Whoa! Look at the time. Where has it all gone? Major apologies for the extended break.
2nd & Charles
So what was supposed to be a trip to the ballpark turned out to be a much shorter trip to a used book store.
The weather on Thursday morning was questionable at best. The skies were cloudy and the temperature was a mild 70 degrees. An overall decent day to go see a baseball game. As we got ready that morning, we began to discuss our baseball game choices. Baltimore was playing at home, while the Frederick Keys were playing a short drive down in my old stomping grounds of Prince William County (the Potomac Nationals).
Carleigh got all excited and started saying, "go see a baseball game." (Which is cute in and of itself.) And we kept reassuring her that we were going. But we had to make a choice. Option A) Drive further and pay an overall cheaper price (tickets plus concessions) and see the Keys play the Nationals -- or -- Option B) drive to Baltimore, and pay higher prices. Since Carleigh was going to be free at either park we decided we'd go see the Orioles take on the Rays, but the game wasn't until 7pm so we had some time to kill.
So we drove across town to grab some lunch, which was good despite the fact that they messed up my burger. Afterwards we noticed that a new store had taken over the vacated Borders store. 2nd & Charles is a used entertainment store, with tons of used books, dvds, cds, and other items. With a couple of hours still to kill we decided to take a look and were pleasantly surprised by their variety. Unknowingly we had come in on the day of their Grand Opening, so everything was pristine and in order -- making it a much better choice than the only other used book store in town, Wonder Books.
While browsing through their items Courtney and Carleigh found several books that they wanted to get. Carleigh especially gets upset when you try to take a book away from her. This is great because that'll hopefully mean she'll like reading more as she grows older. Courtney on the other hand has been reading two books at a time, and is slowly working her way through our limited library. She wanted to try using the eReader on the new tablet I got for my birthday, but downloading these books has proven difficult. So she picked up a copy of the first Twilight novel. To which I lovingly grabbed the other three books in the series, and said she had a choice. Either buys the books OR go to the game (apparently this was a day of choices). She choose the books -- so much for an evening at the ballpark.
A Love of the Game
Speaking of baseball, last year was Carleigh's first baseball game. My parents were in town for a week and we decided to go to a game. Once again we had the choice of an Orioles game or a Keys game. My dad didn't want to drive all the way out to Baltimore so I called up the Keys to inquire about tickets. They had some sort of deal where you could get an All-You-Can-Eat buffet, plus drinks and seats to the game. I forget the cost, but it definitely made it worthwhile.
Ever since they I believe Carleigh has begun to develop a love for sports. I'm certain that she has no clue what is actually going on, who to route for, or even who's playing, but she cheers the teams along. During that game last year she got to try several different ballpark fare, and got to walk around the stadium, enjoying the sights and sounds of America's Favorite Pastime.
Recently I've seen this love of sports grow, as she now asks to watch football or baseball on any given day. The other day we were sitting around watching TV, and with nothing else on I decided to turn on the Nationals' game. They were playing the Mets, and I tried to tell Carleigh the difference between the two teams. Again she just sat there and cheered, but for who it doesn't matter. She said something like, "nice catch" or "nice throw", bringing a large smile to my face.
I love how she's attached herself to things that i enjoy too. She even wants to sit with me when I gamemaster an RPG. Rolling the dice and drawing on my character sheets are two of her favorite activities. She'll also watch old TV shows with me, most recently Sliders and MacGyver. Though I doubt she cares what's going on, she is at least visually content with appeasing my desires to watch old TV shows.
What it probably amounts to is that she just wants to spend time with me, and I'm fine with that!
Showing posts with label my daughter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my daughter. Show all posts
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Episode III
A POSSESSED TOY and LITTLE EINSTEINS
If you didn't already know, I have a daughter. As of this post she is 21 month old and has an amazing life story already (I'll save that story for another time). Of all the things in the world she has two things: 1) a possessed toy, and 2) a love for Disney's Little Einsteins.
The possessed toy has got both my wife and me baffled. My wife purchased it at Neverland Games in Waynesboro, PA, thinking that this simple puzzle would be fun for our daughter. It's kind of a cool puzzle, for a child under age two, as it has animals and these animals make a noise when the puzzle piece goes in the slot. Unfortunately it's not a sophisticated puzzle, nothing like a internal computer, no, it has these magnet looking things on the bottom of the puzzle piece, and there's a corresponding magnet on the board. So when the "magnet" passes over any magnet on the board, it makes the sound of the animal on the board. In other words, if I had the cat puzzle piece, I could put it in the dog spot on the board, and the board would bark at me. Or if the cat passed over the bird, it would squawk. But that's not the weird thing.
