Ride on!
Everybody watch out – I received my own shrunken version of a Mini Cooper from my god-parents Bubbe & Opa!
My little Cooper zips up to 3 miles per hour and features forward and reverse gears! It’s such a hoot and even though I’m not able to drive it fully on my own yet – it’s still the best present ever!
Now…watch me hop in the Mini Cooper for a classy drive around the neighborhood!
Vrooom! Vrrrooom!
Howdy!
My family and I went to the Milwaukee County Zoo over the weekend!
Despite the drizzle we managed to have a wonderful time together, as always. My parents are big advocates when it comes to “learning new things” so taking me to the zoo certainly was a great idea!
The Milwaukee County Zoo is home to more than 2,000 animals representing 330 species. While it’s always exciting to explore, it’s hard to know exactly where to begin. We started at the Family Farm where I got to feed the goats (I lied my dad fed them – I must admit – I was too scared!). From there we went to the see the elephants, and thanks to my god-mother bubbe, I learned much about elephants. For instance, did you know that if elephants have BIG ears that they are most likely from Africa (their ears are even shaped like the country!)?
And last but not least…I had a pony ride! I love to imitate horses (“Neigh!”) so my parents thought it would be a cute idea to let me ride a pony but what can I tell you: It wasn’t all that fun for me! In fact, I cried. I rather have my parents practice my mimicry skills with me, or challenge me to trumpet like an elephant, or walk like an ape but nope! I rode a pony and only stopped crying when the ride was over (after three, little rounds). But the experience was worth it!
I love my family.
What did you do over the weekend?
Classical Music for Toddlers!
On Sunday we had a nice picnic (organized by my beloved god-parents!) at the Ravinia Festival while listening to the CSO Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky, including “1812” with cannons. Ravinia hosts live concerts every summer. Located in Highland Park, IL, it is the family event in the Chicago area!
Ravinia not only target adults, but also kids of all ages, from toddlers to college students, looking to introduce us to the beauty of classical music and other performance genres. To make it a ‘hands-on’ experience for tots like me – a “family space” on the north lawn has been provided as well! It had music-related arts and crafts, storytelling, sing-along and an “instrument petting zoo“. A hoot!
Yet my favorite were the cannons, though! At the end of the night, cannons were first fired after several strains of the Marshallese, France’s national anthem. Then overture’s familiar strains became more and more dominant as the cannons ended the piece in a Russian win. It was really loud, and I must admit that I was shocked at first but my ‘surprise’ settled quickly and I started jumping again (in tune with the cannons)!
What are your adventures this summer?
Exploring Movement with Toddlers and Dance.
My parents and my god-parents took me to the Botanic Garden for some Rock ‘n’ Roll yesterday and I simply had a blast! Every Wednesday (during the summer months) the Botanic Garden in Chicago hosts the “Dancin’ Sprouts” event for us little ones. This includes live music and a picnic with your family (my god-parents did an excellent job on the picnic – I even had my own little version of a lawn chair!) which is a lot of fun!
However, I wasn’t there to sit! The music encouraged us tots to embrace our uniqueness by singing, dancing and hopping! The band last night played lots of nursery rhymes that had simple dance-like movements with them. Of course, we didn’t have to worry about doing it perfectly which is why I love being a toddler! We never know just how bad of a singer or dancer we really are! We feel the music in ways it seems some of the adults have forgotten. We use our bodies to express our emotions as we hold hands, raise them and go with the flow!
For more information on the “Sprouts Event” at the Botanic Garden Chicago click here.
Kingston's World 