Happy Xmas

Felix had a wonderful day today celebrating xmas with his mom and mama and the Pine family clan.  Last night on xmas eve, Felix had a total lack of interest in opening gifts (when asked if he wanted to open a present, his response from the phone in his play kitchen was, "Shh, I'm busy making an important phone call"); but today, he was totally into it (but at the same time, not crazed - which was great).  He distributed gifts to family members and was really excited about opening presents that were for him.  Of course, most of the gifts will have to be explored and enjoyed later when there is not so much excitement.  But one gift really caught Felix's eye and he couldn't stop playing with it: a hat!  His Pine grandparents got him a winter hat similar to his grandpa's, and he LOVED it.  It was pretty cute to see him so psyched.  He did a lot of imaginary play while wearing the hat, pretending to ride a motorcycle.  By the way, the striped thing on top of Felix's head in some of the pictures is the other hat the Felix received, that got 2nd best recognition by being included at all in these photos.

This year Felix was also, for some reason, really into the Xmas stockings!  He called them "boots" and tried on all of them.  The boots also figured in some imaginary play involving walking in puddles of water.  Fortunately, Felix was willing to put on his real boots before we went outside to play in the snow.

Minneapolis got a huge wet snowfall on Xmas eve, and the snow was wet...wetter than I remember in a long time.  It was so warm (32 degrees) that the snow was melting, and there were huge puddles of water on the sidewalk and slush in the street.  We walked across the street (well, the adults walked, and Felix was carried over the huge drifts) to see the neighbors snowperson.  Felix's mom and mama attempted to make a snowperson for Felix in front of our house, but were unsuccessful - the snow was too wet and sticky to work with!  The picture below is of the snowpeople across the street.

Felix also got to enjoy some quieter moments during the day with his relatives.  Playing Winter and Xmas songs on the piano with Nana, racing matchbox cars down the slide with Caitlin, and of course, plenty of grandpa time.

I couldn't help but think back at how different Felix is this year than his previous two Xmas'.  He is so much more cognizant of what is going on, and independent.  For old time's sake, here's a triptych contrasting the past three years.

            

Hanging with N Squared

We are a little behind on updates around here.  Just too much going on with colds and work and xmas and all that.  But hopefully this is the beginning of some catchin' up.

We had a lovely visit with our friends Nina and Naomi a few weeks back from Brooklyn.  Felix and Naomi hit it off great and showed each other their great dance moves.  Here's some shots of the 2 year olds in action.

Tea Party

Peek a Boo at the Midtown Market

Completely failed attempt at a staged photo

Thanksgiving on the North Shore

Our excursion wouldn't have been complete without getting to lick the whipped cream...

Playing with trains with (or alongside) mom and mama....

Checking out Split Rock Lighthouse....

Seeing the holiday lights in a 10 (yes 10) acre display in Duluth....

Hopping some trains....

 

And at spare moments, throwing about 5000 rocks into Lake Superior.

Eating Pills

When Felix was sick recently, the only thing he wanted to eat was Pomegranate seeds, which he called his "pills". They seemed to work wonders on the common cold, and Felix will soon be promoting them to treat more serious ailments.

Halloween Highlight Reel

The only time we got Felix to put on his entire robot costume was the day before Halloween. 

Snapping to the beats of the Bunny Clogs at their Halloween Dance Party.

Pumpkin!

We got our pumpkins carved, lit, and outside, only minutes before our first trick-or-treaters showed up.

What would Halloween be without Pooh Bear dracula and a mama who looks like she's in a fun house mirror?

We're back!

After a brief absence, we are back to the blog and healthy once again.  As you can see, its been unseasonably warm here. This picture was taken last weekend when it was (gasp) 60 degrees out!

A Polar Bear He Is!

This week Felix made the big leap from the Teddy Bear room to the Polar Bear room at school (sniff, sniff).  We knew he was getting bigger and bigger (even taller than many of his lego towers these days), but moving to the early preschool room confirmed that he's growing on the inside too.  While he will always be our little baby, he is ready for new challenges, probably more than we even realize at times.

After two days of "visiting" the Polar Bear room - going back and forth between rooms as he chose - on Wednesday, Felix became an official Polar Bear.  Felix handled the transition really well.  While a little nervous when we dropped him off, he jumped right in after we left.  He made his journal...

which, in case you can't read the small writing, says...

and "Fish and I'm swimming with mama" at the bottom.  He  also made a house for a cow out of magnatiles, painted a mural, did lots of dancing, and played outside in the playground.

Felix won't be getting the cute daily sheets anymore that he got in the Teddy Bear room.  Instead, his teacher, Merritt (and her co- teacher Sarah, who has seven other kids) writes notes on a big white board that get erased at the end of the day (or more accurately, the morning after, as I happily discovered when I sneaked back after the daycare was closed for the day to take this picture - I have a key because of our monthly cleaning shift).  I actually am considering taking a picture each day of what he did for posterity, and so I remember what to tell Susan when we get home.  I'm not sure if that will happen, since that means another thing to keep track of, but until Felix is a little more articulate about what happens each day, I might consider it!

Felix always gets really healthy snacks at daycare - often more varied than the cheese and cracker variety that he gets at home.   But what got my attention about his snack on Wednesday was how much he ate!  Merritt told me that Felix ate two huge bowls of chickpeas and cauliflower.  I think he was making up for the two previous nights where he ate no supper - he was so overstimulated and exhausted he didn't even have an appetite.

The week is done now and we have a few days as a family to relax and regroup before the gauntlet of the work week starts again - the precarious balance of work, school, transit, eating, and squeezing in a little bit of play.  But until then, we have a few days to be, and for Felix to just be Felix - a lovable and loving, silly, energetic, challenging at times, imaginative two and a half year old.  I'll try to savor it, and keep my eyes open, so I can catch it all before he's off to the next room at school - and the next adventure.

Last Call for Como Town

It was the last day of the season for Como Town.  Some of us were more excited than others about spending money to go on rides.  Some would have preferred to see the gardens at Como Park, that they were cheated out of seeing the week before due to some big event that crowded the park and forced us to go elsewhere to eat our carefully packed picnic.  But some went along with things because it seemed like the right thing to do, and of course, had fun when we got there.  How can you not have fun watching a two year old drive a pony and very seriously shake the reins the entire time?  Felix, of course, had no ambivalence and loved the rides, but was a little pensive all morning.  Maybe he sensed the impending change in the weather.  Or, the fleeting nature of amusement rides made him nervous.  We will have to wait until spring to find out.

Cruising with Addie

The designated driver and the non-tea totalers

Here Comes the Train

The fire truck with, best of all, sprayers on top!

A 60's sports car that was probably there in the 60's