Happy Birthday Yaya!

We Love You!

Let's Play!

Elle loves the park; but let’s be honest, what kid doesn’t? The park is full of pleasure and fun wherever one turns. There are slides, swings, wheels, stairs, ladders, steps, and bridges. What is not to love? According to Elle, nothing. She loves to play, explore, and imagine with the best of them. It just doesn’t get any better than the park to her; especially if Mommy does some of the silly things, too. But Mommy likes it better when Elle's friend, Jack, does all the silly things, so Mommy doesn't have to.

Riding on a Bike! Riding on a Bike! Elle Loves Riding on a Bike!

Elle has finally figured it out! She can now pedal her bike without any aid or assistance. She is quite proud of herself, and constantly tells Johnny and I, as well as everyone else she meets, how fast she is. She is continuously begging me to take her outside so she can ride her bike. She truly has a lot of fun, and I like it because it gives her loads of exercise. I am hoping that the constant pedaling makes her exceptionally tired, which in turn creates a sleepy girl who takes extra long naps. So far, it has not been the case; but one can always hope.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Johnny, Elle, and I all went out to the Oakland A’s baseball game tonight. It was very fun, and held all of the excitement and glamour that a baseball game should. Johnny has been teaching Elle the classic baseball song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” all week, and Elle was very excited when we sang it at the end of the 7th inning. And, like the song, we had peanuts, no cracker jacks, and we didn’t care if we never got back. We rooted for the home team, and they won so it wasn’t a shame. For it was one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game.

Tickled Pink!

Elle is obsessed with pink. And I don’t mean a little; I mean A LOT! Everything she wears must be pink. It cannot even be white with pink; it must be completely and wholly pink—no other color whatsoever. And not just any pink, it must be light pink. The other night she cried and cried at bedtime, until I changed her into something light pink. Once changed, she simply laid down and went to sleep. No more crying. No more fussing. Are you seeing my dilemma? Are you seeing how particular my child can be? I am really starting to run out of pink clothes. And the like of pink clothes. And the desire to EVER buy pink clothes again. And this is being said by the girl whose favorite color is pink. How can this be? What has happened?

Monterey California!

Johnny, Elle, and I had another opportunity to go down to Monterey, California. And I have to say, we were thrilled at the prospects. The weekend was as fun and enjoyable as any of us could have wanted. The weather was warm with cloudless skies. The water was cold and refreshing. The company was exceptionally fun. And the setting couldn’t have been more beautiful. We spent all of our time—or as much as we could—at the beach. We played, swam, sat, ran, built, splashed, and laughed. It truly was a most enjoyable time. We each got to do everything we wanted, and more. The only complaint that any of us could have, was that the time was too short. But despite that one drawback, the weekend was a most memorable one. I shall leave it in the words of Elle: “Goodbye beach; we will do it again.”

The Beach! (Please click on the image below)

 

Silly Little Girl!

Everyday I seem to feel a variety of emotions from the things my daughter says and does. Sometimes I am shocked. Sometimes I am surprised. But mostly I am amused. Elle tends to say things to me, or others, that has such a hilarity and absurdity to them, that I cannot help but be entertained and charmed. To her things seem perfectly logical and rational, but to me they are something else altogether. But I have to say, I love all the silly, crazy, ridiculous things that come out of my daughter’s mouth.

Here are a few samples for your entertainment:

“Daddy, can you say recycle with me?”

“Daddy, if you don’t quit laughing, I am going to put you in timeout.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“What is that all about?”

“The trees are all tired; they need to take a nap.”

“Mommy, I gave you a bad one.” Translation: a bad kiss.

“I couldn’t find it.”

“Did Daddy put it somewhere?”

“Have you a good day Daddy.”

“Daddy’s cute.”

“That is pretty tiny.”

“That’s a little baby one.”

“That matches just like Elle.”

“That is pretty silly.”

"That is pretty crazy."

"I am constipated. My bum is constipated."

"I am very impressed Mommy."

Snip! Snip!

Today I gave Elle her very first haircut! It has been a long time coming. But seeing as how it took Elle forever to even get hair, I wasn’t surprised that it took until she was two and a half to get her official first haircut. Surprisingly, she was a very good girl, and sat still for the duration of the cut. And, of course, afterwards she had to give Johnny and I both our very own haircuts—pretend ones, but very good pretend ones.

Slurpee!

We decided to end our staggering hot zoo expedition with a nice cold Slurpee. It definitely hit the spot. Just ask Elle.

A Sizzling Day at the Zoo!

Johnny, Elle, and I all went to the zoo today. It was a lot of fun, except for the grueling heat. Most of the animals were staying indoors, trying to beat the heat; and several times I asked myself why we were not doing the same thing. Nonetheless, despite the stifling heat, we had a fun day at the zoo.

I Stand Corrected!

Elle, I am finding, can be quite particular. And when I say quite, I mean QUITE. Lately she has been referring to herself as Baby Elle. She considers this her name, and only wants to be called as such. And, of course, I almost always slip up and call her just plain old Elle—heaven forbid I call her by her actual name—and when I do such a heinous mistake, she most assuredly corrects me every single time. And then, today, Elle made it just a little more complicated. Today she told me that her name is Teddy Bear’s Mommy. Yes, you read that right; that is what she wants to be called. For you see, Elle has a favorite teddy bear that she just adores. This teddy bear does everything with her; you name it, and the teddy bear does it. You will not find Elle without the beloved teddy bear. And so now I have one more name that I must try to remember to call her by: Teddy Bear’s Mommy. So you see what I mean when I say Elle is QUITE particular.

Tennis Time!

It seems that every Saturday, Elle and I spend our mornings watching Johnny play tennis. Johnny plays with a couple of our neighbors, and he has a lot of fun. Elle really enjoys watching her daddy play, and sometimes she even gets to be the ball girl. Such a privilege. But to a little girl, Daddy is everything.