As I've mentioned before, we got almost record snowfall this winter. And with all the very cold days, there was nowhere for it to go. It wasn't melting, and so with each new snowfall, we all just dug out our sidewalks and cars, and added to the mountains of snow. They took on such height that the local hoodlums began tagging them. To give you a sense of scale, here is Thora near a snow mountain just outside our house. (Notice how her feet aren't touching the ground.)
Many of our afternoons were spent indoors and we were grateful for all our friends with whom we passed the time. Here is Thora and her friend, Ally, in one of their spirited dress-up/tea party sessions.
But mostly, my memories of the late winter are of Thora doing her best to express her desire to perform, while in the confines of our living room. With the daily viewings of Singin' in the Rain, there were daily performances. Here is Thora performing "All I Do is Dream of You." Click here for the Debbie Reynolds version from the movie to see what Thora is imitating. And if you're an It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fan, you might like Thora and Auric's rendition of "Dayman." Click here for that.
We tried to get out of the house as much as we could this past winter. A few days a week, we braved the elements to attend various activities. Thora practiced Tae Kwon Do twice a week, continued with tumble tots gymnastics once a week, and we added a great Creative Movement dance class once a week. Thora loved it. The kids were encouraged to trot and twirl and leap and skip to various styles of music and with accompanying storylines, e.g. "Now the ponies are going to gallop to their friends on the other side of the river [represented by a long line of scarves tied together]," or "When you get tapped on the head, you become a bird and you fly through the sky to your tree." Thora loved it. And so did Auric. The instructor is wonderfully accommodating when it comes to younger siblings. As long as I kept Auric from hurting himself or disrupting the class, he was welcome to dance and move (which usually translated into him mimicing the older kids) as much as he wanted to. The picture below shows Thora off to the left in the middle of some expressive dance, while Auric reaches up to the ceiling (in the red and blue striped shirt), surely mirroring what the older kids had all been doing a moment before.
Thora continues to enjoy her mornings at her pre-school. And during the winter months, they are lucky to get a second day of swimming each week. And with her lessons on Sundays at MIT and her twice-weekly lessons at school, she was getting lots of time in the water and getting better and better. Here is a progress report that came home with her in February. We were very proud parents!
In addition to all the activities and time with friends, there was still plenty of time for Auric to develop his love of getting into what he shouldn't. For him, some of his favorite elicit activities are indiscriminately pressing buttons on the DVR and DVD players, turning the microwave on, and his favorite, getting at our computer. Here he is, giddy at being caught, and waiting to be scooped up and away.
This month also saw him really flexing his vocabulary muscle. Here are a couple cute videos of his new-found power of speech: "Auric's Budding Vocabulary" and "Auric's Budding Vocabulary Part 2."
In February, Thora got her first taste of live theatre. The Boston Children's Theatre put on a production of Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, a mash-up of three Kevin Henkes books that feature Lily, the mouse. This is a character that Thora knew well and we thought it was a great opportunity for her to see some kids acting on the stage. Thora loved it. She wondered what the next play we would see would be and asked if she'd be one of the kids on stage. Somehow I don't doubt that there's some acting in her future. Here she is with the girl who played Lily, who posed with audience members after the play.
February wasn't all inhospitable weather and graffiti-tagged snow mountains. In fact, one day in late February, we got a surprisingly warmish day (for February) and we all went for ice cream after running around in the park. Here is Thora and Zach enjoying a well-deserved cone.
And lastly, February marked my first attempt at giving the kids haircuts. It was quite the milestone for me and Thora, since it marked Thora's first ever real haircut. (She'd had a few snarls cut out by Grandma Jane when she was 18 months old.) I was nervous, having never cut anyone's hair that didn't require buzzing it with electrical clippers (Sean's). But they both cooperated superbly, thanks to Gene Kelly and the rest of the gang in Singin' in the Rain.
Here's Thora about to be shorn.
And here's the final result. I was actually really proud of myself, giving it a good trim while maintaining the natural layers she's had her whole life.
And here's Mullet Boy, watching Don Lockwood try to woo Kathy Seldon.
And here he is, about to be enlisted in the army. I couldn't believe how easy he made it for me. And by him, of course I mean Gene Kelly. Auric sat bug-eyed, just like during each daily screening of our family's favorite movie.
