Dinner Theater

Nothing exciting, but in case you need your fix of Lily giggles…

Rainbows at Mimi and Papa’s House – Day 6 – September 1, 2010

[From Mimi Bogle:]

This was Lily’s last day and so we just chilled out together. We did have a friend drop by to visit and again play outside in our water tub. Once again Lily had such a good time with this box that Papa brought back from his office. In the afternoon after she woke up from her nap, I had to go to the grocery store then we went to a local Toy Store where she played all over the place. They had a group of small girls (3-4 year olds) having a tea party. This store was one of Michael’s favorite places when he was little. The location and size of the store has changed through the years but still has the very large train with tracks suspended from the ceiling going all over the store. I have know the owner of this store for many years and she so enjoyed seeing Michael’s child for she remembers him coming in the store with his happy smile. Lily was an angel just flitting all over the store looking at everything and of course smiling and talking. Of course her favorite was all the babies (baby dolls on the shelves and 3-4 year old children) NOT to mention a giant stuffed giraffe which she fell in love with. Now, Lily we were all over the zoo shops looking at all of the animals as well as countless sizes and kinds of giraffes where she refused every one of them, of course after she kissed, hugged and held all the versions. NOW you fall in love with a GIANT giraffe and I do mean GIANT. I had my doubts she would leave the store willingly but she happily did her regal wave bye bye and off we were back to Mimi and Papa’s place. Of course at night when Papa came home she fed the fish and we went to the playground after dinner.

That night Mommy and Daddy came home from their wonderful trip to Aruba but as exciting as it sounded it could not begin to compare to OUR wonderful treasured vacation. We fell in love with this little girl the moment our son came outside the delivery room and proudly announced her name Lily Grace Bogle. Mommy and Daddy you have done such a WONDERFUL job with this sweet HAPPY little girl and we do SOOOOOOOOOOO love being her Mimi and Papa!

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Thank you so much for watching Lily for us and for recording all these wonderful memories for us and for Lily.  We love you, too, Mimi and Papa Bogle!

Love,

The Bogle Family Blog

Do we get credit for having blogged even if we didn’t write the posts?

Rainbows at Mimi and Papa’s House – Day 5 – August 31, 2010

[From Mimi Bogle:]

I THOUGHT we would go to the library again but you guessed it, Lily wanted to go and feed the giraffes, who were anxiously waiting for her to come and feed them. So I did what every grandparent would do, I indulged and we happily went again. Lily is so into feeding animals, baby dolls, statues and anything with a mouth. (Who knows maybe Lily will be a famous chief with her quirky lip smacking sounds– all celebrity chiefs seem to have some kind of eccentric motion or saying associated with them.) As did Michael, she never seemed to lose interest in going there. As soon as she got up she would talk about the giraffes at the zoo and ask me “feed” with her hand motions. When I asked her what the giraffes ate she would tell me lettuce. I of course just beamed. What a memory!!! It was a beautiful day with endless things to do and see. This time we spent more time in other exhibits and enjoyed going thru the wallabies and of course she wanted to hug and hold them. Her little hand motions caught the attention of everyone around us and they also enjoyed her sweetness. I of course just beamed with pride. We went home (or as Lily would say homo). After naptime, we went to a friend’s house that had her grandchild (almost 2 1/2) and they played outside with a bucket of water and cups just running, laughing and playing. OF COURSE I FORGOT MY CAMERA. BOOOOOOOO MIMI!!!!

Rainbows at Mimi and Papa’s House – Day 4 – August 30, 2010

[From Mimi Bogle:]

We went to the Main Library downtown where they have a wonderful children’s library. They have an entire floor dedicated to children. We waited around getting to know some of the children that were gathering for their Mother Goose Story Time followed by a puppet show. Lily was a little shy in the beginning but soon warmed up especially with the animals and toddlers sitting all around the couches in the library. All the children there were in her age group which made it easier for her. We spent a wonderful morning and of course did not want to leave but I told her we were going to see Papa at his office for him to show her off. She had a blast just running up and down the endless hallways in this very large complex. She would laugh and scream with delight asking Papa to “cha, cha, cha” as well as her announcements of “hi, hi, hi” (hide). I was so proud of her for she met a lot of people during these marathon runs and her shyness only came out as “hug” which everyone thought was adorable but we knew what it really meant was, please hold me for I am not too sure about all of these people. After we spoke with them for a few minutes she would do her “bye bye bye bye” accompanied with her wiggle dance (not to be confused with the wiggle dance that accompanies her “no, no, no ) which everyone loved. We of course did not burst their bubbles for we all know that what she was saying is “I need to move on – have you not noticed all of these wonderful hallways.” We rode the elevator to various floors where to her delight, and surprise, more hallways. We rode the elevator to the floor where Papa works and she broke out into a huge smile shouting “fla, fla, fla” (flag). This floor has 3 very large flags on poles which was an added bonus. On all of the floors, she loved to look out the long windows around the rectangle hallway where below was a garden courtyard. We then went back home for her nap then afternoon playtime.

