Chocolate, and Cookie Dough, and More Chocolate

It was finally time. Most every toddler, I think, loves to help out in the kitchen. I have fond memories of being in the kitchen with my grandmother (I was about three at the time), sitting up on the counter, and assisting with whatever culinary masterpiece was on the menu for the day. I remember hanging my feet in the sink, while I got my own bowl of something to mix, mash, and use to coat any surface within a three foot radius of my spoon. Lots of fun. Stella often ‘helps with the dishes’. By ‘helping with the dishes’, I mean either rearranging the dirty dishes I am simultaneously attempting to organize to fit the maximum into the dishwasher, before I hit the ‘Start’ button, or standing on a chair in front of the sink mixing a bowl of sudsy water and then dumping it all over the kitchen floor.
Yesterday, Stella got to help dad make cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. As I walked through the door, I hear “Now don’t tell Mommy”. Hmmm… Not the first words Mommy wants to hear as she walks in the door from work. I turn the corner into the kitchen to see Stella licking her lips, and Glenn with a rather sheepish look on his face. Upon seeing me, Stella immediately grins from ear to ear and offers what is left on the spoon she just pulled out of her mouth. Chocolate specks cover her face from the nose down, and every surface, both lateral and vertical, is dusted with flour. I grabbed the camera, only to find the battery had died. What a moment to miss. I am sure there will be more.

Mmmm...Smells Like...Water

I love rain. I love the smell that lingers in the air right before and the clean fresh smell afterwards. I love the sound of it (especially if thunder is involved), and the patterns it makes as it runs down windows. I also love kids in the rain. Kids and water is just a fun combination. Water seems to have this magical power over kids. They never cease to be fascinated by it. Essential to every child’s wardrobe is a pair of galoshes. Rain boots or whatever else you call them. Stella is learning to get excited about rain, because it means she gets to don her boots and raincoat (coordinating, of course), and go splash around. Yesterday was no exception. Our predicted storm turned out to be a dud, at least in the East Bay. Though we didn’t get the anticipated amount of water, it rained nonetheless. We found the biggest puddle around and Stella paced, stomped, and kicked her way through that puddle. She also found rocks to throw in the puddle as well. Since the water was quite murky, she kept tripping over the stones she was tossing. After a few minutes, I had to squat down, and, whenever her back was turned, fish out the tripping hazards, and toss them aside, so Little Miss could run through with minimal incident.
We also found a smaller puddle that had a worm in it. It was moving, and wiggling around enough to keep Stella’s attention for a few minutes. I am not a fan of picking up bugs (I don’t care if that makes me a sissy girl); however, I will pick them up for kids. I just think kids need the experience of holding a bug in their hands, if that is what they want to do. Though I am not at all a fan of picking up worms, Stella seemed so fascinated that I offered to let her hold it, or even hold it myself, so she could take a closer look. I got as far as “Do you want to hold…...”, when Stella immediately backed away from me at the prospect of touching the creature wiggling at the bottom of the puddle. She seemed perfectly content to just watch from above, as it squirmed around at a safe distance from her face. I guess I’m not the only sissy girl on the block.

Slides, Stairs, and Pigeons.

Stella is no longer a baby. She’s a toddler, but not a baby. I try to deny this fact, most of the time. I deny it when she just wants to sit on my lap and play with my hair, while I kiss her cheeks. I deny this every night when I get to watch her eyes close, as I rock her to sleep, and sing in her ear. And, I deny this when I am getting ready for work in the mornings, and see her curled around Glenn’s arm, because she has always slept better when she can feel one of us near her. So, like all kids, Stella has her moments when she unknowingly yanks me out of my dreamland, where she is the baby. This weekend was no exception.
We love going to the park. I get a kick out of climbing on the toys with Stella, and showing her how to climb up the slides, and ladders. This past weekend, Little Miss decides she is not only ready to climb up the slide by herself (well, with minimal assistance from mom), but that she is can also slide down by herself. Not only that, but she no longer climbs down stairs backwards, either. She holds on to the hand rail, and walks down. This may all seem so dramatic, but, as many of us know, most things are dramatic with a first child. I suspect that I will be the mom who cries the first days of preschool, and Kindergarten. Sigh.
On a different note, we took Stella to Union Square this weekend to chase some pigeons (she's never really seen them before). Just as much fun to be the observer, as the chaser. Of course, leaving the city having spent an hour wandering around the Disney store carrying as many princess dolls as Stella's little arms could manage, as well as some new Cinderella jammies, wasn't a bad way the end our adventure.

Scotch Tape....Oh Boy....

Glenn was the kid who would put a piece of tape on his cat’s paw, just for some entertainment. It would amuse him to watch that cat try with all its’ might to try and remove that darn piece of tape, only to have it end up on the other paw. This same amusement has now found its’ home with Stella. I must admit, I have become hooked. It is pretty fun to watch Stella with a tape dispenser. Hmmm… $10 for a movie, or $.50 worth of scotch tape? No contest.

