My new sandbox

For about a week there was this large brown container on our back porch and I could never quite figure out what it's purpose was, although I had a suspicion it was for me. It seems quite a lot of things have shown up recently with my name on it. But on Saturday, I woke up from my nap and all of a sudden there was a sandbox ready for me to play in. This was so exciting. I must admit, at first I wasn't quite sure what to do. I had two shovels, a big one and a small one. Immediately this conjured up similarities to my Lumpy situation, I have big Lumpies and small Lumpies. When it comes to purple elephants, I general prefer the small ones. However, I had to decide whether the same would hold true for shovels. The big shovel was much heavier but I could move more sand. The little shovel was far more accessible for my little hands but it didn't give me the same degree of sand-transferring satisfaction.

Maman and papa didn't want me playing in the sandbox too long. And it seemed once I started to enjoy myself, they began encouraging me to hop out. I can tell you that I had a few choice words to describe my lack of enthusiasm for that plan. It is so unfair that I had to get out of my new sandbox. All I needed was my frog pool and a nice cold sippy-cup of apple juice and my afternoon would have been absolutely perfect.

They're Back!

Grand-maman and Grand-papa are back in the province. It's true they were at our house when I woke up this morning. A little baby can only handle so many big surprises like that ... well, without needing a diaper change. They got me lots of presents in Florida and even some gifts for the bébé. I hope the bébé doesn't always cut into my gift receiving.
We get to see them again next weekend. I'm so excited.

April is Oral Health Month

I'm a sucker for good dental hygiene. Your teeth (and I have about a dozen of them right now so I can speak to this quite candidly) are like the best friends you have, if you're good to them, they'll be good to you.

It's all about Attitude

Being able to adequately pull off one Pebbles-esque pony tail on the top of your head takes a fair amount of verve for a baby. But inserting that second pony tail, catapults you to a whole new level that requires equal doses of attitude and style. Let's be realistic, that baby on the bank commercial couldn't do what I'm pulling off. As he or she is worried about that little arrow graphic going up and down, I'm taking cuteness to heights previously unknown. I admit, my ability to churn out piles of blog-worthy pictures comes from my comfort level with the camera. Some shirk the spotlight and avoid the lens, well not yours truly. When I see a camera, I see opportunity. Opportunities to make people smile, chuckle or perform full belly laughs. Or opportunities to capture a particular moment in my life for all time. And it's better when these opportunities all converge at the same time.
It has come to my attention that having attitude is sometimes seen as unbecoming of a little girl. That saddens me because it clearly harkens back to a time when children were supposed to be seen and not heard. If that were the case now, how could I entertain all my adult friends? Look at this killer smile, the only thing more engaging than a 15-month-old smiling with all her teeth is a toddler smiling with a few fresh gaps in their teeth.
So when it comes to having attitude, I'll raise a sippy-cup to that. Oh and Belle too.

Hoppy Easter everyone!

You're two favourite Easter Bunnies want to wish you all a Hoppy Easter! Get it bunnies hop, anyway, that kind of humour works on me. Belle and I are like the cape crusaders of collecting coloured eggs. Belle with her ability to sniff out missing eggs and my ability to put anything in my mouth, we make an outstanding duo. One day, perhaps, people will write poems or folk songs about us.
Maman and papa decided to take a trip to Bouctouche this weekend for Easter. There wasn't much going on in Fredericton (as if that is different from any other weekend, but I digress), so we went to grand-maman and grand-papa's place on Friday, even though they weren't there. We had three beautiful days in Bouctouche. Belle and I had a ton of fun playing in the backyard and chasing tennis balls. Belle, however, liked running after the balls that papa threw better because they went much further than when maman or I tossed them. I had the sniffles and an on-again, off-again fever, so I couldn't go and see memere with maman, but I'll get to see her next time we're in Bouctouche.
The best part about heading to Bouctouche is that we get to visit and be visited by all my friends. Our first stop was to see Chloe. She has a pretty new playroom and she let me play on her slide, now papa has committed to getting me one (see I told you going for play dates in Bouctouche can be lucrative). Ma tante Carole came to visit on Friday and on Saturday night marraine and mon oncle Steven popped in to see me. As you can see I'm a very popular little girl.
When I woke up on Sunday morning it was as if it was Christmas all over again. I was pretty small last year on Easter, so I'm not sure what we did. This year, as soon as I opened my eyes I saw a little Lumpy on my changing table. He was hiding in his own little egg, he likes to play peek-a-boo with me. And when I went for breakfast another Lumpy was sitting in my high chair. Now how cool is that, two new purple elephants before 7 a.m. I also got a new Caillou book and a Winnie the Pooh DVD, I'm a pretty lucky baby.

