Forecast: Warm, but not for long

What do Minnesotans do when the temperature drops, the snow flies and the pale gray sky hangs low?
We head for the warmth and tropical-like humidity of the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul. (And you thought I'd say we hop on a flight south.)
Anni and I took Elise to Como last weekend. It's a great way to remember that, despite winter's strong grip, summer and green plants and heat and sun are only months away. (Optimism reigns in December. It's gone by February, only to return in late March.) Plus, Como is free, so there is that.
It was a good trip, but also a reminder that you've got to stay close when a 20-month-old starts fondling the flowers. (Yes, they're real and the pile of petals you just yanked from the flower and tossed to the ground is evidence. Sigh.)
Elise liked the plants and fish. Mom and Dad liked the heat and humidity. Then we walked outside, got smacked by the cold December air and wondered how long it'd be until spring.

Gobble, gobble.

It's not hard thinking of what to be thankful for.

Paint by numbers? No, paint by mouth.

Potty prowess

I bet that two of the toughest tests of whether a child is potty-trained come while taking long car rides or waiting in line with mom for the bathroom at a ballgame.

The real test, however, comes when that child gets a bout of the stomach flu.

I'll spare you the details, but some gut bug has been passed around this household for the past few weeks. Elise had her turn last week.
A bit of background: We are three months into potty training and, thanks largely to Anni and Elise's teacher, that young girl rarely has an accident anymore. (Elise and I struggled with potty training at first, but are getting along better now.) Not only that, we rarely buy diapers anymore. She only wears them when she naps or sleeps.

She does really well telling us when she needs to go -- and if we don't hear her she is so helpful that she will just pull her pants down while standing in the living room, kitchen or maybe even a store. Our bathroom may be mistaken for a children's library, the abundance of books that are in there to keep her entertained, but you do what works. And that works.

So, at 20 months old, her true potty training test came with the recent illness. She only had two "accidents" over the course of a week in which she was plagued with off-and-on flu symptoms. Not bad.

To show our appreciation for her potty prowess, maybe we'll take a long drive to a sporting event.

What's up, Stripes?

Bundle up

With the first snowfall here this weekend, we had an opportunity to bundle up Elise and send her out into the drifts. She was reluctant to wear snow pants, boots and mittens, so I first brought her out in shoes and no mittens. She quickly decided mittens are good and, realizing she couldn't go in the yard unless she had boots, eventually accepted boots upon her feet.
She generally likes being outside, for which we're thankful, but the snow kind of confused her. Probably didn't help that just one night earlier we were playing out in the yard -- on grass.
After the next big snow, we'll get Miss Michelin -- it's tough for her to move in all of those clothes -- out there again and pull her in the sled around the yard.

 The caption for this photo? "Potty, Momma."

 Wow, that's pink. She actually picked out all of these clothes. Not sure whether we should be impressed by her color coordination or, well, scared by her color coordination.

Three's company

Elise had a slumber party this weekend. Her cousins Randy and Jacob spent the weekend with us. It was a full house -- so that's what 3 children would be like -- but they had a good time.

 Why not hold a bowl for a picture?

At 20 months, a new word

How naive of me. I foolishly thought that we might coast through toddlerdom without hitting the "no" stage.
It was going so well -- we rarely heard that word.
Now we hear it. Me, especially.
Elise's favorite line seems to be: "No, Daddy." It's usually followed by two little hands pushing firmly at my knees, in an attempt to keep me from leading her through daily activities like brushing teeth or even waking up in the morning. It's just delightful.
Oh, sure, she also uses "No, Momma" from time to time, but uttering "No, Daddy" is the preferred act of defiance right now. That, and the occasional falling-on-the-ground-crying-and-flailing episode. To be honest, it's a struggle. Drives me crazy and tests the patience in a new way. I'm not use to that behavior (mental note: get a job in a school) and I find myself trying to outsmart her or trick her into dropping the defiance. It's a mental game -- and I'm getting schooled.
The bright side? Sometimes those defiant pout-and-whine fests are inexplicably followed by a grin, a giggle and a big hug. Here's hoping that continues beyond toddlerdom.

Happy Halloween

Apparently 19 months old is old enough to know the difference between regular clothes and a costume.
Anni found this gnome Halloween costume for Elise, but we had been unsuccessful in convincing her to try it on at home. So, it went to school with her today for the Halloween party and, by golly, Elise was fine wearing it if her teacher helped to put it on her.
We'll try again at home Sunday. If the gnome is a no-go, there is a back-up bumblebee costume in the inventory. And if that doesn't work, maybe she'll go trick-or-treating dressed as a 19-month-old.

She wasn't as unhappy as she looks. I think.

The gnome and the skunk.

 Ever met a skirt-lifting gnome? Yep, she belongs to us.

 Anni manned the face/hand painting station at the school party.

 

My costume includes a glass eyeball.

Slice of life

In this house, if you want apple pie you need to work for it. And, yes, that means learning to cut apples. We're still working on the lesson that you cannot eat one apple slice for every two you cut.

Apples and good times.

The streak continues. 

The annual Wente-Singel fall apple outing took place a few weeks ago. We hit a local orchard with friends Dan and Erin and their daughter, Avery. Good times.

This particular orchard charged for each outdoor activity. Here, the shakedown begins: the ladies approach the hay maze, where the goofball high-school worker did not know how much to charge for an entrance fee. Sir, you have one job and you get to do it sitting down. Let's memorize that long list of two entrance fees.

I'm allergic to hay. They're not. Therefore, I take the picture, they stand in the hay. (By the way, how lame is a hay allergy?)

No windfalls for this lady. We go to the top of the tree.

Elise would be perfectly content if people would hand-feed her at all meals. She also would be perfectly content if all meals were apples.

Walking with a purpose.

Sometimes I forgot how quickly Elise changes -- until I look at old photos. Here is last year's apple-feeding photo:

Digging up old pics

I was sorting through photos and came across some taken on a morning in July, after Elise had spent some digging up veggies in the wet garden. (I know, it seems like we only take pictures of her in the garden.)

Before they get lost or forgotten, I figured that I would post a few of them. 

A modified apple trip

Mother Nature can be real nasty sometimes. Earlier this year, bad weather wiped out Afton Apple's strawberry crop halfway through the season, and pelted acres-upon-acres of apple trees with hail, ruining the apples long before they were ready to be picked.

But, alas, tradition being what it is, we still went to the orchard this fall and got apples -- it's just that they were from other orchards. You can't pick apples at Afton this year, but they still have you-pick-'em raspberries, hay rides, play areas for kids and other things to do. We did some of those -- and ate our share of apple donuts. 

Elise enjoyed the hay ride, was not thrilled with the goats at the petting zoo, liked picking up pumpkins ... and throwing them, and she, too, had her share of apple donuts. Good times.

The fall will not be complete, however, without the annual Wente-Singel orchard trip. There is one in the works, so I see more apple donuts in my future.

It kind of looks like Elise got pushed out of the way in this photo...

Relaxing in the raspberry patch.

A goodwill offering of raspberries from Anni's dad to Elise. Or maybe it was just bribery.

Hay ride hair.

Is she asleep? No, just hypnotized.

Who doesn't enjoy a hay ride in the fall in Minnesota?

I never realized goats have diabolical eyes.

Like the animals, this one likes getting fed, too.