A few weeks back we got together with our "baby" group, which is now actually our "toddler" group, though I don't think any of us can bear to stop using the "b" word. At the event, we discovered that we have deprived our child in a very serious way. What - you ask? Neglected to let him watch Elmo? Refrained from letting him eat irradiated beef? Rarely exposed him to the world beyond his cozy queer friendly politically aware Powderhorn community? Whatever could it be? While all of these are true, it turns out that our poor child never got the opportunity to play "Ring Around the Rosy" - a serious offense.
Here we thought Felix had experienced all that life could offer, so far in his life. But, we were wrong. Until he experienced "Ring Around the Rosy" it was only a half-life, with shades of grey and cheesy songs from AM Radio as background music. No sooner did the holding of hands and singing of the song begin, and Felix was transfixed. Transported to a land of British children in knickers and bobs (no wait, that's me)! Actually, I think he was transported to a land where this (creepy non-sensical) game is played nonstop from dawn to dusk.
Felix's favorite part of "Ring Around the Rosy" was the falling down part. This is not surprising for a child who likes to jump off of any structure into your arms whether you are prepared for him or not. He was so excited about the falling down that when we got to the "ashes ashes" line (morbidly creepy, though, I've discovered, a
false association) he was already on his way down.
Unfortunately for Felix, the other toddlers were not quite so game on playing "Ring Around the Rosy" ad nauseum. First Addie bailed, then Spence went to sit with his dad, thinking this would send the message. Boy, was he wrong! Felix continued to beg, cajole, drag, and would have bribed too if he had realized that the one thing that would have gotten Spence back into the game was his nuk (Spence is being weaned from his).
Eventually, Felix gave up the "Rosy" (or really, was sufficiently distracted) and we were able to take this hilarious picture with the three munchkins. That mug on Felix's face is the expression I always get when I try to take his picture these days (unless he is actively taking the camera from me). It is called "cheese" - a word that now is stricken from my vocabulary when taking pictures. Needless to say, I encourage all parents out there to introduce "Ring Around the Rosy" ASAP if you haven't already, to avoid long term side effects on your child.
A few weeks ago Felix and I started taking an art class together at Articulture - a really cool organization that has art classes for babies and toddlers on up. At first I was a little nervous about it. Am I one of those parents that I laugh at for signing their kids up for every educational activity? Am I not capable of doing art with him at home? Will I be able to relate to the other parents in the class, or will they be snobby art-types?
Fortunately, I took a leap of faith and it was worth it. All my fears were for naught and we are having a great time. The other parents are nice, though honestly, we are so involved with our kids that I probably wouldn't even notice if they weren't! The class is totally hands on and very open to what the kids want to create. The first week we did clay, which Felix does a lot of at home, and loves. We did lots of fun things like making balls out of the play-dough type clay, rolling it flat, making holes in it, wrapping things inside it, experimenting with textures, etc. It gave me some ideas of what to do with Felix at home instead of always making things and saying - "look, a horse" (and really, my skills are so poor that it looks nothing like a horse, cat, car, bus, etc).
This past class we did pastels, which was also super fun. We experimented with a bunch of different types, none of which mean anything to me - oil, soft, hard...etc. Mostly, I was just busy trying to keep stuff out of Felix's mouth and off of the floor where he was tossing everything he was done with...my little Picasso! In the picture above he is using a q-tip to erase pastel lines from a clear plastic sheet - who knew you could do that? Not me. Felix was mostly enamored by the "dipping" of the q-tip in the water, which is one of his favorite activities in general (ketchup, tahini dressing, yogurt, etc.) though he associates it with eating, which is why there are pastel colors all around his mouth.
All in all it has been a nice addition to our Friday routine and a great way to focus on just spending time with Felix. I just hope we can make some money off what he creates so it will all be worth it! Ha ha. Tomorrow is 3-D Mobile day - I'll keep you posted on what gallery they will be exhibited at.
