Picture dump

Some November pictures that haven't made it into their own post...

Madness!!

Opening birthday presents at Grandma Jo's house, with help from Dieter cousins



Yum!

Cake pops at Jasper's birthday party (so fun!)

A kitty headband she made at the MIA on Target family day

Riding a camel at the Science Museum


Ella wonders why Maisie is making such a silly face

 Pouty duckface at Jakeeno's

first Girl Scouts troop meeting

first banana split, post-Children's Theater at the Bad Waitress. Ella ended up wearing a lot of it.


yee haw!

 mechanical horse at The Egg & I

crafty painting time

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a lovely day with a traditional dinner over at Grandma Liisa's house. The girls especially had a great time - they played and played and played.

This post is about what we did earlier in the day, though!

A few years back, I was trying to tell Maisie about Thanksgiving and the idea of thankfulness. Turns out it's kind of abstract, and was a little difficult for her to grasp. So I stole an idea from some friends - to make the idea of 'thankfulness' more tangible for her, we'd do something to demonstrate it. We made cookies for the firefighters at the station nearest our house!

So now, every year on Thanksgiving morning, that's what we do - make cookies and then bring them to the firefighters at the station house nearest us, to say "thank you for helping to keep us safe." We've had mixed results with this project. Sometimes Maisie will get shy, and doesn't want to talk to anyone; one year the firefighters were out on a call when we got there. But this year it was a home run.

When we showed up with the cookies (oatmeal-M&M, if you were wondering), the firefighters there (yay!), and Maisie and Ella were both in great moods. So when the firefighter who answered the door asked the girls if they wanted to see the trucks, they said YES!

And THEN! The doors to the two engines were open. And when the girls asked if they could go inside, she said yes!



yeah, that's a sword....

 They climbed in and out and all over, asking lots of great questions. What is this hose for? (sucking up exhaust when we turn the trucks on) What's in there? (our tools - we can cut someone out of anything with these) What do these switches do? (controls the pressure for the hose) The firefighter showing us around was incredibly patient and answered all of the girls' questions.



Listening to explanations of equipment



Looking at how they open the garage doors


The firefighters were super friendly. They really seemed to appreciate the cookies and were so gracious about showing the girls around. They even gave the girls fire safety coloring books when we were leaving! It was so cool. I thought it was neat, too, that the firefighter who answered the door and showed us around was a woman - often we see "firefighter" as synonymous with "fireman" and that isn't the case!

It was so fun that Maisie wants to make them cookies again on Valentine's Day. :)

And because it bears repeating... thank you, Minneapolis Fire Department and fire departments everywhere, for helping keep us safe!

First Dentist Visit

Ella had her first dentist appointment today. She did a great job! No complaints while the hygienist cleaned and flossed her teeth, and sat still for the x-rays.



No cavities or decay, and everything is coming in nicely... 20 teeth, all right where they're supposed to be.

She particularly enjoyed seeing x-rays ("they took pictures of my skeleton!!"). She also talked almost nonstop the entire time, and charmed the heck out of everyone she met there.

We love our dentist, Dr. Norrlander. She is super gentle and caring, and her staff really works to make sure that kids have a good experience so they don't develop anxiety around dentist visits. If anyone is looking for a dentist in downtown Minneapolis, we highly recommend Dr. Norrlander! 

Minnesota weather

Saturday afternoon:

 Sunny and 70-some degrees. Note short sleeves.

Then, Monday morning at the bus stop:

Air temp of 19 degrees, with a wind chill of 9. Snow on the ground and hot chocolate in the travel mug. The forecast calls for a high temperature of 26.

Brrr! That was fast...