Rainbows at Mimi and Papa’s House – Day 3 – August 29, 2010

[From Mimi Bogle:]

We went to Ft. Jackson’s Community Center which has a new playground park. We also did some shopping where we bought Lily some more books. Again feeding fish and going to the neighborhood playground.

Rainbows at Mimi and Papa’s House – Day 2 – August 28, 2010

[From Mimi Bogle:]

Since it was a Saturday, we went to the zoo but this time with Papa, since it was the weekend (meaning no work for Papa). Papa got a kick out of her “bye bye” as to her cue to move on and also loved to see her feeding the giraffes. Needless to say it is A LOT easier to have someone with you to take the pictures, for trying to do it AND hold onto Lily was more than I could do. We went into the ARC (aquarium, reptile complex) where we zoomed thru the reptiles announcing our “bye bye” and were totally captivated by the large aquarium. After some time she discovered that she could “run, run, run” up and down the length of the building and wanted to be “cha, cha, cha” (chased). We also rode the “choo, choo” train while Papa beamed, for he loves that Lily loves trains (it’s a Bogle thing). We again sat down to our lunch then played around some animal statues and lastly the carousel over and over and over again. I think Lily would ride (“ri, ri, ri”) the carousel all day long if she could. We went into the lorikeets’ enclosure where we fed the little birds. Lily was so excited when they would land on our arms as well as on her. Again went into the stores for another attempt to buy a stuffed animal with the same response of just wanting the little animals in the tubes. She of course spent time rearranging the order of these tubes. (Maybe she will become one of those companies that reorganizes your home – Lily please come and practice at Mimi and Papa’s house.) We then went back home for naptime for both Lily AND Papa. Night time we played in our little house (cardboard box) that Papa brought home from his office where she loved hiding, playing and drinking her water. In the afternoon she and Papa had a great time just playing outside in a tub of water with her little animals (that we got at the zoo) and some cups from the kitchen. This child loves playing in water and her giggles, laughs and smiles were priceless moments for us. The cardboard box and simple plastic container of water was a reminder to us that children can delight in the simple things in life. Again feeding fish and going to the neighborhood playground after dinner.

Rainbows at Mimi and Papa’s House – Day 1 – August 27, 2010

[Alright, blog readers – please give a warm welcome to our first guest blogger – Carolyn Bogle (a.k.a. Mimi; a.k.a. Michael’s mom).  She wrote up summaries of the days that she and Michael’s dad (a.k.a. Papa Bogle) spent with Lily while Michael and I were on vacation.  She included some of her favorite pictures, and also wanted to include a slideshow, but it looks like that isn’t working for me so I’ll have to try to upload that again later.  So without further ado, take it away, Mimi!]

