Happy Birthday Hazel!

Today is officially Hazel's 1st birthday. I was pretty excited to wake her up this morning. She didn't know any better of course, but I was anxious just to see her today. It seems so long ago for me that she was born, but it went by so quickly. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's how I feel.

Yesterday Meg told me she started using a spoon to feed herself yogurt at breakfast. By lunchtime she was skilled enough to use it to steal food from her friend Marlow's plate!

I didn't find much coin yesterday.

1,120 quarters had just one Canadian, one UK 10 pence and two US nickels.

400 dimes had one Swiss 10 Rappen and one Singapore 10¢.

440 nickels had nothing.

1,650 pennies had twenty-one Wheats and fifteen Canadians.

1910, 1938, 1942(2), 1944(2), 1945(5), 1946, 1946S, 1950, 1952, 1952D, 1955(2), 1956D, 1957, 1958

Found: 6 pennies

Yesterday morning I had a really nice time with Hazel. She got up before Meg and Henry and we had about half an hour together to play and watch birds. Here she is in one of her favorite spots watching birds in our backyard.





Meg had an interesting conversation with Henry that she e-mailed me about:

"We need to get new library books because mine are dead."
"You mean you're done with your library books?"
"Yes, and they dead."
"Your books are dead?"
"Yes, because I read them a lot."

I searched a lot of coin last night, but the results were pretty boring.

8,000 quarters had seven Canadians, one German Mark, one US nickel, one US dime and two US pennies.

2,100 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1950) and four Canadians.

1,400 nickels yielded one War Time (1944P) and one US penny.

5,000 pennies turned up seventeen Wheats, thirty-two Canadians, one UK penny, one Bermuda 10¢ and thirteen US dimes.

1918, 1940(2), 1944, 1949, 1952D, 195392), 1953D, 1955D, 1956D(2), 1957(2), 1957D(3)

Found: 2 pennies

Happy Birthday!

This weekend we celebrated Hazel's first birthday with a big party for family and friends. It was a short kid party, 11AM-2PM (those are her best hours). We ate and played inside and outside. Lots of kids made use of our sandbox and Hazel's new water table. Meg made all of the delicious lunch food and a special birdhouse case (Hazel's into birds these days).



Meg and Hazel.



The cake.



Hazel in her birthday crown.



Hazel enjoying her cake. She was totally covered after this as one can imagine. I bathed her in the sink quickly and put her in a second outfit.



Hazel looking at her gifts. She was really good about this. Henry and the other kids were too.



Hazel at her water table.



Hazel and Henry sharing her baby stroller. They don't like to share this toy too often. It's the one toy they both seem to want to use. Hazel likes to dance a bit to the sounds it makes.



Hazel playing with bubbles at a nearby soccer field.



Henry chasing his helicopter toy.

My coins weren't too exciting this weekend.

66 small dollars had nothing.

8,000 half dollars turned up two 90% silver halves (2 x 1964D) and nine 40% silver halves (1966, 4 x 1967, 4 x 1968D).

80 quarters had nothing.

700 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1964) and one Canadian.

160 nickels had nothing.

5,750 pennies rounded up thirty-five Wheats, twenty-six Canadians, two US dimes, one UK penny and one Malta 1¢ (1991). The Maltese coin is a new type for me.



1918, 1929, 1949, 1957D, 1958 (incomplete list)

Found: 4 pennies, 1 quarter, 3 foreign coins (1 Canadian dime, 2 Canadian quarters)

Now That's What I'm Talking About

Yesterday Meg called me at work to say that Hazel just started walking with the play shopping cart we have at home! Here's some video proof.



Here are few pictures we've taken lately.



Henry and I picking strawberries.



The team.



Me and the kids enjoying an awesome Father's Day picnic Meg made in our backyard.



Hazel hanging out, playing with Henry's pajamas.



Henry trying out his new golf bag (he calls it his golf cart). This morning Meg told me that while running around with this he said, "I'm acting crazy again, Mom!"

Last night's coins were really good to me.

600 small dollars and 10 half dollars had nothing.

3,960 quarters turned up one silver Washington (1949), four Canadians, five US nickels and one Bermuda 25¢. That's the first new silver quarter I've found since February. I was quite pleased. It's one of the rarer ones I've found; 9,312,000 were minted.



4,400 dimes produced three silver Rosies (1952D, 1957, 1960D), eight Canadians (including a 1917, 92.5% silver), one US penny and one Bermuda 10¢. The 1917 Canadian dime is the first George V coin I've found in some time. It's the oldest Canadian dime, oldest Canadian coin and 8th oldest foreign coin I've found. Fortunately I can just make out the date if I hold coin at a certain angle close to a lamp.



