Let’s Get Wet

Summer in Houston usually arrives early in May, but was late this year and most of May was mild, even — for a few days — cool. But, summer is here now and for most kids, that requires getting wet. Since we turned the little pool into a sandbox and haven’t yet gotten a new one, we needed an alternative, so Yia-Yia bought this cheap plastic turtle sprinkler. The Lilz thinks it’s very cool.

Spring Rain

A late cold front blew into Houston today, dropping temperatures 20 degrees in a couple of hours, and sprinkling rain over our favorite playgrounds. Certain small girls think rain and cold need investigation, and so we visited the pool in the JCC’s Mystic Garden while one of her great-grandmothers did her physical therapy.

Lillian helpfully pulled leaves (“leaves wet,” she observed) and bamboo shoots (“bamboo wet,” she noted) and rocks (“rocks wet,” she opined) from the edge of the pool (“water wet,” she concluded). She turned her face to the sky and, as the raindrops splashed on her face, announced that the rain, too, was wet.

Experimenting

As Lillian has passed the advanced age of two years and seven months, she has become much more independent, happily playing in the backyard and inventing new toys from sticks and mud and bird feathers, and experimenting with the uses of water — in the picture above she is spreading a thin film of water on the stone table. When she finished, she tested the hydro planing capabilities of a number of objects, sliding them across to see how quickly they would crash.

Her final experiment involved the hydro planing capabilities of her own bottom.

She discovered that girls’ bottoms hydro plane very well, and she forgot her independence for a little while to seek out some grandfatherly comfort.

A Cup and a Faucet

The stores are full of expensive toys, but a cup and the kitchen faucet can keep a girl entertained just as well.

Water Worship

at the Russ Pitman Nature Center in Bellaire. Lillian really likes water.

Cooling Off Again

Relaxing

It’s July in Houston and it’s hot. (You could say that about April, May, June, August, September and October in Houston, too. And sometimes the rest of the months, too.) Lillian likes water, whether it’s in the pool, in a dog’s bowl, in the rain, in a puddle — if it’s wet, she will find it.

Beating the Heat: A Video

Lillian believes that when the weather is hot, one should wear as few clothes as one’s mom will allow; it’s easier to get mom to let you strip down when there’s water involved. And, once you get going, in the interest of science you need to see what will happen when you shovel dirt into the pool.

Enjoying a Spring Day

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Lillian sometimes seems to be a small energy source wrapped in a layer of skin: she goes and goes until she runs down, sleeps and recharges then starts again.

She’s developed a temper and throws the occasional tantrum, but learned early on that throwing yourself violently to the floor can cause pain. Now, she carefully lowers herself to the floor, eases her head back, looks around to see who is watching; only then does she let loose.

Her pediatrician was happy to hear that she’s reached the tantrum stage: it’s another sign that she’s on target developmentally; mom and dad aren’t quite as thrilled with this developmental stage.

Lili had her first ever bout with cold and fever: as a precaution, we went and had her lungs x-rayed at Texas Children’s: happily, they were clear. She has passed on the cold to her mom, dad, grandma Nancy and great-grandfather. Not one has sent her a thank-you note.

Water Baby

I like water.

Splash Talkin’: A Video