85. American Museum of Natural History

The Hall of Ocean Life blew Bea's mind on a recent visit (her first!) to the Museum of Natural History.

84. THREE!!!

Long time, no post... (Apologies to all of you not on Facebook.) It is hard for me to believe, but Beatrice is now three whole years old. The following is a--longish--video of her family celebration on the day of her birthday. All cake credit goes to her Grandma Fox.

I'll get some photos up in a bit! (And, if you are lucky, I might even get the video of her first dentist's appointment off of my mom's iPhone at some point and post it also. Bea was an amazingly patient patient.)

89. Recent movies

On the train to the city:

These boots are made for walkin' (sort of ):

Listening to a book narrated by Grandma Mary and Papa Roger (or as Bea insists, Grandma Mary and Santa):

82. July update

Earlier this month I gave Bea a turkey burger for dinner. Bea loves meat. Loves it. When she finished the burger, she asked for more. I explained that we didn't have any more. She thought for a minute and then suggested, "Maybe buy more meat?" I assured her that yes, when we were next at the store I would buy more meat. She seemed satisfied. But after a beat she added, with hand gestures,"Big meat."

As Bea's speaking skills develop I notice more of my own linguistic tics--I seem to say "maybe" with alarming frequency, as well as, "sorry." Bea now says sorry not only when she wants to apologize, but also when she thinks she has been wronged.

Another time she asked Dale to look at owls on his iPhone (he has birding software). Dale was in the middle of something else, so said, "Maybe later." Bea replied, "Maybe now?" At least her "maybes" turn her two year old demands into more pleasant "suggestions."

Here is a recap of the month...

4th of July in Bucks County (a.k.a. "Amy's house.")

With her favorite kitten at lunchtime:

The other night we were talking about kittens and Bea said she would like to have Amy's kitten. (Sorry Doc, but these days it is Amy this, Amy that.) I said she couldn't have Amy's kitten, because he is Amy's. So she asked if she could have Koko's kitten instead. (Koko the gorilla.)

Playing in her tent with Maura and a banana:


Bea, Ollie, and Lilly hopping, while Maura-daddy and others look on:


On a bike for the first time (bike and helmet courtesy of Rose):

Being her Papa Griff's granddaughter, Bea was somewhat obsessed by the whole helmet ("hat") thing. When we got home from the trip to PA, we started watching the Tour de France on tv. The first time Bea saw the peloton she pointed and excitedly exclaimed, "Hats!"

Beatrice and The Dog
Later in the month our friends Trevor and Sarah and their dog Rufus came to Bethel for a night. Before they arrived, we told Bea about the visit. We had spoken recently about our upcoming trip to the zoo. So when I asked Bea if she knew who would be coming with Trevor and Sarah she said, "Yes!" I asked who and she said, "A monkey!"

Bea fell in love with Rufus and told him repeatedly, "Rufus, I love you." The morning after they left, Bea woke up and asked Dale and me if we knew who was coming to visit that day. We said, "No, who?" She said, "A doggie!"

Zoo Story

Unless you REALLY love crowds--big crowds--do not go to the Bronx Zoo on pay-what-you-will Wednesday on one of the few non-rainy days of the summer. Despite the throngs, we had a lot of fun with Ollie, Alex, and Maura at the zoo. Bea was most interested in monkeys and gorillas, cats, spiders, and any mommy/baby animal combination. (She still talks about how muddy the mommy and baby rhinoceroses were.) While visiting the gorillas, Bea saw a baby gorilla crawl/walk over to its mother. She turned around and started to do her own gorilla walk across the floor. Ollie got in on the gorilla walk action too, but I wasn't able to get a movie of the two of them walking together. Once we were interested in watching the gorilla walk, Bea was over it.







"Helping" in the kitchen

81. Two!

The week of Bea's birthday was full of parties. Some of them were in honor of Beatrice and some of them were neighborhood parties, but they all meant the same thing to Bea: "Happy Bir-day to you, BeaBea!"



Swinging at her official birthday party:

Cake #1:

Bubbles with Dada:

Opening presents (Kenny and Lizzy--apparently Alice and I have the same hair!):

The petting zoo at Action Wildlife, a really strange zoo in Goshen, CT. (It is full of animals stuffed and living.) http://www.actionwildlife.org/

Playing in the toddler playground at Action Wildlife:

On a walk (and collecting rocks) at the White Memorial in Litchfield, CT on her actual birthday:

Cake #2 at Grandma Fox and Grandpa Griff's house:

Her final birthday celebration, at playgroup. Grandma Mary (who visited for the week!) was with us:

The movies are courtesy of Grandma Mary, also known as "You" or "Marie!":

In the above clip, Bea is playing one of her new favorite games, "Are you a mama?". She will point to people (including herself) and things and ask either, "Are you a mama?" or, "Are you a baby?". In response, I will answer on behalf of myself, the couch, the cats, whatever, with, "Yes, I'm a mama," or, "No, I'm a coffee mug," etc...

