Daddy's Dream Come True

Leah is in love with Superman. :)

Dan was unpacking his Superman collectibles to go on display in a new curio cabinet that we purchased earlier this month. Leah, as you can see, took a particular liking to this larger statue. She hugged him, patted him, gazed into his eyes like a school girl, and, when asked, kissed him square on the lips!

Leah also tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to carry Superman away from the evil clutches of her father, who only wanted to see if this one would fit in the cabinet. Much to Leah's delight, this Superman is a little too large for the display piece... could more stolen kisses be in their future? Only time will tell.

I love you...

...You love me.  This is what Barney's taught me:

For those of you who ever watched Boris Karloff play Frankenstein's monster, you really didn't appreciate it until you saw Bela Lugosi try the same.  When greatness is mimicked, you really only then understand the subtleties and the effort that go into creating that greatness.  Sesame Street is great.  It caters to all ages, breaks ground, and stands the test of time.  Barney is Bela Lugosi staggering around with his arms outstretched and an unexplained smile on his big monster face.

You can make a television show, DVD, and music video without so much as sound editing, select camera angles, or rehearsing.  

Barney is the soy of the kid's programming world.  Empty substance.

Barney is a rule-breaker.  For example, the statement was made (and firmly believed) that "Leah is not going to be put in front of the t.v. We're going to interact with her, and let her explore her environment...blah, blah, blah."  Now, we eagerly pull her little chair in front of the t.v.

Leah is a great dancer.

Leah sitting in front of the t.v. does not necessarily mean laundry is getting folded.  In fact, laundry may need folding, dishes washed, dogs fed. Mom and Dad are slumped on the couch.

Baby-Bop has a really annoying voice.  Its like someone crammed Fran Drescher into a four-foot tall dinosaur costume.

Leah will learn the words for what she really likes, exceptionally fast.  Ranking them, Barney is second only to candy.

Barney does not have to be watched.  He only needs to be "on."  Then everything is right in the world.

And lastly, for now:

It doesn't take long to learn the words to the songs.  For example, without looking: "Its cold, burr. I wish I was a bear. I wish had hair like a furry, furry bear."

All I need for Christmas

Dear Santa,

I've been looking at all the holiday circulars in the paper, and paying real close attention to all the commercials during my shows.  I really enjoy the playsets I've seen.  The attention to detail is uncanny, and the realism in these toys is remarkable.  I gave a great deal of consideration to the vacuum cleaner toy, and of course the wide variety of kitchen playsets are tough to choose from.  Of course, how could I forget the mini ball bounces, sand boxes, jungle gyms, and all those great toys to climb on.  

However, I will forgo the lengthy list of toys from your work shop in the North Pole. I'm going to request one thing; padding.  Lots of padding.  Not for me. For my daddy, my doggies, and my mama.  They are much more fun for climbing and playing on than any toy.  So, please Santa, provide my family with all of the extra cushioning and protection your little elves can load on that sleigh. 

They need it.  

With Warm Regards, Leah.

P.S. Dad wants a cup.  What is that?

P.P.S. Why is your work shop called "China"?

(posted by Dan)

I like . . . me.

For anyone who ever saw the show "Jon & Kate Plus Eight", do you remember when it was a show about eight cute little kids growing up?  In one episode, the mom divulged that the children liked to watch the show, and their unanimous favorite aspect of the show was watching their mom and dad on t.v.  They had no interest in watching themselves or their siblings.  It was all about mom and dad.

That wouldn't be Leah.  She likes watching her favorite thing, herself, a lot.  Sesame Street holds her attention for a moment. Some cartoons can occupy Leah for a minute or two.  Even Barney is only good for a maximum three minutes at a time.  Repeated leg stretches are necessary during a Barney tape.  However, she can and will watch the same 45 second video of the world's cutest kid, again, herself, repeatedly.  To give you an idea, our motion light outside is set to remain on for five minutes.  Leah sat on dad's lap for two cycles of this motion light, visible just outside the window by the computer, while watching the same minute long video of Leah wandering around the family room.  No singing, no dancing, no scaling the Empire State Building and swatting at biplanes.  Just wandering around and making baby faces.  This is her current greatest pleasure in life.

