She Writes the Songs That Make Her Whole Foot Sing

One of the unbelievable joys of being a parent is coming up with novel ways to entertain your kid.  Carrie and I both revel in the challenge, but have drastically different styles.  I tend to be more physical, playing games that get Grace moving around.  Contrastingly, as befitting an English teacher my wife tries to engage our daughter's mind with stories and songs.  Her latest single is one of Grace's favorites, and definitely the one I like the most.  So, without further ado, I give you the world premiere of the sure to be smash hit "Singin' Toes".  Enjoy!

I think we can get this played in regular rotation on Sesame Street, give that the corresponding puppet show is already worked out.

She Got Game

Despite being three years older than my sister Amy, she's been taller than me for as long as I can remember.  She sprouted past me sometime around kindergarten and never looked back.  At 6'1", she's got an inch that she'll lord over me at least until we get old and start shrinking.

Amy was always the tallest girl in her class, so naturally she found basketball - or basketball found her - at a really young age.  Now that she has a niece, and a tall one at that, basketball is one of the first things Aunt Amy has tried to pass on.  Amy gave Grace her first basketball and a hoop as a gift, which Grace absolutely adores.

Meeting the Mouse

My mother is a pretty big fan of all things Disney.  More than pretty big, actually.  Obsessive.  Well, maybe a step down from obsessive.  Lets go with dedicated lifelong fanatic.  Anyway, I bring this up because I was going through Grace's closet the other day and came across a Mickey Mouse doll that was buried under an avalanche of clothes and toys.  Given my mom's appreciation for the Mouse, I thought it'd be nice to record Grace and Mickey's first meeting for posterity.  Of course, I thought this after their first meeting had already occurred, so this is their second encounter.  It went pretty much the same as the first though.

Mickey was of course enamored by Grace, while, as she does most things, my daughter found Mickey to be delicious.  Grace didn't really notice my spot on Mickey Mouse voice over, but who can blame her, she had feet to eat.

Next Stop Sea World

Carrie and I taught Grace how to play catch today.  We were at grandma and grandpa's house where there was a beachball lying around.  Since it's colorful and a thing, Grace was immediately fascinated by it, so we let her handle it for a bit.  After a minute or so, she dropped it and we handed it back.  Another minute, another drop and so on for a while.

Eventually Carrie decided to try tossing the ball to Grace instead of handing it to her, and she snatched out of the air on her first try, a pure natural.  Amazed and excited, we kept playing for an hour, taking the ball directly from Grace's hands instead of waiting for her to drop it most of the time.

Toward the end of our catch session, Grace decided to unveil a second skill, not satisfied by just learning how to catch.  We tossed her the ball, which she trapped against the side of her body.  Then, she pushed the ball up over her shoulders and balanced perfectly on the top of her head.  Just like a trained seal.

She stalled it long enough for me to take
out my cell phone and take this picture

She's Hiding a Tunnel Behind a Justin Bieber Poster

Baby Grace got sent to the clink this morning.  Her crime, waking up too early for mom and dad.  Her punishment, 45 minutes of hard time.  She did get a single cell and a bunch of her toys since, like Andy Dufresne, she's helping the wardens take money from the government.  Here's a clip from her first day in juvi (or Joovy).

Anything for a Laugh

Before I became a parent, I thought it was important for parents to speak normally to their children rather than resorting to babytalk.  Even though babies can't understand what you're saying, their neurons are building connections and they're always picking up something about language, facial expressions, emotions and more.  While I still believe that, and talk to my daughter as normally as I can as often as I can, I've had a change of heart since becoming a father.  Mainly because Grace doesn't get my jokes.

So, in the spirit of tailoring my comedy to my audience...