mirrors

Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture and mirrors at Laumeier Sculpture Park.  Nice to be able to get out and about again after the heat and the fevers.  Watching a one-year-old discover and rediscover herself in a thousand mirrors makes for about the best Saturday morning entertainment.

something in my eye

(finally) feeling better

bright (green) spot

In the brief moments of fever-free time since last Sunday afternoon, we've seen signs of the old F.  This was one of them.  Appetite temporarily restored when pesto showed up on her plate.  She out-ate all three of us.  Bath followed immediately.

sick day in the garden

We've been battling one illness after another, but no one says you can't fight the baddies in the fresh air, so fresh air we got. And a little fresh water.  We even ran into a buddy, but kept our distance except for a quick photo.

somebody's in second

 

There's nothing like the first day of school to remind you of just how fast time flies.  This is the kind of nostalgia that keeps you up later than you mean to be on a school night, just looking through those photos from years past...ancient artifacts from things like kindergarten and first grade.

 

Pretty soon we'll be looking back through the little one's first day photos, and remarking at the speed with which she flew through those.

 

I think she sensed something was different about this morning, a newer routine, a heightened sense of excitement and anticipation.  Pictures.  She was, however, less impressed with the photo-taking than she was of the new backpack, and all its treasures.  An empty backpack, a brand new year.

sick days

It was a good thing the birthday fairy brought some new toys (mostly Playmobil!) because we've been staying in a lot more lately, trying to get over the string of infections that we've been passing around.

magic

When E was little we used to go to the Magic House a lot on Friday mornings before it got busy, or on rainy and cold afternoons when we wanted to be indoors, but not our own indoors.  There were little corners to find and hide in and play the afternoon away.  Most times we never even made it through the building, just chose an area and hung out there for the afternoon.  For some reason, we just haven't done that very much this time around.  Maybe we're busier, or maybe the place is bigger and busier, but it just doesn't pop into our minds as much when we're thinking of what to do today.  But it's been so hot and so humid, and yesterday afternoon we just needed a place to play indoors, but not our own indoors.  And this is just the place.  I made a deal with E that we'd let her little sister explore the places that she did as a baby, and make this visit about her.  She was in agreement, and was really, really patient.  Occasionally I would let her run off and do some slides or tunnels and check back in with me, but for the most part we just sat in a corner and watched her explore.  And for that kind of afternoon, this is such a great place.

f: at the field

The Field Museum won the award for exceeding our expectations.  I think we had a few things higher on our list to see in Chicago, and thought we'd swing in and see "Sue" and swing back out.  We hadn't counted on the sheer awesomeness of this Tyrannosaurus Rex, the spellbinding beauty of the gem gallery, and how much E would enjoy reading and studying every single word and diorama of the mummifying process.  That last picture in the "Guess Where We Were" post - the one that might have stumped you, with F holding a bunch of fake corn?  That was in the children's exhibit on the first floor.  I thought we'd have to drag her kicking and screaming from those adobe huts.  That girl was born to pound some corn.  (Anything that leads to a meal for her is fine.)