Donuts and Joes

Every Thursday we get Ace and Hayley off to school and then the baby girls and I (and Andy, most days) head off to Dunkin Donuts and then Trader Joes for some goodies. Julia LOVES this routine, so much so that every Wednesday we sing this song together at bedtime:
"Donuts and Joes, Donuts and Joes
Oh how we love, Donuts and Joes.
So get in your bed and cover your toes
Cause tomorrow we'll have donuts and Joes"

And every Thursday starting around 7am, Julia starts yelling HOW BOUT DOUGHNUTS??? HOW BOUT JOES?!

The funniest thing about our routine is that from the time we get out of the car at Dunkin Donuts to the time we get back in the car after Joes, Julia is almost completely silent. She is so busy taking everything in that she barely says a word (except the occasional "How bout those?" when she points out something she wants in the store) I keep blabbering on to her wherever we are and sometimes she'll acknowledge me with a word or two, but that's about it. A few weeks ago she actually fell out of her chair while eating her doughnut because she was so busy people watching that she forgot she was sitting sideways in the chair and there was no back to lean against. She is an observer, that is for sure.

Once we walk in the house after our morning out, she starts talking about everything we saw and I realize just how much I miss by not being silent. Today she told me all about the man pushing snow off the roof, the oranges that we left in the cart (information that would have come in handy before I wondered if I was going crazy because I could not find the oranges that I swear I bought), and dozens of other things that she noticed this morning.

Hayley seems to have inherited my genes for chattiness, she likes to talk about everything. Julia, on the other hand, is Daddy's girl. They both silently soak in what is happening around them.