care of daddy.

How does that make me feel?

Out of this world of course.

The Other Summer Tradition

For the past several years we've been lucky enough to be invited to Joel and Adriene Belmont's summer pool party. The Belmonts are cousins of Lisa and have a gorgeous house up in Hartsdale, NY.

Within seconds of arrival Stella had stripped down and put on her bathing suit. Marni was a close second. Then, for the next several hours, the entire family happily frolicked in the warm pool - taking breaks only to munch on chips or chow down on the delicious BBQ dinner.

(This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website.)

The Summer Tradition

A year ago the Shepards and the Asanovics got together for fun in the sun at a local Connecticut beach. This year we kept the tradition alive with a trip to Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk.

After checking out the Asanovic's new trampoline, the group headed for the beach. Marni had never experienced a beach with virtually no waves, so she immediately waded way out to her chest. Stella was not too thrilled with the stony shore, so she hung back on the sand.

As the tide pulled out, the kids grabbed buckets and began an exciting hunt for crabs over by the large rocks. Ian was the designated catcher and Stella was the designated bucket holder. Marni was the designated screamer. Lisa Asanovic was the back-up screamer whenever crabs got a little too close to her toes.

After crab torturing we took a trip to the snack bar for ice cream, followed by a visit to the playground where the girls gave the boys a run for their money.
At some point during the day Stella decided she really liked Tomo. "He has nice hands".

So how did the day go? Pretty good considering that both girls complained on the way home that they wanted to go back to the boys' house.

(This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website.)

Because What They Say Is So Important!

We here at The Daddy Diary are rolling out the latest in over-hyped technology in order to bring you the latest pearls of wisdom flowing out the mouths of our babes.

The girls now have their own Twitter feed entitled StellaMarniTalk. Based loosely on the hysterical ShitMyDadSays Twitter feed, our feed will bring you the latest kooky kid-talk from Stella and Marni.

If you care enough, sign up with Twitter and follow their feed. Not interested in bothering with Twitter? Then just tune into the Daddy Diary website and check out their latest "tweets" on the right side of the page.

Enjoy.

Happy Campers

And by "happy" I mean "not too miserable".

Ok, maybe "not too miserable" is a little negative. They like their new camp alright. But they just don't like admitting it.

A week into their stay at Park Slope Day Camp, things are looking up.

And by "looking up", I mean no more teary meltdowns at drop-off.

The first few days were a little rocky. Both girls donned their matching camp shirts and put a on a brave front. But when it came to leaving them there at camp, things got a little "intense".

Day 1 was on a Tuesday and both mommy and daddy dropped them off.

Stella was clingy, but ok. I stayed with her. Marni was meltdown city and clung to Lisa till the bitter end. But at pickup they were both happy and told us they had a great time.

I would have a great time too given the fantastic activities that await the kids every day. Horseback riding, swimming at a pool, frolicking at a beach, puppet shows, karate, arts & crafts, amusement parks, and field trips of every imaginable type.

Damn! I want to go to this place!

But our kids are a tough sell, and day 2 was a disaster. Lisa texted me after the traumatic drop-off that she was never doing this again. Both kids had meltdowns and Lisa needed the help of several camp counselors to pry Marni lose.

Later that night I had a "family meeting" with the girls and asked them why they cried when mommy dropped them off, but they are ok when daddy drops them off. The final explanation was that daddy "just did it better".

Now I have my mornings cut out for me as the official kid dropper offer at camp. Daddy's no-more-tears drop-off method is in full effect.

So mornings have gotten better and the kids are having a blast during the day. At pickup Lisa tells me that the girls are happy and that Marni is an absolute animal. Running around, attacking her counselors, and refusing to leave.

In the end it was well worth all the effort that Lisa put into finding Park Slope Day Camp. Stella and Marni will never appreciate how much money it costs to send them to this place. At the end of the day they come home dirty and tired. And happy. Singing songs they've never sang before, and showing us stuff they've learned during their day.

And that's all that matters.