Happiness is...dancing on the BIG piano at FAO Schwarz !
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
The First Year-And-A-Half
As seen in New York Family Magazine: http://www.newyorkfamily.com/the-first-year-and-a-half/
From mastering animal sounds to throwing pretend tea parties, a toddler shares with us the highlights of turning 18 months.
From mastering animal sounds to throwing pretend tea parties, a toddler shares with us the highlights of turning 18 months.
Dream: I am pushing my baby doll down the street in her stroller. Baby has learned so much in the past months thanks to my fabulous parenting. Baby walks and talks and is developing a lovely disposition and personality. She is strong, smart, independent, sweet, and pretty adorable (if you ask me). We turn the corner and head into our apartment building. Our doorman, Mr. Andrew, greets us with smiles and high fives. He alerts me that I have a package, but I tell him to just give it to Mommy later. Baby and I are tired and want to grab a quick lunch before nap time. Hopefully, Mommy made us grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum, yum!Reality: I am reclining in my stroller seat as Mommy pushes me home from a Music Together class. We sang a special “Happy Birthday” for my half-birthday. What a special day! Can you believe I am 18-months-old already? Time flies when you’re an Elle Belle! And this baby has learned so much in 1.5 years–it is remarkable. I am so strong, smart, and independent. And if you ask me, I am a natural learner. Well, I guess Mommy helps me learn a little. As we continue our stroll, I start daydreaming about making a documentary about me, the super duper one-and-a-half-year-old.
I know the perfect song to kick it off: “Harder, better, faster, stronger…” These are Kanye’s words that I live by. I can walk along with my baby stroller, run endlessly, climb stairs, push my radio flyer wagon, kick a ball, jump on the trampoline, and even undress myself. That last one comes in handy when Mommy asks me if I want to wear something and I say, “No,” and she puts it on me anyway. I can just take it off and say, “No way!” As you see, I am strong physically as well as when it comes to willpower.
I am told that I am one smart cookie. My vocabulary is rapidly growing as is my comprehension. I articulately say many words with authority, especially: No way, doggie, golf, cupcake, grilled cheese, and bye bye. Leading sing-a-longs and reciting key segments of my favorite books are other smartypants pastimes. I also know my colors, letters, and numbers. I know that while my favorite color is blue, not all colors are blue (some are red and purple). I can sing the alphabet song with gusto, and I can clearly count to 10, even if I do use the number two for one and two (just until I learn to say “one” properly).
I am a budding artist, coloring on paper with crayons. And I mastered my animals and making their corresponding sounds, learned my shapes and can fit them into my shape sorter like a pro, and spent endless hours identifying my body parts and also finding them on my dolls. My favorite body part for now is the belly button. When I touch Mommy’s, it makes her go, Hee hee! How silly! And the list goes on. Are you floored yet? My grandparents are!
I am also sweeter than sweet. I must say I am quite affectionate with those I know and love. I understand letting friends deliver high fives and will even give a whole ten if I am in a giving mood. I have mastered the art of giving nice, gentle kisses as well as blowing a kiss (which was no easy task). I also learned that I should not kiss with my tongue: this is reserved for puppies and the French. (That’s what Daddy told me.) And I love to deliver bear hugs and know Mommy and Daddy love getting them.
When I want to be, I can also be pretty adorable. Playing pretend is off-the-charts fun and everyone loves to play with me. I host the most fabulous tea parties! We cheers with our tea cups, with fresh brewed tea, and I make homemade tea sandwiches. Delish! And I am pretty cute when playing a pretend mommy and caring for my baby dolls. I even spice things up by being a crazy, cool mommy, letting Baby bounce on my legs as we sing our favorite Music Together song, “Trot Old Joe.” But I have to stop playing with Baby when the phone rings. I pretend to answer–it’s always Daddy! “Hieeee!,” I say with enthusiasm and I mind my manners and always say “bye bye” before I hang up (even if Daddy is still talking while I do so). But everyone’s favorite is when I pretend to get ready with my makeup mirror and say: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Elle!”
I am exhausted just thinking about all the great life accomplishments I’ve achieved so far–and I am only 18-months-old! I am pretty sure I will have to make a mini-series instead of a documentary.
