See...

See...this is the reaction when Daddy comes home during bath time.

See...this is what happens when Mommy gives me a super fierce blow-out


See...this is why Mommy thought I would like dance class.

Tiny Dancer

Apparently, even if a child loves to dance at home and at Disney on Ice shows, it does not mean she will love to dance in a dance class. This morning Serafina proved she wasn't down to boogie. Of course, it was just the first class and she might warm up to it. When Leo was in dance class (in this same studio, with the same teacher), he just watched the first day. But Serafina not only didn't want to participate, she didn't want me to put her down, so I had to hold her and do the silly dancing at the same time.

She warmed up a bit at times and I was able to put her down long enough to take a few pictures.


Doesn't she look cute in her tutu?
Climbing back into my arms.

Talking

Me: Leo, don't back-talk me.

Leo: Well, then I'm gonna front-talk you.

18 months old

Here's my baby, very much not a baby anymore. She is still as joyful and difficult as always. She's becoming picky about food and finds throwing it to be the best way to communicate her displeasure with what's being served. She can be extremely affectionate but loves to torture her brother by stealing his stuff. She still doesn't do much talking but loves reading books.
She's wearing her owl shirt because owl is a word she uses consistently.
Leo gets in on the picture action.
Tom fixed his haircut.
She dumped Raggedy Ann in the hamper.
Brushing her teeth before bed.

Rolly Slide Park

Rolly Slide park has an actual name that isn't Rolly Slide, but it doesn't matter. What matter is it has swings...

The obligatory rolly slide

Ride-on airplanes and fire trucks



And friends...

Disney on Ice

You haven't lived until you've seen a giant piggy bank on ice skates. We had the good fortune of going to see Disney on Ice (free!) with some friends. I have my issues with Disney and their "princesses", but I'll save my feminist rant for another blog post. I couldn't let my personal objections stand in the way of my kids' enjoyment. And they did enjoy it.

Well, Serafina didn't enjoy me trying to take a picture of her with her brother before we left.
Leo was happy to oblige. He got a hair cut yesterday. A very crooked hair cut. His daddy fixed it before bed.
Showing off his new shirt.
I think the look on Tom's face sums up an adult's experience of the show. I saw lots of people making videos with their phones and cameras. Why would anyone want to suffer through that over and over? Once was plenty. Did I mention the kids really liked it?
Dougie and Leo were sporting the same sweatshirt. Thank goodness they weren't attending the Oscars. That would have been embarrassing.
Waiting for the show to start.
Here's a shot from the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Leo liked when Goofy broke the cake during the Tea Party and when the Zamboni worked the ice during intermission. My favorite part was the ice skating broom sticks from Fantasia. It is fascinating to see skaters move in big costumes. The partner work during the princess part was good, but the message - every princess needs a prince - was kinda nauseating. Poor Tom leaned over to ask, "how many princesses are there?" A whole heck of a lot. The whole show would have been improved by an appearance by my favorite skater, Johnny Weir.
Leo was entranced the whole time. He really like it and didn't get scared during the Halloween part with the "villains".
Serafina did well during the show. She ate the whole time and did a little dancing on my lap. Here she is with her mouth full of food and her hands in the air. Towards the end she got squirmy, but so did I.
Back home she wanted to stay outside and wear her helmet, but it was a bit too chilly.

First dental visit

At Leo's three-year check up, the pediatrician recommended he start seeing a dentist. It took me a while to get around to finding a dentist and taking him in, but it finally happened today. I was very pleased with the place I chose. It was exactly what you would expect from a pediatric dentist - brightly decorated, friendly staff, even T.V.s on the ceiling with wireless headphones. Leo did an awesome job through the appointment. He was very cooperative through the cleaning and "Mr. Thirsty". He did have to stop to talk quite a bit because he loves to talk and he had an audience that was already very interested in his mouth.

The cleaning.
Being checked out by the dentist. The hygienist called him "doctor" and Leo corrected her that he was the "dentist" not the doctor. You can't tell from this picture but the dentist looked a lot like Zach Braff from "Scrubs".
We need to be brushing the back molars a little better and choosing less sticky night time snacks, but overall his teeth are fine. The dentist pointed out he has an overbite. Yeah, I did too before years of orthodontic torture...er, I mean, treatment.

Here's his white smile.
Wearing the bag the dentist gave him filled with oral hygiene items.
He got to pick out a toy for being a good boy. I was busy talking to the dentist, so he made this selection on his own. A sparkling pink star wand. We had fun with it until it broke this evening from typical boy playing.