Our little Belle turned one in early August, so we decided to throw a party for her.
It was quite an affair. Friends and family came from all over to help us celebrate. Lanie even had a baby sized cake specially made for her. She is now the proud owner of more creepy, talking animals than she knows what to do with.The morning line up on PBS has become a staple in our house. Classics like Sesame Street and Clifford are great ways to introduce the little one to colors, shapes and letters.
There is one show, however, that we disagree on greatly. Every attempt has been made to keep Barney out of the picture, because he's awful.
He clearly has sinister motives, and he's not to be trusted. When he comes on, the T.V. goes off. Period.
Last week, though, we accidentally tuned in just in time to catch a sickeningly cheerful version of Yankee Doodle Dandy bastardized to extoll the virtues of oral hygiene. As I began to dry heave and frantically search for the remote, I looked over to see that Lanie was absolutely enthralled. In the name of love, I decided to give the purple menace a minute to redeem himself. The on-screen action quickly shifted to a group of young children playing hopscotch while Barney and his somehow even more disturbing half-bother BJ jumped up and down with glee. I didn't even realize I had drifted into a dinosaur murder fantasy until my daughter's clapping and laughing snapped me out of it. We're hoping this doesn't become a problem.
On a more pleasant note, Lanie continues to be a fantastic eater. Her high-chair has become a second home.Realizing that she is going through a crucial stage of physical development, we never pass up the chance to offer her food, and she rarely turns us down. She still only has two teeth, though, so most of her food needs to be cut into smaller-than-throat sized pieces. Last week I diligently quartered about 20 blueberries for her afternoon snack and then watched in horror as she jammed the 80 tiny sections into her mouth in three massive fistfulls. I can't believe more babies aren't Darwin Award winners. We're doing our best to keep her off the list. So far, so good.
