Light Switch Magic

When Ellie was about 8 months old, she discovered she had magical powers. Not the flying, turning back time, cloak of invisibility type powers, but magical powers nonetheless. She could control the light and the darkness. In her room. These powers were most strong at night.
When we changed her into her pjs, we usually had her up on the changing table. We would sit her up while we lotioned her up and brushed her fly-aways. It didn't take long before she discovered the light switch- right within reach of her chubby little arms. The first time she got a hold of it, she flipped it right down. Just like she'd been doing it her whole life- yes a whole eight months. The look on her face was priceless. She couldn't decide if she was scared or a genius.
So we flipped the switch back up and she gave us a sheepish grin. And went right back for it. This time when light turned off, she knew. She was definitely a genius in possession of an incredible magical power. Unfortunately, this magic trick required slightly more skill to reverse so she needed her lovely assistants to flip the switch back on for her. This never dampened her confidence in her abilities. Every single time she flicked that switch, she was just as impressed with herself as the first time. Ellie would look at us, just to make sure we were seeing the same incredible show she was. As time passed, Ellie would encourage her captive audience to applaud by clapping for herself. Sometimes, if it was a completely flawless performance, she would even through in a patented Ellie Excited Dance.

I miss that sparkle in her eyes. She always had it. But when she figured something out for the first time, or was showing off, it twinkled the brightest. I can only imagine what she would be into these days as a toddler. She would surely have developed many other equally impressive magical powers as the light switch trick.

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Remembering February 6th, 2010

We were all up pretty early this morning. We wanted to get out the house and do something. But with a toddler and newborn, things tend to take a little time. So while Dave fed Max and cleaned up dishes, I fed Ellie and played with her on the floor. She loved to play on her floor mat and check herself out in the mirror.

Against our better judgement, we decided to take the kids to Underwater World. Max always seemed to like the aquarium at the zoo so he would surely like Underwater World. It was our first big trip out of the house, for an extended time period and by ourselves. We packed up everything that would fit into the car and headed out.

Things were going fine until we emerged from the elevator. There were so many people we couldn't even tell where the line ended. And it was just the line to buy tickets- which by the way, are so overpriced it's laughable. I looked at Dave and we both turned around and headed back to the elevator- it wasn't worth it. A lady stopped us just before we got on and asked if there was a problem. We told her we didn't want to wait in line with two small kids just to buy tickets. She turned out to be the manager and said if we could give her cash she would buy our tickets and we wouldn't have to wait. Deal.

Five minutes later we were sporting bright green wrist bands and trying to cram the double stroller through the crowd. I will say that I did laugh to myself (and possibly a little out loud) when we just walked to the very front, passed the tired masses, flashed our bands and were in. Max thought it was ok. He wasn't too in to it until we got to the actual underwater part. He liked trying to touch the fish that glided above him. Miss Ellie, she just slept. The entire time we were there. She never opened her eyes once.

 After Max had enough fish, we decided it was dinner time. I still remember the frustration of this endeavor. We were on a mission to find a place at the mall where there was little wait, appropriate for a two year old and newborn. It also needed to have chairs that would be comfortable enough to nurse in. And I wasn't crazy about sitting in the middle of a busy restaurant and whipping out a boob. So I needed to sit in a corner or along a wall. No such luck. We walked all over. Finally Ellie was starting to stir and Max was getting restless. With frustration levels on the rise, we made a quick exit and went to eat at IHOP near our house. I can picture exactly what booth we were in and which side Ellie nursed on first. Both kids were so good. Max sat in his high chair and ate and ate. After Ellie ate, she just sat in my lap and took it all in.

It was our first "family day" out on the town, as a family of four. We tried to do things like this a lot, but now it feels like we didn't do nearly enough.


"I Like Turtles."