A kid's best friend

We got two new cats this week, Pickle and Skillet.  While the procuring was a bit of a debacle, we finally have two cats and our house is moving back to its usual organized chaos, instead of complete insanity.  Of course, Felix has been along for the ride, from going to the humane society to pick out our new cats, to hanging out with me outside a dilapidated garage to rescue Pickle, who decided it would be fun to try living on the lamb for a few days.  While rescuing a cat was not exactly what I had in mind last Sunday when I suggested we adopt some cats, I am trying to take the long view that I am trying to teach Felix a love for animals, and that we do not give up on anyone or anything, even when things get hard.

On the other hand, life lessons from Skillet are a little more what you would expect from when you adopt a kitten.  She is completely entertaining and lovable, and Felix has had a blast playing and cuddling with her this past week. Compared to our previous cats who were terrified of Felix, Skillet (and Pickle too) are not phased by him, so he is getting to bond with cats in a way he never got to before.  Tonight I heard him say to Skillet "I love you my little sweet kitty"... and my heart melted.

Halloween 2010

Hey Folks, if there are any folks out there still looking at this blog.  I'm trying something different to try to get stuff out there a little more frequently than every 3 months.  We'll see how it goes.  Here's some photos from Halloween.  Felix was a slightly grumpy T-Rex dinosaur with a nuk.  While the costume was a bit of a debacle (I carried most of it turning the t or t'ing), Felix enjoyed the experience immensely, especially reporting to me whether or not he said "thank you" at each house and if he remembered to say "trick or treat".  Enjoy the images!

Up on the Lake

Our summer cabin week finally arrived and we headed to Nelson's Resort on Crane Lake.  Felix was a little sad that we were not going to Elbow Lake, last year's destination, but quickly got over it once he saw the splendor of the playground, rec room with ping pong table, and "rail road car" style cabin that allowed him to run the length of the cabin over and over again whenever he had pent up energy that needed to be expent.

 

  We did lots of canoeing, kayaking, and sitting on the dock in our jammies.  

 Mom taught Felix how to cast and wait for the fish to bite.

We soaked up the scenery.

 And spent time with the Pine family clan.

All in all we had a wonderful time, marred only by the fact that it had to end.  But, we are already planning our cabin vacay next summer; never too soon to start dreaming!

Puppets, Freezies and Popcorn

We went to The Adventures of Katie Tomatie puppet show a couple weeks back - part of the Open Eye Figure Theatre's driveway tour - a cool idea to bring puppet shows to different communities all over the Twin Cities and beyond.  This one was held behind someone's house in a park located in the Harrison neighborhood of North Minneapolis.

Felix enjoyed the puppet show - there was a lot of action and excitement, squirting water, and a skeleton, that he called a dinosaur.  Best of all, they served popcorn during the show (which meant that I spent lots of time walking back and forth filling Felix's Dixie cup with servings) and freezies afterwards.

Felix's friends from school, Rocco and Augie, were there too.  Rocco is almost a year older than Felix, and Augie is almost a year younger.  This was the first time I realized that Felix is inching towards becoming one of the "bigger kids" in the Polar Bear (PB) room, the classroom he has been part of for the last year.  The above picture really illustrates the interesting place Felix inhabits right now in the PB room.  He is stretching himself socially, hanging out with more of the older kids, like Rocco.  At the same time, he has been taking on the role of mentor to some of the newer PB's, like Augie.  It is all very fascinating to watch as he navigates these new roles.

We've been loving the warm summer evenings this summer with swim nights, puppet shows, and walks to Dairy Queen.  Compared to previous summers, Felix can stay up a little bit later before he turns into a pumpkin (though honestly, not that much later), and we've been relishing it.

I Joking You

Felix has been really into "joking" recently, something that is really exciting to see.  Its often three-year-old humor, like knock-knock jokes, poop jokes, and statements that make no sense - "look, there's an elephant on my head" or "I'm eating cars".



But lately, there's been a new development, or actual "jokes" played on us. A few days ago I asked Felix to get spoons for cereal, and he handed me an oversized serving spoon.  I told him to put it back and get me a smaller one, and he said, "but mama, I joking you"!

Trolley Ride

We are a family that loves mass transit, so it was really hard to tell who enjoyed our recent ride on the Lake Harriet Streetcar the most.

Susan liked the original hardwood flooring, the 1930's advertisements, and the beautiful light fixtures.  I liked chatting it up with the conductors.  Pick any location and they will go into a 20 minute monologue about where the line ran, the turnaround locations, which streetcars ran on that line, etc etc etc.  It realized while they were talking that -- this could be me in 20 odd years!!! But I digress...

Since we were the only passengers, the conductor let Felix drive the streetcar, which was pretty darn exciting in itself, but...

culminated when he got to toot the horn!

With a look like this, you gotta wonder why we haven't gone back every day!

BFF

Felix and Soren in matching Monkey shirts

What makes a friend for a 3 year old?  It's something I've been wondering about a lot as I've watched Felix navigate his social world and form connections with other kids.  Is it just who he happens to spend time with, or something more?  What does this mean for his friendships in the future?  Will he remember his first friends? 

