Supermarket Sweep

Should her career in politics not pan out, Elle has a backup plan.

This kid can push a shopping cart faster than someone could run to the bathroom carrying an actively urinating naked toddler... hypothetically speaking of course. Seriously, you really only catch a glimpse of blonde pigtails in the midst of a Tazmanian Devil type cloud of discarded produce and baked goods. Clearly she has found her calling in life:

Does anyone remember this show? I was obsessed with it as a child, and can remember angrily screaming at the TV "Go for the DETERGENT! What are you THINKING with those YOGURTS?! Clearly I'm excited that my daughter is destined for the show. I mean, if it still existed. All she needs is a bad body wave and skinny-legged pants rolled up at the bottoms.

Now the point of the show was to fill your cart with the most expensive items so your bill was the highest amongst your heavily hairsprayed competitors. I'm pretty sure this show alone contributed to the overspending mentality and debt crisis that followed nearly 2 decades later. I also finally realize why everyone went straight for the diapers.

Elle apparently thinks there might be a bonus in these nectarines.

But turns out there is no inflatable banana worth hundreds for her to haul back to the finish line. She is appropriately grumpy.

Better keep practicing little one. And maybe crimp the hair a bit...

Super Mom

I don't often feel like SuperMom. In fact, most days are more like "Elle-had-to-borrow-diapers-from-a-friend-at-school-today" Mom or "Dr. Golding,-I-think-your-breast-milk-spilled-in-the-call-room-fridge" Mom or "My-child-only-knows-how-to-cook-things-in-her-play-kitchen-using-the-microwave" Mom or "Your-daughter-is-the-mascot-of-daycare: first-to-arrive-and-last-to-leave" Mom or or my personal favorite, "Ma'am-your-child-just-ate-some-unidentifiable-fried-object-off-the-convenient-store-floor" Mom.

But this makes me feel like Super Mom:

Watching E jump for pure joy while slurping her "bana moothee! (Banana Smoothie), which has every possible element of nutrition that a SuperMom could hope for. The photo is blurry because she is literally jumping for joy between sips.

1 frozen banana

Splash of milk

Splash of juice (we don't drink juice so I use Sobe Life Water or something similar we have on hand)

1 tbsp ground flax seed

Handful of baby spinach

Blend! Add in a few ice cubes at the end and blend more! Other than the greenish color (hence its alias The Green Monster), the spinach is totally occult. E loves it. Mom loves that E loves it. The lady at the convenient store loves it because now her customers are too full from smoothie to graze on a floor's worth of unidentified fried objects.

Elle for President

If a less-than-2-year-old could run for office, my child might be debating which room of the White House she should move her crib into. The kid is a charmer. She runs up to complete strangers and greets them with a killer grin and sweet "Hello". Somehow always tailored for the individual at hand, i.e. selecting an airplane and running it to a little boy in Toys & Co. earlier today with some judicious batting of the eyelashes and a demure "Here you go!" She is ever the entertainer/social butterfly and can capture the heart of just about anyone she encounters from the greeter at Costco ("I give Big Ed card!") to the mechanics (at Costco) and the sample hander-outers (yup, at Costco): "Did she just say I wuv Hummus?". Umm, can you tell where we went today?
She ADORES her friends, remembers everything about them (true politician style) and never forgets a name. One morning on our way into school E kept pointing to the 6 or 7 year old girl in front of us saying "Emma! Emma!". I wasn't sure what she was saying (assuming it was some permutation of mama) but one of the teachers told me "Elle knows ALL the big kids". Hmmmm.... I fear that may come back to haunt me.


E even plays hostess to inanimate friends as the tea party pics below demonstrate. We eventually served them a 4 course meal (except the bear who, surprisingly, is a vegetarian) and the giraffe who insisted he just wanted coffee. The full event was not photographed as Elle's guests became a bit rambunctious and her butler/Mom noticed some scratching of the Presidential table by the sharp (?!) edges of a plastic carrot.

Shake some hands, kiss some babies...

If elected, I promise to fill the world with pony rides, tea parties, and puppies.

My cabinet will consist entirely of pigtailed girls. Even if they try to lick me while I'm hugging them.

The First Boy would likely be this guy, E's boyfriend at school and Dad's nemesis.

Important meetings with international leaders would be held aboard Wagon Force One.



I said No more Off-shore Drilling!


This photo would be hanging in the Oval Office somewhere...

Save me now!

Seriously, Child Protective Services officer, she wanted to be in here. She BEGGED to get in here. No, what you are mistaking as a forlorn expression of utter abandonment is in fact sheer DELIGHT at having the opportunity to play in Dad's new rolling tool kit in the aisle at Costco. Really. She's elated. If you could see her mouth, you'd believe me.

Better late than Never

So it has officially taken me a thousand years to post these pictures, but I suppose late is better than never. Except for middle of the night interventional radiology procedures that have plagued me of late... in which case I would strongly prefer never.

Nanny spoke at her church in Valdese a few Sundays ago, and the whole family came to support her. Elle was her biggest fan, intermittently proclaiming "Nanny!" in her not-so-inside voice throughout the service. She laughed raucously at all of Nanny's jokes, as if it has been pre-rehearsed (and as if she would ever actually do anything that we "rehearse"). At the end, she shrieked "Good job Nanny!" and the church exploded into laughter. Thankfully they were very understanding of a wiggly, vocal toddler! Nanny did an absolutely fantastic job and I think the whole audience was touched. I know her family was proud, and we all echoed Elle's sentiment!

Afterwards we had lunch and visited Nanny and PawPaw's house, which E thought was just the coolest. She was particularly fond of the porch swing.... well second only to Nanny's fresh strawberries and homemade pound cake! She also got to spend some quality time with Aunt Angela and Cousin Austin. We are so blessed to have such an awesome family!

PawPaw!

Kisses for Nanny!

Swinging with Nanny. Some kids have their blankie or lovey... E has her Elmo plate.

Aunt Angela! Note the death grip on Elmo Plate.

Ok, these feet are gross. I should have cropped them out or photoshopped them "clean". Her beloved lime green shoes created a nice blister and we had to resort to Kmart feet. Mother of the Year points continue to accumulate...

Austin!