More Rhapsody in Blue

With all the flying I've been doing with my parents, I have already qualified for a free award ticket on United Airlines! I have also achieved Premier status after only 5 months! Perhaps I will join my dad in the Million Miler status one day. Or, at least be the youngest kid to travel on her own award ticket.

(Picure: in the cockpit of a competing airline's Airbus 320!)

I speak!

...really I do! I actually said something to a stranger when prompted ("bye bye" to Amanda's David). I actually responded to a stranger asking my age (with 3 fingers), and didn't cry when one of Mommy's friends picked me up. It may not seem like much, but for me these are huge steps. My parents are totally floored.

Give me your tired, your poor...

(I promise you that Mommy didn't put me up to this picture - I volunteered!)

My third trip to New York was fantastic. I saw lots of friends that I didn't remember meeting before, and met lots of new ones. For the most part, we did lots of things we usually do at home: go to the park, see friends, and buy in food. But we did it with a New York flare.

Here are some of the fun things we did:

Bryant Park - I was so excited to ride this cool old French-styled carousel! The carousel manager picked me up and strapped me on a horse. He probably wanted to help Mommy since she was alone with Sebastian in a sling. But I almost cried from it; luckily Mommy showed up quickly by my side. I usually prefer sitting on the bench (I didn't like the horse going up and down at TDL), but I was just so joyful on this carousel ride. Adjacent to the carousel was an open air children's reading room. Although I liked reading the books, I spent more time organizing the kids' tables and chairs by color. We also went to the New York Public Library where the kids' books were in the gift shop (library is research only), so Mommy read them to Sebastian and I while we all sat on the floor. Before that we were at Grand Central Station eating at Oyster Bar. Lots of good people watching, a clock tower, stars on the ceiling, and trains - what more could you want?

Battery Park - I learned about the Statue of Liberty from a friend's globe toy that talked about world famous sites when you touched the globe. And once I learned about it, I couldn't wait to see the real thing because I saw the Liberty face everywhere! So my parents took me to Battery Park hoping that would satisfy me. But I couldn't see her face! So Mommy took me on the Staten Island Ferry, hoping that would suffice. Well, we sailed by it, but I still couldn't really see her face! In the meantime, I got obsessed with getting a styrofoam liberty crown. So after the ferry ride, we returned to Battery Park in search of one to buy. There we saw Liberty Man! (street performer dressed up like Statue of Liberty). So I got to see Liberty's face!!! I beelined up to him so I could dress up like Liberty and take a picture with him. Mommy was laughing too hard inside to mind having to pay the man $5 for it. Before hopping on the 1, we stopped by the playground. I followed around this older boy who challenged me to do all sorts of climbing, much to Mommy's surprise. It was super fun!

Transit Museum - in Brooklyn; I LOVED IT!! I got to "drive" real buses! Wheeee!

Central Park - We walked from our hotel to the playground, then had a picnic with Zoe and her family at Sheep Meadow. We played lots of games on the grass in the hot weather. (The zoo and water park are supposed to be fun, but we didn't make it on this trip.)

Madison Square Park - I played in the playground while waiting for delicious Shake Shack hamburgers and frozen custard

In the middle of all this, we visited Joseph and his parents in Connecticut. Having a little companion, playing with his stash of great toys, and running around his beautiful home were a breath of fresh air on our New York vacation!

See pictures from the trip here.

Happy Mother's Day!

The morning of my school's Mother's Day celebration, I excitedly told Mommy that we were going to sing a song, and then I was going to give her a present that my teacher put candy in. So later when Mommy saw me, I really impressed her that I performed the song! (lyrics: "I love Mommy, yes I do, Mommies are for hugging, Mommies are for kissing, I love you") I don't like big audiences however (there were ~8 other mothers), so in the middle of the song, I started tearing. I made it through the song, but when it was over, I was crying. But Mommy was so proud and touched by how brave I was, she showered me with lots of kisses and hugs. This was the first time I was able to do this in front of any audience, so this was a great Mother's Day present for her!

Golden age

At 3.33 years old, I am at the "golden age" where I am slightly independent and can communicate, while still finding my parents to be the most wonderful people in the world. Here are the latest developments in my life...

I tell stories! I describe to my parents all about what happened "yesterday" (my universal term for things happening in the past).

I wave goodbye and give high fives to people, even strangers! OK, I am still too shy to say a word, but this is a start...

I spontaneously kiss Mommy and Sebastian! Sometimes I kiss Mommy's behind because that's what is at my face level. Daddy is feeling shafted because I haven't kissed him unprompted yet.

I follow directions from others! Strangers used to completely freak me out and I used to be rigid whenever anyone talked to me. But now I will perform to instructions from others!

I have a competitive streak! These days you can get me to do almost anything by saying that someone else is going to win. I get really upset when the battle is over something that I absolutely don't want to do, like eat cucumbers. When it comes to competing against Sebastian in a food challenge, my response is "can we both win?"

I like copying other kids, even if it means I regress and speak baby talk, calling Daddy "Dada", and milk "milky". (the helmet I'm wearing in this picture is the exact same one Kenzo owns) I also copy the movements my teacher makes during music class.

Everyone has commented about how relatively well behaved I am these days. I was a pretty cranky baby and toddler! I remember the days when I used to get a timeout (sometimes multiple ones!) practically daily. I guess after all those timeouts, I don't need to test any more; my parents really do mean what they say! That, or I've just matured. I still have my moments where I want what I want but those moments are becoming fewer and farther between.

I have learned how to negotiate and "earn marbles" to gain privileges for things I want. I get pretty excited to clean up when I have TV at the end of the stick.

Oh, and forget about childproofing. I have figured out many of the childproof locks at our home and have proven tall enough to climb over the safety gates. I can now climb up the stairs step over step too! My parents are cringing in horror...

All this is what ultimately makes me a big kid!

bb b

I successfully sorted and finished my "t m" sound basket at school! I'm finally going to be moving on to "b f"! ff fantastic!