Hairspray and Poop

So, I feel I just haven’t done justice to Stella’s current obsession. As previously mentioned, Stella is a fanatic of the movie ‘Hairspray’ (the one with John Travolta). All day, when she isn’t babbling incoherent conversations with her dollies & stuffed animals, she is singing the Hairspray soundtrack. Stella has only started putting sentences together, a month or two ago, so really only about half of the words are decipherable, but she is singing nonetheless. It is hilarious to me that she knows the movie and soundtrack so well, yet we have never heard her actually say the name of the movie. She simply calls it either ‘Tacee’ or “Tacees Daddy’ (Tracy is the main character, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the film). She does know the names of all of the characters, and can tell you which character sings which song.
Something else that makes me chuckle out loud, upon merely thinking about it: Stella calls Winnie the Pooh, ‘Poop’. We have this magnet on our fridge that we picked up in Disneyland a few years ago. On it are Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger. Whenever Stella wants to see the magnet, she points to it and says, “Poop”. It cracks me up every time. She can say ‘Piglet’, and ‘Tigger’, and she always says “Whossat?”, when she points to Eeyore (she forgets his name). Her version comes out sounding like ‘Eeaaw’. Heh, heh, heh…. Kids are so funny…

Swimming, anyone?

Saturday, February 9th, 2008. Took Stella to downtown Walnut Creek for lunch with a girlfriend. After lunch, we let the kids run around and throw pennies into the various fountains. One fountain, in particular, has this retaining wall that was perfect for kids to climb up and walk around. Stella and Addison (my girlfriends’ little one – almost three), of course, climb right up and proceed to walk their laps around the fountain. Ever the protective mom, I follow them around, just a foot or two behind. After a couple of laps, I lean over to my girlfriend and mention that Stella keeps getting a little close to the inside edge of the fountain, and that I should probably get her down. No sooner had I finished verbalizing this thought, than I heard a gasp, as my girlfriend drew my attention to Stella, who proceeded to tumble right into the fountain. The water is somewhere between 12 and 18 inches deep, so, the fall was somewhat cushioned. I took a couple of steps to arrive just as the last few hairs of Stella went under the water. Of course I immediately yanked her up and out of the water. Needless to say, there wasn’t a part of her that didn’t end up wet. She fussed for 20 or 30 seconds, and then was just fine. Actually, except for the soaking clothes, and the breeze outside, she was great. Now we just had to find some dry clothes (unfortunately the car was parked too far away).
In the end, Stella ended up with a cute new outfit, and I got a humorous little anecdote to share for years to come… Aahhh… Parenthood…

Well, well, well...

Yeah, I can be a bit lazy, when it comes to the posting. I know. So, our Little Miss is now eighteen months old. Stella, ever the girly-girl, is into dolls and babies, more than ever (especially if they're swaddled). She LOVES the movie 'Hairspray'. She accidentally saw the opening number, when Glenn and I were watching the movie one night, and has been hooked ever since. Of course the soundtrack is in the car, should the need for a 'Hairspray' moment arise. Stella also loves to ride anything with wheels. She currently owns a scooter, and a skateboard. Now if we would just get around to getting her a trike (something she can actually use).
This semester Glenn is taking his classes during the day. Stella is adjusting. She has always had either mom or dad around during the day, so she in not the biggest fan of this change. Though, she does adore her Grammy who hangs out with her while Glenn is gone. As a result of this change in her little life, Stella feels the need to cling to something. That something is usually my leg, as I am trying to get out the door to work in the mornings. I know it is a temporary thing she is going through, this need to always be held and kissed by mom, but it sure makes me wish I could stay home, and play with this little one, for the next forty years.
The other night, Glenn and I were listening to some disco music, hoping it would inspire some primal need, in Stella, to express some rhythm. Sure enough, she started shaking her booty with total abandon. Who knew a child of mine could possess such abilities? Definitely one of the cuter things I have seen her do.

Thanksgiving

Aaahhh. Turkey. Leftovers. Punkins. Pie. Punkin pie. Elastic waist pants. and the coveted Four Day Weekend. Spent it with family. Stella got lots of time with crazy cousins. The end. Still recovering. Started this post before the holiday, and finished it after.

Kids are the reason the holidays are so much fun. Though last night was actually Stella's second Halloween, it was the first one she got to enjoy. Stella was able to ride a pony, trunk or treat, and taste candy. So fun! Glenn and I were more excited about the pony rides, than anything else. Stella loves horses, so we thought she would get such a kick out of sitting on one. We showed up early, so as to avoid the inevitably long line. The challenge was keeping Stella away from the horses, while they were walking around. Finally, it's time to hop on. Stella, who has yet to actually say the word 'horse', spends the entire time on the pony, holding onto the horn with one hand, and signing the word 'horse' with the other (with a great amount of enthusiasm, I might add). Unfortunately, we were unable to get any decent pics of the long awaited event. Once the pony ride was over, Stella was cranky most of the rest of the night, because the pony ride was over. All efforts were now aimed towards distracting our little one from the ponies at the other end of the parking lot. Since the resemblence is so striking (we're talking doppleganger, here), Stella dressed up as Cindy-Lu-Who. Truly adorable. can't wait 'til next year!!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Manta Rays, sharks, and fish, oh my! Left at the crack of dawn to avoid traffic, and we spent the day chasing Stella, feeding Stella, and trying to get a cranky Stella to nap. All of this with fish and jellies as a backdrop. Stella loved the river otters. The penguins were defnintely a highlight. There happened to be one little guy showing off right in front of the glass, following anyone with a camera. Stella couldn't stop pointing and grunting. Apparently, we missed the real show, however, when a couple of penguins started mating. We had just walked away from the exhibit a minute or two before, when suddenly the crowd went from two to about eight people deep. I guess we know what always attracts the masses.
The favorites were the 'touch and feel' areas, where Stella perfected her splashing skills, and the toddler play area. She got a little ticked when we finally had to remove her from the water, because she wasn't the only one getting soaked as a result of her excitement.
Stella finally crashed as we were pulling out of the parking lot.
It was fun, and we are glad to be home.