Last week, the Pennsylvania baby cousins spent the entire week at my parents’ place. To give my parents a break, and to allow for my kids to have some extended bonding time with their seldom-seen cuzzes, the babies spent all of Tuesday at our place.

Because the babies are semi-terrified of the great outdoors, one of our goals was to make them spend as much time outside as possible. I kept ordering the kids out, out, out, but the babies squalled whenever they were approached by anything that wagged or purred. My kids ended up lugging them around the whole time.

“Can’t we just come inside, Mom?” my younger daughter sighed. “They hate it out there.”

So I’d relent… for a little. And then I’d shoo them out all over again.

I didn’t really expect anything to change. The kids have been consistent in their dislike of furry things since forever, and we weren’t exactly cajoling them into petting and playing with the animals. The animals were just… there.

But then, late afternoon, the babies pulled a one-eighty. They were all out on the deck—kids and animals—when, suddenly, the babies grew bold. They petted the dogs, shook paws, hauled the cats around, and got down on all fours to scoot under the dogs á la London Bridges.

What a hoot.

This same time, years previous: the quotidian (10.19.15), autumn walk, how to have a donut party, part one, and pumpkin sausage cream sauce.

How much hair falls out of your head when you wash it?

I was discussing this with some people recently and was interested to learn that what I perceived to be a normal amount was considered excessive by others.

This is what I typically gather during my every-other-day hair wash. (After giving birth, the hair loss was 3 or 4 times this amount and seemed to go on forever.)

My younger daughter sheds hair at an alarming rate. I’m constantly picking her hair from her clothes, and when I braid it, I usually collect a whole bouquet of baby-fine blonde hairs that I feed directly to the vacuum nozzle so they won’t waft about the house, haunting me at every turn. On the other hand, my older daughter’s hair sticks firmly to her head.

So, after giving the issue almost zero thought, I’ve come to the brilliant conclusion that some people shed hair and others don’t. (Give me a medal, please.) Which are you?

This same time, years previous: rich, would you come?, Italian cream cake, stats and notes, 2008, and deprivation.

Such a marvelous food.

This same time, years previous: a list, the adjustment, grab and go: help wanted, that thing we do, apple cake, and pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.