As my day dream bubble pops, I realize I am hungry and Mommy already got us home and made me grilled cheese. Yum, yum! Who knows what can happen next? Maybe I will even use the potty soon.
Happiness is...
Happiness is...an amazing half birthday! And an amazing half birthday cake!
Happy 18 months!
City Kid Meets the Country
As seen in New York Family Magazine: http://www.newyorkfamily.com/city-kid-meets-the-country/
For a toddler born in the Big Apple, a country getaway is full of wonder.
Dream: New York City was sweltering and I longed for a cooler place to escape to. Then I envisioned something amazing: instead of pushing my baby stroller up and down city streets with Mommy walking Puppy on a leash beside me–the three of us popping into my favorite air-conditioned boutiques to cool off–I saw myself running through endless sidewalks of grass with puppy sprinting ahead of me off his leash into giant puddles of water (Mommy called them lakes?). Could this place be real?Reality: I wasn’t sure about leaving the big city, but my recent trip outside NYC was a wonderful break from the heat. This place was beautiful! I had never seen so much green in one place except in my storybooks. I could feel the moist grass tickling my toes through my sandals. I ran to the left and then to the right and there was still more pretty things to see. I ran across bridges, over water and along stone paths. And I climbed up a foothill and slid down a rock stairwell. It was like nature’s own obstacle course. And in the middle of it all were lots of rivers and flowers. I must have been in paradise, but Mommy called it…the country.
I ran as fast as I could chasing after my puppy. He sprinted so fast and jumped so high that he looked like a jackrabbit! While we were playing, I tripped over my tiny toes and fell into a pile of soft grass. I reached down and felt it with my fingers. Not knowing my own strength, I ripped some up from the ground and the little blades blew away as they fell from my hand. It was so stimulating that I did it a few more times. And then puppy came and gobbled the grass up. Yuck!
Soon after, Puppy and I were running nonstop (again). Mommy and Daddy could barely keep up with us. It looked like a family choo choo train with puppy up front, followed by me close behind, and Mommy as the caboose. Mommy called for me to come back, but before I could even protest I spotted ducks in a lake. I ran up to the lake and, taking Mommy’s hand in mine, leaned close and gave my best, quack, quack! And guess what? The ducks quacked right back. We started quacking up a storm. When we first counted the ducks, there were only five, but by the end I was making such great duck conversation that Mommy counted 25. I saw ducks in all different sizes and shapes that made a beautiful family.
While the ducks were fun and all, I soon tired of quacking and looked for different company. Puppy led us through trails to a farm. I met llamas, donkeys, chickens, roosters, peacocks, and lots of other animal friends. The chickens and roosters said I could bawk, bawk (imagine me flapping my wings while making the sound to get the full effect) and cock-a-doodle-doo better than they could! Daddy pointed out that the inn where we were staying had a farm-to-table restaurant and Mommy said not to tell me or I’d be a vegetarian. (Note: I had pasta for dinner that night.)
After lunch, I tried to make a run for it toward more animals but stopped short in my tracks when I saw an electric fence. Yikes! Who thinks of such cruel things? I know I certainly don’t like boundaries. I hope they never make electric fences on playpens for kiddos like me! Before I could further reflect on that awful invention, Daddy was right there to scoop me up and somehow redirected my attention.
We were on our way up a very rocky and wet path. Clearly, I was strong enough to hike but Daddy needed an extra workout to keep in good shape. So he picked me up and Mommy and puppy followed. Before I knew it, we were staring at the biggest shower I had ever seen. Mommy said it was nature’s shower and called it a waterfall. It was breathtaking. Literally, I don’t think I moved or said anything for at least a millisecond. I watched the water fall down the mountainside and into the lake below. Sometimes it splashed off rocks or tree limbs first and other times it shot straight down.
I found a tree swing and the four of us (puppy included) cuddled up on it to enjoy the view. All I could think was, I am not in NYC anymore. Here, rocks touched the sky instead of buildings. You could hear birds tweet instead of pigeons gobble crumbs (rats with wings, as Daddy calls them). The water lightly falling on me from above was from a waterfall instead of an icky air-conditioning unit. The simple wonders of the country were simply wonderful!
