Night at the Museum

Making her rounds.

Baby it's (warm) outside

The dynamic duo strolling through the park.

Mom and Dad: Lucy where are you going? We're going this way.

Lucy: So? I want to go THIS way!

We have an independent kiddo on our hands.

We found a geo-cache in this park too. Yes, there's an app for that.

Christmas part 1

We met up with the Erickson clan in the cities for some holiday cheer.

Lu in her special Christmas pjs that Grandma got her. Very cute.

Uncle Neal and Aunt Kelly brought Lu a rocket ship! The team is hard at work adding the finishing touches.

Merry Christmas Aunt Kelly!

Lucy got right into the swing of present unwrapping.

What a silly guy.

This was our contribution to all the very noisy toys she got this holiday season.

One of them being the "Rock and Roll Elmo"from Neal and Kelly. Lu's been rocking with him since we got home. She's a wicked tambourine player.

Kelly gets a vintage 80's era photo of Neal for Christmas. It was a winner.

Another winner. Kelly gave Ry a remote controlled helicopter that he can control with his phone. The boys give it a whirl and I almost loose an eye. Good fun though. Good fun.

Our little climber. Ryan rocks his new Christmas hat.

Macy's Christmas display

The Macy's/Dayton's/insert latest store name here always has a fancy Christmas exhibit. It's a Twin Cities family favorite. I've been once before but the Ericksons have been going for years.

Those letters look SO real. This is on the second time through. The first time was a little overwhelming for little Lu. The second time - she owned it.

Little BG visits!

Meet Henrik Bjorn Gangeness. He's a charmer. Lucy gifted him these stickers. And did not like that I held him.

The guys are all smiles. One of these young men just realized that he has hands.

There is a lot of scandinavian-ness in this picture.

Friends from the north

Walking the polar bear before bedtime. Two handlers for extra safety.

Mattsons visited via Norway via Two Harbors. (Sorry Justin about the closed eye shot. Ryan must have been using the super duper flash.) It was so great to see you all. The red thing in Maarit's hand is a dinosaur shaped "scrubby" (sponge).

Felting part 2

I am making felt boots for Lucy. I made 1/2 a pair for myself and am not totally excited about the way the color turned out. I didn't think about the fact that green and brown slippers give a very "camo" effect. While I figure out what I want to do with those, I started on this pair (above) for Lu this afternoon. Disclaimer: Lu was home sick today and I had 2.5 hours during naptime (hurrah!) to do something fun. The laundry can wait....right Ry? Here they are connected. There is a piece of plastic inside that keeps the two sides from sticking together while you use hot water, soap and objects from around house to pull the wool together. The top picture shows what the inside of the boot looks like. 

Here are the boots after I cut them apart, turned them right side out and felted one of them. Look how small it got! It could use a bit more work but is getting close. I want to try them on Lu before I work on them more. If they are too small, there is no going back. So some kiddo out there may be getting one-of-a-kind blue boots for Christmas. Hopefully Lucy will be able to wear them for a week before growing out of them. I'm going to sew leather on the bottom for more traction. 

The boot on the right is the inspiration. That super cute boot came from NYC (via Neal and Kelly) and is pieced together from smaller pieces of thin felt. There is thin leather sewn on the bottom and of course the stylish flower. Lu wears these everyday to daycare. They fit right inside her boots which makes for easier dressing for outside time. And they are warm. Bonus.  

Sledding

The Hoffman's came over for some toddler/preschooler friendly sledding fun.

This girl loves speed. And yes - she's belted in.

Little Ethan takes a run.

Go Natalie!

Shannon send E-man down the run. If anyone is looking for a great toddler sled - this is it.

We got ours from REI (via doting Grandparents).