The other day CDF and I asked MDF what she wanted to be when she grew up — where she wanted to work.
“Girls don’t go to work,” was her response, “Girls stay home and work!”
We got quite a kick out of that, and eventually explained that if she wasn’t staying home with children like CDF was, then she could very well have a job outside the home. Eventually I think she decided she might like to be a doctor.
Last Saturday we went up to the park for a family day. It was the first time we had been to this park, but from the website, it looked like a good place to hike. To get there we went along I-40 to I-95 and then went west through Dunn, Erwin, and Lillington. The park was in the piedmont area and was on the Cape Fear river.
We decided to take the Raven Rock trail to the river, a 2.6 mile walk, because we thought it would be the most interesting. Along the way we saw a stream that MDF and CDF played in a little. There were a bunch of other hikers, many with dogs. One couple had a greyhound that they had “rescued” from retirement (often permanent).
The path down to Raven Rock was steep and had lots of steps along the way. The final descent was down wooden stairs that had been built beside a small waterfall. I say waterfall, but it was more like a “water-drip.”
The Raven Rock was a long stretch of rock where ravens used to nest. It had been carved out by the river a long time ago. We had fun looking around at the rocks and walking under the overhang.
We walked along the riverbank for a little, but it was a dead-end, so we soon turned back and continued along the trail that would eventually loop back to the parking lot. MDF walked by herself almost halfway around the 2.6 mile hike, and I only had to carry her on the last stretch back.
This past Sunday we were having breakfast when I took a couple of pictures. The first came about when MDF left her stuffed dog on the floor. She often calls the stuffed dog “Dixie,” though she is quite clear that it is not the real Dixie.
I took Monday, December 4th off so we could go hiking at a park. At first we were thinking about a park near Durham, but then CDF found out about a park, Jones Lake State Park, halfway between Burgaw and Fayettville. So we decided to go there since it was closer.
These are pictures from yesterday. After we set up the Christmas tree, we took pictures so CDF would have them in time to send out with cards.
A couple of Fridays ago (November 22nd) CDF took some pictures of MDF and CEF playing and talking together. One thing that strikes me about this picture is how much MDF resembles CDF when she was little. CDF says CEF looks a lot like me, but I don’t see it yet.
The two girls do get along really well though. We haven’t had any problem with MDF being jealous, or having any sort of dislike for CEF. We’ve also been careful to frame her relationship as a big sister in the most positive way we can.
We had my family over for the Thanksgiving dinner. CDF had suggested it as an alternative to us driving up to Jacksonville to eat at my parents house. It turned out to be a good suggestion.
We had nineteen people total I think, but everyone ate well and had a good time. My parents brought the turkey, stuffing, etc. CDF baked a ham, made sweet-potato casserole, and cooked vegetables. MDF helped me make two pumpkin pies. Dom and Amber brought drinks and dessert. Heidi brought two more desserts.
Sam brought his girlfriend Jackie, and they brought along Tony as well. Seth Davis came on an invitation from my parents (I think). But we had plenty of room, and plenty of food.
CDF and worked out a seating arrangement, and had made place cards with everybody’s names. It turned out well, and everyone seemed to like the idea, and nobody had problems finding someone to talk to. Amber spent a lot of time holding CEF as well — as did Seth.
Nicholas’ birthday was on Thanksgiving this year, so my parents had brought some presents for him to open. We sang “Happy Birthday” to him, and after he had opened coloring books, dinosaur toys, a movie, etc., he started drawing dinosaurs in his new sketch pad. He did a great job too, especially on the “main subject” dinosaur.
On November 3rd we went to the zoo. I took the day off in honor of my birthday (since I had to work the actual Friday after my birthday), and we did a day-trip to Ashboro. It turned out to be a relaxed, enjoyable day.
We left later than expected, but headed off down I-40 toward Raleigh. We stopped once at a rest area near Raleigh to feed CEF and let MDF run around. After that we didn’t stop again until lunch.
We took Highway 64 (?) from Raleigh instead of I-40 all the way, and it turned out to be more of a back road at some points. It went through a number of small towns and we had to slow down to 35 MPH at times. We stopped in Siler City to have lunch. We first tried to eat at a local burger restaurant, but it was popular and packed full — standing room only. So we went down the road to Sir Pizza to eat their buffet.
When we finally got to the zoo, it was almost 3 PM. We figured we had until 6 PM before the zoo closed, but CDF spotted a sign that said it closed at 4 PM during winter months! So we had to rush. We still paid to get in, even though we had an hour left, since we had driven almost all day to get there.
MDF had asked to see the monkeys, but they were on the other side of the park. We did not know how far away that was and decided to walk. That did give us the opportunity to see polar bears, bison, and the gorillas. It was a long walk though. We finally made it to the monkey building and the baboons, especially, put on a show for us.
After that we started making our way out of the park. We stopped to look at the lions, giraffes, zebras, and warthog. I thought we were going to the exit, but when I looked at the map, I realized that if we left by that exit we would end up in the parking lot at the opposite end of the park, not where we needed to be. Fortunately the park has a tram service, and we got to ride the “city bus,” as MDF said, back to the other side.
Once we left the park, we stopped at a Salvation Army Store that CDF had seen on the way in. She and MDF went inside to shop while I fed CEF. But when I was done they still were not done, so I joined them. CDF ended up finding a number of good clothes that day.
For supper we ate at a Bob Evans just outside Raleigh (or maybe Cary, I’m not sure). The Italian sausage and pasta plate I got was delicious, and CDF enjoyed her soup and sandwich combo.
We didn’t get back until 10:45 that night, but it had been a great day.
The other night MDF was talking about imaginary things and told me that there were “muntoos” in the house. She said they didn’t have ears or eyes but they had sharp fingers. Unfortunately she started thinking about them too much and her imagination started running away on it’s own.
I got her down from the table and she wanted me to hold her. I said, “OK, I’ll just step on the muntoos.” That was the wrong thing to say; it just got her thinking more about these things on the floor.
Then I had to put her down and go do something. She said, “no there are muntoos.” And I tried to console her, “Just step on them.” She took me seriously, but certainly did not want to step on anything. So the minute I put her down she started crying.
After that I tried very hard to tell her that these were imaginary things, not real. Eventually it seemed to sink in, and we started talking about the imaginary caterpillars (which were much nicer than muntoos).
MDF has gotten into the Disney “Princesses” thing in a big way. After watching all the movies many times she has really enjoyed getting the costumes for her birthday.