Spring has sprung

We have been truly blessed with some amazing whether this winter, but I say it's time to celebrate the changing of the season. A year ago the importance of this seasonal transition was lost on me, I was more consumed with trying to find my thumb. Now, I'm bursting with enthusiasm as I explore new things and experiment with different sounds and movements. The opportunity to start taking my fun outdoors is an immeasurable bonus. So for all you who are pooh-poohing this new season, to you I say: "thhppbbbbbssssss."

Papa dressed me up in my new spring duds so I could go play with my friend today. We love playing. I even took my walking Winnie the Pooh so we could all play together.

The Politics of Cute

Constantly someone is lecturing me about humility but it’s tough when you’ve got a smile like mine. At every opportunity when I see a mirror, I have to practice how to smile in the event someone makes a funny face, how to act shy when someone wants to pinch my cheeks and how to laugh hysterically when someone attempts humour. This is all a grand rite of passage for a 14-month-old baby.
Let’s be honest, baby puppies are precious. Little kittens playing with big balls of blue wool are adorable. But let’s cut to the chase, I’m cute. Can Gribouille put his hair in a little Pebbles-esque style? I think not. And even if he could, would anyone stop and think to themselves, “Wow what a cute grey cat with his hair styled in such a fashionable way.” But look at me, don’t you just want to melt. Looking cute is only half the battle, it’s all about acting the part as well. It is critical to have that panache that can carry you in those moments when your hair style just won’t win over a tough crowd. That’s why I’ve perfected the smile and head nod. It sends adults into full belly laughs. Or, when I run through my growing vocabulary repertoire, I can impress even the most jaded individual.

Look around, Piglet wears pink well, but he doesn’t carry it off with my razzle-dazzle. Tigger has lots of energy, but over extended periods of time he can’t capture and keep the attention of parents and adults like I can when I’m in my zone. Winnie the Pooh can teach us a lot about positive body image, but I can teach more about having fun. Eeyore, well, Eeyore needs to lighten up. Caillou, well the kid has all sorts of adventures, but he doesn’t have any hair. Like, what’s up with that? And let’s be honest, all the birds in my books aren’t very bright. Let’s be serious, does a dog really look like a bird? And aren’t owls supposed to be smart? Of course their mother will come back with food, so Percy, Sarah and Bill just chill out a bit.
With each passing day, I’m getting more confident on my feet and that is causing adults to stop and watch me. I can push myself onto my feet and bring up my torso into a standing position. At that point waves of euphoria wash over me and it is around that point when I tumble over onto my diaper. But for those fleeting moments, I am the epicentre of attention.

Grabbing onto legs is turning into a growing sport for me. As maman or papa (or Belle) walk by, I can pivot, push myself from the surface I’m propped up onto at that point and take the plunge for my parents (or pets). It is so much fun, I’m sure you need a licence for it.

Elle and Belle

Ok it's official, we're the cutest blogging duo in the blogosphere.

Peaking out of the abyss

This blog will not be long in case the gremlins re-appear. For the last several days, uploading photographs onto the site has been impossible. But my 14-month-old computer skills have triumphed over the evil-doing techno-watchamacallits.
As my wonderful new picture suggests, I'm peaking out from the cyber abyss and staring at a brave new world of blogging now that I can update the site again. Toodles.

Techno gremlins wreak havoc

Several posts in the past few days have been thwarted by techno gremlins. I can post written blogs, but for some reason I can't upload photos. I know how my faithful readers enjoy learning about my various antics, but it's the photos of yours truly that keep people coming back for more. I promise once I get this situation sorted out, Elle and Belle's Adventures will get back to regular updates. Here at blog management thank you for your patience.

Belle's lair

Billy Corgan once said he felt like he was a rat in a cage. Poor Billy, it must be a painful existence to have all that rage. Myself on the other hand, all I do all day is smile and laugh. Right now, I'm a happy baby sitting in Belle's crate and I could leave at any time. Belle is great when it comes to sharing her home with me. Typically I come in here, flip through some of her belongings, eat some of her toys and pretend I'm going to sleep. I'm not really going to take a nap, but that is generally when Belle starts to become a tad concerned that I'm taking over her lair.

Having pets is a lot of fun, especially ours because they have no choice but to let me play with their toys. As you can see, using the cat condo, I can stand up and gaze out the window. This is especially productive in the morning when all my friends wait for the school bus or in the evening when papa gets off the bus. I don't think Gribouille and Toulouse care too much or if they do they haven't expressed it to me yet.

My burgeoning movie career

So on Sunday night, I’m trying to climb on Belle and all I see on the television is this annoying guy who resembles former prime minister Brian Mulroney talking to all these people in fancy outfits. He is even more annoying than Seamus O’Regan. Papa informed me it was the Academy Awards and they were lining up to see who would win an Oscar. The only Oscar I know of is Oscar the Grouch and I didn’t think they would let him in with his garbage can while all the other people were wearing gowns that would cost about as much as our house.
Papa tried to explain who was up for these motion picture awards and particularly the movie of the year. He told me about this “Brokeback Mountain” flick. Although he would not delve too deep into the plot line, he informed me it was a charming tale of two cowboys who came out of the closet and he opined that the social significance of the story was the driving force behind its fame. When I interrogated him for more details, he brushed me off, saying I’d understand more in the future.

Left to my own devices, I started thinking about my life story and the social significance of my directional history with household storage areas. For instance, I’m now writing a movie script where the heroine (a.k.a. me) lays in a drawer. I know, the suspense is gripping me already. In this heart-warming tale, I will climb into the drawer and make fishy faces at maman and papa. This will be a big-budget blockbuster.

Once the hype dies down on that saga, I will switch gears and showcase a tear-jerking tale of a young girl (a.k.a. me) who climbs into a cupboard to escape her torturous life of truncated naps, dogs that eat her toys and cats sleep on her bed. The social significance of closets will soon be so passé once I bring drawer sitting and cupboard cruising.

Shiney new shiner

As regular readers of my blog have come to realize, I'm all about firsts. So I'm happy to give Elle and Belle's Excellence Adventures an exclusive look at my first shiner. It is not one of those honours you go out of your way to get, it's more like you get it when you can't get out of the way. That was the case yesterday, maman, grand-maman and I were playing downstairs and well one thing led to another and my face had an unfortunate collision with an un-cushioned couch.
The downside it led to a lot of tears, the upside is I now get to show off my first black eye. Belle is now jealous and she is trying to get one too, Toulouse says he gets them all the time we just can't see them and Gribouille, well, he hasn't really had the energy to come and see my new body art.

Fancy running gear

From Papa's running blog...

Elle and I were playing on Saturday afternoon and she was asking what this whole running craze was all about. I tried to explain the physical benefits, such as being in better shape, the psychological benefits accruing from meeting and exceeding goals and the social benefits from participating in events that help our community. What sold her was the hat.

As is clearly show in this picture, my daughter is quite the fashion maven when it comes to running gear. If she continues to demonstrate such prowess when it comes to actually running as she does wearing running gear, Canadian women's distance running will hit all new heights.