Insomniatic Musings Child Of The Month

Now - let me just point out that i've been so lax with running features that i cant even remember which friday of each month i said i would do Child of the Month. So, forgive if i'm a little out of wack here ......

NAME: Emily Bear

AGE: 8 years old and counting

CUTENESS FACTOR: Off the scale!

REASON FOR FEATURING: I’m featuring Emily Bear for two reasons: firstly because she’s talented, and secondly ? Because she’s just so cute! Seriously – have you seen her on the “ The Ellen Degeneres Show “ ? She’s just pure cuteness on a stick! Altogether now….awwww. For those who haven’t seen her on TV, Emily is a young piano prodigy who also happens to be adorable. I’ve seen her twice on “ The Ellen Degeneres Show “ and although I’m no music virtuoso myself, I have to admit she’s pretty impressive for her tender age. I mean, she composed a song for Ellen and Portia for their wedding, which made Ellen cry. How sweet is that?
Amongst her other achievements: she played at the White House when she was 6 years old; she's the youngest musician ever to have featured at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago ( ok, this one doesnt mean anything to me but apparently its noteworthy ) and she's released 4 albums so far. 4 albums at 8 years of age..... holy guacamole.
I suppose the cynics amongst you might argue that she’s probably being pushed by bossy stage parents, or that any pieces that have been written by Emily must have been, at least in part, written by an adult. Shame on you! Sure, maybe her parents did push her to start piano lessons at a very, very young age ( NOTE: I’m not saying they did. If your Emily Baer’s parents, please don’t sue me ) – but most children that age wont keep something up unless they really enjoy it. They also wont be good at something unless they have a natural ability and a passion for it. So, as far as I’m concerned Emily Bear is a cute, talented little moppet whether its her choosing or not.
So congratulations to Emily Bear on being Insomniatic Musings Child of the Month – see what kind of acclaim talent and a cute set of dimples will get you ?

Feature Friday: Insomniatic Musings Child of the Month

Name: Olive Hoover

Age : 7 years old

Hometown: Alberqueque, New Mexico

You Know Her From Where ?: The film " Little Miss Sunshine ".

Reason for featuring: Because she is one of my favourite child film characters of the last few years. For starters - look how cute she is with her little teeth, and her chubby cheeks and her huge glasses. Seriously, those glasses could rival the specs i wore as a child, so anyone who can wear those and look so gosh darn cute is a-ok with me. But what i really love about her is her self confidence. If you havent seen " Little Miss Sunshine " ( why not ? Go rent it now! ) little Olive wants to win a beauty pageant, and her whole dysfunctional family take a road trip in effort to help her achieve that dream. Her father is a motivational speaker who cant sell a damn thing; her brother has taken a vow of silence; her grandfather is hilariously funny, but addicted to drugs; her uncle is a suicidal gay scholar; and her mum is trying to hold everyone together. And Olive ? She's just this little kid that likes to dance and 80's throwback sweats.

What i love is that Olive has no real idea that her family is so dysfunctional, and neither does she think of herself as awkward ( even though the massive glasses would, stereotypically, suggest " nerd " ). Nope, Olive is just a sweet, chubby, little girl with a dream - and a an awesome pageant coach/ junkie Grandpa who encourages it. The whole final dance scene at the pageant, and Olives attitude in the face of pageant judgery ( is that a word? it is now... ) just melts my heart.

So here's to Olive Hoover - to her big glasses, her old school sweatbands, her awesome choice of music, and her dysnfunctional family. A worthy recipient of Insomniatic Musings Child of the Month.