CATCHING UP WITH THE WOG AND THE DOODLE

We had a busy week full of visitors and fun! A visit from Minnie and Pop-Pop followed Grandma and Grandpa. The Wog and The Doodle both enjoyed being doted upon.

Royalty:


Minnie, Pop-Pop, The Doodle, and a shaky egg:


The usual farewell photo:


Last night as I was following The Wog to her bedroom, she paused halfway up the stairs, turned, and announced, "You look like Minnie!" I said, "I do? Do YOU look like Minnie?" to which she unequivocally responded, "No." When I followed up with, "Who do you look like, then?" she immediately responded--as if it was the most ridiculous question in the world--"I look like Polly!"

MINNIE & THE WOG

HAPPY EASTER FROM THE WOG AND THE DOODLE!

Happy Easter!


The Doodle enjoys his new book at "Pookie," which coincidentally is The Wog's nickname for him. (She came up with it entirely on her own; one day she announced, "I'm going to call him 'Lil Pookie.' And she does!) His first Easter:


A blurry bunny:


Portrait of The Wog as a Young Woman:


The Wog would not let her Easter basket out of sight:




Learning about animals with Grandpa:


You can buy a kid all the presents in the world, but the one she likes best is the box it comes in. We've gotten hours and even days of entertainment out of this box. (Note that the Easter basket made it in there too.)



The Vaillants:

THIS IS WHAT AN EGGHUNT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE LOOKS LIKE:

The lineup:


The whistle blows and they're off!


The Wog dawdled a bit and then got the idea:


She loved it!


Filling up her "basket":


The Wog is on the hunt! (She sticks her tongue out when she's working really hard at something; obviously, collecting eggs can be quite a challenge!)

HERE, DOODLE DOODLE

The Doodle receives only the most occasional of baths because of his eczema. Here he is following his (semi-monthly?) soak:



He is not a fan of tub-time, so the whole "rare bath" prescription suits him just fine.

WOG-GIE HOLMES

How The Wog looks with the "it girl" hairdo of the moment:

Any thoughts?

And sometimes I just cannot believe how fast The Doodle's hair grows!


This allows for maximum flexibility in hairstyles, including an updo for The Doodle's many formal occasions:


(This post, by the way, led The Wog's father to the conclusion that I have too much time on my hands. I don't.)

A VIDEO ONLY A MOTHER (OR FATHER OR GRANDMOTHER OR GRANDFATHER OR AUNTIE OR OTHER BABY-OBSESSED PERSON) COULD LOVE

The Doodle drives his car and rocks out to Beethoven:


(It does go on!)

SCOWLING WOG; NOBLE DOODLE

The Wog scowls with the best of them:

(The dress, by the way, plays music. It goes on first thing in the morning; off to dress for school; back on when she comes home from school; off to nap; back on when she wakes up from her nap; off again for dinner; back on again after dinner; and off, finally, for bedtime. The cycle repeats daily.)

The Doodle sits nobly by:

CROSS COUNTRY WOG

The Wog's preschool took their annual cross country ski outing today, and The Wog had a blast. She was particularly excited about the poles, which she doesn't use when she downhill skis.

All the Lilliputians had a great time!


Hanging with cool Chloe:


The Wog has mad skiing skillz:

WOG 'O THE MORNING TO YOU

Kiss them, they're Irish...and Italian and Welsh and Czech and Armenian and Iraqi and French Canadian! Here they are, celebrating their semi-heritage thanks to some snazzy duds from Minnie and Pop-Pop:




(I think he looks like a resident of Whoville in this picture.)





An entirely different kind of mutt, McPiglet dreams of corned beef and cabbage and a life free of persecution (ie. headwear):

THE WOG TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

The other day I put The Wog into the car then walked around to put The Doodle in with her. When I hopped in the front seat I noticed a peculiar smell (dog odor, now I think, we took a long car trip with Piglet last weekend). I said, "What's that smell, Polly?" And her immediate response was, "You."

Here she is being her silly self:

A PRINCESS PLAYDATE

Every playdate between The Wog and Lily begins exactly the same way: as soon as the guest enters (this time Lily came to us), both girls immediately insist upon stripping down and donning all of their princess finery. It's all we can do to keep any of their clothes on, but lately we've been managing okay. There's usually some fighting for the Barbie Island Princess shoes or a particular tiara, but ultimately it works itself out.

They can barely walk in the shoes; here they are hobbling about:


Conspiratorial princesses:


What do princesses watch on television? Other princesses, of course! (Thanks, Minnie, for The Little Mermaid.)


The Doodle, too, is in the dress-up (And St. Patrick's Day!) spirit:

GOODBYE, MEMAIRE

Four generations:



With "Baby Ben":



The Wog loved Memaire...only in small part because Memaire always had chocolates:



A family portrait: