Mimi and Mormor came to visit for a week over Thanksgiving. On our first day together, we were lucky with sunny weather in the upper 70s and we went to a Wizard of Oz themed playground that we have been meaning to visit for a while. It was a fancy and well-designed playground with a yellow brick road, ruby slipper slides, Emerald City, hot air balloon, Kansas farm, and more. We would definitely go back another time.
A short walk away was the Watkins Nature Center. We saw various large (disabled) raptors like hawks and owls, snakes, and turtles.
Admiring the turtles:
There was also a play area for kids and the girls (and Nate) put on a puppet show.
Derek was excited to finally be able to crawl around. At the playground he kept putting leaves in his mouth, so he was carried most of the time.
After the first day, the weather turned cold and windy and basically stayed in the 40s. The girls kept wondering if the wind was going to blow them away because it was blowing so hard.
Derek has made strides on the stairs. He can now easily make it all the way to the top of the stairs. He has not figured out how to go down though:-(
As always there were lots of cuddles and tickles during the visit.
Mimi worked on art with the girls and he also "skated" with them. "Skating" meant that he held their hands and they slid around on the floor. They begged him to do it continually.
Another day we headed to Baltimore Inner Harbor and went to the Maryland Science Center.
We spent most of our time at the Science Center in the kids room (for kids 0-8) where there was a water area, submarine themed space, and giant pin screen among other things.
Derek liked the baby area of the kids room best:
Mormor and Lydia tried out laying on a bed of nails. The nails were actually very sharp individually.
We also spent a lot of time in the Newton's Alley exhibit where we got to explore Newton principles hands-on. We all liked pulling ourselves up with a rope. Karina pulled herself up all by herself.
A massive tug-of-war was a big hit. The girls pulled on the 'easy' side and won against Nate and another dad who were pulling on the hard side.
Thanksgiving was tasty and the girls enjoyed helping me make all the desserts (my mom made the dinner itself).
Derek got mashed sweet potatoes mixed with mashed potatoes and turkey gravy and he couldn't get enough of it. For several days after, that was his favorite meal of the day. We ran out too quickly.
Some random pictures playing:
Snoopy howled when Mimi and Mormor first arrived. He was so excited to see them. Here he is enjoying some well-deserved pets:
My mom brought a vintage dress with her for Karina. This all-lace dress was hand-made in Paris around 1960(?) and was my aunt's (my dad's sister's) First Communion dress that she wore when she was 8. Karina has a little room to grow into it around the chest, but it still fit wonderfully and looked fantastic. Apparently, I was supposed to wear the dress when I was little, but the dress had yellowed and my mother didn't have OxiClean back then. Karina sure felt like a princess in the dress:
We bought a Christmas tree and decorated it the day after Thanksgiving ( last day Mimi and Mormor were here.
Group shots:
In other news, Derek is starting to walk along furniture, though he's not consistent yet. At his 9 month check-up his measurements were:
Height: 31.0 in (>99th %)
Weight: 22lbs 8oz (88th %)
Head Circumference: 47.5cm (97th %)
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