15 months old

Daddy was singing "Morning has Broken" at breakfast this weekend: "Morning has broken/ Like the first mor-ning/ Doo doo da doo - doo /Da doo doo doo...". He told Louise, "Mummy & I got married to that song." "You got married to the doo doo song?" she asked.

At another meal, we asked Louise what she wanted to do when she grows up. "Work at GSK with Daddy." What do you want to do there? "Work." Will you get a PhD like Mummy? "No. Me drive Toyota minivan."

We've been really enjoying spending time with our neighbours Peter, Kim, and Luke in the evening. It's good to live next door to a boy who is the same age as the little ones. We may not think so in 15 years time, of course.

In other news, the music factory had their 15 month appointment today. No big surprises - they're developmentally normal, and Claire is a Big Girl. Their vitals:

Charlotte - 22 lbs 5 oz (50th percentile)

30.75 in long (70th percentile)

48.5 cm head circumference (95th percentile)

Claire - 25 lbs 6 oz (90th %)

31 in long (75th)

49.5 cm head (off the chart)

Louise's Kurt Cobain impression:

Claire pretending to be a teenager:

After a full day of play:

Daddy's Day

Daddy had a minor outpatient surgery on Friday, but he recovered sufficiently by Sunday to enjoy his fourth father's day with his girls & his father (and Granny & Mummy). Louise made him a beautiful "surprise" hat, and Charlotte & Claire (with a little help from daycare) gave framed photos of themselves.

The music factory experienced swimming for the first time on Father's day. (Daddy stayed home with Louise, who declared that her new swimming costume was "too tight.") They were initially skeptical, but soon began to enjoy time in the water with Mummy, Pop, & Granny.

Later that afternoon, all seven Athertons braved the heat to have their pictures taken in Duke Gardens. The girls wore beautiful dresses that Mummy's Aunt Nancy sent to them.

Sadly, Pop & Granny must return to Britain on Wednesday. Pop is determined that Charlotte will take more than 3 or 4 steps a day before he leaves...

Cleanup operation

A week ago, Louise had a special treat - Pop & Granny took her to the zoo. She saw a polar bear up close, and she learned to walk like a puffin.

The following day, she was so disgusted by the England goalie's performance that she became violently ill. (Daddy's theory, however, was that Louise just had a 24-hour virus).

More recently, Louise showed worrying tendencies towards fraud this evening. Mummy asked her to visit the potty before bathtime. "Can't," Louise replied. "There's an oil spill." Presumably her next task is to ask the government for compensation for distress, because she can't carry out her normal bodily functions.

Later, she assigned her sisters clean-up tasks in the bathtub/spill site. Claire was to clean the birds, and Charlotte was told to clean the walrus (sic!).

It is entirely possible that all this shows that Louise spends too much time listening to NPR. She certainly listens hard for inappropriate language. A few days ago she started giggling in the car. "Mummy," she laughed, "them said HOMEOWNERS!!! That naughty!!...Claire a HOMEOWNER!"

We are all looking forward to Sunday - "Sunday is Daddy's Day!" Louise likes to exclaim. "We make surprise hats for Daddy!"

Sweetie pie

"Claire is a sweetie pie," Louise exclaimed this evening, giving her sister a hug. Claire has an ear infection, but she tolerated big sisterly love quite well. She is probably the first and last of the clan to learn how to go down stairs safely, baby-style (backwards, carefully, one step at a time).

We continue to enjoy having Pop & Granny around. Louise has already figured out that Granny cooks better than Mummy - she was disturbed to see Mummy in the kitchen this evening.

Poppopsalooza!

We've been a little busy lately! We moved on 21 May, Pop & Granny arrived for their month-long visit on 26 May, and Pops & Mary visited on 29 and 30 May.

This weekend, we ate lots of ice cream, and Charlotte took her first trip to Charlotte, NC (IKEA). Throughout the weekend, Louise was full of wisdom:

"What makes a place a city?" we asked her. "It have a Food Lion," she replied solemnly. Too bad for you, London, Paris, New York, Berlin, and Singapore!

On Monday at dinner, Daddy had to make a quick trip to the car to find something. "Would you please come here and help Mommy?" we asked, hoping to let him make the trip on his own. "I lost my help," Louise said seriously.

On the journey back from IKEA, Louise summarized the day: "I was a good girl, and Claire was a good girl - on the whole."