The Importance of Diversification

Scene: Geek Girl's bedroom. Evening. A game of Monopoly Jr. is underway.

Daddy Geek looks down at the distribution of $1, $2, $3, $4, and $5 bills he has. He has no $5, but lots of $2. He decides to swap 5 $2s for 2 $5s.

A Geek who shall remain nameless, um, expels gas.

Daddy Geek: [looking at bills] I think I'll diversify.

Geek Girl: Does that mean fart?

Both parents burst out laughing.

Sunday Stroll: One Dog, 13 Ducks, and a Ham

Today, we took advantage of a lovely spring Sunday to wander around the National Mall and enjoy the sights. First, we had a picnic lunch along the Ellipse just south of the White House, enjoying the view of the futbol players and the Washington Monument. Then we had a leisurely stroll to view the south side of the White House and glimpsed a member of the First Family playing with Bo on the South Lawn before we, and all our fellow gawkers, were shooed away by the Secret Service.

Next, the Mall proper, starting at the Washington Monument and heading toward Capitol Hill. We kept being passed by tons of folks leaving the 2010 commencement ceremony for George Washington University - where the speaker was the First Lady. (We never saw or heard her.) Our second, very distant brush with the First Family today...

Afterward, we visited the Sculpture Garden for the National Gallery of Art (Geek Girl loves House 1 by Roy Lichtenstein) and watched lots of happy grads taking pictures there and on the steps of the various museums.

Eventually, we ended up at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, where we had some unexpected sights. First, we came across a mother duck (let's call her Suspicious Duck) with four juvenile ducks. Suspicious Duck was quite vigilant for people - any time someone came a bit too close, she craned her neck, started quacking in a low growl (if you can imagine such a thing), and spread out her feathers. Here is a distant shot:

What are you lookin' at?

Geek Girl wanted to sketch Suspicious Duck and her young ducks, so we walked around the pool to sit in the shade of a big tree. While we were sitting there, she drew quite a nice picture and Mama Geek and I chatted. We were pretty oblivious, but eventually we realized that a crowd had gathered, so we looked around and down. Here's what we saw:


That's Trusting Duck with her seven baby ducklings! She was quacking quietly and they were quacking back - almost cheeps. Really cute, and quite literally within my arm's reach as we sat together.

Trusting Duck wanted to take her babies to swim in the Reflecting Pool, so first, she had to get them off the planter and down onto the ground about two feet below. Here's what that looked like:

Ready...

Set...

Go!

All seven ducklings made the big hop and followed Trusting Duck around the edge of the pool. She kept quacking to guide them, and they very politely waddled along behind her. (How does she get them to do that? Never works for us...) Soon, it became apparent that Trusting Duck didn't really know how she was going to get her babies over the decorative edge into the pool, as it is about two feet high, and the babies were definitely having trouble getting that high with their stubby wings. In the end, Trusting Duck and her babies got a helping hand, or four, from me and two of the other bystanders - we each lifted some very soft, fuzzy duckies onto the lip and they slid on down into the water. Yes, Nai Nai, the hat you gave me does double duty as a duck carrier.

Here is a video of Trusting Duck and her babies swimming around in the Reflecting Pool:

It was time to start heading home, so we wandered past the Air and Space Museum to take in the planet walk along the sidewalk. Geek Girl was fascinated and read every sign in detail, and we talked about some fun facts for each planet, like the fact that a Venusian day is longer than a Venusian year and that the tilt of Uranus' axis of rotation is 82 degrees with respect to the plane of the ecliptic (this involved a pen and some twirling).

Between Uranus and Neptune, we stopped off to see some of Geek Girl's favorite art at the Hirshorn Gallery:



Pluto comes at the Smithsonian Castle, which meant we saw the lovely rose garden - and our Ham in Chief wearing The Giraffe Hat Nai-Nai Sent:


We walked on back to the car, stopping along the way for a snack while watching people play kickball at the Washington Monument and then to toss a certain rubber duck around like a baseball (it's a therapy thing). A yummy zvieri with good coffee and yesterday's dessert leftovers, a really yummy dinner made by Mama Geek, and time for this post.