1,800 nickels had just one War Time (1945P) and two Canadians.

4,850 pennies yielded one proof penny (1963), thirty-one Wheats, thirty-two Canadians and two US dimes.



1929, 1936, 1937, 1940(3), 1942(2), 1942D, 1944(3), 1944D, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950S, 1951D, 1952, 1953, 1955(2), 1956D, 1957(2), 1957D, 1958, 1958D(4)

Found: 2 pennies

2,480 quarters had one Canadian (1963, 80% silver) and one US nickel.

2,400 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1954), one Canadian and two Cayman Islands 5¢.

1,320 nickels rounded up two War Times (1943S, 1945P), three Canadians and one Brazil 10¢.

1,000 pennies yielded six Wheats, ten Canadians and one US dime.

1944, 1946, 1947S, 1953, 1956, 1957D

Yesterday's coin ... searched while enjoying an awesome piece of Meg-made Key Lime Pie!

300 small dollars, 265 half dollars and 1,320 quarter produced nothing.

950 dimes turned up one silver Rosie (1964D) and two Canadians.

1,160 nickels had one dateless Buffalo (it's got a D mint mark) and one War Time (1945S).

8,200 pennies turned up fifty-six Wheats, forty-five Canadians, four US dimes and one Bermuda 1¢. The 1923S I found in this batch is the only the third example of this I've found. It's a pretty rare one, 8.7 million were minted. Darn, I wish this one I needed.

1910, 1923S, 1928, 1937, 1940, 1940S, 1941(2), 1944(5), 1945(2), 1946(4), 1946D, 1947, 1947S, 1948S, 1949, 1951, 1951D, 1952, 1952D, 1953(4), 1953D(2), 1954D, 1954S, 1955D, 1956(4), 1956D(2), 1957(2), 1957D(7), 1958, 1958D(3)

Found: 1 dime

Happy Fathers' Day!

Happy Fathers' Day! This weekend was the best Fathers' Day yet for me. Maybe it is because I'm now a father twice over, who knows?

We had a good time picking strawberries, eating donuts and playing on the playground at my favorite local farm. I took the kids to the toy store to look for something for Hazel. Meg made a great meal for a special backyard picnic that night. After church on Sunday I took Henry with his cousins, my sister and brother-in-law to their town's fireman rally. There were lots of old time firetrucks there to see. Henry wasn't happy at all with the sirens, but otherwise had lots of fun. We then spent time at my sister's for a special Fathers' Day lunch. And in the evening Meg made another special meal for me.

Coincidentally the kids gave us two days of simultaneous weekend napping!

My coins this weekend were pretty lackluster.

32 small dollars had nothing.

8,000 half dollars turned up just one 90% silver half (1962) and two 40% silver halves (1967, 1968D).

Found: 2 pennies, 1 quarter

Here's a picture of Henry helping us spread mulch a few weeks back. It was good to see him use his little shovel to fill his wheelbarrow with mulch and then push it over to where we were spreading it. He isn't always entirely helpful, but we appreciate it.



This morning I left the living room briefly and when I came back Hazel had pulled herself up, grabbed my pen and started scribbling on a sheet a paper! It's the first time I've seen her do it. She's also using a fork a little bit.

2 large dollars, 502 small dollars and 24 halves had nothing.

800 quarters turned up one silver Washington (1964), two Canadians (one was the 2008 Bobsleigh, a new one for me), one US penny and a French franc. This silver quarter breaks my no-silver-quarter-streak.

1,000 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1959D), two Canadians and one US penny.

1,600 nickels had one War Time (1943P) and six Canadians (1 Ni).

11,550 pennies rounded up one proof penny (1996S), sixty-three Wheats, sixty-six Canadians, seven US dimes, one Euro 2¢, one Panama 1¢ and one Australian 1¢. The 1996S penny is now the rarest by mintage penny I've found, 2,525,265 were minted.

1919, 1930, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944(4), 1945(9), 1946(5), 1946D, 1947(2), 1948, 1949(2), 1949D, 1950(2), 1951(2), 1951D(2), 1952(3), 1952D(4), 1953, 1953D, 1954D(2), 1955(3), 1955D, 1956D(4), 1957D(5), 1958(2)

I was hoping for a better night of sleep last night, but it was not to be. I am pretty proud of myself for calming Hazel down, however. I think Meg was even able to sleep through some of it all because she was so darn exhausted, but I haven't even had time to talk to Meg yet to ask. Henry got up really early with me too.

