Inspecting The Sidewalk for Clues

 

We went to Mendocino this weekend with Roger and Sheila and the kids. It's whale watching season up there and the telescope store in town has a whole row of telescopes set up to look out the store window to the harbor across the street. We spent a few minutes in the store and Annabel asked if she could get a magnifying glass. It's a slightly modernized version of the class Sherlock Holmes type deal. It even came with a small black case that covers the lens for safe-keeping.

Annabel rushed out of the store, took off the case and began inspecting the sidewalk for "clues". Suspicious looking flowers, sidewalk cracks and cigarette butts drew special attention. Luckily there were no ants around, so we didn't need to have that particular conversation.

Gaby, not wanting to be left out of the fun grabbed the black case and started to inspect the same areas that Annabel was examining, but with the opaque case, which should would hold up to here eye and "look through" just like here sister was doing with the actual magnifying glass. Here are a few shots of the detectives in action.

Dance Around Up There

One day on our recent vacation, I took the girls to the Des Moines Science Center. For some reason we were almost the only people in the place. We really had the whole facility to ourselves. It was great. The kids could play with any of the exhibits for as long as they wanted and they didn't have to wait for other kids to finish or rush through the fun.

They have a TV news studio there. I assume they use for broadcast television classes and the like. The best part is that it came fully equipped with a green screen. I saw the potential to get some footage and then maybe key something in behind the kids later. So I said to Annabel, "Why don't you go up on that stage and dance around up there. I'll take a video". And up she went, followed by her sister who clearly thought we were taking a still photo (note her smiling and saying "Cheese"). I especially like the fact that Annabel has her purse on her arm through the whole thing.

I'm trying to figure out what to put behind Annabel on the green screen.

More gifts than anyone can reasonably justify

Annabel is back home and back in preschool after a long and busy holiday break.

As I was collecting pictures for this entry, I ran across some videos that I took last year of the kids on Christmas morning. Its amazing just how far Annabel has come in one year. Last year, she wasn't completely clear on how the holiday worked. She didn't understand, for example, that she would get to open any of the presents with her name on them. She didn't really know who Santa Claus was or why she was leaving cookies for him.

This year, she gets everything from cookies on Christmas eve to champaign on New Years Eve (for the record, She had Sprite but she asked what Kristin and I were drinking and why). She not only understood Christmas better, she is understanding everything better and making some surprising connections. For example, we have been reminding Annabel not to talk to strangers recently and she asked if she was a stranger to anyone, who might not be allowed to talk to her.

At the end of the trip, she started calling me "Dad" instead of "Daddy", a trait I think she picked up from her cousins.

Both girls really enjoyed spending time with their cousins, with whom they are surprisingly close particularly given the distance. I've got a few pictures of the whole crew below which I think conveys the overall vibe pretty accurately.

In terms of toys and gifts, both girls got far more than anyone can reasonably justify. The list includes such indispensable must-haves as:

• Talking bears
• Fire breathing dragons
• Magic Castles
• Life sized stuffed white tigers
• bath toys, new clothes, jewelry, DVDs, the list goes on...
  

I asked Annabel about her favorite gift and predictably, it was her new Princess Dress and Tiara set. She wore the tiara more or less constantly for the three day period between the 25th and the 28th when we flew back to San Francisco.

Here are some pics.