Love, the Tooth Fairy, Esq.

A company called Leafcutter Designs prints out the tiniest little greetings you've ever seen. You can get letters from the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy or even wedding invitations, birthday invitations, and anniversary cards. The cutest idea is the Tooth Fairy: of course her letters would be this tiny!

What might a letter from the Tooth Fairy say?

Thanks for the bi-cuspid! Now a kid in Mozambique will have dentures!

Thanks for keeping your snappers healthy! Now a baby crocodile in the Hanoi zoo will be able to chew its breakfast.

Thanks for the two front teeth! Now my aphid trap is complete.

She'll probably never go to Hanoi or Mozambique, right?

Neil Patrick Harris is OUT of the closet

... and he's wearing fairy wings whilst singing the glories of shoes on Sesame Street. If there was any doubt in your mind that Doogie Howser is a gay man, let this confirm it in your hearts:

I wonder if Ernie and Bert will ever take the same courageous step.☺

Saint Olive, the Patient.

Poor Olive, getting stomped on, ears pulled, and beaten like a drum. She doesn't bite the hand that drops cheerios.

Dandelion Girl

Why do you gotta follow me around like that?!

This was taken on Saturday or Sunday when the weather was nice. Brad, Halle and I sat in the yard and played with dandelions and blades of grass. I stuck a flower behind her ear and amazingly enough, she didn't pull it right out and try to eat it! So, I got more footage than Halle was willing to entertain me for.

By the way, I just can't bring myself to shorten any video of her! That was a moment in her little baby life and I collect every second I have the energy to. In some videos, there may be long pauses. I might make short versions, I might not. Sorry.

Reaffirming Faith in Humanity

I know this is another Halle-less blog post (more pix and vids than you think are necessary are coming soon, I swear!), but I felt the need to share this with future Halle. One day, she'll find my rantings interesting, maybe, and this blog is indeed dedicated to her.

Halle,

I have a love/hate relationship with humanity. I think everyone does. If you need a little reaffirmation in the goodness of being a human, a laughing, ranting, singing, yelling, beautifully-flawed human, please watch this video. A lot of people sing "I Hope You Dance" or write the lyrics in letters to their children. This is waaaaay more fun.



Viva la Humanity!

Love,
Mommy

Thai Spiderman Fireman to the Rescue!

No, really! I thought this story was adorable:

From Yahoo News: BANGKOK (AFP) – A Thai fireman turned superhero when he dressed up as comic-book character Spider-Man to coax a frightened eight-year-old from a balcony, police said Tuesday.

Teachers at a special needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities on Monday when an autistic pupil, scared of attending his first day at school, sat out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside, a police sergeant told AFP.

Despite teachers' efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge until his mother mentioned her son's love of superheroes, prompting fireman Sonchai Yoosabai to take a novel approach to the problem.

The rescuer dashed back to his fire station and made a quick change into a Spider-Man costume before returning to the boy, he said.

"I told him Spider-Man is here to rescue you, no monsters are going to attack you and I told him to walk slowly towards me as running could be dangerous," Somchai told local television.

The young boy immediately stood up and walked into his rescuer's arms, police said.

Somchai said he keeps the Spider-Man costume and an outfit of Japanese television character Ultraman at the station in order to liven up school fire drills.

= )

Really, Dorothy?

How do you know you're a parent? When you notice the Windows "I'm-a-PC-and-I'm-Four-and-a-half" little girl has a goldfish named Dorothy.

.......... which is Elmo's goldfish's name, in case you didn't know that.

A year ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd be okay with Elmo. He's the most annoying character on Sesame Street. He also happens to be the object of Halle's television fascination. She's just too darn cute when she dances! So I was looking up more Elmo videos on Half.com, the best place to find inexpensive movies and books and more (you're welcome, eBay) and found 221 matches for "Elmo" on the movie search. That was after I discovered the plethora of Elmo media - even CDs and games! I'm confident the buck does not stop there.

221? Really?

