Day 1: Gold Medal Birthday!

Gymnastics.

 

As if there was any question about what would be Ariel's number one. We are having a gymnastics party at the recreation center to celebrate her birthday. 45 minutes for party and 45 minutes to jump on the trampoline, swing on the bars and balance on beams. A good time to be had for sure. And it looks like we'll be signing her up for gymnastics class in June. Sounds like the beginnings of a future Olympian.

 

Day 3: The Princess of Tangles

Ariel used to be the favorite princess in the house, but my daughter's loyalties have shifted to Rapunzel. She loves the soundtrack (as mentioned in "Gimme a Beat" post), the movie, and of course the featured heroine.

She likes to wear my scarf and pretend its her long hair. Eric and I are forced to play the roles of Flynn Rider and Mother Gothel, respectively, and any chance she gets to dress up is a good day. Ariel even has a wig to go along with her dress and looks like a fairy or elf with it on. Cute and strange.

P.S. Honestly, if you have not seen this movie, you are missing out. We'll worth the time to see it.

Day 2: Hola, Amigos!

Yes, she's still into Dora the Explorer and all of the fun that follows. Actually, we're having a Dora themed party for her. Ariel's favorite episode is "Dora saves the Snow Princess," but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe because its a double length episode or that is has a princess in it. Your guess is as good as mine. For Christmas, we bought her a book of Dora stories (that closely follow the TV episodes) and you'll never guess which story is requested 9 times out of 10?

Dora is just good, clean fun and how can one not appreciate that?

P.S I made the dress she is wearing in the picture.

Day 4: Mermaid Ambitions

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Ariel who wanted to be a mermaid. Wait a minute, is that how the story goes?
Recently, we took Ariel to the pool, where we stayed wet and wrinkled for 3 hours!

She would stand at the edge of the pool and throw a toy in water. Then she would jump in and we'd catch her, "swim" her out to the toy and then back to the pool.

 

On one toss, she chucked the toy half way across the pool, I turned to see where it went when she jumped in. And no one was there to catch her. Panicked, I fished her from the bottom and hauled her up. Ariel came up spluttering and laughing. "Mommy, I went under the water. I touched the bottom." So glad only Eric and I were traumatized.

Day 5: Best Auntie Ever

Vicki has got to be Ariel's favorite person, hands down (sorry grandparents). I think they get along so well because they share similar personalities. They like to wrestle and have photo shoots and get dressed up. If all relationships could be so full of life and love.

Thanks Auntie Vicki, bestest auntie ever.

Day 6: Of Books and Worms

Ariel has an insatiable appetite for reading (an inheritance to be proud of). Most days she would rather look through books than watch TV (sweet).

Her tastes vary, but she enjoys books with bears, treats/food, and princesses. Some of the more recent titles gracing her bedside table include "Snoring Beauty" by Bruce Hale, "Bats at the Beach" by Brian Lies, "Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet" by Jane O'Connor.

In any case, we all enjoy the stories at bedtime.

Day 7: Gimme a Beat

If Ariel isn’t going to be the next Olympic gymnast, then perhaps I can mold her into the most adorable Triple Threat ever. Mad singing, acting, and dancing are what will make you Broadway star.
Ariel has quite an ear for music and anything that pleases her, is destined to be repeated at naseum ( I think she gets this from Auntie Vicki who drove the fam crazy in this fashion with N’Sync). Her favorite tune is “Kingdom Dance” from the Tangled soundtrack. It’s got an Irish/Celtic flair with varying tempos and tons of energy.
Her other musical favorite at the moment includes, “I’m Sexy and I know it,” by LMFAO. She calls it “Little Girl Body Song.” Not sure how I feel about any of that.


When we’re driving in the car, she tries her hardest to sing along, even though she doesn’t know the words. Its so cute, it doesn’t matter that she’s off key. But then again, she probably gets that from me.

Day 8: I Spy with my Eagle Eye

Ariel is quite the lover of the I Spy books. And she’s even pretty good at locating items in the books geared toward school aged kids. This is probably why she is so good at the Busy Town Mystery Game. I wouldn’t go toe-to-toe with her in the spying category. It would be embarrassing.

Day 9: Fowl in Need of Anger Management

Angry Birds is another of Auntie’s doings, but Eric has really nurtured this affection for destroying perfectly good bacon. She has the attention span of an older child but with the fierce determination to wreak some havoc. FYI, she doesn’t like to take turns, so get your own screen!

Day 10: Ready, Ready, Ready, Ready to Run

Ariel with Cousin TJ

Since Eric is addicted to running, he feels the need to foster that love in his daughter. Ariel is fond of going out in the running stroller. She enjoys the fresh wind in her face, the sightseeing opportunities from her cushy point of view and the fact that she gets to say “Whee,” like the Maxwell the Geico pig. Its cute when she says it, not so much when daddy does.