 Nicholas and Felix playing under a tree

It became clear a little over a year ago that there were certain kids that Felix REALLY liked, and had similar energy to.  Since then he has stated his preferences more and more frequently, to the point that we're starting to work on helping him talk about the kids he doesn't feel in "sync" with as much, or does not see as much and have the chance to develop closeness with.  The new word for kids who he states are "not his friends", I've decided, are "pals".  I don't want to push the "everyone is your friend" thing, as I want to encourage his special connections with some kids, but I also want to help him develop language around friendship and community that is a more inclusive.

 Felix and Spencer on a dirt pile

Whatever the reason, whether it is natural attraction, the fact that their parent(s) are my friends, he sees them 3 days a week at school, or a mixture of all of these elements, Felix's preferences are clear.  I love the sweet silliness, the infectious laughter, and the pure joy on his face when he sees a special friend across the room, and the concentration on his face when he and a friend go deep into imaginary land.  At least, for now, there is still plenty of room for me, in the midst of his friendship mix.  And I am enjoying it while it lasts.

 Felix and Augie on the slide

Play Ball!

You may think this is the face of someone picked to play outfield, or some equally vexing baseball travesty.  In fact, the issue was something like "too many kids on the field", stemming less from the rules of the (TBall) game and more from the fact that three year olds have a hard time sharing things, especially when participating in a game they barely understand.

 

But we soldiered on, in a woefully overpopulated class of thirty 3-5 year olds and their parents, and a few earnest but overwhelmed teachers who flitted from child to child doling out phrases like "step and throw" and "catch it like an alligator".

There were some cute moments, like when Felix's friend Spencer showed up and they got to show each other their fancy Tball moves.

And there's really nothing cuter or more exhilarating than watching your child hit a ball and run to first base for the first time...especially when they don't know where first base is.

  

In the end, we decided a few cute photos weren't worth a return visit to Tball class.  Maybe next year Felix will be ready for the highs and lows of competitive sports.  Until then, we're all happier just playin' ball in the back yard, where Felix can always play first base and every hit is a home run.

Remembering Bone

Last Wednesday we put Bone to sleep, my cat of 17 years....Felix's cat since birth.  Bone was very sick this past month, and that fact was not lost on Felix.  He has helped me give Bone his pills (by talking gently to him) and clean up after his "accidents"; he's watched as I've offered Bone countless plates of different cat foods, and listened as Susan and I have worried and wondered about whether it was time.

When we finally made the decision, we knew we wanted Felix involved in some way.  We didn't want it to be a mystery, or for Felix to forget about Bone due to our silence.  We decided we would tell him that Bone died, talk with him about our memories of Bone, ask him if he wanted him to help us plant flowers on Bone's grave, and explain to him that Bone's job was now helping those flowers grow.

This was Felix's first experience with death.  Not surprisingly, he found it a bit confusing, and asked over and over again what death was, and if Bone would be coming back.  Finally things started to sink in, and the questions got more complex: would Bone come back after the flowers grew?  What about his friends with cats...were they going to die too?  Why were we sad?

It was amazing and inspiring to witness Felix's process with understanding death for the first time.  He was so open with all of his feelings and questions (as he always is), and has surprised me by bringing up memories of Bone, days later.  Yesterday, he told me he remembered Bone's pink nose and purr, and the way Bone would wake him up sometimes by coming into his room and meowing.

While Felix and Bone were never "best friends" - Bone was a crotchety old cat and Felix is an energetic 3 year old - they shared a home together, and appreciated each other's ways.  Bone knew that when vying for attention he was competing with Felix.  Felix knew to respect Bone's space. I hope that in some way Felix will always remember Bone, and that his love and respect for animals was nurtured by this first relationship.

3 is the magic number

Felix turned 3 last month, and while it does not seem like we celebrate, let alone even exist over here, we did actually pull off quite a celebration!

Felix's chosen theme for his birthday party was "Kitty Kat Trains". So, behold, the Kitty Kat Train Cake!  His mama was up way too late the night before the party making this wonder, but it was worth it.  And if you are wondering what the train tracks are made of, yep, its licorice!

All of Felix's best buddies came to the party.  Here's Felix and his friend Sông.

 And here's Nicole and Augie!

  While many thematically appropriate kitty kat and train activities were planned for the party (note cat ears in previous photos), the most popular activities included jumping on beds, playing in the kitchen, and pretending Felix's bed was a boat.

 It's a toss up on which moment was Felix's favorite - the "happy birthday" song...

 or blowing out the candles. But, lets just say that Felix loved them both, and is very much looking forward to next year's birthday party, even though it is almost a year away.

Pancakes not Prisons

Felix mustered up the energy to walk down the block and attend the 10th (!) annual Women's Prison Book Project pancake breakfast. 

While he didn't partake in pancakes (he's more of a grits and cheese aficionado), he did make some valentines, and got to hang with the Pine clan.

Felix's First Babysitting Gig

Felix had the opportunity to babysit his friend Sông a few weeks back. 

He absolutely adores babies...and was so excited about it.

He picked out books to read to Sông, played with her, and sang to her. 

He only got just a teeny tiny bit jealous when his mama put her in his old sling to help her go to sleep.

Sweater Friends

Felix and Augie show off their matching sweaters at school.