Our weekend in the country was full of more natural wonders, too. I played hide and seek with Mommy in corn stalks. I chased puppy through weeping willow branches. I climbed up a tree and swung from one of its branches (Mommy helped a bit). I actually saw stars in the sky and not just airplane lights. And I played hard and slept even harder, falling asleep to real nature sounds–not the ones on my sound machine.
By the time we got back in our car to head back to the big city, I was so tuckered out from my country adventure that I could barely keep one eye open to watch the inn get smaller and smaller out the rear view window. When I woke, it was to the familiar city sounds of cars honking and sirens blaring. There’s no place like home!
Happiness is...
Happiness is ...a beach weekend! But don't make my rookie mistake and eat the sand. Yuck!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
My Dream Job
As seen in New York Family Magazine: http://www.newyorkfamily.com/my-dream-job/
Dream: This tiny toddler always likes to be one step ahead. After lunching with the E*TRADE baby–the talking baby featured in the company’s TV ads–I realize it’s never too early to start thinking about what you want to be when you grow up. While a lot of my friends want to be Wall Street titans, rock stars, ballerinas and firemen, based on my current interests and skill set, I am going to be a bestselling author.
Reality: After seeing the E*TRADE baby on TV and observing how boring finance jobs are–what kid wants to sit behind a desk?–I am considering an occupation as either an LPGA golfer, race car driver, mountain climber, or zoo keeper. As for being a bestselling author, I realized I already am one thanks to this blog!
My name, Elle, is already in LPGA (the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association). Coincidence? I think not. When I arrived at the golf course for the first time, I noticed immediately that everyone needed my help. On the putting green, I would take the balls the golfers were putting and put them in the hole. This little lady got the concept right away! Then, Daddy took me for a ride in the golf cart. It had me at go. Daddy even let me try steering the wheel and pushing the pedals. We rode along up and down the hills feeling the breeze in our hair. And we only stopped nine times for Daddy to swing the club and for me to drop the ball in the hole. Daddy said I am a natural! Shortly after, Grandpa went to the Masters and got me a fab purple Masters onesie. It gave me total street cred on my next golf outing, where my grandma taught me to putt and swing. With her help I was soon doing it all by myself. A few people did start running away from where I was practicing, but they must have been overwhelmed by my athleticism. I should definitely be a lady golfer!
Then again, thinking of how I only want to go, go, go when I am on the golf cart, maybe I should be a race car driver instead? I love steering the pretend car wheels at the playground and I have a fantastic toy steering wheel that I drive at home. In music class, I am a pro at honking the horn to the lyrics “the horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep.” I also make a great vroom sound when I play with my toy cars. And when I drove a ride-on Thomas for the first time, my instincts took over and I cruised along beautifully at 1 mph. Watch out, here I come! Not to mention, to date, my driving record is impeccable. All of this, coupled with watching the Indy 500, has gotten me all riled up: race car driving may be the perfect profession for me!
But I also love another adventurous activity: climbing. I excel in gym class–walking up inclined mats, venturing up slides, and tearing up the rock climbing wall. I hang tough with the big boys. At the playground, I scale the equipment with minimal help from Mommy. I climb other things too. Puppy taught me to climb across the furniture in our apartment. And I have climbed out of my high chair and stood up on the tray. I also climb in and out of my stroller–most recently at Grandma’s house. And I climb on top of the bunny house at Art Farm in The City. The list goes on! As you can imagine, I am quite agile, so perhaps mountain climbing is my true calling?
Still, I think my most favorite activity is playing with my puppy. As soon as I hear my doggie’s leash come out of the front closet, I run for my shoes to help walk him. I love my doggie with all my heart. I also get super excited when I meet other doggies. I stop to give them kisses, hugs, and Cheerios. All the dogs in my building woof at me and I woof right back, bouncing around when I bark just like they do. My love of animals goes beyond dogs though. I’ve met pigs and cows and horses and more animal friends at a barn in the country and had the best time mimicking all their animal sounds. When Mommy took notice of my loving ways with animals (and the way they calmed me), she started taking me to the Central Park Zoo. We spend time there feeding and talking to the animals. It makes me so happy that I clap my hands and stomp my feet, and say hoo, baa, moo! And at home, I make sure to nurture all my stuffed animals by feeding, bathing, and caring for them. Teddy says I give the best hugs and kisses. Recognizing my passion for animals has helped me come to a decision: I will be a veterinarian. Dr. Elle Belle it is!
