Felicity Obama :)

Baby Alive

So...Chris' cousin Becky and her family sent Felicity a Baby Alive for a holiday present. Now, I remember Baby Alive from when I was a kid---it was that doll that all the "cool kids" had, but for some reason my sister and I never got one. Now I know why. My mom knew something. Now, Becky, we love you. We really do. But let's just say that Baby Alive is a big hit for Felicity and a bit of a patience-tester for me and Chris, although the fun she has with it somehow makes it all worth it.

For those of you who don't know about Baby Alive, let me show you:


Baby Alive says six main things: "Mommy, I'm hungry." "Mommy, I'm thirsty." "Mommy, let's play." "Mommy, let's sing." "Mommy, I have to go potty." and "Mommy, I'm sleepy." She has to cycle through all of them. The other unique thing about this doll is that it potty trains itself. So, by the ninth time you feed it, it no longer goes in its diaper, it gives you ample time to sit it on the potty.

This would be pretty cool. That is, it would be pretty cool if your 3 year old wasn't fixated on feeding the doll and changing its diaper. It comes with this powder food that you mix up and it really eats. The food trickles down the center of the doll and comes out in solid form in the diaper. In short, this doll really poops. Felicity is riveted. With every spoonful she insists that we check the diaper to see if she pooped.

Fortunately Becky sent some extra diapers.

But, since feeding is the favorite activity, we have to wait for Baby Alive to go through her whole routine before feeding her again. Then, it hit me, we don't have to feed her every ten minutes no matter how cool the pooping is. So, I try to reason with Felicity and here's what happens.

Me: Felicity, Baby Alive, like a real baby, doesn't need to eat ALL THE TIME. In fact, let's just give her breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now she's had her breakfast she won't need to eat til lunch. Why don't you walk her in the stroller or put her in the baby swing while Mommy goes to get dressed.

Felicity: O.k.



Felicity: Mommy!!!!!! MOMMMYYYYYY!!!

Me: What?!

Felicity: She says she's hungry.

Me: Well that's because she's pretend and she's programmed to say that. She really isn't hungry. We don't need to feed her until lunch time.

Felicity: But she says she's hungry.

Me: Well, she's not.

Felicity: But when my baby sister is hungry are you not going to feed her?

[Score: Felicity:1, Mommy: 0]

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Grandma and Grandpa were here visiting for ten days. Unfortunately, they picked the COLDEST and SNOWIEST week to come and, well, let's just say that midwestern winters are not for them!

We did manage to squeeze in some fun times amidst braving the cold. Regretfully, I have no photos. As with Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, I got a bit lazy and relied on grandparents to take them! So, if Grandma and Grandpa send me some jpegs, I'll post them so you all can see.

This is what the weather looked like during most of their time here:

But, we did enjoy:
Playing with Play-Doh, One brief sledding experience before the temperature dropped, taking care of babies, this fabulous air hockey table courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa:

Playing the air hockey game has prompted some funny statements from Felicity like, "Mommy! I hurt my arm playing hockey." Somehow it makes me laugh.

We also ventured to the children's museum and played at the grocery store there. Felicity took the check-out process so seriously that to get her to take her nap the next day I had to promise her that we would do self check-out at Jewel. If all else fails, I know my daughter has a knack for quickly spotting the UPC symbols on all foods.

We celebrated Grandpa's retirement with a nice dinner and had a good time despite the weather. It also made Chris and me realize that we really are true midwesterners: although it was cold, it didn't really bother us. In fact, I even heard Chris say, "I actually kind of like it like this!"

Coldest Day Yet!

And to think, it was COLDER this morning.

Future Art Critic

Above our fireplace in the living room we have the above Picasso print. It was a graduation present from my then boyfriend/now husband when I finished my M.A. It's been in the same place forever. But only recently Felicity noticed it. She was taken by the contorted bodies and asked "Why is that lady's bottom crooked?" and "How come her face is sideways." I explained to her that a man named Picasso drew the picture and that he likes to draw people in a silly way. It seemed to placate her. And I kept catching her eyeing the print trying to wrap her head around it.

So, tonight I was reading her her favorite bedtime story of the week: Baby On the Way. It's by Martha and William Sears and is meant to prepare children for a baby brother or sister. The drawings are simple enough, but there are a few pictures where the perspective is a bit off and one eye might seem smaller than another. So, in the middle of the story tonight Felicity says:

"Mommy! Look at her eyes," as she points to the drawing of the Mommy in one picture.

"What's wrong with her eyes, Felicity?"

"They look funny. Who drew them?"

I turn to the cover, "Renee Andriani drew them."

"No, Mommy. No. It was Picasso. Look they look silly."

No longer breech and 5 weeks to go!