Poodles, bears, and dancing

We had a cooped-up-in-the-house sort of a day on Friday--doing some experimenting to see if Nathan will agree to a nap schedule. (He will not, apparently.) So Rachel got to wear whatever the heck she liked. She opted for a poodle-skirt ensemble not at all fitting the weather around here. (Thanks, Grand-Merr, for the fun outfit!) Pretty cute--and note that there are even poodles on her socks!


And we baked Bear Bread to pass the time. (It's a "recipe" from her High Five magazine--thanks, Nana!) That was loads of fun--especially putting in the raisin eyes! (Alas, my grown-up tongue thinks they taste like decent white bread. Fortunately, Rachel is not possessed of a grown-up tongue and thinks they are quite a treat.) The little one she's gazing at is crafted of the lump of dough she kneaded all by herself.


Then there was the dancing. Rachel has gotten some books about ballet from the library lately, and she sleeps every night under her ballerina blanket (made by cousin Abby--thanks, Abs--it's a big hit!). We have frequent recitals that involve twirls (She has to hold a toy in one hand as she spins--it's like she already understands torque and enjoys messing with the centripetal force.) and plies (These mostly masquerade as squats.). Of course, these performances require much applause and throwing of pretend flowers. It was actually a request for a tutu that precipitated the wearing of the poodle skirt. Anyway, after dinner on Friday, we had a dance party in the dining room. Rachel invited Nathan to dance and showed him some moves--no room for the Holy Spirit in this hug!


When his partner ditched him on the dance floor to head to the pink kitchen (Any former students of mine who read this blog will recognize this as a single replacement reaction.), Nathan was inspired to strut a few moves of his own:

Yes, we were stuck in the house, but we had rather an exciting day, wouldn't you agree?