The best part of the entire weekend was when we got to visit parrain and ma tante Joanne for supper. This time they were a bit more prepared for my visit, they hid the cat food from my view. As it turns out, the Easter Bunny hopped to their house too and left some presents for me. I got a big floppy bunny, this new chair that I can lounge around grand-papa's pool all summer in and even more chocolate. To say that I was a pretty happy little kid would be a colossal understatement.
All evening I got to chase after Joanne’s two cats, both of whom are very different than Gribouille and Toulouse. One cat is black and he’s really hyper. The other cat, now he’s an odd personality. He doesn’t like to move a lot, so in that regard he is like Gribouille, but he has really long hair and a smooshed in face. I wonder if that was painful? I hope not because he seemed like a nice cat, even though he didn’t seem to appreciate me pulling his tail.
After supper, papa was falling asleep so we had to leave. Although maman and I had a chance to catch some Zzzz in the car on the way back to Fredericton, papa had to drive, so we felt sorry for him.

Smile, I am

From time to time, I come across some old curmudgeon who refuses crack a smile regardless of my tactics. How can life be that sad? I'm not that old. I'll be turning 15 months in less than a week and already I have no problem accepting the fact that smiles just make life easier to deal with. Belle has the funniest and floppiest ears around, they send me into hysterics. She is so predictable. Each morning, she jumps on maman and papa's bed until breakfast and once she gets back in from outside she scampers to my chair just in case I drop some food. Once I get out of my bath in the evening, she knows it's dinner time. She follows me wherever I go and has such a warm and loving doggie personality. How can you not smile at such a wonderful golden retriever? And the cats, they are so annoying that they are funny. Gribouille lets me walk on him, pull his tail and claw at his mouth. Toulouse, on the other hand, doesn't stay around me that often but he keeps the house light, by his constant meowing. How can you avoid smiling at these four-legged friends?

Now that I am starting to walk, the whole family is helping and inspiring me to go further. Belle lets me use her as a walking wall so I don't fall. Toulouse makes sure everyone knows where I am by "talking" constantly. And well, Gribouille he offers moral support from his bed. Maman and papa are so proud of me. Each time I take a step they are laughing and supporting me. Smiling just comes naturally to me. I love how when I smile others imitate me. I'm not a completely self-absorbed soul, but why wouldn't I smile 24/7? Even when I'm sad or sick, it doesn't take long before someone says something, offers a peek-a-boo or makes a funny face and I forget about my previous predicament. So go ahead, smile, I dare you.

How Punk Am I?

Each day, I see some wannabe punks donning oversized, earth-toned pants haphazardly ripped at the bottom, a black t-shirt with a lame, garage band logo scrawled across the front and a denim jacket, typically with a Dead Kennedys patch emblazoned somewhere on it. For these Sid Vicious lightweights, they like to show how punk they are with their silly little faux-hawks or bacteria-infested dreads. Seriously, at least Milli Vanilli took pride in their hair extensions. My point? Punk isn't what you wear or how you style your mop, but it's a lifestyle. As far as I'm concerned, once you try to adhere to some pre-conceived notion of punk, you've lost the entire point of punk.

