a toy for mama

when people ask me what i want for christmas, i'm always hard-pressed to come up with an answer, and then it's usually in the form of a kitchen gadget.   this year i got top notch versions of two of my suggestions:  a sturdy blender and an immersion blender (yes, i was being rather indulgent in naming both, but for the record, they came from different sources ;-) ).  but when you get what you didn't ask for but secretly wished for, that is the mark of a great gift.  my thoughtful and observant husband, seeing that i'm never without my camera and i mean never, presented me with an unexpected upgrade:  a Panasonic Lumix GF3, a micro four thirds system that's halfway between a point-and-shoot and a DSLR.  the target audience has my name written all over it:

models aimed at compact point and shoot owners who want more control without the bulk, expense and complication of a DSLR

so for my first trial runs, i give you a series on our dancing lu.  the girls are set to start a ballet class together next week, and you can't imagine a more excited pair, constantly changing into their leotards and tights and ballet shoes.  lucy, especially, has taken a real liking to gymnastics and dance (or what little she knows of it).  she figured out how to do a forward roll on her own just a few months after turning two, and she's constantly trying to do headstands, as evidenced below =p.  she even manages to balance for a split second sometimes.  in any case, we'll see how the actual ballet class goes over, but i don't think i'm biased in saying that there's not much cuter than a two-year-old in a pink leotard ;-)