There are so many career possibilities for this growing girl to pursue. On second thought, I probably shouldn’t pigeonhole myself given all my natural born talents. So I will simply do it all and be a true renaissance baby. And this baby will make whatever work she chooses fun so we won’t have to call it work anymore!
One tiny toddler proves it’s never too early to start weighing career options
Dream: This tiny toddler always likes to be one step ahead. After lunching with the E*TRADE baby–the talking baby featured in the company’s TV ads–I realize it’s never too early to start thinking about what you want to be when you grow up. While a lot of my friends want to be Wall Street titans, rock stars, ballerinas and firemen, based on my current interests and skill set, I am going to be a bestselling author.Reality: After seeing the E*TRADE baby on TV and observing how boring finance jobs are–what kid wants to sit behind a desk?–I am considering an occupation as either an LPGA golfer, race car driver, mountain climber, or zoo keeper. As for being a bestselling author, I realized I already am one thanks to this blog!
My name, Elle, is already in LPGA (the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association). Coincidence? I think not. When I arrived at the golf course for the first time, I noticed immediately that everyone needed my help. On the putting green, I would take the balls the golfers were putting and put them in the hole. This little lady got the concept right away! Then, Daddy took me for a ride in the golf cart. It had me at go. Daddy even let me try steering the wheel and pushing the pedals. We rode along up and down the hills feeling the breeze in our hair. And we only stopped nine times for Daddy to swing the club and for me to drop the ball in the hole. Daddy said I am a natural! Shortly after, Grandpa went to the Masters and got me a fab purple Masters onesie. It gave me total street cred on my next golf outing, where my grandma taught me to putt and swing. With her help I was soon doing it all by myself. A few people did start running away from where I was practicing, but they must have been overwhelmed by my athleticism. I should definitely be a lady golfer!
Then again, thinking of how I only want to go, go, go when I am on the golf cart, maybe I should be a race car driver instead? I love steering the pretend car wheels at the playground and I have a fantastic toy steering wheel that I drive at home. In music class, I am a pro at honking the horn to the lyrics “the horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep.” I also make a great vroom sound when I play with my toy cars. And when I drove a ride-on Thomas for the first time, my instincts took over and I cruised along beautifully at 1 mph. Watch out, here I come! Not to mention, to date, my driving record is impeccable. All of this, coupled with watching the Indy 500, has gotten me all riled up: race car driving may be the perfect profession for me!
But I also love another adventurous activity: climbing. I excel in gym class–walking up inclined mats, venturing up slides, and tearing up the rock climbing wall. I hang tough with the big boys. At the playground, I scale the equipment with minimal help from Mommy. I climb other things too. Puppy taught me to climb across the furniture in our apartment. And I have climbed out of my high chair and stood up on the tray. I also climb in and out of my stroller–most recently at Grandma’s house. And I climb on top of the bunny house at Art Farm in The City. The list goes on! As you can imagine, I am quite agile, so perhaps mountain climbing is my true calling?
Still, I think my most favorite activity is playing with my puppy. As soon as I hear my doggie’s leash come out of the front closet, I run for my shoes to help walk him. I love my doggie with all my heart. I also get super excited when I meet other doggies. I stop to give them kisses, hugs, and Cheerios. All the dogs in my building woof at me and I woof right back, bouncing around when I bark just like they do. My love of animals goes beyond dogs though. I’ve met pigs and cows and horses and more animal friends at a barn in the country and had the best time mimicking all their animal sounds. When Mommy took notice of my loving ways with animals (and the way they calmed me), she started taking me to the Central Park Zoo. We spend time there feeding and talking to the animals. It makes me so happy that I clap my hands and stomp my feet, and say hoo, baa, moo! And at home, I make sure to nurture all my stuffed animals by feeding, bathing, and caring for them. Teddy says I give the best hugs and kisses. Recognizing my passion for animals has helped me come to a decision: I will be a veterinarian. Dr. Elle Belle it is!
There are so many career possibilities for this growing girl to pursue. On second thought, I probably shouldn’t pigeonhole myself given all my natural born talents. So I will simply do it all and be a true renaissance baby. And this baby will make whatever work she chooses fun so we won’t have to call it work anymore!
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