About Princesses and Ballerinas

Are kids smarter than they used to be or have they always been amazingly smart little creatures who just didn't have the input that today's youngsters have access to? 

For a while now, Bianca has been talking about Odette.  She called one of her dolls Odette and then one day came in announcing  "I'm Odette".  I had no idea where this had come from.   When I dropped her off at home the other day and handed her to the arms of her daddy , she greeted him with a warm "Hi Derek" (his name is Matthew,for those who don't know).  She calls you Derek, I asked bemused and quite a bit curious. 

So it turns out, Bianca is a big fan of this animated film based on the ballet Swan Lake.  She is the Swan princess 'Odette' and her dad is her Prince Derek.  I read the Wikipedia synopsis  and the film has everything... hope and disappointment, evil spells and finally true love.   Seems a bit heavy for a 2 year old. But not a bit evidently.                                            

Erika has been teaching Bianca some ballet exercises which she evidently loves and she has been a fan of  Angelina Ballerina for a 'long time'.


Angelina Ballerina

 Suddenly I find her doing a toddler version of a pirouette across my living room calling out "dance with me"!  She is a continual surprise. 

I'm really loving all this 'girly' fun





Color us Happy

 We had the same color scheme on by coincidence. The color purple in our sweaters , black pants for me and Bianca's black princess skirt.  Great minds think alike and perfect for a picture together - pictures by Erika

Leslie the Librarian

Today was Toddler story time at the West Seattle Library.  I love this place. I love everything about libraries.  Why I didn't become a librarian is a mystery now that I think about it.  Now the big, bad budget crisis is affecting this place too.  Leslie says in a week or so they will know who is staying, who is being reassigned to another location, who loses a job.  And just before Christmas ..

 Reading to the 18mos to 3year olds  she used her froggy voice, her bear voice and her cricket voice to keep this perpetual motion group tuned in to the winter time story.  Bianca was held in rapt attention which bodes well for her school days.                                 

                                         
   The librarian offers a special stamp for your hand at the end of story time.  A nice little reminder of the special occasion.

               

Hope we can keep our priorities straight.  This library and its librarians offer an inviting space for children to explore, run their little hands over the books and allow reading to become a fun and ongoing interest that will serve them well.  And we need these little ones to take over someday so lets teach them well. 

Bianca was so engrossed by the puzzles on the table that I couldn't get her to look up for my picture taking.  Curious George didn't mind posing though.

Bella Luna

For Bianca Lua who loves the moon

I looked outside tonight while talking to my friend Sandra. There was a big moon out there. It reminded me that I had taken these moon pictures last year on Dec 1st from my 3rd floor window. My friend remembered the cry of Bella Luna! from the movie 'Moonstruck'. And I was reminded of Bianca loving the moon and calling out 'La Luna' when she sees it in the sky.

Exuberance



Run for fun



If you need a pick me up and a boost to your enthusiasm just spend a day with a young child to whom everything is new and wonderful.  I've been dragging myself around for about a week and it occurred to me it might be the change of season and return to standard time.  All of a sudden it is dark!  And before 5:00pm!  Non stop joy is contagious.  Hope you catch some too.



Have a thrilling experience




Enjoy Nature - little tree hugger

 



Be with someone you love

       

                                                                            












A new old toy

Bristle blocks from back in the days when Matt & Mark were little.  I had a small box of these that apparently I've chosen to take place to place with me during many moves over the years.  I had to make decisions to give or toss away many things. But here were these toys - still with me.  They were a big hit with Bianca who was never more engrossed and spent a happy day turning them into everything from airplanes to cell phones and anything interesting in between. 

Freeway Park

It's no Central Park, but it is a lovely urban park that I am lucky to have in my path uphill between the bus and work.  I used to take the stairways through but now that I'm older and wiser I love to wend my way around the switchback trail that takes me close to every waterfall,  allows me a  flashback of my hiking days and is a way to spend a tad more time in that outdoor space. 