Blowing out candles (not really) at her birthday party:

80. Building with cheese

And counting, too...

79. Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny brought Bea plastic eggs filled (partially) with raisins and chocolate chips. She went nuts for the chocolate chips and never really took a nap today, poor thing.

78. March and very early April

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus! I am behind on all my Bea record keeping. I suppose I have been too busy with actual Bea keeping. Since my last post we've had a bunch of great visits--a trip to Brooklyn, a week-long visit with Grandma Mary in Bethel, and this past weekend a visit from Rosemary and her parents. We've also begun swim classes. And we took a trip to the emergency room, although that was because I was being extra cautious, not because we really needed to go. Bea took a header in the playground, scraping her face on a tree stump. Since she bonked her head, I figured I'd play it safe. She is healing up nicely. The following is a photo and video recap of the recent (and not-so-recent) activities.


Pretending to take a nap, playing chase, and wearing cats as hats with Sawyer, in Brooklyn:

Swimming (Grandma Mary took the photo through a window, which is why it is all hazy):

Sharing a smile with Grandma Mary:

Two movies of Bea engaged in her 2nd favorite activity (her first is collecting rocks)--dancing & playing her recorder to/with Pet Sounds:

Shortly after her fall, and now--hardly a mark left:



Playing with Rosemary, Jason, and my old circus train:

Rocking with Rosie:

Ladies who lunch:

77. Rock-a-bye apple?

Bea gathered/organized another fantastic/strange creation today. I was washing dishes in the kitchen and she dragged it in to show me.

Those are apple slices, a piece of quesadilla, a purple shaker-egg, and a button.

Once I had the camera out, she wanted me to keep taking photos of her.

Here she is smiling, then frowning, for the camera.

76. Hunter/gatherer

Bea likes to play with crayons. She is a magpie, so likes any collection of trinkets. She usually approaches crayons as a collection of trinkets rather than drawing implements. She likes to peel off their paper, break them into bits, and carry them around in specifically chosen groups. She also likes to play with things she can reach in the pantry. Usually this means jars of spices. The other day I was working in the kitchen and she was playing with crayons and spices. At one point, I noticed a little still life she had composed on the edge of the kitchen table, matching one crayon with the jar of chili powder, and another with the cloves. (I moved the group to higher ground, where I photographed it, so I could save it until Dale got home from work.)

I still think it is kind of crazy. I love that not only do the colors match, but the crayons are each the same size and pointing in the same direction.

One problem with her interest in collecting trinkets is that it has encouraged an interest in climbing--onto desks, onto the kitchen table, and now onto the dining room table (which is used more as a desk and less as a place to eat). This video is from earlier today. She's trouble.

75. Happy Birthday, Grandma Mary!

What a difference a year (and hair) makes!

74. Hello Everybody

This morning Grandma Fox took Bea to music class because I am sick yet again (cough, hack). After class Bea and I sat down for a snack along with her new best friend, Turtle Fantastic, and an unnamed Beanie Baby cat. You will hear Bea singing the Music Together "Hello" song. Sort of. (I discovered later that her turtle was looking at his reflection in the side of the bowl.)

Bea would like to say:
lkkkhkhkkkllglklllclvlvlkvlvklckvvkk v, k,k , ,. . .. . . ,, , bbsxbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
rlmkc

73. O!

72. Rocking and Sliding

Four generations (at least?) on Mommy's side of the family have played in this rocking horse:

The master climber/slider at work:

71. Happy New Year

This year Bea was a little overwhelmed by Christmas. Basically, we got her too much stuff. (And Dale and I made her a bunch of things too. I became obsessed with knitting cats and both of us made some felt toys. We could start a cottage industry.) Next year we will be more restrained--but of course, next year she will be at an age where she will want more stuff!

Some highlights from the week:

Decorating cookies!


Seeing her new slide from Grandma Mary and Papa on Christmas morning. She LOVES the slide. At the moment it resides in Grandma Fox and Grandpa Griff's foyer. When it warms up outside the slide will move to our yard. This past week Bea finally learned how to climb up the slide and get herself seated and ready to slide all by herself. I will post a movie soon.


With her new friend, "Inky" on Christmas day.


One of many dance parties.


Thoughtful about the year ahead.



With Rosemary and Big Bird on New Year's Day.