Watching vs. Documenting

A friend of mine who has a son around Greta’s age gave me some really great advice recently. He said that over the years he realized that he spent so much time documenting his son’s soccer games, music recitals, etc., that he had never actually seen his son do anything. You know, in real time with his naked eyes.

So, the next time his son had an event, my friend left his iPhone and camera in his backpack and actually watched his son perform — no camera, no zoom, no video, no flash, just straight up watching — and it was magical. So, last Thursday at Greta’s annual ballet class parent viewing day I did the same thing.

As you can see, I still took a few pictures here and there, but, for the most part I simply watched my daughter dance and it was lovely. Seriously, I never knew what I was missing…Greta was amazing!

If you haven’t tried it yet for yourself, I highly recommend you do. Handing off the camera to someone else (or even just not taking pics or video) and actively watching your kid perform is pretty damn incredible. Try it!

“Love is an Open Door” clip goes viral

If you thought the pop-culture juggernaut that is Frozen peaked with the film’s two big wins at the Academy Awards or yesterday’s eagerly-awaited home video release, think again.

Proving that Frozen mania is here to stay, a new wave of videos featuring people singing and/or lip-syncing songs from the movie have gone totally viral. And this time, they’re singing something new. So, move over Adele Dazeem (aka Idina Menzel) because “Love is an Open Door” is definitely having a moment.

And while it may have all started with the charming, “good-looking couple” in the first clip shown above, the list of spoofs and imitators on YouTube is growing by the second. There are even imitators of the imitators…it’s crazy! But also, kind of totally awesome.

Long live the Frozen phenomenon!

Greta’s Dance Recital: VIDEO

Actually, this super-cool video premiered a few days ago on Facebook, but, since I am not yet FB friends with everyone reading this right now, I figured I’d best post it here as well. Unlike previous clips I’ve posted, this one is still “unlisted” on YouTube, so, the only way to watch it right now is by clicking the link below. Enjoy!

And thanks again to my brother and his lovely assistant, my sister-in-law/Greta’s Aunt Laura, for their fine videography work. You guys rock!

watch?feature=player_embedded&v=suCPUWTwtp8

VIDEO: Greta’s third birthday party!

Greta’s birthday party was almost a month ago and I still haven’t even downloaded the pictures from my camera yet. But, luckily, my multi-talented brother, Ryan — also known in these parts as Uncle Guy-Guy — is much more on top of things. Not only did he shoot some amazing video footage at Greta’s party, but, he also edited it, set it to music and uploaded it to the old internet machine to boot! Whew, thank God for family!

So, though it might be a while before you see any still photos of the magical little garden fairy bash we threw in honor of Greta’s third birthday, this video pretty much captures it all…beautifully! Many thanks to Uncle Guy Guy for taking the time to put this shiny little gem of a movie together for us. You did the fairies proud, hermano!

Dancing queen…

As I may have mentioned a few times already, Greta had her first ballet/tap class this week and lemme tell ya, she had a blast. I tried to upload some video here a minute ago, but, I couldn’t figure out how to do it quickly or easily (words that Mrs. Yeti and I live by these days!) so, it will have to wait for another time. But, trust me, Greta looked adorable in her dance clothes!

Now, if I could only convince her NOT to wear her leotard, tights and dance shoes every day when she wakes up, all would be right with the world. Seriously, we had to practically cut her out of her leotard the other night for her bath…she is obsessed! And the tap shoes? Forget it. Those pretty little things — which we ended up buying at the dance studio for a very reasonable $25.00! — are safely in hiding till next Monday.

Oh, and on top of all that, Greta is totally making friends in class now too. Her BFF at the moment is a cute little red-haired girl named Fiona. And lucky for me, Fiona’s mom and Grandma are really cool too, so, I have someone to talk to in the waiting room while our little one’s dance. Hooray!