New Play Area/Mommy in NY

It will definitely be a challenge remembering exactly what happened over the past 4+ months, but at least we have pictures... and aren't they supposed to speak a thousand words??? This was the week we turned Scarlett's old gated play area into an "organized" open space. See how well she kept it together? Nice orderly toys, then an explosion must have hit that exact spot and blew toys all over the living room. I left here alone for a few minutes and that's what I get! Scarlett has always been pretty good at picking up after herself when we ask her, so it wasn't as bad as it looked (to clean up that is).

This was the week that Shonna was in New York for work so Scarlett and I ventured out to a new playground near the Harrison Street shopping center. I'm surprised that I only have these two pictures because the place is huge. It's like 2 large playgrounds in one. One of the photos shows her playing with a boy in the sand area (although I'm not sure if he knew :) This playground had slides for all ages. She started with the big kid slides because she is a thrill seeker, but had much more fun with the shorter slides, sand, and big tonka trucks. She seems to gravitate towards "boy" toys like trucks, cars, balls, and blocks. I'm not saying she doesn't like her share of stereotypical girl toys but she would rather throw or dunk a ball than play with her many of her Home Ec style toys. That's my girl!!! (correction- apparently the PC police have now named home economics "family and consumer sciences".)

This week we also went to a Caps game with her uncle Dave. She was his "wing-baby". Scarlett and I met Dave at a bar outside of Verizon Center for an appetizer and drink. We sat at a normal table, but this place has booths with their own personal beer taps. Apparently you can choose the taps you would like ahead of time, and somehow (computerized or other) they switch the lines giving customized beer choices. Pretty cool stuff. I'm sure if Scarlett reads this (and when she is of legal drinking age), this technology will be "like sooooo 2000 teens, dad".

Playing in the Park

As you can see by the pictures, we had a great week! The weather was the difference maker. We had a fantastic couple of nights during the 3/18 weekend, and the we made the most of it. On Friday, we took a family walk to Clarendon that ended up being an impromptu picnic as we put our blanket down between The Apple Store and Crate and Barrel. We weren't the only ones enjoying the night, but we were the only family eating and drinking... We ended up going to Whole Foods across the street and bough sushi, cheese, fruit, and canned ale. Nothing went to waste! Scarlett ended up playing soccer with a girl who just happened to be walking by. She is like a people magnet. She attracts people (well, at least girls) of all ages. She kicked the ball, the girl kicked the ball. She threw the ball, the girl caught the ball...)
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She can attract all of the girls she wants. The boys can stay away until she is 25+ :). The next day I surprised Shonna with a new pet. It was a 4lb lobster from Captain White's in the DC harbor. I tried to give you a visual of how big it was. The body was longer than a carton of eggs, and the claws were close to the width. Scarlett was fascinated and didn't mind sampling either. As you can tell from earlier blogs, we tend to get our seafood from there. Pretty cheap (jumbo shrimp cheaper than costco, lobster $9-11/lb).

As far as Scarlett is concerned, she continues to show signs of being a fashion model. She seems to know when we put her in something a little more trendy. Check out the pictures. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was posing...

Our Little Groupie

March 11th was a big day for Scarlett. She found love for the first time. I was working from home with her. I had a conference call at 11 AM and she had been really fussy (teething or after effects of her shots or a cold...) so I warned my coworkers that I'd be on mute and was expecting the worst. I put her in her crib with some toys hoping that she'd entertain herself for a while, but no such luck. She was hysterical, so eventually I went in and put her on my lap in the rocking chair. She was content to lay against my chest while I rocked her so I figured that was as good as it was going to get... 5-10 minutes later, she was snoring! I ended up getting her down for a nap around 11:10 AM (2 hours before her normal nap time and only 10 minutes after my call started!). Paul rushed home from his meeting at 12:30 pm to try to relieve me for my call when much to his surprise, he found her still passed out. Very kind of her! That afternoon I felt like she deserved a reward for being so cooperative so we took her to the J.W. Tumbles Playzone for about 45 minutes. It was just enough time to get her home and feed her before taking her to her first concert -- Rocknoceros was playing the family happy hour at Jammin' Java. I'd read good things about it but I didn't know what to expect and figured there was a good chance that she was too young to enjoy it. Boy did I underestimate her!

When we got there we were a bit worried. There were so many reserved seats that there weren't really any open seats at all, even at 6:30 for a 7 PM show. Scarlett and I went up front while Paul got some beverages (beer for the parents and a free apple juice box for Scarlett). There were a million kids there already crowded around the stage -- 90% were older than Scarlett, so she seemed a bit intimidated. She was clinging onto me and wouldn't stand on her own (either in my arms or on my lap). The concert started and she was still clinging. Uh oh. This was going to be a long show. Three songs in though, she started getting comfortable. First she was bouncing along to the music in my lap, then standing against me and bouncing... before I knew it, she almost forgot I was there! She was bouncing, swinging, clapping her hands over her head and saying "hi" to the moms and kids in the area. By the end of the show she was clapping and hugging anyone who would give her time of day (kids and parents alike). She made friends with a few older girls and even got a toy stolen by the local bully. I'm not sure she's ever had that much fun before and for such a fun loving kid, that's saying a lot! She got a ton of comments about how adorable and affectionate she was (and we apologized a lot for her lack of understanding regarding personal space... "I promise, she does get hugs at home!").

She seemed to enjoy the music so much that we bit and decided to buy a CD. $10 for 1, $15 for 2, or for all 3 it was $20 but they threw in a free DVD. You'd be losing money not to pay $20. Might have been the biggest mistake I've made! We popped the CD in in the car and she danced along until she passed out. PASSED OUT. Totally slumped over, exhausted. I guess an hour straight of jumping will do that to you. The next morning we popped the DVD in after breakfast out of curiosity. This wasn't just a DVD. It was 2 animated music videos -- "Pink" and "Can you tell time?". This video started a revolution for little Scarlett. She has never shown any interest in TV. As soon as the music started though, a smile crept across her face and she was moving and grooving like the night before. When the music ended, she immediately started pointing to the screen and saying "I want THAT" and "Mo! Mo!" (more, more). That continued to happen... for HOURS. She doesn't get sick of it. There are only two songs, so we're essentially restarting the DVD every 5 minutes or so. As tired as Paul and I got of the songs, they make her SO happy and all the jumping, dancing, and climbing she does to the music ensures she is still getting some exercise. Plus, the songs are pretty educational and they've already expanded her vocabulary (she is now singing along to "pink, pink, pink!"). To get a little taste of why she is so crazy about them, you can see the music video for Pink on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kBfc8g4hxg).
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We will be sending blogs rapid fire over the next few days. We need to write 7 weeks worth or blogs before Friday!!!

So back to that night, luckily we don't run into bullies very often. Its tough turning the other cheek when someone purposefully messes with your child! The easy part is to pick up Scarlett and move her away from aggressive kids. I have that one down. What adds another element is when something is taken from your child and there is a look of confusion and/or disappointment. Good thing the band was so entertaining, as were most of the kids and adults. Scarlett made all kinds of friends as Shonna mentioned. The one that stands out the most was a girl who was a fantastic yet odd dancer. She danced in, out, and around the crowd and took Scarlett under her wing towards the end of the night. I would describe her as a cross between Dee Lite, a deadhead, and Paula Abdul. Heck, Shonna and I wanted to get in the mix and dance with her! Overall, it was a great night. We can't wait to see Rochnoceros in concert again.