The weirdness comes when the board is just sitting still. Even when my daughter's not playing with the puzzle, it's just sitting in, or on, her toy chest, all of a sudden a random animal will sound off. And it's not like anything is shifting the board that would make a puzzle piece move. This puzzle will neigh, or meow, or whatever, without a puzzle piece even on the board. We don't even have to be in the room for this to happen either. My wife said she's heard it sound off while she's getting ready for bed.
There's been no puzzle pieces randomly flying off the board, so at least we know it's not a poltergeist or some angry spirit, but it's just weird. Possessed or cheaply made, it's still a mystery to us.
-- -- -- --
If you haven't seen Little Einsteins, then you're probably not a parent or pay attention to the Disney Channel. This cartoon is about four youths who fly around the world in a ship and do things (nothing troublesome of course -- although one episode made me wonder), and it's all set to music and art.
The crew includes Leo, a redheaded boy of 5, who loves to conduct. Annie, Leo's sister, a blonde girl of 4, who loves to sing. June, the Asian girl, also age 5, who loves to dance. Quincy, an African-American boy of 5, who can play any instrument. And finally Rocket, the "can do practically anything" ship they fly around in.
At the beginning of each episode they announce the title of the episode, and then present "the art of the day" and the "music of the day". This is probably THE BEST part of the entire show. They use art from artists like Gogan and Michelangelo, and music from musicians like Chopan and Bach. The art is cleverly inserted to the episode at one point, like in the episode A Christmas Wish they used "A Starry Night" as the background to a scene involving Annie climbing Mount Everest. The music however, is, in my opinion, butchered by Annie, who attempts to put words to it. And each episode tries to feature one of the kids as "the lead", even though Leo is the designated leader (as mentioned in one of the early episodes).
How my daughter came to like this show I will only venture to guess, but it wasn't her first favorite. It used to be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But when Disney came out with Little Einsteins, she got hooked. Perhaps it's because the characters are kids, rather than animals, or maybe it's because they don't "dumb down" the educational portion of the show. Shows like Mickey Mouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates (also on Disney) seem to play around with concepts like sharing or helping each other. Whereas Little Einsteins is pushing historical art and music on children, who's minds are like sponges at this age.
I honestly believe that they helped increase my daughter's vocabulary. She asks for them by name, "Einsteins" (though it comes out more like Ein'tein). Calls them by name, Leo, June, Annie, and Rocket (Rocket only recently, and Quincy she still has problems with). And she even quotes a phrase from the title song, 'We Need You!' It's great!
But yet sometimes her obsession -- yes, obsession. even at this age she has grasped the concept of obsession -- get's annoying. While cute that she can ask for the show by name, she asks for it All The Time! It's like anytime my wife and I want to sit down and watch something for us, here comes our daughter asking for the Einsteins. And you can't just tell her No -- we used that word up when she first started talking (and it's one of her favorite words to use, as well) -- we have to be creative now, like, "No honey, they went night-night". Does she understand this? Probably not, but we keep trying.
I know we shouldn't let her watch it as much as she does (which is probably why she is so obsessed with it), but there are times when either of us just need 30 minutes to ourselves, and this show keeps her occupied. Need to do some dishes? Or perhaps get on the computer? Better put on Little Einsteins or you'll never get anything done. Not that we couldn't try other things. We have. She likes to color. And that entertains her for a short while. But nothing, as of yet, has worked better than a string of episodes from this show.
It's a good show by-and-large, I've got to give Disney major credit on this one. So, Disney, if you ever read this, thanks for making Little Einsteins such a great show. I just hope that when we take our daughter to Disney World for the first time, that she gets to meet the crew, or you'll have a very upset little girl.
If you didn't already know, I have a daughter. As of this post she is 21 month old and has an amazing life story already (I'll save that story for another time). Of all the things in the world she has two things: 1) a possessed toy, and 2) a love for Disney's Little Einsteins.
