“Shhh…I’m baking.”
— Lucy, while making banana bread with her mom (and wearing apron and chef’s hat.)
Part 2 of the summer pic series…more beach, boating on the lake, painting with auntie, and playing at the park.
“Phalaenopsis, phalaenopsis…pretty flower, pretty flower… “(to the tune of Frère Jacques)
— Lucy’s song after visiting the orchid farm
We’ve had a pretty mild summer, a few hot days here and there. On the hot ones we head out of town…to the foggy city or to the cool beach. Here are some snaps from our summer so far, mostly beach pics. Stay tuned for part 2…
Our little girl went to her first ballet this weekend. I loved ballet when I was a kid, so this was a special moment for me. I was a bit teary-eyed when it started. It just hit me…I am with my baby…at her first ballet!
Lucy has recently started liking ballet, dancing around wearing her tutu, pretending she is Angelina Ballerina. So when the chance came to see a kid-centered ballet we took it.
The ballet we saw was the Ugly Duckling, featuring as many students as possible from the local ballet school, costumed as ducks, swans, flowers, cats, dogs, and chickens. The baby swan stole the show.
Madame behaved very well, applauding in all the right places, staying in her seat the whole time, and watching enraptured for much of it. Not bad for a 3 year old.
When I was a little girl I was obsessed with ballet, and remember asking my mom for ballet lessons…and her saying, ‘not ’til you’re 5′ (or was it 7? either way it seemed a long ways away.) And boy I held her to it!
I remember changing into my ballet clothes in the station wagon as my mom drove me to ballet from school. I remember watching the older girls in the advanced class taking pointe lessons, and dreaming of the day that would be me. I remember the wonder of seeing some of those same girls performing in the LA Ballet’s Nutcracker.
I don’t want or hope for madame to become a professional ballerina, that would be a hard life (low pay, constant aches and bruises and little time for anything else).
But I am happy that she likes ballet, and will be happy to see her studying it, and to take her to many more performances. And I can’t wait for the day when she will be the student up on stage for the first time taking her bows.
Lucy and I made madeleines today with our acorn pan…love it almost as much as our mazed-shaped brownie pan. Such cute little cookies!
Well that was fast. April is now in the books and 2010 is officially one third over with! Below is a collage made exclusively with pictures taken from April.
Notable happenings from the past month:
Stuff I’ve watched/read this month:
Movies & Books
Madame has a habit of gleefully putting chunks of food in my tea or beverage of the moment. I have to watch my teacup at all times! This morning when we were having hot chocolate she decided to garnish it with choc-covered raisins.
They rapidly sank past the whipped cream to plonk! in the bottom of the cup, melting, and upping the chocolate factor. It wasn’t bad, but it was very filling. A few raisins go a very long way.
So the morale of the (very thin) story is, if you happen to be dining at a café with madame, watch yer cups!
At the Park from Mike C on Vimeo.
We brought Lucy to the park last week and she had a blast, playing on the swings, slides, and assorted playground fixtures. She had so much fun she had a bit of a fit when we told her we had to go.
However, I’m sure we’ll go back soon—I think Lucy misses her seahorse.
by Danny Gatton
When she was really little, we couldn’t complete a drive without the kid having a crying fit. Something about being shoved into a Camry and strapped immobile into a plastic seat never seemed to agree with her.
Fortunately, she enjoys going out for drives now. Whether it’s a trip to see Gma, or just a quick trek to the store, I think she sees drives as little adventures now. Adventures full of promise!
Actually, she’s so jazzed about a ride in the car now that she doesn’t even express disappointment when it has to take place in her Mom’s ho-hum Mini (rather than Dad’s super-cool Camry.) That, and maybe she doesn’t want to hurt ol’ Mom’s feelings. Whatta good kid.
Lucy loves taking pictures w/ her mom’s camera. Above are a few she took over the weekend.
We actually got her an inexpensive “kid’s” digital camera that’s supposed to be waterproof (something we’ll no doubt test the next time ol’ shtinky takes a bath). However, its lack of an lcd viewscreen severely dampens the kid’s interest in it. She’s sticking w/ mom’s camera for now.
Click here to view Lucy’s first photo exhibit.
It was really hot in the valley today (100 degrees!), so Lucy and I decided to go to the beach at Half Moon Bay.
She saw the Pacific up close and personal for the first time! She got to hold seaweed, saw lots of doggies, and watched the waves crashing and the tide go in and out. She definitely wants to come back!