She has also physically run in 2 Kids’ Fun Runs (about a quarter mile each). Perhaps the next Olympic distance runner if Daddy has his way.

Day 11: Saaaweet!

Hand in hand with chocolate, Ariel’s sweet tooth is definitely genetic. In fact, despite the fact that she received clothes and toys on Easter, the first thing out of her mouth was, “I got candy!”

 

  

As you can see, candy is never far out of reach.

Day 12: Chocolate Divine

Chocoholic.

Pretty much sums it up. I suppose we had a bigger hand in this than what I’m willing to admit. When we were weaning Aril off her silicone sippy cup in order to switch to a hard tipped cup, she refused her milk. So the concerned mother that I am, made her chocolate milk. Now we can’t get her off the stuff. Who’s the smart one now? M&M’s, Nutella, and True Moo made up the trifecta of this under appreciated food group.

Day 13: Trophy Girl

Our little competitor loves games. She is the Queen of Candyland with an impressive 97% win rate. She is also fabulously good at the Match Game, Disney Princess or Dora edition. (the one with the tiles you turn over and match up). But her favorite game is Busy Town Mysteries Games (a Christmas gift from Auntie Vicki). The characters race to Picnic Island before the pigs eat all the picnic food. Along the way, you have to find clues using little magnifying glasses. Really fun, but a bit time consuming. Ariel is quite the eagle eye.


We are so grateful that she hasn’t figured out that losing is a bad thing. We’ve taught her to say, “Good game” whether she wins or loses.

Day 14: Amen for Jesus Donuts

Once a month our church hosts a meet and greet for the congregation after service. Ariel loves this particular Sunday as she gets to partake in Jesus Donuts — the tastiest, softest, richest delight you could possibly get on holy ground.

In fact, she tends to eat a whole one by herself. It is not uncommon for her to walk into gathering space and check to see if the tables are set up for her special treat. At least she’s cute and not annoying about it.

Day 15: Sugar and Spice and Everything Accessorized

 Ariel is a girl through and through. She will almost always choose skirts or dresses over shorts/pants, manicures are a weekly event and if you’re not accessorized then you’re only half dressed. This includes hair styling flair like bows and head bands. Wow, she sounds so high maintenance! You can’t really fault a girl for wanting to look pretty.

According to My Watch, It's Potty Time!

Today should have been met with a big Saturday breakfast and a sense of humor. Instead, I prepared myself with a sleepless night and herbal tea for our potty adventure. To say I was ill prepared would be an understatement.


Ariel showed some interest in the potty over the summer, so Eric and I borrowed videos and books from the library. Ariel loved watching and reading both, and soon connected the words “pee” and “poo” with the toilet. She wasn’t quite ready for the big leagues, so she had a few hits and way more misses while we waited. This also included some frustration for both of us. Mainly because Eric and I had no idea what we were doing. This potty training stuff isn't the easiest concept to get across.

It wasn’t until recently that Ariel had the dexterity, strength and coordination to pull her pants (and her diaper) on and off. Now we were getting somewhere. Since my mom was kind enough to help ease our potty woes, she bought a watch for Ariel. Every 30, 60, or 90 minute, the timer goes off and plays some cutesy music to let you know its time to potty. Pretty neat and informative.

So this morning began with a front row potty seat to “Toy Story” for 30 minutes before breakfast. Her diaper was warm and full when we pulled it off, so we weren’t expecting anything to come around for awhile. And it didn’t. For three whole hours! Eric and I were mostly passed out when she finally peed ¾ the way through the movie. Ariel looked into the potty and declared, “Candy!” (We reward her with M&M’s. I know its probably bad parenting, but it gets Ariel to go. Everyone has a motivator).

This was awesome. One victory at a time. So before we laid her down for her nap, she went three more times. I know, so cool. She even climbed down from the table during lunch so she could go.

After nap was a challenge, as Ariel decided she wanted to wear her diaper again. Well since we “threw them away,” she was left with bare bottom or Big Girl underpants. Given those choices, she went naked. Two more hits in the potty before dinner. One after dinner. And all day long, she didn’t have a single accident. Yeah, I’m a proud mama.

Right before her bath, Ariel managed to place quite a smelly #2 in the pot. Wow. I didn’t think she’d do that on the first day of training. Lots of song, dance and high-fives for our little slugger. I didn’t expect this adventure to take all day, but it has and I couldn’t tell you what I did other than listen to the potty watch and dole out chocolate candy all day. It's been a long and exhausting day, but full of success.

I’m hoping we can nail this potty thing down before Christmas and then we can spend the diaper money on a date night.

Cooking Up Halloween Fun!

Ariel became an Iron Chef for Halloween this year. Since I still have creative control, I wanted a costume that was off the beaten path of vampires, pirates, and princesses (although, the princess thing is sure to rear up one of these years).