While Mommy and Daddy were on vacation in Aruba, Lily came to spend some time with Mimi and Papa and those days will be treasured moments for both of us. Waking up to a chirping little voice each morning was priceless and now all we hear are the foot stomps of Oreo (you have to know our big bruiser of a cat) down our steps. Not quite the same to say the least! I learned that morning not to respond to her when she first wakes up for she will very clearly tell you “no, no, no” while pointing to her bed, “re, re, re” telling you she has not had the time to play and read in her bed (translation to me is I can go downstairs and enjoy one cup of coffee). We had soooooo many priceless moments and really got to enjoy the treasure that she has become to all of us. It brought back so many wonderful memories when Lily’s Daddy was a child. We proudly went around wherever we went showing her off and enjoying each and every moment. We had some very special times and the first day after breakfast Lily and I went to get dressed then off we went to the zoo where I let Lily be in charge as to how long we lingered or moved on. Speaking of moving on, when we first arrived at the zoo that morning, we went into the penguin house to see them being fed their breakfast. After the feeding was over, Lily announced to all with her regal wave, “Bye bye.” Of course people around us were commenting how sweet and cute she was but then I noticed that her bye byes were getting more and more repetitive. I was still caught up in this sweet moment when she looked up at me and frantically announced over and over again, “bye bye!” I had a light bulb moment – get with it Mimi, Lily wants to leave and she has had enough of penguins. Knowing our sweet Lily, in the past she would announce “go” as her cue to move on but that was then and this was now. Now she has moved on to a more polite way, bye bye, bye  bye, bye bye. OK Lily I get it! So now while we went around to exhibits I waited for her announcement of bye bye and off we went. Needless to say many of the exhibits we took at a brisk stride but when we reached bronze statues of animals and she asked me “hug, hug” followed by “hold” (both with her sweet hand motions and pursed lips) what else could I do but stop. She took in every part of all of the animals and especially announced every facial feature (eyes, nose, mouth and ears) not to mention lots of hugs (I stopped the kisses for we all know how birds love statues not to mention the yucky germs). We strolled past the elephants where she did her elephant trumpet which is so cute (actually much better than I could do). Of course it entertained those around us. She fell in love with a baby elephant statue and so had a hard time moving on but since the waiting line for other children was backing up I had to take her off, let’s just say unenthusiastically, while Lily called out “no, no, no” accompanied with her little wiggle dance (maybe belly dancing is in her future). Not to worry, for the giraffes were in sight and so we stopped to feed them lettuce. Lily was totally captivated by them so we fed them over and over and over and over again. I must admit that I was getting a little worried the first time since Lily had her whole hand in the GIANT giraffe’s mouth feeding them lettuce. The zoo attendant assured me that they do NOT BITE. Being over cautious I fed the giraffe and sure enough, it was just a long wet scratchy tongue and l-o-t-s of gum. I even got into this moment. I finally announced to Lily say bye bye to the giraffes and (surprise) Lily went down to a total meltdown (i.e. Lily’s entire body turning into a wet noodle emphatically and LOUDLY announcing “no, no, no”!) I have to admit it was very hard not to laugh. This meltdown never lasted more than mere seconds for she is so easily distracted. Needless to say I quickly diverted her attention to the zebras in the next enclosure while we moved on and she was totally content. She then spotted the carousel and it was love at first sight. We rode the carousel 4 times and still when it started to slow down she frantically voiced her “no, no, no” complete with wiggling dance!!!! (I never seem to get tired of this little dance she does.) Again picking her up, I quickly diverted her attention going into one of the stores where she went thru her “hug, hug, hug” followed by “hold, hold” complete with her hand gestures. It was so adorable and I went through all of the stuffed animals looking for the one she would fall in love with, but she would hug and kiss them then wanted me to put them back. (LILY I AM TRYING TO BUY YOU A STUFFED ANIMAL.) All she wanted was the little animals that come in a tube. So we bought two of them and she was as happy as she could be. Off we went to the picnic tables to eat our lunch, then when we finished some more play time on a large bronze gorilla as well as a family of lions. We also saw some koi fish in a pond where Lily announced that she wanted to feed the fish with her sign for feed. I had to tell her that we couldn’t feed then now but that she could feed our fish at home when Papa came home. (It became a ritual at night when Papa came home for him to take her to the pond to feed our koi. I am not sure who was happier, Lily or Papa.) She was getting tired so I announced it was time to go home (BIG MISTAKE). She announced “homo” repeatedly where lots of people were gathered. I of course said “Yes Lily we are going to Mimi’s home” trying to quell any minds around us to assure them she was not being taught to be politically insensitive. This got a few chuckles from the crowd. (I must admit this episode of “homo” was repeated a few times the next few days). I mentally tried to make a reminder to myself to say “It’s time to go to Mimi’s house” where she will say her version of house (how) but of course I would forget. We drove home for it was close to nap time and for me cleaning up the house and oh yeah, dishes from breakfast.

Then Lily was up and we played in the house till Papa came home where she reminded him it was time to feed the fish outside. After dinner, we then went to our neighborhood park where she loves to go down the slides and swing on the swings with her big beautiful smile, “weeeeeeeeeeeeee”. Could this day get any better? I have to admit this was a birthday I will forever treasure. She was my cake, ice cream and presents all rolled into one sweet package.

I love this picture!

Lily showing the giraffe how to open her mouth! She even clicked and smacked her lips just in case this giraffe needed some extra guidance!

Accent

It seems Lily has developed an accent.

And, no, it’s not a Southern accent.

Listen for when she says, “food.”

Indian, maybe?

Tidbits

Tonight, Lily corrected Michael when they were reading stories at bedtime.  Daddy…it’s a hedgehog, not a porcupine.  Duh.  She can also tell the difference between chimpanzees, gorillas, and monkeys (yes, Michael, they are different!).  :-)

Our little future nerd in the making. 

I’m so proud.

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Like most parents, we don’t take as many pictures of Lily now as we did when she was a teeny baby.  Part of it is that it’s more difficult to get an in-focus picture when she’s always on the move!  She does respond sometimes when I ask her to “smile for the camera,” but we get a toothy, cheesy, and sometimes scary smile instead of a genuine smile. 

Here she is sitting in a “grocery store” we made for her babies today, responding to my prompt to “smile for the camera.”

Aren’t I a wonderful artist?  :-)

She insisted on the Big Bad Wolf being the checkout person…err…canine. 

She enjoyed having her Little People shop, then take the bus home to put the groceries in the refrigerator of the house.  She also liked counting the money we made, counting all 6 dollars by herself properly.  Yay, Lily!  (Of course, she also MIS-counted them at times, but it’s getting more consistent).  :-)

More of her recent “posed” smiles…

 

Special, right?  :-)  I wish I did a better job of catching her real smiles, but we’ll keep trying.  Just to remind you, this is what she NORMALLY looks like when not baring her teeth at you:

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Finally, stay tuned for posts from our special guest blogger!  Mimi (Michael’s mom) put together posts to memorialize the week that Lily spent with Mimi and Papa Bogle while Michael and I were in Aruba.  I am SO grateful that she did this, both so that I could learn about their time together and, more importantly, to record their fun times for Lily’s baby book.

Love,

The Bogle Family Blog

Yes, I’ll be referring to it as her “baby book” until she’s 68.  You can’t stop me.