Momma Chelle's Musings: Time flies . . . and the love of a furry red monster

There are so many different cliches about the passage of time and my favorite is probably "time flies when you're having fun." And I can't believe that two whole years have passed since I gave birth to my fourth and final child, Dominic. It seems like just yesterday that I was home on maternity leave . . . but then again it doesn't as I've watched him learn to turn over, crawl, walk, talk and imitate his older brothers and develop into the toddler we now have in our home. Now it hasn't all been "fun" . . . there are some trying times involved in being a parent . . . the illnesses, the sleepless nights, the nursing, the feeling that there's always something to do. But overall, the experience of being a mommy brings out the best in me, even when I don't see it. And I can't believe that the time has elapsed so quickly. Before you know it, I'll be walking him down to the bus stop with his brothers. (heavy sigh)

As a child born about a week shy of Christmas, I know he's going to be shortchanged a lot in December because people will inevitably tell him as they give him a gift . . . "you know this is for your birthday AND Christmas." As a result, I plan to make sure we acknowledge the dates as separate celebrations. He's wonderful and all but he's no Jesus (smile). But he does warrant his own celebration.

So what did we do this year to celebrate? Carlos and I took him to see one of his favorite characters . . . Elmo . . . live at the Patriot Center on Friday. Now, unfortunately, I don't have really good pictures from inside the arena during the show because I can't find my camera (so guess what Santa will be bringing mommy?) so I had to capture the moment with my crappy cell phone camera. But he was ready with his Elmo sweatshirt and Elmo character that Dylan won for him at Six Flags this summer (one of the many we own) in tow as we enjoyed 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo and Friends. Based on Nic's reaction to the show I know we'll have to make it up to Langhorne, PA this summer so we, I mean he, can enjoy Sesame Place.

the view from our cheap seats

"say cheese, Nic"

Dad holding Nic with his stash . . . a cool fuzzy Elmo hat and a light up spinny thing

proof that he LOVES Elmo (and he's just as cute) . . . Nic in costume this past Halloween

I have a special affinity for Sesame Street . . . we both premiered in the same year . . . 1969. I have very vivid memories of watching as a kid and it's a wonderful thing to see my children enjoy a show I enjoyed so much as a child. In fact, Sesame Street is one of the few kids shows I can watch with no kids in the room. (The same is true for the School House Rock series that used to come on between Saturday morning cartoons . . . I was SOOOO happy when it came out on DVD . . . I actually bought it on VHS when it first became available but that's another post I could do . . . hmmmmm).

Anyway, as most of you know Elmo was not an original character but he became a fan favorite after his introduction in the mid-1980s and became a favorite of mine . . . particularly after I learned he was puppeted by (and this is your little-known black history fact) Kevin Clash, a native Marylander and one of the few black puppeteers in the nation. (for an excellent story on the homegrown star go to http://www.marylandfamilymagazine.com/2007/06/29/1287634-man-behind-elmo/).