Our participation in the festivities included a mall trick-or-treat event and a trick-or-treat dinner and door knocking party. On Saturday, we went to the outdoor mall by our house. We wanted Ariel to take a nap, but since she feels she’s such a big girl, she skipped it. So we wasted a good part of the treat collecting and got there 20 minutes before it was over. Now it sounds sad, and it was, but that girl hauled away a good quarter bucket full of loot. Impressive, to say the least. Eric and I also dressed up. It was nice to see we weren’t the only parents to do so.


Pumpkin Carving with Daddy



On Halloween night, we went to the house of Eric’s running friend. She and her husband were so gracious to feed us all before trick-or-treating. There were 6 kids in the group that went out, with Ariel being the youngest. Someone at every house commented on her costume. Yeah, score one for Mom! We’ve been teaching Ariel about patience and waiting your turn, so she was the last one of the group to get candy, but she managed to say “trick or treat” and “’thank you,” every time. Then she would run back to us shouting, “Candy, candy, candy!” Her little beach bucket was so full by the end of the night, that candy was falling out of it, but Ariel wouldn’t let us hold any of it so she could get more. Yes, we are in the “Mine, Mine phase” of the terrible twos. Fun.



We all had a great time this year. I’m wondering if I’ll get another year to choose her costume or if she’ll be old enough to dictate what she wants.

À la cuisine!





The Boo Crew



Obi Wan Kenobi Vs. Pj Pookie




La-la-lala, la-la-lala, Birthday Time!

Guess what Elmo is thinking about today? Ya-ta-da-day!

Ariel's 2nd birthday.

We had a small family party simply for the fact that I didn't want to mess with the hassle of a big ordeal. Still put in a lot of work, but everything was perfect.

Obviously we had an Elmo themed birthday party, as per the princess's request. We also had a BBQ meal that her daddy cooked so deliciously.

My parents were able to make the trip for her party and Ariel enjoyed having her family around her. We presented her with the celebratory cupcake and, after all the singing, Ariel attempted to blow out the candles. I don't remember telling her to do this, but she apparently knew what to do. That's my smart girl.

Gifts varied from Little People playsets, to puzzles and a stuffed Cookie Monster, to a bubble machine.
But the big highlight was a bubble lawnmower and a Radio Flyer tricycle. That girl is doggedly determined to learn how to ride that trike down the street. Right now, we are taking baby steps going down hill in the drive way. Ariel doesn't quite have the strength to peddle, so gravity is her BFF at the moment. I'm so glad she has a helmet because she's nearly crashed several times. I realized a tumble off the bike is an inevitable reality, but if we could delay it, all the better.

Vicki took her official birthday pictures and I hope to share a few shots from the session next week (or when we get them). It's so hard to believe that our little baby is 2! Hardly seems possible.
Here are some pictures of the day. Enjoy.

cupcake

presents

grandparents

riding pretty

park

hot wheels

Ariel Update

At last doctor’s visit in December, our little princess was nearly 22 lbs and 31 inches. So that puts her in the 5th percentile for height and weight for age. She’s petite and that makes her perfect for GYMNASTICS! A sport suited for petite-powerhouses that combines strength and grace. The recreation department does offer classes for her age group. I think Ariel would love a gymnastics class. Just gotta get the cash together.

Ariel has always loved music, but the more I watch her, I’m realizing just how innate her musicality is. She finds the beats and the off-beats, she moves in time to the rhythm, which makes her great for MUSIC and DANCE classes! Wee! Yes, I sound like neurotic parent, but why not build on the foundation she is already establishing. And as a daughter of two band geeks, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. I mean, she has choreographed her own dance to the 1812 Overture. If that doesn’t scream ballet, or band geek, I don’t know what does. Ariel can’t start any of these other programs until she’s three, so it’ll be gymnastics until then. In the mean time, she enjoys putting puzzles together, dancing, singing, coloring, building, chasing after Pazu, and spending time with Elmo.

On Fridays when I do my long days at Kmart, Eric takes her for storytime at the library and she totally digs it. It gives her and Eric some awesome father-daughter time. I’m not sure how many words she has in her vocabulary bank, but she talks non-stop (gee, I wonder where she gets that from). We’re enjoying everyday with her. The next phase is to find a home daycare for her. I’m hoping I can transition straight from my externship into a job without much lag time. Trusting strangers with your child is such a leap of faith and trust and making a decision apparently is leaving awake at four in the mornings with nightmares. Yeah for me.

I’m working on another music video for Ariel. I have to search and re-download  the programs I was using since our computer crashed a few months ago. Maybe by March I’ll have it up. Until then, enjoy these pictures.



pint-sized Picasso







 

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reclining in a non-recliner