An Evening Out For The Little One

Last night we took our daughter to see the Sesame Street Live production of "Elmo Makes Music." While not quite up to the normal standard of Sesame Street in my opinion, the kiddo enjoyed it a lot and I definitely would rank it above most of the other ridiculous stuff out there aimed at kids.

I definitely enjoyed that they had a whole "play zone" set up out in the lobby for the kids to explore beforehand (sprinkled liberally with merchandise booths, of course). There were lots of activities and people in character costumes mingling with the kids.

Baby Girl, as I said, had a really good time. She was blown away with all of the fun stuff to look at in the lobby and very much enjoyed that Big Bird did the curtain calls, trying to find him after each announcement. The set itself was absolutely marvelous, and once the show started, Baby Girl was saying hi to all of the familiar faces and singing along and dancing to the music. She did get a little frustrated when she couldn't get Abby's attention (she got an Abby doll for Valentine's Day and it is her constant companion--they have lengthy (one-sided) conversations and Abby has to sit at the table at most meals), but Hubby told her she could at least wave at Abby, and she seemed satisfied with that.

All in all, it was most definitely an evening well spent.

Ooh, a picture of broccoli!

I approve of this play zone offering.

Murray, on the scene to say hello.

I really dug the Elmo's World setup.

They even had Dorothy!

Chatting with Elmo.

Bert and Ernie make the pre-show rounds.

Just look at that face.

Zoe was out there too, of course.

I tried to get a picture in front of the Abby poster, but she was pretty distracted by everything going on around her!

A pretty cool stage setup.

Mom, I'm eating. Please, just put the camera down, okay?

The show gets underway, let the singing and dancing begin!

Seriously, another photo?

This guy walked out right as the lights went up for intermission. Smart, smart man.

We made it out without too much invested in souvenirs: a new Abby t-shirt and an Elmo balloon (of course). We also tried to treat the kiddo to some cotton candy, but she had no desire to eat it at all. Oh well, more for Mommy and Daddy.

I don't know how many of these for-kids performances like this I will be able to weather throughout my parenting career, but I will definitely give any of the Sesame Street offerings a try as long as Baby Girl is interested.

Hello Everybodeeeee!!

One of my favorite childhood storybooks was The Monster At the End of This Book, featuring Sesame Street's lovable furry old Grover. With my daughter's full-on conversion as a Sesame Street fan, I watched closely to see how she would react to Grover. While Elmo is undeniably her favorite character, she also clearly enjoys Grover's antics.

So, I felt the time was right to get her a copy of Grover's beloved story for her very own. When I bought it, I also purchased its recent sequel, Another Monster At the End of This Book, which features Elmo as well as Grover. (I was actually surprised by how cute it was, too--it captures the spirit of the original while putting a new spin on it and making it more relatable to today's Elmo-crazed youth.) I also bought her this guy:

Lovable Furry Grover!

Because, really, the best way to enjoy a Grover story is with a stuffed Grover of your very own. (She already had her own stuffed Elmo, of course. Three, actually.) Baby Girl has enjoyed both stories and her Grover doll quite a bit since we got them. After she had owned Grover for a little while, I noticed something. Her favorite thing to do with with Grover is to help him "fly." She'll aim him at something, cry, "Up, up, and away!" and then launch the fuzzy critter at its target.

The doll flies about as well as the actual Grover does, for the record.

Anyhoo, I am sure this is because more often than not these days, when Grover appears on Sesame Street, it is as Super Grover 2.0 rather than as plain Grover. This gave me an idea. I got it into my head that if our Grover was going to be flying (or attempting to do so) with so much frequency, he should have a cape to help him out. So, I made him one.

Grover's Super Cape by Cori 2012.

Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Glamour in Ruby Red (one ball) and Red Heart Classic in Pumpkin (one ball).
Needles: US 5 Circular
Hook: US G

I just kind of winged it with this one, starting from the bottom and working my way up, decreasing as I saw fit and working until it was long enough. Afterward, I took the orange yarn and chained fifteen stitches then single crocheted across the top of the cape and chained fifteen more stitches before finishing off. I used the Vanna's Glamour because a) it was the right weight for what I wanted, and b) I think every superhero needs a little bit of bling in his getup, and this yarn has just the right amount of shine. Also, c) it's not like I have any other projects in mind for the stuff.

All in all, I am pretty happy with how it came out. I think that Baby Girl is enjoying it as well. Though with her current preference that all of her dolls be naked (seriously, what is up with that?), I don't know how long he will keep it on...

Here are a few action shots for you to enjoy:

Grover seems to approve.

Um, pretend he's flying, here. Or that he's just landed. Awkwardly.

Up, up, and away!

Super Grover to the rescue!

With that, I will leave you to your Tuesday. Happy crafting, y'all! This week, I start Blanket Number Two, whee!