amazing fall

The full moon on Friday concluded a four-week Indian summer spell that we've been graced with here in Northfield. I'm so grateful we got all these sunny days to soak in the outside before we turn inwards for winter hibernation. My friends and I have vowed to stick to our weekly play-date in the Arboretum where we--six moms and eight kids--have been meeting every Wednesday these last lovely weeks for play and picnic--throughout the winter. As they say in Norway, there's no such thing as bad clothes, just bad gear (det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær). More about how that turns out later. For now, let me share some of our summery fall magical times with you.

A family excursion to the Lake Harriet - Linden Hills neighborhood in Minneapolis for:

* a trolley ride on a historic train

* play and picnic by the lake

* a stop by the Wild Rumpus, a children's bookstore with hens and cats (among others) roam freely, and that has a little door in the big door for little people to enter through (Lilly loved this part in particular)

* super yummy ice-cream at the local Sebastian Joe in its charming courtyard where there's a giant tortoise to climb and play on

We had another nice family excursion to Cannon Falls, a small town only 20 minutes away, along the same river that runs through our town, for play at the playground, exploring down by the river, then over to the duck and swan pond, wandering along the Cannon Fall trail before and after lunch and milk shake at The Old Market Deli. (For pictures from this excursion and more fall fun, check out our online album, linked under "our photo albums" to the right or here.)

And then there have been all those everyday post-nap loungy times on the porch in the afternoon sunshine, strolls and play at various playgrounds, or along the river, or out at the orchard by the pond in the rose garden, with friends and their kids, or just Lilly and I.

As for indoor updates, Lilly LOVES going to "school;" the "Terrific Twos" class she's in on Monday mornings that's offered by the public schools' Early Family Education Program (ECFE). At breakfast those mornings, she'll talk about all her friends that she'll see in class, and when we get there she'll run excitedly into the building, hugging her friends as they arrive. She also LOVES the toddler gym class ("Wee jungle games") she's taking at the local YMCA on Monday afternoons where she gets to run, kick and throw balls, race tracks and obstacle courses, and more. Finally, she's graduated from the potty and now proudly pees and poops sitting on the toilet. We bought a little stool that's the perfect height for that and she'll position it just right, get her pants and panties down all by herself, and then bend over when she's done (ferdig!). So cute.

P.S. We already made an exception to our weekly play-date in the Arboretum yesterday when we had to dig out our winter coats before heading over to "Wiggles & Giggles" at the YMCA instead during the extremely cold and blustery weather that we were suddenly hit by, a storm described as "stronger than most hurricanes, more intense than the Armistice Day Blizzard, the 1991 Halloween Superstorm, and even the wild storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in 1975." Now that that storm's behind us, we plan to return to the Arboretum next week, however.

fall fun

We had a fun packed weekend with a visit to Sogn Valley Craft Fair on Saturday and the Nerstrand Big Woods on Sunday. Family excursions have become so thoroughly enjoyable now that Lilly's gotten so big that she can understand and do and remember so many things. She's still talking about how she danced at the craft fair and that we bought the pumpkin sitting by our entrance door there. And the river and all the fallen leaves she saw in the big woods. In the below video snap she's dancing at the craft fair:



And here she is as we're about to leave the big woods:



As I'm at it, I might as well add some more videos. Here she is on the couch surrounded by all her stuffed toy and doll friends:



And here she is playing on the couch with her best friend Anna:



Finally, at one of the local playgrounds, this one by the river next to the farmer's market, playing with our neighbor's son: