Sunny Days

A few weeks ago we decided to take T to her first live event. Sesame Street!! She'd never really watched the show before, but we sat down at watched a couple of episodes with her before the event. That Elmo really know how to suck the kids in, doesn't he?

We figured it wouldn't be worth it to spring for the fancy pants seats, so we were relegated to row Z. It actually worked out pretty well. it was the last row up right by the rail, so we had a little more room so that she could stand up and no one was sitting in front of us.

We were surprised at how well she did. A few times she was more interested in the kids around her, but once her dad got the popcorn, she was fixated for a good 5 minutes! Every time someone came out on stage she would yell, "ELMO!" even if it was Big bird. The show was entertaining enough, even for us oldies. It was a nice little family excursion, not that she will remember it, but we took pictures. Of course it was so dark you wouldn't be able to tell she was there!! Maybe next time we will have better photo ops because I think she will be over the top excited in March when we take her to see her next live action spectacular...Yo Gabba Gabba!!!! I was watching a show when the commercial came on saying it was coming to Minneapolis and jumped online to buy tickets. This child could sit all day and watch the same episode over and over and over again. Hopefully she will enjoy the show. We still went with the cheap seats because, let's be honest, she's not going to remember this and she may not sit still for the whole thing. I'm not sure the $100 per ticket YGG package (to have a picture take, meet the gabbers, have a snack, etc etc) is really worth the price, even if she were older. It would be a whole lot of fun, but really? $300 for a half an hour before the show and floor seats? Sorry, can't do it. I think I might be looking forward to this a little more than I should be. We're not telling her about it until we are on our way to the show (I know, she wouldn't get it anyway), but even saying the words Yo Gabba Gabba requires you to put the show on for her ASAP. That's why around our house, it's called YGG.

Here are some Sesame Street pictures...more of the show than her, because she isn't a cooperative subject. And don't worry we'll post Gabba ones when we have them!

The Sesame Gang

ELMO!

T enjoying the show

More of the gang

Bits and Pieces

Since Tennyson is well into her 19th month of life, I thought I should write down some of the things we find funny about her. Well, not about her, but just what she does...you know what I mean.

She does not like to stay in one place for too long. No matter what the toy, she will move on within a few minutes. This can make it difficult for me to get things done. Every now and again she will keep herself occupied for 10 minutes maybe. We bought her, her very own laptop and she seems to like it. Every time we go down into the basement for her to play with her ball pit and kitchen, I grab my laptop and so does she. She also enjoys puzzles quite a bit too.

She is a non stop chatterbox. We don't always know what she is saying but she is very expressive when saying it. She says Elmo, snack, eat (as she shoves her finger in her mouth), papa, ssss (Lisa), blueberry, and a plethora of others. basically she will try to say everything once, but never on demand in front of other people. So I assume everyone thinks we lie. she does love to say hi and bye though.

She enjoys going outside on her little sled. It's been nice and warm here so we've been out a couple of times, but the snow is deep and crunchy, which makes it hard to keep a sled from tipping over or sinking.

She likes to sweep, or well just swing the broom around wildly. Luckily nothing has been broken yet.

She loves dancing, but won't always do it. She has taken to running in circles, screaming "da da da da da da da da." Usually this happens when she hasn't taken her nap and is beyond tired. It's quite funny to watch.

She is very independent (surprise!) and doesn't like us to feed her any more. This makes for a lot more laundry. It's not usually too bad unless we've had soup for lunch!

She would eat fruit all day long if I let her. I think she would eat an entire watermelon in one sitting. Cheese too. Sadly, we thought she didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but I think Christmas changed that. Luckily if she doesn't see it, she doesn't want it. Fruit will suffice greatly. I can hardly wait for summer and all the yummy fruit to come back into season. That Costco membership definitely pays for itself in the summer!

Tennyson might be the world's youngest harmonica prodigy. She caught on quick and loves to serenade us daily.

She is not very good with the sharing thing. It comes with the age I know, although Mark (and my Mom) would quickly disagree that it's probably because her mom doesn't like to share. Either way, she is quick to run to one of us when the other tries to use her laptop or play her harmonica. Thankfully she will readily say please, so we can at least teach her to be polite when she wants her stuff back!

She is a pretty good kid who provides a good laugh every day. She is very friendly, but a little shy. She will always wave and smile at people but won't always say hi. She will wave down anyone walking by her and is they have a baby or a puppy she is even more excited.

Yo Gabba Gabba is still her show of choice. She now has a little Brobee, a Foofa and a Plex toy.

She is really good at doing what we ask and will put her dishes in the cupboard, clean her toys up, and help me with groceries. Let's hope it stays that when she gets older!

She is obsessed with putting on and taking off her sweatshirt and her snow pants. Much of our day is spent with the snow pants. If it makes her happy, right?

One thing she isn't, is a shopper. She really doesn't care for shopping. If it's one store and it's quick then she will survive (as long as I have snacks), but anything more than that and it can get interesting. She will hang on if it is a Costco trip because there are usually samples and sometimes we get yogurt before we leave. Her Target treat is the mango smoothie. I have never seen anyone throw down on a smoothie as quickly as she does!

Of course we are pretty biased, but we think she is a smartie. She picks up on things quickly and only needs to see something once and she will know how to do it. She doesn't always succeed in getting it done, but she tries.

Perhaps the biggest success she has had lately it peeing on the potty!!! I know it was just a fluke, but she is obsessed with the toilet and every time someone goes in there, if the door is shut she is very upset and will stand in the hall knocking on the door yelling, "pee, pee, I pee, I pee." She hasn't quite grasped the whole peeing on the toilet thing, but we're just letting her get used to it. Maybe this toilet training thing will be easy after all! That or a nightmare. Time will tell.

Here are some random photos and some videos for your enjoyment.

Some random pictures from Christmas:

Hanging with Auntie Jenne

Mom and me

Me and a friend

Me and Auntie Lisa

She's bringing the 80's back

This kid knows her fashion - thigh highs and a scarf

Vocabulary

The Moves

Christmas in the 'Peg

Christmas was a lot of fun. T was definitely more into it this year than last. She quickly grasped the whole stocking thing, ripping wrapping paper off at lightening speed, quickly throwing one gift to the side for the next, and learning to say "nice" after opening a gift.

She was the hit of the holiday, providing laugh upon laugh. She quickly took to her Grandpa (Papa) the entire time we were there. The only one who could come close to that level of attention was the puppy. Boy I am glad that dog is patient. She climbed all over him, poked him in the eye, grabbed his tail, stepped on him, laid on his head, fed him treats and just about anything else she could think of. Poor puppy. I am sure he is glad we're gone.

T and I stayed a little bit longer to visit with friends and family and had a great time. We had to or we would have never been able to bring everything home in the car!

Here are some random pictures from the last couple of weeks. I tried to remember to take lots of pictures, but many days passed without the use of the camera. And of course most pictures are from Christmas morning, so no one looks good. Oh well, I'll just post pictures of everyone but me!!