 So I'm in that in between stage now .  I'm no longer in the younger and in a hurry crowd who bounds up the steps but I'm still some time away  from the ways of the elderly couples who gingerly toddle (funny how we go back to toddling eventualy) while hanging on to one another around the curved walkways. 

 Oh and there is the Parkour way.  I didn't take this picture but did an internet search after seeing 4-5 young men leaping from wall to wall

  while I was sitting in Freeway Park having a leisurley moment.  I was thinking please don't fall and hit the pavement at my feet!  But they made their way without a hitch.  I learned that this is an urban sport of using building walls and other urban obstacles as challenges.  Amazing.                                              

 

I'll stick with the middle way and enjoy the scenery.

                

                                                

Late summer to Fall -some pictures

Let it rain as long as I have this purple umbrella

                                                                                                                                                                                  
Last Day of Summer 2010

apple season at the pavillion

                                                          



           ZUCCHINI- The RACES

1st you have to pick just the
right one

This one looks fully loaded

Get Ready,Get Set, Go!

Winners all

    
                                               

August we hardly knew you...

Watering everything in sight   (hope SPU isn't monitoring :)

A few hot August days were probably just enough after all.  Just enough to savor the heat and have some fun in the sun but not too many to complain about.

One golden hot day at Hiawatha park with little girls in sundresses floating about like little fairies.

 

 It was beautiful while it lasted and now bye to summer

                                  

                          

Found Things and Finders Keepers

Tuesday was Bianca's very lucky day.  We visited two parks and she found a treasure in each one.  It was just one of those kinds of days.  In the morning, a handmade necklace lying on the ground - a red piece of yarn with a golden jingle bell as its hanging jewel caught her eye and she quickly adorned herself with it. 

                                             On our sunlit stroller ride home from the park, we passed food for the gods strewn on the sidewalk or hanging succulently near our reach for picking from the bush. Sun warmed blackberries for eating and gathering - tart, tangy apples fallen from the tree .  What a lovely lunch it made!

                                                                  

Then in the afternoon the find of finds!  Bianca stopped in her tracks.  There sitting all alone on a park bench in the middle of the busy kid filled playground was this tiger. 

  I said, that isn't ours it must belong to some one here.  "Mine" was her reply.  I was worried about a toddler showdown and looked around for the owner to come forward.  No one claimed the lonely tiger and so it now belongs to Bianca. 

Making friends with Moo

I think Moo the cat has been watching us as we take our  walks.  Occasionally he darts out

for a look and then makes a quick escape as Bianca makes her move.  But on Monday, he could no longer resist her entreaties to - 'let's just be friends.' 

 

When they reached this point of trust, it was amusing to watch their sharing of the moment.  Both were noticing  the same sounds and movements, watching in unison a flitting butterfly or ears perking up at a distant train whistle.  Very cute to watch.  Two friends enjoying a summer day.   
                                       

The BLT

BASIL,LETTUCE AND TOMATO

Back when I was a meat eater (pre 1998) there was one food I could always rely on to make me feel good.  The bacon-lettuce and tomato sandwich. 

Most vegetarian converts on initially switching to the non-meat eating diet will think of one dish that they think they will really miss and mine was the BLT.  Somehow no matter how tired, hungry, stressed, I could eat one of those sandwiches and all was better.  Now of course the thought of eating bacon makes me squeamish.  But one always needs a comfort food.  Especially after a night of work that is especially difficult.  My fellow blogger and co-worker has a phrase that sums it up - Quelle Horreur!  I had one of those shifts of which I'll spare even myself from repeating the details.

I now have my new and improved comfort food with the new B in the BLT being the  delectable Puple Basil with Sungold Tomatoes and Red French Crisp Lettuce all fresh from the mornings Farmer's Market - aah. 

Now I'm ready for work again..

Sidewalk Art

The kids of the community center left behind the makings of art - ground up chalk in a variety of colors

Going for the pink

Handprints-artist Bianca