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.

     

   

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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.

It's a Tea Party in the City with Baby Elle Belle

As seen in New York Family magazine: http://www.newyorkfamily.com/tea-party-lady-mendl-nyc-baby-elle-belle/

This little NYC lady shows that she’s passing big milestones quicker than her mommy can pass the milk!

Dream: I’m having tea with the Queen of England to discuss the upcoming addition to her family because she wants to make sure the baby is well understood and knows I’m the source for baby-parent translating. At her request, after staying up late at night for weeks on end in my crib, I’ve finally corrected all the mistakes about raising and caring for babies found on Wikipedia (in case the royal family uses the popular site as a resource). What a big job that was! I also read a lot of other interesting stuff on this Wiki thing, by the way. This tiny toddler is a sponge, soaking up all that I can and processing it later during my naps. At times, this leads to sleep walking and talking but it’s all for a noble cause. My constantly developing physical, mental, social, and emotional prowess now allow me to articulate what I want clearly and achieve physical feats beyond my years. I’m on an upward trajectory and there’s no slowing this burgeoning baby down!

Reality: I’m having tea with Mommy and Grandma at Lady Mendl’s tea salon. I can tell this is a rather fancy place because they wouldn’t let Mommy bring the clip-on high chair since there’s crystal and fine china set on the table. So the delightful staff hooked me up with a beautiful, new high chair that is secured to one of the lovely armchairs. I feel like royalty.

It’s so exciting that I’ve mastered the art of eating. Well, unless you want me to use a fork and spoon properly and drink from a cup that’s not a sippy cup. That will come later. For now, I prefer to use the water glasses as a receptacle to wash my hands and the utensils to drum and entertain the dining room.

During our tea, I wow Grandma by using a lot of my words and even try some new ones. I tell her that I’m an intelligent, sassy, sweet, and good girl. Really, I did. I at least said the good girl part unmistakably. My vocabulary is rapidly growing. Mommy notices every time we read books and I say the words with her (or if she asks me to repeat a word or tell her what something is and I do!). She is so proud and it makes her feel better that I pay attention. Sometimes Mommy doesn’t think I pay attention, but the truth is that I’m absorbing everything. I’m a very quick learner.

We’re enjoying our tea thoroughly and having all sorts of fancy fare. My favorites were the finger sandwiches. I ate them like a big girl. With my fingers. From a china plate! And I loved the scones with cream and preserves. I took a bite and then used my words to ask for more preserves for each bite and Grandma gave me more after I said please. I really am so well mannered. I even made sure to toast the special occasion by clanking my sippy cup with Mommy and Grandma’s tea cups to say cheers. And then I insisted on cheers with the teapot. It was extra special. But the most special was my fancy milk cup. Grandma used it to pour milk into her tea. What a mistake. The milk is perfect on its own. So I grabbed hold of the creamer (I think that’s what Grandma called it) and drank the milk pure and simple. If the Queen could see me now!

We finished the tea party with some cake and cookies. These tasty treats made for a fantastic finale. They saved the best for last. Being the adventurous eater that I am, and also mindful that I have to keep my milk belly growing, I tried at least one bite of each treat. Then I gave it to Grandma and Mommy to try bites, too. Mommy laughed and told Grandma how good I am at sharing. I was just glad she noticed.

Being the thoughtful baby that I am, I decided to pick up the tab. I reached for Mommy’s wallet and took out my favorite credit card, the one she had custom designed for me with Puppy on it. I waved it in the air with excitement, but the waiter came by and actually tried to take it. What nerve! Can you imagine? Mommy quickly got out another card instead. That was a close call!

We wrapped up our special tea party and wiped our hands and mouths clean. I wiped by myself but Mommy tried to help so I protested of course. I was already clean enough! I gave a round of applause for a terrific tea service and waved goodbye to all my fellow tea partiers. After taking a couple of family photos, we said thank you to the hostess and were on our way. As you can see, my social graces are unparalleled.

My physical accomplishments are pretty great, too, as I demonstrated by taking Mommy’s hand in mine and Grandma’s hand in the other, and climbing down the brownstone steps. I did it effortlessly and really didn’t need to hold their hands, but I know they like feeling needed. I used my big muscles to descend the steps and then hail a taxi.

I was ready for a nap after such an exhausting adventure in displaying all my passing milestones for Grandma. Plus, I was tea-partied out!