This one goes out to Leslie B...
Our friend Leslie Ballenger is a great horsewoman, but Elsie may soon be in competition. Check her out over Thanksgiving riding Romeo. She must have some of her great-grandmother's genes... What a big girl!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Nutty Elsie
There is a favorite family story of ours from Johnny and Kate's wedding that still makes David and I laugh until we cry. It was from one of the late nights when Barbara fell asleep snacking on the Georgia pecans that were a part of Johnny and Kate's guest gift bags. It had been a late night and there might have been drinking involved, but the funny part was Barbara relaying how she was surprised upon awaking the next morning to find food in her mouth. She discovered the pecans still lodged in her cheeks. Elsie has inherited this special gene from her Aunt Barbara. We are constantly reminding her to chew nuts and sometimes we find nuts in her cheeks hours later... Here are some photos of her chewing said nuts and arguing with us over whether or not they are chewed and whether she can have another cashew.
There is a favorite family story of ours from Johnny and Kate's wedding that still makes David and I laugh until we cry. It was from one of the late nights when Barbara fell asleep snacking on the Georgia pecans that were a part of Johnny and Kate's guest gift bags. It had been a late night and there might have been drinking involved, but the funny part was Barbara relaying how she was surprised upon awaking the next morning to find food in her mouth. She discovered the pecans still lodged in her cheeks. Elsie has inherited this special gene from her Aunt Barbara. We are constantly reminding her to chew nuts and sometimes we find nuts in her cheeks hours later... Here are some photos of her chewing said nuts and arguing with us over whether or not they are chewed and whether she can have another cashew.
Post-Wiggles Follow Up
Well, it has been a while since the Wiggles, but it did make quite an impression on Miss Elsie. The first photo here is her getting ready to leave for the show. It was so exciting she insisted on wearing two bows to mark the occasion. We had the brilliant idea of eating at the Mellow Mushroom a block away from the Civic Center. Every other parent of a toddler had the same brilliant idea. The mellow SCAD student serving staff was visibly overwhelmed by the pub's transformation into a romper room but handled it admirably.
Upon attending the concert, we found the look on Elsie's face well worth the price of admission--she was speechless for once and spellbound for a good thirty or so minutes. At that point, we got a bit distracted by our neighbors but still managed to enjoy the show. We have to admit that the Wiggles know how to put on a good time... It was impressive. On our way out, we happened by a little boy sobbing because the show was over--and probably because he was coming down from a sugar rush and it was past his bedtime. But when Elsie asked, we told her "he was crying cause the Wiggles were done and going home." When asked about the Wiggles the next day and the days following, her report has been "boy crying--Wiggle gone home." I guess he embodied the intensity of emotions on this special day.
The other photos are Miss Elsie in the frog hat her Addie knitted her, helping mommy reading the Sunday paper with accessories, and eating her first happy meal, a treat with the babysitter coming--good times in mid-November.
Well, it has been a while since the Wiggles, but it did make quite an impression on Miss Elsie. The first photo here is her getting ready to leave for the show. It was so exciting she insisted on wearing two bows to mark the occasion. We had the brilliant idea of eating at the Mellow Mushroom a block away from the Civic Center. Every other parent of a toddler had the same brilliant idea. The mellow SCAD student serving staff was visibly overwhelmed by the pub's transformation into a romper room but handled it admirably.
Upon attending the concert, we found the look on Elsie's face well worth the price of admission--she was speechless for once and spellbound for a good thirty or so minutes. At that point, we got a bit distracted by our neighbors but still managed to enjoy the show. We have to admit that the Wiggles know how to put on a good time... It was impressive. On our way out, we happened by a little boy sobbing because the show was over--and probably because he was coming down from a sugar rush and it was past his bedtime. But when Elsie asked, we told her "he was crying cause the Wiggles were done and going home." When asked about the Wiggles the next day and the days following, her report has been "boy crying--Wiggle gone home." I guess he embodied the intensity of emotions on this special day.
The other photos are Miss Elsie in the frog hat her Addie knitted her, helping mommy reading the Sunday paper with accessories, and eating her first happy meal, a treat with the babysitter coming--good times in mid-November.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Elsie-ology: sometimes a monkey is just a monkey
Interpretation of Dreams: Over the weekend, upon waking up, we asked Elsie how she slept and if she had any dreams. Friday night she told us she dreamed about monkeys. Saturday night she dreamed about naked babies. What would Freud make of that?