Hazel's been doing some pretty funny things while she's been awake. She's now nodding "yes," trying to use a fork (she manages to use it now and then, hope she can re-show her brother how!), playing with a little broom and standing a bit on her own. This weekend we're going to have some fun looking for presents for her. Hopefully Henry is agreeable to this. I'm just having a really hard time thinking of what to get her. It's not easy when you're big brother has most everything already.

Henry's sleeping has fortunately gotten a little better. He now needs a cup of warm chocolate milk (doesn't help that this is right after teeth brushing) to go down, but at least he isn't coming downstairs continuously anymore. We've had a lot fun reading some new books at night. That's definitely something I look forward to everyday. It's such a joy to watch his mind work when he's trying to find something on a page.

Yesterday I was hoping to get out of two coin slumps. It feels like a while since I've turned up a good amount of coin and long time since I've found a silver quarter. It was not to be.

28 small dollars had nothing.

2,720 quarters had just three Canadians and one Barbados 25¢.

2,200 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1962D), three Canadians, one Swiss ½ franc, one Aruba 10¢ and one UK 5 pence. That was a pretty nice mix.

1,840 nickels turned up one War Time (1942S), one Canadian, one US dime, one Aruba 25¢ and a new modern one for me, the 2011P. As far as silver War nickels go, I've now found all but the 1943D this year.

3,350 pennies rounded up fourteen Wheats, twenty-two Canadians and one US dime.

1939(2), 1944(4), 1944D, 1946, 1949, 1952, 1954D, 1956D, 1957(2)

I'll have to write some stories later, but for right now I'm pretty tired. Hazel didn't sleep much at all last night. :(

2 large dollars and 39 small dollars turned up one mint set dollar (2002P) and one new modern dollar, 2011P Grant.

8,010 halves yielded five 90% silver halves (1945, 1963D, 3 x 1964) and twenty-one 40% silver halves (1965, 1966, 7 x 1967, 6 x 1968D, 6 x 1969D).

880 quarters produced one proof quarter (2005S Oregon), four Canadians, one US nickel and one Bermuda 25¢. The proof quarter is really scuffed up. I'm kind of surprised I spotted it. It's a new one for me though, so it's a keeper!

2,300 dimes gave up just three Canadians, one UK 5 pence and an East Caribbean States 10¢.

1,120 nickels had one War Time (1945P) and four Canadians.

6,250 pennies rounded up thirty Wheats and twenty-eight Canadians.

1939, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1945(2), 1945D, 1946(4), 1946D, 1948, 1948D, 1949D, 1952D(2), 1953(2), 1955, 1955D(2), 1956(3), 1956D(3), 1957, 1957D

Found: 8 pennies, 2 nickels, 2 dimes

I didn't turn up much yesterday.

30 small dollars and 950 dimes had nothing.

500 pennies produced three Wheats (1946D, 1951, 1957) and three Canadians.

5 small dollars and 2 half dollars had two mint set halves (2011P, 2011D). That's a 100% keeper rate for the halves!

7,600 quarters had four Canadians. That was a whole lotta nothing!

2,000 dimes produced five Canadians, one UK 5 pence and one US penny.

1,120 nickels yielded one War Time (1943S), two Canadians, one US dime and one US penny. In this batch I also found a new modern nickel, 2011D.

2,000 pennies turned up seven Wheats and sixteen Canadians.

1909, 1919, 1937, 1944D, 1948, 1951D, 1952D

It seems like everyday Henry has some new funny phrase or conversation with one of us. Lately he's been saying, "Why I not Think of That?" a lot. He also told me a few days ago that for Hazel's birthday Meg should make carrot cake and that Hazel would like babies (dolls) and cars.

Hazel is also quite a comedian. Her personality is really coming forth these days. She's still a pretty cranky kid (no one can scream and fuss quite like her), but she's also has seemed to really enjoy making us smile with her loud monsters sounds and dance moves.

My coins last night were so-so ... until I searched the pennies then things picked up.

270 small dollars, 4 large dollars, 960 half dollars had nothing.

2,920 quarters produced four Canadians, one East Caribbean States 25¢, three US nickels, 2 US pennies and one US dime.

3,000 dimes yielded two silver Rosies (1951, 1964D) and five Canadians.

2,160 nickels rounded up one War Time (1944P), six Canadians (1 Ni), one Euro 10¢, one German 50 Pfennig and one US penny.