The postscript: I have just been informed that I am #3 on The Official Geek Girl List of The Best Things in the World, behind drawing and reading ("Because you're sooooo funny, Daddy!"). Mama Geek is none too pleased with being #4. If Geek Girl knows what's good for her, she'll bump Mama Geek up to a tie for third. One thing's for sure, Mama Geek and I will never take the top spot.

Daddy/Daughter Weekend Day 2

Sometimes, I get lucky and things come together by random chance and good moods. This was one of those lucky days.

Today was clear, crisp, and sunny: a perfect outside day. After breakfast - spent sitting at the table reading the Sunday Washington Post (with Geek Girl reading the kid's pages and stealing the comics from me when I wasn't looking) - Geek Girl and I decided to go to the National Zoo to introduce Wholegrain The New Kitty Santa Brought to Tai Shan and the tigers. We walked to the Metro to maximize sun time and chatted the whole way. Much of the walk was taken up with a very complex story involving the Animal Agents (superhero animals that save the day in myriad ways) that I won't try to repeat here.

Geek Girl kept wanting to know how many "points" she was earning -- she gets 100 points for every mile she walks, and the points are redeemable for whatever treats Mama Geek and I deem appropriate. She sometimes plays along with this, but often you can detect the eye rolling already underway. Today, she played along.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #1: "Daddy, I'm glad Mama and [Auntie Geek] are having fun. Mama takes care of me a lot. You don't get to take care of me very often because you have to work. We should have more days like today."

Once at the zoo, we walked through the Asia Trail, stopping along the way to see the fishing cats and watch the otters wrestle. Geek Girl read and asked about all the interpretive signs, and eventually we reached Tai Shan the panda, who was lunching on bamboo and soaking up the sun. Geek Girl "gave him a letter saying Happy New Year" (I just repeat it; I don't explain it) and then announced it was lunchtime. After a quick stop, we headed on down the hill, stopping in the Small Mammals building and the Reptiles building and for extended visits to the elephants, tigers, and lions.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #2 was the extended joyous amazement I felt while watching the flashbulbs of learning going off in her mind as Geek Girl alternated between intense reading of the interpretive signs and questions to me about various aspects of what she was seeing. "Daddy, what would you do if there was an elephant soooo big it could jump over the railing and walk around? Or soooo small it could duck under the electric fence and walk around?" "Daddy, what does 'om-ni-vor-ous' mean?" "Daddy, I learned that a woman's ov-i-duc-ts and a lizard's don't go to the same place. And *you* don't have o-vi-duc-ts! And what is a u-ter-us anyway?" (This exchange was particularly funny as there was a grandmotherly lady standing there reading the same sign and trying not to laugh, especially about me being informed I lack Fallopian tubes.) "Wow, that tiger sure looks hungry. I hope it doesn't swim across the moat and climb up here. You know, tigers are really good swimmers, Daddy." "Daddy, what would you do if the tiger came to get us? I think I'd have to fight it. I'm a Super Dragon, you know." "Daddy, that donkey was sooooo soft and fuzzy!" At one point, a random dad we had repeatedly run into said, "Wow, that sure is a little girl with one big personality!" That about sums it up.

We left the zoo only because it was closing and only after promises to return soon to see all the other stuff we didn't see, and walked up the hill into Adams Morgan where we found a small playground for Geek Girl to enjoy as the sun set. Next stop: coffee (for me), hot chocolate (her), and small snacks (both of us) while we warmed up, and then a walk to the Dupont Circle metro.

As we left the coffee place: "Daddy, tell me another Little People story! It's been sooooo long since you told me one." [For those who don't know: the Little People are really small people who live in our apartment and go on adventures around it, experiencing everyday objects as huge mountains, lakes, vines, fields, etc. Each story has a mystery Geek Girl has to solve, like the time the Little People visited the Cave Monster (my tongue as I snored with my mouth open) under Two-Cave Mountain (my big schnoz). The Little People first appeared when Geek Girl was freaked out about a small boogie boarding accident and I needed to calm her down by giving her a puzzle to solve. They've been a hit ever since. Desperate fathers take note: some spur-of-the-moment things are winners, but be prepared for them to last.] This time, the Little People went on a three-day journey from Geek Girl's bedroom, through her bathroom, and to the bananas on our counter for the Festival of the Yellow Tubes. This story carried us all the way back to East Falls Church, and then we walked home with Geek Girl talking about the different types of dragons and various other Animal Agents.