Conflict Mediation: Whenever Daddy raises his voice about work, about the world, or about his wife, Elsie becomes very agitated and tells Daddy "shhhhh go night night, Daddy. Go to bed. You tired. Go night night." She is doing wonders for our marriage.
Diagnosing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: One day Elsie got dirty on the playground. She had to ride in her stroller that way and I told her it was ok that kids got dirty sometime. She asked if Daddy got dirty when he was little. I answered yes. She then asked about everyone she knew--Nonie, Grammy, Johnny.... Oscar, Rocky.... It provided her some solace, I think, to imagine all these dirty babies running around.
Facing One's Fears: So, Elsie has never really liked people dressed up in big costumes--Jake at Salty Dog, clowns, Santa. And there may be some wisdom in such phobias... But this weekend Elsie overcame that one with a vengeance at the Savannah Children's Book Festival. There she got to hug Arthur, Corduroy, and that literary great, the Chick-fil-a cow. She wanted to hug Stellaluna the bat even--but Stellaluna must have been having a bad day and didn't get that being at a children's festival in costume meant hugging was part of the job. We'll see how this carries over at the Wiggles show tonight and seeing Santa at the Salty Dog next week...
Interpretation of Dreams: Over the weekend, upon waking up, we asked Elsie how she slept and if she had any dreams. Friday night she told us she dreamed about monkeys. Saturday night she dreamed about naked babies. What would Freud make of that?
Conflict Mediation: Whenever Daddy raises his voice about work, about the world, or about his wife, Elsie becomes very agitated and tells Daddy "shhhhh go night night, Daddy. Go to bed. You tired. Go night night." She is doing wonders for our marriage.
Diagnosing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: One day Elsie got dirty on the playground. She had to ride in her stroller that way and I told her it was ok that kids got dirty sometime. She asked if Daddy got dirty when he was little. I answered yes. She then asked about everyone she knew--Nonie, Grammy, Johnny.... Oscar, Rocky.... It provided her some solace, I think, to imagine all these dirty babies running around.
Facing One's Fears: So, Elsie has never really liked people dressed up in big costumes--Jake at Salty Dog, clowns, Santa. And there may be some wisdom in such phobias... But this weekend Elsie overcame that one with a vengeance at the Savannah Children's Book Festival. There she got to hug Arthur, Corduroy, and that literary great, the Chick-fil-a cow. She wanted to hug Stellaluna the bat even--but Stellaluna must have been having a bad day and didn't get that being at a children's festival in costume meant hugging was part of the job. We'll see how this carries over at the Wiggles show tonight and seeing Santa at the Salty Dog next week...
Thursday, November 06, 2008
One Day...
So Elsie is a devoted reader. Many times a day, she gathers up a pile of books and climbs into a chair, a bed, a box, whatever is handy and begins reading. She reads her books or my books. She often incorporates the words she's heard us use with the pictures she is seeing in her books. She also incorporate aspects of her own day in her books. The books vary, but one aspect of the story remains the same: As she turns the page, she begins "one day...." So here is a transcription of a book of mine, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which she was "reading" in bed this morning:
"One day.... lots of words.
One day... monster came.
One day... hungry.
One day... eat pancake.
One day... stick sticky.
One day... coughing.
One day... night night.
The End."
So Elsie is a devoted reader. Many times a day, she gathers up a pile of books and climbs into a chair, a bed, a box, whatever is handy and begins reading. She reads her books or my books. She often incorporates the words she's heard us use with the pictures she is seeing in her books. She also incorporate aspects of her own day in her books. The books vary, but one aspect of the story remains the same: As she turns the page, she begins "one day...." So here is a transcription of a book of mine, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which she was "reading" in bed this morning:
"One day.... lots of words.
One day... monster came.
One day... hungry.
One day... eat pancake.
One day... stick sticky.
One day... coughing.
One day... night night.
The End."
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Happy Halloween, Part III: Trick or Treat!
Elsie enjoyed
Halloween as a celebrity. She was actually followed by paparazzi when we went "trick or treating" over at Bluff Drive--people stopped us to admire her costume and asked to take her picture. We owe the Pace family for this moment in the limelight as Emma Pace was gracious enough to loan this most excellent Raggedy Ann creation handmade by Emma's Grandma Pace.
Elsie enjoyed
Halloween as a celebrity. She was actually followed by paparazzi when we went "trick or treating" over at Bluff Drive--people stopped us to admire her costume and asked to take her picture. We owe the Pace family for this moment in the limelight as Emma Pace was gracious enough to loan this most excellent Raggedy Ann creation handmade by Emma's Grandma Pace.
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