Little Clicks - Starbucks Fix

Since she forgets to use the potty at her drop-off preschool most days, we're usually a few blocks away before I hear her little potty whimper. And I'm REALLY not in the mood to turn around, fight the traffic for the Elementary school up the street AND the next round of parents picking up for the other class at her school that lets out just after ours. Plus waddle ourselves up from the parking lot and bust in on those poor teachers who are cleaning up for the day.
So I stopped by Starbucks to use their bathroom. I mean, it was on the way home and everything. And I had some money left on my gift card... Since I feel obligated to buy something if I use their toilet (if they sell things I like, anyway...) we got a kiddie (warm) hot cocoa and Z chose one of their Bistro Boxes for a snack. (I think it was the Protein one. Little bread thing, honey PB packet, egg, grapes, white cheddar cheese, apple slices.)
She also found a bucket of little stuffed doggies. One joined us for our snack, but then went back in with the others before we left.

 After fooling around with her cheeks full of grapes, she asked to use the camera herself...

Some snack

Self-portrait close-up

Mommy reading

 

More snack

Self portrait, with grape-cheeks

Little Clicks - Pumpkin Patch Pix

Our second trip to the pumpkin patch was kind of tough. We had to get up early to get to the school on time, since they were combining the AM and PM classes into one field trip. We chose the PM class because we are NOT good at getting up and ready in the morning! So I had to wake her up, which means we were already starting the day off on the wrong foot.
She did okay at the Kiddie Korral. At least, there was nothing that required my attention, since I don't remember any of it. But then... the corn box. Since this trip was two classes-worth of kids, it was twice as crowded in there. So she started bawling when kids would step on her "corn snow angel." *sigh* The hay maze went okay, but then she was upset again at the farm animal petting area, since it looked like the rabbit cage had been moved and was empty. So Meltdown City again. Even after I discovered that the rabbits were, in fact, in their cage. AND that the cage had been moved to make room for... A KITTEN! There was no consoling her... until I asked if she'd like to use my camera to take photos of the bunnies.
Since I had basically gotten all the 'good shots' our first trip here, I was happy to relinquish the camera to her. Plus it kept her hands off the animals, so we didn't have to wash and sanitize after.

She got one shot of the kitten before she was put back into her carrier.

And then many shots of her feet, backs of other kids' heads, and random bottoms.

When she finally got past the other kids to the rabbit cage, she took about a million shots of the rabbits...

...And then some!

Most of the rabbit pictures were of their bottoms, since she thought that was a hilarious joke. But she got in some good ones too.

Little Clicks Breakfast Fix

Normally her gym class is in the evening, but if we miss one (and we've missed a bunch lately, babysitting at my sister's) we do a make-up class Saturday mornings. Since Little Gym is right near a yummy little diner, we go there for brunch afterwards. They make the best pancakes! Yum!

For some reason she was stuffing napkins down her leotard, which we thought was hilarious, so I got out the camera. Then she took it.

Mommy
[Editor's note: ignore all the grey hairs. It's just the light. Yeah. The sunlight.]

Artist's self-portrait

Crayons and coloring

"No Daddy! I'm using the camera right now!"

Daddy. Looks just like Gampa Booss.

Check out the other Little Clickers!

McLittle Clicks

After our sick day at the beach on Tuesday, we stopped at McD's for lunch on our way home. I got the camera out to take pictures of her playing with her little seashells, and she wanted to take some photos of her own.

Sock; close-up

Table rubbish

Seashells and fingers

Mommy and book

Table from an angle

More socks

Self portrait; close-up

Extreme close-up

Check out the other Little Clickers this week!

Little Clicks, Lighting Tricks

While visiting at my sister's house, Z chose to be utterly adorable, and thus photo-worthy. I can't remember what she was saying the ear-muffs were supposed to be, but it was priceless. Hamsters? I wish I could remember.
Then she pretended to sleep. Once she heard me snapping pictures, she just had to see, and then wanted to take photos herself!

Lighting wasn't awesome, since she was shooting from a supine position into a sunny window.

Unka Rop holding Tually, Auntie Kayneen on couch.

Auntie Kayneen, in silhouette

Mommy, reading on couch

Close-up of  self - ear muff, shoulder and pillow

Check out the other budding photographers this week!

Little Gym Little Clicks

We have gym class at The Little Gym and just love it. The teachers there are great, and they are very good at reading her body language and nonverbal cues and respecting her. They don't grab at her without permission, or get in her face to talk, or keep talking after she's shown discomfort or disinterest. So she feels secure and safe there, and adapts quickly to new teachers. It took her 8 months to be willing to let her first teacher speak to her and occasionally touch her to show skills. Now she'll let a teacher talk to her after just a few weeks, but lately has not been interested in letting anyone touch her to help her or use her for a demo. Sometimes not even her dad or me!
Her favorite activities are the parachute and the "air track." The air track is like an inflatable trampoline, like one of those party bouncer things. Each week they rotate through a different activity, so it's often months in between times with the parachute or air track. This week's class had the air track out, and she bounced along. When she reached the end of it, instead of jumping off, she jumped out, and body-slammed into the wall. So we went out into the lobby area to calm down.
I got her to make funny faces, and then took a picture to show her (she's really into herself right now. We had to quit ballet because she'd just do whatever she felt like while watching herself in the mirror! I got tired of trying to keep her from disrupting the class.) Once she saw herself on the camera, she wanted to take her own pictures!

She was pulling down her lower lids and
pulling out her mouth - taken by me

Z's eye-view

Self-portrait - Extreme Close Edition

Mommy's hand

Shot through the window of the dance/stamp area
through the lobby and into the gym class

Another self-portrait

I got her to go back into class with the promise that she could hide behind me and take photos.

The grey blocking the left is my sweater.
The teacher is the adult on the far left.

Sitting in mommy's lap during bubble time

Popping bubbles with toes

Bubbles!

Check out the other budding photographers this week!