Not all of them are Sesame Street's Elmo. Actually, only 62 of them are. What am I saying, only 62? For a simple red muppet living in a crayon world, it's a hell of a franchise.On a funnier note, Sesame Street has come out with a "Potty Time with Elmo" book that coaches kids along their bathroom experience with statements like:

Uh oh! Who has to go?

Apparently, some defective books have circulated containing audio files that sound very different. Looks like someone in the industry enjoyed a little bit of audio tweaking! More than a handful of parents have complained about hearing this:

Uh oh! Who wants to die?

Of any voice to make this statement, Elmo's would be my last choice.

Halle's Fake Cry

She's not too young to have us wrapped around her little finger. And she knows it.

Her adorable little fake cry sounds, depending on the day and the circumstance, sounds like "pew pew pew" or "mpoo mpoo mpoo".


The picture doesn't match the post, but I like the smiling ones better, somehow.

Dada-ism

I'm going to start collecting all of Brad's wise little isms and since he is Halle's dada, they are Dada-isms. Zip it, they are too! This Dadaism was whispered into Halle's ear when she was tired and being fussy.

"What's number one, remember? The first thing is: be good."

It's so true.

Halle's Cupcake Soiree

This has quickly become one of my favorite pictures EVER. Yeah, she was crying and I feel bad for laughing. This is dark comedy gold.

All clean - note the dubious expression and the halo shape above her head.

What is this stuff?

A chocolate lover is born.

Brad and Halle + all of Rae's little cousins, eager to help her tear open the presents.

Just Call Me Slim

Halle had her 1 year check-up this morning with Dr. Rubin - she now weighs 17 lbs and 3 oz. She's only gained 11 lbs since being born. She is now in the fourth percentile. Even after I gave her donuts, gave her as much food as she would possibly allow me to shovel in her mouth and she is still a very little girl. The doctor didn't seem too concerned. He shrugged and recommended Carnation Instant Breakfast and cooking with bacon fat.

I think the second one was a joke.

Brad asked, after every individual examination, "is that alright?" or, "that's normal, right?". After the doctor proclaimed her to be in the 4th percentile, Brad rolled his eyes and said "Oh, God, we have a midget!". He was laughing, but you all know how he is. The doctor said "She's just slim."

In other words, I'll be absolutely piling food of all sorts onto her plate, giving her Instant Breakfast as often as possible, and making sure she's getting enough calcium.

... And balancing both of those tasks with putting Brad at ease. She's quite normal for length and head circumference, so there's really nothing aside from nutrition to concern ourselves with.

She's going to hate the Pediatricians Office like a dog hates a car ride. Everytime she goes, she gets poked and prodded and pierced with sharp things and lights shined in her eyes... They don't even have any toys in the waiting room! Can you believe that? In a pediatricians office?! They have several mobiles - behind the desk! Maybe it's for the sake of sanitation, but still. There were tons of toys at my Pediatricians' in Florida. Heck, there's even toys at Urgent Care.

Books and Bryan Adams on Muzak are not enough to calm a nervous baby that clings to us like a Capuchin Monkey.

Pictures You May Have Seen Already

My little lip-less wonderbaby! She proves you don't need to be Angelina Jolie to be GAWJES.

She's got 'em.

And finally, I found the most button-cute music video today. I was sold at the papercrafted elephant going for a wee stroll on the neck of the guitar. It's "Just a Boy" by Agnus & Julia Stone. Watch it - you'll like it! It's a really sweet song and the graphics are just so *pretty*!

The Squirrel and the Lion

Happy Birthday, Baby.

It's already been a full trip around the sun!

Brad and I gave Halle her birthday presents last night after her nap. She wasn't very wakeful, but I was eager to see her play with her new toy. She loved them and all, but she was waaay into the wrapping paper. And the bows. It was excitement enough! She put her new books aside (some Sandra Boyton books, Mr. Funny, Miss Trouble, and an Elmo book) to play with the curly, shiny ribbon. Oooh, shiny! That's a kid for you.
She wouldn't give us a smile (my camera can't keep up with her very well), so here's one for the road:

Kanine Krunchies Can't Be Beat

Halle's totem-pole animal is, evidently, Lucky from 101 Dalmations. The theme song for Kanine Krunchies plays in my head everytime.