So take a hard look at me. Forget that wimpy sugar-and-water hair glue. My hair is kept in place with a mixture of juices from chicken, rice, strawberries and pears. I'm so punk, I transcend three-chord arrangements and 4x4 timing. I'm a baby that blazes my own trail and I could really care less about all those other cry babies and image-obsessed toddlers who can't see the soother through the crib bars. For all those who refuse to wear pink or certain clothing styles because they fear they will be branded with some unwanted image, I say phewy. Bring on the girly clothes, headbands, elastics or closets packed with pink. So I ask you, how punk am I?

Apple in Belle's eye

The wonderful part of having a dog is you always know that she will be under your chair when you eat. The annoying part of having a dog is you always know that she will be under your chair when you eat. Maman finally relented and gave me the entire apple to eat instead of cutting it into little baby pieces. A sweet victory for a 14-month-old, but would Belle let me savour this triumph alone? No, of course she has her snout parked right under my elbow just in case I dropped my apple. Even more scandalous was the time she thought I would give her a piece of my strawberry. Does she not understand that this is one of my favourite types of fruit. I'm starting to get quite a taste for these little red gems, like I'm going to share them with a golden retriever. If she wasn't so cute, I'd consider getting Gribouille to sit on her during dinner time.
But as papa keeps reminding me for every piece of chicken (or apple) that she sneaks away from now, will be made up for in a few years when she starts eating my unwanted morsels under the table without anyone knowing. I love my dog.

Hanging with Maman

Each morning I climb up onto my Dora step, gaze out the window and imagine what all my little friends are doing outside. Some people play around the telephone pole on our lawn as they wait for the bus, others hang out with their parents. This is my wonderful maman and I, she and I do everything together. And I might add that she just started a new job. I’m so proud of her. We were going to have a few months this summer to hang out and go for long walks or visit grand-maman and grand-papa in Bouctouche before my new brother or sister came along. Although we will miss those opportunities, there is a very silver lining. This new job means more gifts for the kids. I hear talk of jogger strollers, minivans and new hardwood floors are on the horizon. Word is that papa has checked his bank account more in the last eight days than he has in the previous eight months. Poor papa, sometimes he just doesn’t learn, the girls run the house. Maman and I have been chillin’ together a lot lately. It’s pretty cool now that we can go for walks and we’re both on two legs, I never could have imagined how liberating that can be. Anyway, Belle has just informed me that the bathroom door is open and we are going to go and play in tissue paper!

I did it!

Another major milestone just fell by the wayside a few hours ago. Papa arrived home on the last bus, a few minutes after maman and I finished having supper together. The evening started normal enough, but the beef and broccoli must have had some hidden ingredient because I was bubbling with energy after dinner.
As has been noted yesterday, my first step was taken over the weekend. But tonight I was able to string eight, nine, 10 steps together and turn stepping into walking. Seriously. It was so exciting. I didn’t need to prop myself up on walls, dogs or toys. I pushed myself up onto my feet and walked. A few times I got ahead of myself and had such a big smile that I forgot that I actually had to balance myself and ended up sitting on my diaper. Such is life I guess. I’m not sure how this event will rank up with my first day at school, 16th birthday, high school graduation or first university kegger, but right now this is pretty cool.

Now I’m thinking to myself, with all this stardom that comes with walking where do I go next? At first I was thinking of a daytime talk show, but seriously, that is so overdone. I hear CBS is looking for an evening news anchor, and I’ve got more joie de vivre than Katie Couric. Perhaps I can do that, I like the video camera and it clearly likes me. Not to mention the fact that I’m roughly the same size as Steve Murphy and neither he nor I have our driver’s licence. But journalism restricts my creative passions.
So I think I’m going to find something that shows off my gigantic personality. I want a job that where I can wear sunglasses to work and take extended lunch hours on patios. Look at me, don’t I look like I belong in sunglasses? I’m so not stressing this whole baby brother or baby sister thing because they’re really going to have to bring some serious game to compete with my uncanny levels of cuteness.

A new day

Although I have no pictures to prove this as of yet, but maman is starting a new job today and I get to visit a new friend during the day. These two events are almost as exciting as the news that I've taken my first steps. Photos will definitely follow.