We stopped off for dinner at a local place where Geek Girl Magic Moment #3 happened: spontaneous consumption of vegetable matter. In mid-sentence, she looked down at her plate and said with immense seriousness: "I'm going to eat one of those carrots. Super Dragons don't usually eat carrots, 'cause we're predators, but I'm going to eat you, Mr. Carrot." And she did. I asked her to eat another one, and this time the response was: "Super Dragons don't usually eat carrots, but sometimes they will if their Daddies tell them to." "Good, sweetie, now finish that one, please."

We rounded out the day with a game of Monopoly, Jr. and a book before Geek Girl headed to bed. She fell asleep almost instantly and is now happily snoring away, which is hardly surprising when you consider that she earned about 600 points today and probably asked just as many questions along the way.

Daddy/Daughter Weekend Day 1

Auntie Geek is visiting us for a couple of weeks, and she and Mama Geek are off on a sister's trip to New York this weekend. That means Geek Girl and I are on our own for a Daddy/Daughter Weekend. I've really been looking forward to it, and I didn't realize how much Geek Girl has as well.

Yesterday was grey and damp, but above freezing for the first time in a while. Geek Girl and I drove Mama Geek and Auntie Geek to their bus for New York, and then headed into DC to pass a drizzly day. First stop: the National Building Museum, which we had heard was full of fun things for kids and certainly was full of families when we visited. Unfortunately, Geek Girl was bored by the activities, which were aimed at younger kids or kids more interested in buildings and architecture, so after about an hour, we headed off the National Museum of the American Indian, where Mama Geek and Auntie Geek lunched the other day; they highly recommended it.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #1 came on the way into the museum, when she spontaneously grabbed my hand and informed me very seriously of the top five things I do that show her that I love her, including this gem: "You take me to museums and explain things to me, even when I ask a lot of questions." (Have we ever mentioned she's inquisitive? An hourlong visit to a museum can easily involve a dozen or more "Daddy, why...?/Well, sweetie,..." exchanges.)

Geek Girl enjoyed her chicken fingers while I ate venison with greens and cornbread (yum!), and afterward, Geek Girl led us on a tour of one of the galleries. She was interested in the different interpretations of the universe that were held by the different cultures, and especially in the loop of videos showing traditional stories on stars and constellations. We also enjoyed some music and a little talking time before deciding to head home via Dairy Godmother in Alexandria (highly recommended). We had a low-key dinner and read books together before bedtime.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #2 came when she cuddled up with me on the couch, put her head on my shoulder, and said very seriously: "Daddy, I really love it when you read me bedtime books even when you're tired." A very nice way to end the day.

Grammar tips from Geek Girl

The following scene just played out in The Geeks' living room:

Geek Girl: My towel is wet.

Parent: Put it where the washer and dryer is.

Geek Girl: You mean "are". You said "is", but you should have said "are".

Parent: Now *she's* correcting me!

To be fair, our washer and dryer are a single stacked unit with the washer on the bottom. But the parent in question regularly endures corrections from the other of us - and now Geek Girl, too.

Sweets at the bakery

The other day, she and I had a fun afternoon together. I picked her up from an art class and we walked home together. Along the way, we stopped by the park near the class where she and her classmates went to play, and then we stopped off at a nice little cafe for Zvieri. I had an espresso, she had water, and we shared a small chocolate tartlet. Yum.

In the background, they were playing classical music, and Geek Girl really liked it. At one point, she leaned forward and sweetly told me, "Daddy, this music makes me remember how much I love you and Mama. All the way to Narnia and back!" Awwww...

She can be a sweetie, that's for sure.

Mud Pies: Serious Business

Mama Geek's post on our San Diego trip left out a blog-worthy quote from Geek Girl.

Geek Girl loves to play on the beach on vacation. She can spend hours digging holes and canals connecting them ("lakes and rivers, Daddy!"), making mud pies, and getting sand in her hair. Splashing in the water is a distant second in her opinion.

Apparently, Mama Geek and Geek Girl were building mud pies and lakes/rivers on the beach when MG went out to splash a bit and cool off in the waves. After a few minutes of this tomfoolery, GG marched up to MG and said sternly, "Mama, come back now! We have work to do!"

Mud pies: serious business.