EMEL & friends

We got our only snow so far this season when wet, sticky, giant flakes fell the other night for an hour or two, before turning to rain. It was enough for the toddler set to want to race out and play, of course. So we spent an hour before bedtime building a snowman with Harrison.

Cousin Abigail had just given us her old snowsuit and boots a few days earlier. We still have last year's 2T snowsuit, but given Edith's recent growth spurt (see previous post), the legs may have come up short. Also, it's blue. That seems to be objectionable.

Edith and Harrison also took advantage of the hour-long snow to try out her new sled. Edith's book, Clifford and the New Sled, states that Clifford's sled is named Rosebud--so Edith's is, too. Thus a mindless, mass-market picture book ruins what should have been a great cinematic experience later in life. (It should be noted that both parties in this picture are engaged in the activity they preferred. Personally, I'm with Harrison.)

Lest you imagine this was a real snowfall, note the effects of trying to play in it.

Missing each other's company in these winter months without their weekly meeting at the vegetable farm, Edith and Desi got together for strawberries and a couple bottles of Pinot Noir last Friday.

Actually, Desi's train set was of far greater allure than dinner, allowing the parents the almost-unknown experience of sustained adult conversation for periods of fifteen minutes or more. On leaving, Edith told us that she had had great fun, except that Desi had mixed up two trains. "He kept calling it Thomas, but it was Edward." We heard about this all the way home, as Edith continued to ask for our reassurance that Desi would eventually figure it out. "He's a little confused. But when he gets older, and can read numbers, he will see, 'Oh, that's Number Two! That's not Thomas, that's Edward!' Right, Mommy? Tell me again." Incidentally, Edith can't reliably read numbers yet either...but she can tell one engine's nose from another's with deadly certainty.

Martin Luther King weekend provided us a special treat: Edith's West Coast buddy, Soren, visited New Jersey! Edith and Soren were born a week apart, their mamas having been online pregnancy buddies. This was their third meeting (if you count the in utero one). Last time we got together, they lay on their bellies and drooled at each other. Hanging out at age two was ever so much more satisfying.

Once again, trains featured prominently in the day's fun. All parties were agreed that this particular engine was Percy.

Having spent Saturday visiting Soren at his cousins' house, Monday we hosted him at our place--along with several more far-flung toddlers and their mamas. A bona fide Playgroup moment for us uninitiated full-time daycare folks! From left: Edith, Sylvie, Anya, and Soren. Not pictured: Anya's baby brother, Jack, a source of interest to the two year olds.

Sylvie introduced all the kids to the fun of yogurt in a tube.

Also a devotee of Fraulein Maria, Soren checks out Edith's Sound of Music companion book. Like her, he puzzles over this mysterious bride who clearly is not Julie Andrews. (Actually, she's Maria von Trapp--but try explaining that one to a preschooler.)

Anya and Sylvie share giggles in the tent.

Soren gives Pea Soup's teeth a close inspection before cozying up.

It was Soren who first taught Edith the importance of always having a pair of red sneakers in your wardrobe. He gave her her first pair; this is number 4.