The possessed toy has got both my wife and me baffled. My wife purchased it at Neverland Games in Waynesboro, PA, thinking that this simple puzzle would be fun for our daughter. It's kind of a cool puzzle, for a child under age two, as it has animals and these animals make a noise when the puzzle piece goes in the slot. Unfortunately it's not a sophisticated puzzle, nothing like a internal computer, no, it has these magnet looking things on the bottom of the puzzle piece, and there's a corresponding magnet on the board. So when the "magnet" passes over any magnet on the board, it makes the sound of the animal on the board. In other words, if I had the cat puzzle piece, I could put it in the dog spot on the board, and the board would bark at me. Or if the cat passed over the bird, it would squawk. But that's not the weird thing.
The weirdness comes when the board is just sitting still. Even when my daughter's not playing with the puzzle, it's just sitting in, or on, her toy chest, all of a sudden a random animal will sound off. And it's not like anything is shifting the board that would make a puzzle piece move. This puzzle will neigh, or meow, or whatever, without a puzzle piece even on the board. We don't even have to be in the room for this to happen either. My wife said she's heard it sound off while she's getting ready for bed.
There's been no puzzle pieces randomly flying off the board, so at least we know it's not a poltergeist or some angry spirit, but it's just weird. Possessed or cheaply made, it's still a mystery to us.
-- -- -- --
If you haven't seen Little Einsteins, then you're probably not a parent or pay attention to the Disney Channel. This cartoon is about four youths who fly around the world in a ship and do things (nothing troublesome of course -- although one episode made me wonder), and it's all set to music and art.
The crew includes Leo, a redheaded boy of 5, who loves to conduct. Annie, Leo's sister, a blonde girl of 4, who loves to sing. June, the Asian girl, also age 5, who loves to dance. Quincy, an African-American boy of 5, who can play any instrument. And finally Rocket, the "can do practically anything" ship they fly around in.
At the beginning of each episode they announce the title of the episode, and then present "the art of the day" and the "music of the day". This is probably THE BEST part of the entire show. They use art from artists like Gogan and Michelangelo, and music from musicians like Chopan and Bach. The art is cleverly inserted to the episode at one point, like in the episode A Christmas Wish they used "A Starry Night" as the background to a scene involving Annie climbing Mount Everest. The music however, is, in my opinion, butchered by Annie, who attempts to put words to it. And each episode tries to feature one of the kids as "the lead", even though Leo is the designated leader (as mentioned in one of the early episodes).
How my daughter came to like this show I will only venture to guess, but it wasn't her first favorite. It used to be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But when Disney came out with Little Einsteins, she got hooked. Perhaps it's because the characters are kids, rather than animals, or maybe it's because they don't "dumb down" the educational portion of the show. Shows like Mickey Mouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates (also on Disney) seem to play around with concepts like sharing or helping each other. Whereas Little Einsteins is pushing historical art and music on children, who's minds are like sponges at this age.
I honestly believe that they helped increase my daughter's vocabulary. She asks for them by name, "Einsteins" (though it comes out more like Ein'tein). Calls them by name, Leo, June, Annie, and Rocket (Rocket only recently, and Quincy she still has problems with). And she even quotes a phrase from the title song, 'We Need You!' It's great!
But yet sometimes her obsession -- yes, obsession. even at this age she has grasped the concept of obsession -- get's annoying. While cute that she can ask for the show by name, she asks for it All The Time! It's like anytime my wife and I want to sit down and watch something for us, here comes our daughter asking for the Einsteins. And you can't just tell her No -- we used that word up when she first started talking (and it's one of her favorite words to use, as well) -- we have to be creative now, like, "No honey, they went night-night". Does she understand this? Probably not, but we keep trying.
I know we shouldn't let her watch it as much as she does (which is probably why she is so obsessed with it), but there are times when either of us just need 30 minutes to ourselves, and this show keeps her occupied. Need to do some dishes? Or perhaps get on the computer? Better put on Little Einsteins or you'll never get anything done. Not that we couldn't try other things. We have. She likes to color. And that entertains her for a short while. But nothing, as of yet, has worked better than a string of episodes from this show.
It's a good show by-and-large, I've got to give Disney major credit on this one. So, Disney, if you ever read this, thanks for making Little Einsteins such a great show. I just hope that when we take our daughter to Disney World for the first time, that she gets to meet the crew, or you'll have a very upset little girl.
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