Jolly old elf
08 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
Oh my goodness, but we have a lot of pictures and videos to share today. Let’s get started. 
Molly and I got out again before the snow hit, a delightful visit to the little park right near the house.
We’d stopped at the store on the way, and bought these delicious red pears. Seemed right to try one right then and there, so we did, and watched people walk by.
Then, boom! Snow hit. A trip to the library turned into several minutes spent clearing snow off the book-reading statue lady. I think she appreciated it.
We decided to hit the natural history museum’s free day the morning of the big snowstorm, thinking we’d have the place to ourselves. Not quite, but not a crazy crowd.
After visiting the dinosaurs, Molly wanted to go back to the “space part,” and wear the astronaut suit and have a countdown and blast off. 
We spent at least two hours this time. The kids’ section opened up, and in we went. Molly wanted to dance around, but found no partners.
There was a woman who desperately wanted Molly to understand sundials. Molly was as patient as she could be, and was very polite, but I don’t think she was really interested.
There was a cool piano with a glass front so you could see the workings; Molly and this little girl did something of an ABC song duet.
There was also a big rubber man with all of his organs laid out puzzle-style. Molly found this compelling, and did quite well — even bringing some extra brain pieces for him from another table’s project.
We bundled up one day to visit a “winter festival” across town, again with fresh snow on the ground. This meant the draft horse carriage ride was extra nifty, with blankets and Molly leading everyone in rounds of “Jingle Bells.”
It also meant meeting Santa outdoors in your snow suit. Molly is saying, over and over, “Oh my gosh!!”
Surprisingly, he got a good smile out of her in record time!
Santa even had candy canes and a gift for all the kids; Molly was “meh” on the candy cane, but the little toy dog has been named “Rover” and gets crib privileges.
Molly’s nativity scene gets a lot of action these days, although I don’t always follow the plot.
Mom taught Molly how to make snow angels. She thinks it’s darned fun.
And of course not all fun is outside. Here’s a neat smile I hadn’t seen before, with the backdrop of a Christmas tree, and the help of hair bows, a crown, a white chocolate treat and a plastic packing pillow dress. What a queen!
Molly and I took a particularly cold morning to go exhaust the kid stuff at the indoor mall. After a great couple of turns on the carousel, we found the train!
We’d spotted the bungie jump spot on the ride, and I’d promised Molly we’d go check it out. Turns out it was a bit of a walk, but she was insistent. The guy raised his eyebrows a bit when we strolled up and she said “Bungie jump please!”
Surprisingly, the moment I shut off the camera, she said “Take this off please!!” in a kind of worried way; fortunately her time was about up anyhow, so down she came and thanked the operator. From there it was apparent she was getting tired, so despite a certain amount of two-year-old protest about ever having to leave the mall, we went home for a nap.
Bonus pic: Molly wants a swim cap and goggles in the bath. Okey-doke!
