another reason to love LA

Griffith Park is the largest urban park in the country. I have the great fortune to work in a part of the park as the Urban Forestry Manager for the LA Conservation Corps where I oversee operations at a shade tree nursery. The park is also home to tons of hiking trails, the LA Zoo, Travel Town exhibiting old trains that can be explored, parks, pony rides and yes this grand wonderful Carousel. Truth be told, Tatum was not a big fan of the ride because of its speed and intensity of going up and down. Nevertheless, in momma’s arm she held on and enjoyed what she could while saying “out, out” and “bye bye”.

Carson's Baptism

The below excerpt taken from Rachel Carson’s book The Sense of Wonder:

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to be preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.

As the daughter of a Buddhist, Tatum has not had the blessing of a christening. Yet on this day, after reading Carson’s words the night before, Tatum and I came upon the displayed baptism artifact of the native peoples located today at the LA Arboretum. With the blessing of the recent rains, the baptism bowl was full, and Tatum chose to baptize herself by putting water from the bowl on her head. And in my life, Rachel Carson has great influence, and I am sure that at this moment the good fairy gave Tatum the gift of indestructible wonder.

Imaginative Play at Play

One day about two months ago Tatum offered her doll her water.  That was the first time I witnesses her engage in imaginative play.  Since then, each day her relationship to her baby doll, elmo and big bird seem to grow.  Lately she feeds them snacks, invites them to lunch, and once asked that I diaper her bear. 

 Tatum brings out Elmo and two frogs to join her for snack time on the porch.

Bedtime Stories

The time has come in Tatum's life where she enjoys bed time stories. Tatum has always been a good sleeper at night and for naps; so Andrew and I never enacted a bedtime storybecause we didn't think we needed it. Tatum has a ton of books that entertain her during the day, and we often spend time together reading and exploring these books; we just did not read at night. Tatum's bedtime routine was this: change her diaper, put on her jammies, play on the bed, provide a drink of milk, brush teeth, turn on the sound machine and lullaby CD, give her kisses, put her in the crib and walk out the door. If you hate me or Tatum for how easy this is, it's fine, I totally understand. Andrew and I joked that one day Tatum would go to school and discover that other kids' parents would sing to them, rock them, and/or read stories at night; and she may in the end feel cheated.

Then Tatum took a liking to two of the books she received at Christmas Lama Lama Red Pajama and Good Night North Carolina. Given their nighttime themes, I read them to her before bed one night. And ever since that night, Tatum asks that we read these two books before bed each night. She enjoys holding one book while the other is read by momma or dadda. And you can tell by her look below, she LOVES the experience.

LaLa and A in LA

LaLa and A came to town this past weekend to get thier fill of little Tatters.  It seems that every time LaLa and A come to town it rains; fortunatley this time it only rained for one day and the rest of the visit was spent enjoying some of LA's best outdoor attractions.  On Friday we checked out the LA Zoo where we are members.  On Saturday it was to the Natural History Mueseam.  And we ended the weekend at the Aquarim of the Pacific. 

But really we did not end there.  A few more treats were riding the escalators at the Glendale Galleria and enjoying the water show while we ate pizza for dinner.