C – A – T … Cat!!!

 Furry Ones, Wallaby  4 Responses »
Feb 242011
 

One benefit of a baby with a Sesame Street addiction — Elsa thinks letters are spectacularly exciting.  At the moment, she’s most fascinated with the Alphabet Song.  Her favorite part is the big finish:  Now I  … knowww … A – C – DEEEEs; nest tine [mumble mumble] SING wih MEEEEEEEEE!

Yesterday she and Nana played with alphabet stickers.  Elsa always demands that we draw the same crazy, overfed cat, over and over, with the same descriptive patter (“circle for the head … circle for the body … one two three four legs ….”) and always labeled C – A – T, so of course “cat” was the first word she demanded via sticker alphabet.  Later in the day, I came across one of our cats asleep in the remnants of the sticker game.

C – A – T, and one photo that gives me an “awwwww” every time.

 Posted by Tara at 3:02 am

German + Taiwanese = Jamaican??

 Wallaby  6 Responses »
Nov 172010
 

Hearing your baby call you “Mama” is one of the sustaining joys of a mother’s first year. Even after many months, I still feel a sweet stab of happiness whenever I hear Elsa’s little voice say “Mama.” But she is a big girl now, and she wants to know the proper words for things. My mother refers to me as “Mom” whenever she mentions me to Elsa, and that is what E. has begun to call me as well.

Of course, consonants don’t always translate properly in tiny mouths. End result? My baby calls me “Mon.” It’s been a couple of months, and it still amuses me every. single. time. I hear it.

What’s more, when I’m checking in on her well-being, I often ask her “What’s up?” Like so many of our adult actions, she has learned to mirror the habit back to me. She’ll turn to me, look up at me with her sweet baby face, and ask “‘S’up mon?”

If I can just track down one of those dreadlock baby wigs, I think we’ll be in business.

 Posted by Tara at 5:00 am

Halloween in Venice

 Baby Pics, Travels, Wallaby  9 Responses »
Nov 092010
 

Okay, we didn’t exactly spend Halloween in Venice. But we did spend it at The Venetian in Las Vegas! And in the midst of thousands of drunken 20-somethings in their “slutty [fill in the blank]” finery lived one tiny bumblebee….

First, we went for pizza.

Our little egomaniac loves to watch videos of herself on our phones.

Not my greatest photo effort, but it comes closer than most to capturing her spirit.

Then it was back to the suite, where E. was supposed to drink her milk and go to bed. But she spent our vacation inspired by the late-night spirit of Vegas — it was clear she wasn’t headed to sleep anytime soon. So Mama decided we girls were going back out!

First, we headed downstairs to The Venetian’s rather awesome fake canals.

And then we sat around the lobby, just drinking in the scene.

I couldn’t get E. to hold still for a picture till I gave her free reign with the water bottle. Hadn’t exactly planned on our 2010 Halloween photos becoming an ad for Dasani, but … sometimes you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got.

Las Vegas Halloween - The Palazzo lobby

How did you spend Halloween this year?

 Posted by Tara at 9:06 am

First, He Comes for the Children….

 Wallaby  10 Responses »
Sep 242010
 

Mr T is horrified by Elmo.  What most people read as childish enthusiasm, Mr T views as thinly veiled homicidal craziness.  I never quite understood his point of view, until yesterday I looked into the back seat of our car and noticed this:

Suddenly, I have this vision of Elmo lurking around corners waiting to ambush.  What do you think — should we be concerned about the look in his eyes?

 Posted by Tara at 3:08 pm

Baby, Meet Cupcake. Cupcake, Baby.

 Baby Pics, Wallaby  13 Responses »
Mar 082010
 

Thanks to one and all for your kind messages of congratulation for surviving a year with Wallaby.  (Or were you sending her congratulations for surviving a year under our care?)  Not to overwhelm you with photo posts, but a few friends and family demanded messy-cake-face photos from Elsa’s 1st birthday, so….

We began the evening’s festivities by getting Elsa into her Birthday Shirt.  She then put on her party face.  (Which, like her game face, her greeting face, and most others, involves two bottom teeth and a RAWR.)

We had dinner with Mr T’s family at a tasty Malaysian restaurant, and then were off to National Geographic to see the Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an.  Elsa was tired, and the exhibition did not end well.

But after a few minutes’ rest in the car, she was ready for her birthday cupcake!  We purchased an almond-y yellow cake with chocolate frosting because the flavor was called Birthday Cupcake.  Not shown: Mommy and Daddy’s own cupcakes and large frozen yogurt, because we couldn’t let our child eat alone, and because the place serves both and, um, the yogurt had fruit on top and fruit is good for you.

Here’s the Before:

During:

And After.  Not actually as messy as I feared, given the chocolate frosting.  Though we did have to wash down the walls.  (By the way, according to The Internets, the best way to get chocolate out of clothing is to treat the stain with either dishwashing detergent or milk.  Who knew?)

Mmmm, chocolate-covered babies are tasty!

 Posted by Tara at 8:20 am

The Strong Egg

 Wallaby  14 Responses »
Feb 172010
 
By most accounts, I shouldn’t have a baby.  I took chemo in my 20s, which the doctors warned would seriously hamper my fertility.  (But what can you do?  Death isn’t good for fertility, either.)  On top of that, when I got pregnant I was over 35 and disabled by chronic illness.
After almost a year with a blessedly healthy baby, it’s easy to forget just how unexpected Elsa was when she first came along.  Then recently a new rheumatologist expressed his surprise that I have a baby at home.  When I told Mr T about the doctor’s reaction, he said, “Well, I guess our Wallaby was the strong egg.”
And, you know, that explains so much about our child!  Even as a slightly-preemie newborn, strangers remarked constantly on her physical strength.  She doesn’t just touch things, she whomps them.  She doesn’t just crawl, she clomps.  She doesn’t gurgle and coo, she growls and roars.  And it goes beyond the physical — Elsa has a strong mind, strong personality, strong will (oh, heavens, does she have a strong will).  Strength is her defining characteristic to date.

I used to love cheering on strong-willed little girls, with a joke that they are wonderful as long as I didn’t have to parent their iron will.  But, you know, it turns out strong-willed girls are pretty nifty even when you do have to parent them.

So here’s to all the strong girls out there.  Keep it up!  (Just go easy on your parents once in a while, okay?  They are old and very tired.)

Well-behaved women seldom make history.
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
 Posted by Tara at 11:38 pm

Elsa at 6 Months

 Baby Pics, Wallaby  9 Responses »
Sep 202009
 

I fear I’ve given you a false impression with my blahblah motherhood angst blahblahblah.

Sure, our child has problems falling and staying asleep.  (No, seriously.  Some parents whine if their kid sleeps 5 or 6 hours at a stretch.  Well, how about TWO hour wake-ups, ya @#$*&% lightweights?!?)  She hates to be more than 12 inches away from us.  She is always, ALWAYS on the move.

And there are times when she looks like this:

But there are also many, MANY times when she looks like this:

Recently we were at Costco eating pizza (‘cause our life is exciting like that), and a 20-something male walked past, pointed at Elsa, and said “Coolest baby ever!”  I don’t even know what impressed him.  But she IS the coolest baby ever, I swear she is.

Elsa loves life like no one else.  She loves to laugh, loves to dance, loves to go new places and meet new people and try new things.  She is desperate to walk and run and jump and twirl and explore new worlds.  And she will get her wish sooner rather than later.

In other words, we are in trouble.  But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

 Posted by Tara at 4:29 am
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