Gene Kelly would be jealous of such narcissism. 

The scariest part (yes, scary) is how funny Leah finds the conclusion of the video in which she scowls at her mother's insistence that she is not "dada" but "mama."  Every time the baby in the video is corrected she then lowers her brow and looks kind of evil-mean, Leah sits at the computer and smiles really big, and maybe even laughs a little.  

And yet, we'll appreciate these days.  Someday, this "Aren't I the greatest?" will turn into "Why doesn't everyone else think so, all the time?" And the brow will lower...

(Posted by Dan)

November Update

It occurred to us the other day that we had not posted since Halloween. Seems that we are overdue for one!

Leah appears to be beginning her vocal growth spurt. In just the last couple weeks, she has added “kitty” (pronounced “titty”), “bear” (beh), “swing” (eeen), “water” (wa), and the ever popular “no” (nah) to her vocabulary. I love that she’s communicating more, and she cracks us up with her facial expressions and hand gestures when she babbles.

The girl LOVES to dance. Barney songs, the Elmo’s World theme, music from her toys, even commercial jingles and the Jeopardy theme all have her bopping, swaying, and clapping to the beat. When she's not rocking out, Leah has also taken up screaming. ALL. THE. TIME. Silly screams of excitement, angry tantrum screams, or simply “Here I am! Notice me!” screams. Our ears are all bleeding while Leah tests the power of her voice. Needless to say, we hope this particular phase passes very quickly.

We are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving this week. Leah is such a good eater and Momma cannot wait to see her reaction to such a huge meal and new treats like pumpkin pie. Popel will be joining us for the weekend, and we just finished a visit with Grammy this past weekend. Lots of spoiling is going on in our house, that’s for sure. :)

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Trick-or-Treat!

Here's Miss Kitty, decked out for her first trick-or-treating experience! Everyone knows we're dog people but she sure is the most adorable little kittycat I've ever seen. :) She wasn't too thrilled about all the fuss Momma made at her costume at first. Daddy said she reminded him of Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" in his bunny suit and disgusted face. Ha!

Halloween night, we picked a nearby neighborhood based on a friend's recommendation and went around to about 5 or 6 houses before stopping. Leah seemed to enjoy the first couple of houses, especially since we saw a couple pups, but it quickly become apparent that trick-or-treating involved greeting too many strangers in a short span of time. She clung to her daddy and whined a bit. Still, that didn't stop her from blowing kisses to almost all of the homeowners who gave her candy, thus winning them over. ;)

I'm glad we took her out, even if it may not have lasted too long. It was fun to experience it and to once again see this big wide world through Leah's eyes. 

"She just loves babies."

Leah, who is so intent on being the focus of all attention possible.  Leah, who screams an ear-drum shattering shrill shriek to overcome any conversation not about Leah.  Leah, who can't stand a singular spotlight for fear that its bulb may burn out leaving her temporarily in the dark, so she insists on multiple spotlights, or rather, the moon and the stars and the sun and every other light emitting or reflecting heavenly body to shine upon the brilliance that is Leah.

This same, humble child "just loves babies."  This statement was uttered proudly by her care-giver on Thursday.  Sure its cute when she cradles her baby dolls. She mocks feeding them, wiping their faces, and changing their diapers.  She nurtures these bundles of joy, plastic, and cloth.  She loves them no matter how full of Chinese lead content they may be.  No one is perfect, but she loves these baby dolls, flaws and all.  This excitement translates to real babies as well.

A baby at daycare has been on the receiving end of Leah's adoration.  We're told its cute.  We have witnessed the excitement on Leah's face to see a baby.  She squeals, and says "baby" as she points at the little girl.  

Then she gets home, loses her temper at something, and those same beloved baby dolls get thrown to the floor with an inappropriate measure of force.  Mixed signals for mom and dad.

[Dan] proofread by the Mrs.