Cirque du Soleil

Watching the Australian Open -- Sharapova grunts so loud, I have to turn the volume down or else she'll wake LO.  She just beat Kvitova, which means the final on Saturday is going to be Sharapova v. Azarenka, the tour's loudest grunters.  The Daily Mail measured Maria's grunts to be equivalent to a small aircraft landing.  I've experienced both of them in person and it's no joke.  I may have to watch with the volume completely OFF.

LO loves watching tennis with us.  We're tennis junkies and it's already rubbing off on her.  When I was pregnant, I worked at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open as the Field Producer for the TV broadcasts.  By the time the US Open rolled around, I was so pregnant, I could barely bend over to pick up the camera.  Ironically, the first time I ever felt her move was in my hotel room after a long day at the Open.  I'm convinced she had seen a match she liked that day and wanted to let me know about it.  She's probably the only baby that had been to the Slams by the time she was born!  I got her a t-shirt back then that finally fits her.

Also in the entertainment department, we took LO to Cirque du Soleil's "Ovo" at the Santa Monica pier.  I thought she'd want to leave after 10 minutes.  She was scared at the beginning, clinging to Daddy and shouting to turn the lights on, but she quickly became enamored with the show.  She was totally interested in the giant egg, the funny insects and the acrobats.  She's still talking about them.  "I love acrobats!" she's been saying ever since, jumping and trying to do somersaults in the house.  If you're looking for an activity, try the matinee.  LO loved it, but we did meet another mom who brought her 2-year-old for his birthday and he refused to go back inside a few minutes into the show.  So I guess it depends on the child, but certainly worth the gamble!



http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/default.aspx

Short Attention Span Theatre

Here's the latest.  Naps are forming around 1:30pm these days.  LO refuses to sleep before 8pm.  This battle has recently turned into some bedtimes for her after 10pm.  Knock down, drag out marathons where we try to cajole/sweet talk/force her to sleep.  It's not that she can't sleep, she can't sit still long enough to feel how tired she is.  Reading books at bedtime is another challenge because she'd rather run in circles in her room and wants me to do it with her.  This inability to sit still is also apparent at bath time.  She either refuses to get in entirely or dips in, then by the time she's soapy, screams to get out.  Rinsing off has become one of us holding her while the other sprays.  Nice.

Here's an example of how quickly she goes from bliss to boredom:

In fact, while sitting in my lap on the sofa the other night, she turned to me and said, "Mommy, I'm bored."  This morning her first words upon waking were, "Mommy, I can't take it. Any. More."  What "it" is, I don't know.  Is this just part of the terrible twos?  I feel like she's soaking in the world at such a rapid pace, it's staggering just to watch.

23 Months

According to the stats, I had 4 page views from Russia this week.  To all my comrades, Holla.

LO just turned 23 months.  This means her 2nd birthday is right around the corner.  The big dilemma is do we throw a big expensive party or just celebrate with family?  Looks like the bouncy castle will have to wait another year.  We've decided to have a small gathering with family since Gram and Gramps are in town and now my sister and brother-in-law might fly in for the occasion as well.  So instead of the bouncy castle, I'm going to enlist Uncle J to play horsey with LO until she's had her fill, which could be hours.

In the I-Don't-Know-Where-She-Gets-That department, LO has taken to telling me what to do with a vengeance.  When I tried to put her to bed, she clings to Daddy and says "Mommy go out.  See you next time!"  "Mommy food!" was the directive I got tonight.  She now calls her Yo Gabba Gabba dolls her "guys" and "everybody" and wants them to go everywhere with her.  Before we go out, she puts them in her diaper bag to bring along.  They sleep with her too.  And in the mornings, I have to carry them downstairs, of course.  She used to try to carry them all herself and scream whenever one fell out of her grasp.  Now she's wised up and just tells me to "Carry everybody, Mommy.  Bring them."  We moved her from a toddler bed to a twin bed (a mattress on the floor), and her first words when seeing it were, "It's perfect!"  And, as she pushed her little cart around the house, she said, "I help with the shopping."

The best, however, came a few days ago.  LO hugged me and declared, "I love you, Mommy."  I'm still smiling.