Bottomless cup

The other day Luci and I were watching a show I found on PBS called Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies. This is a cute show that teaches kids about animals and the natural world. For a review of the show check out this site.

In a nutshell, most of the characters are young animals of the African savannah who run into a problem they need to solve or a question that they want to answer. Mama Mirabelle the elephant illuminates the issue with home movies she has shot. While the characters are animated, the home movies are actual footage of animals shot by National Geographic or BBC (The show originally aired on the BBC, and although I hate to admit to being an anglophile, I LOVE the BBC.)

So Luci and I are sitting on the couch watching Mama Mirabelle explain to her calf, Max and his friends, Karla the zebra (who has a New Zealand accent?!?) and Bo the cheetah, why their new friend is so good at hide and go seek. Turns out their new friend is a bat. Thus Mama Mirabelle launches into an explantation of echolocation. They begin with talking about echoes and how certain sounds in certain places bounce back. At this point I look over and Luci has her head bent over her cup of "Hot-tea" (yes, my kid is already learning to enjoy a morning cup of herbal), and is talking into the mug. Apparentally she was expecting a reply because she kept saying things ("Mommydaddy, Daddymommy. Doggie?") and then putting her ear to the top of the mug to see if anyone would respond. It was all I could do to not double over laughing. I asked her if there was anyone in there. She gave me this puzzled look, looked back down into her cup and then up at the TV. We continued to watch the program without any more comic mishaps.

I love how much Bean's interested in animals and the natural world (I accept full blame with pride). She even has a book we found in Yellowstone about animal scat and tracks called Who Pooped in the Park? (an awesome series I might add). But already I want to start buying all those science activites you find at the Exploratorium in SF and other cool science museums. I'm already thinking about showing her how things grow and sprout roots (i.e. the infamous potato/toothpick thing). My mind races and I start checking out parent teachers stores and looking at teaching materials. And then I think maybe we should focus on colors and learning what blue is, and that blue and yellow make green, before we move onto photosythesis and evaporation. I think I grudgingly have to admit that my mom was right - I'm a teacher at heart, whether I want to be or not.

If you could be any animal. . .

Not what I would have anticipated, but it's growing on me.

You're a Mongoose!

Famous and fabled, you are well-loved by those around you, especially
those above you. You rise to many challenges, and your speed and agility allow you
to outwit those you don't like and others hate. While you don't appear vicious,
your unassuming appearance helps draw people into underestimating you. You really
like the name Rikki.


Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

It's a Zoo out there

So, in an effort to catch up on the adventures of the Bean we will be taking you back in time to September 24. Why is this date significant you may ask? Well, it's not.

But it is the first time Bean visited the Zoo. For any other kid this might not be worth mentioning, but in this case it is significant. We will attribute this to the fact that her dad is an ornithologist, her mom is a wanna-be environmental educator, and we've been bombarding her with animal names, noises, and camping trips since she was only a couple months old.

At this point on hikes she notices almost as many birds as her parents (no small feat).

But back to the good stuff. Much of the maternal side of the family - Nana & Papa (my grandparents), Nana Peg (my mom, in orange), and the Giant- rounded up Luci on this particular day and headed to the Sacramento Zoo. No one was sure who was more excited, the Bean or her mom. It was the first time Lu got to see lions, tigers, and giraffes in person, and the first time any of us got to see a red panda up close. With all of the Bean's various signs and words for animals, she split her time between frantically telling us what she saw and just staring. The pictures will fill you in on the rest. But in the end, what was she most interested in?

The sidewalk drain.

Only my kid could embarras me (by sticking her head in the ground) and make me proud (by exploring and wanting to know how the world works) in the exact same moment.

Thanks for playing the Giant's game of catch up. We will now return you to a blog in real time.