3,100 pennies got me one Indian Head (1908), thirteen Wheats, sixteen Canadians and four US dimes. That's a pretty good Indian Head to find. I've found a couple others of that year, but only 32 million or so were minted. It was especially cool finding two in two weeks. I also found in this mix another example of my rarest (by mintage) Wheat penny, the 1931D. It is not in better condition than the first copy, but it was still cool to find another ... I just really wish it were a penny I need!

1931D, 1936, 194?, 1944, 1945(2), 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1953D(2)

Why I not Think of That?

8,001 halves turned up twenty 90% silver halves (1944, 2 x 1952D, 1962, 1963, 1963D, 12 x 1964, 2 x 1964), seventy-three 40% silver halves (3 x 1966, 11 x 1966, 17 x 1967, 30 x 1968D, 12 x 1969D) and two proof halves (1984S, 1989S).

5,000 pennies rounded up thirty-six Wheats, forty-seven Canadians and one Panama 1¢. In the bunch was a new modern one for me, 2011D, and a penny stamped with 4-23-72. The 16th Apollo moon mission.

1919, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1941(2), 1942(2), 1944(4), 1945(3), 1946(3), 1947(2), 1948(2), 1949, 1949S, 1952, 1952D, 1953D(2), 1954D, 1956, 1956D(2), 1957D, 1958, 1958D

Found: 2 pennies, 1 quarter, 1 foreign coin (a french franc)

Strange Thoughts

Henry told Meg he had a nightmare about the ice cream truck; he was riding inside of it. For the past two weeks or so Henry has been absolutely obsessed with the ice cream truck that comes by our house almost everyday (sometimes twice). "Ice cream truck come today? Why ice cream truck not come?" Today he told me, "ice cream truck play Christmas song." I didn't even know he knew word Christmas.

Before bedtime Henry asked me, "we change poop tomorrow?" I said, "um, I don't think so."

Hazel had fun on the train today. She doesn't seem to be scared of loud sounds like her brother. She's also been enjoying the new little kids area at the science museum.

I didn't turn up that much coin today.

167 small dollars and one half had one mint set dollar (2008D). There was also a 2001D small dollar in there that was stamped "9/11."

2,000 quarters produce nothing ... boo.

120 nickels had squat.

2,000 pennies turned up thirty-six Wheats and fifteen Canadians. About 1/3 of the rolls were 1960's pennies and really worn, really old Wheats. I had a really hard time reading the dates on most if I could at all.

19??(9), 19?9D, 1918(2), 1918D?, 1919D, 1919S?, 1920, 1934, 1940, 1941, 1943(2), 1944, 1946, 1948S, 1951D, 1955(3), 1955D(2), 1956(2), 1956D(3)

T-Storms and Tornados

It was one weird night at our house last night, but we're very thankful our town wasn't hit by a tornado and can't stop thinking about those that were affected.

We spent some time in basement because of the tornado warning. Henry found it fun down there and was glad he couldn't hear the thunder as much. His quote of the day, "I not like thunderstorms ... I not say they hurt me. I not like them because they're loud." (That's probably why he doesn't like the ice cream truck either.) He slept through some of later storms, but I later brought him downstairs to spend some time with us. He fell asleep on the couch watching Curious George.

5 small dollars and 1 half had nothing.

2,080 quarters produced four Canadians.

3,600 dimes yielded one silver Rosie (1951) and three Canadians.

1,960 nickels turned up one Buffalo (1935), one War Time (1945D) and three Canadians. I also might have found a 1963 Proof, but I'm not sure yet. I have to study it a bit more.

4,950 pennies rounded up just eleven Wheats and twenty-six Canadians.

1944(2), 1944D, 1949(2), 1952, 1953D, 1957, 1957D(4)

Henry's confusion over sunscreen continued yesterday. He told Meg that because he had sunscreen on he could wear his winter coat. I guess he just likes winter clothing!

81 small dollars had nothing.

782 half dollars produced just one 40% silver half (1967).

1,920 quarters yielded four Canadians and one UK 10 pence.

4,050 dimes turned up five Canadians, one Swiss ½ franc, one UK 5 pence and one Irish 5 pence.

1,400 nickels rounded up three Canadians (3 Ni).

4,600 pennies produced one Indian Head (1900), twenty-five Wheats, twenty-eight Canadians and four US dimes. One of the Memorial pennies was stamped with "I Love You" in a small heart on the obverse.



1938(2), 1944(2), 1945, 1946(2), 1947, 1948, 1952D, 1953(2), 1953D, 1954D, 1955D, 1956, 1956D(3), 1957D(3), 1958D(3)