Winter wonderland cometh

We got a solid inch of snow.. Just enough for Emma to cry out "Nuuuuuu!" each time she looks out the window. This morning we got to see what this stuff is all about. 

She did some drawing 

Evidence of a visitor of the feline variety

Emma also made footprints and sat on a snowy log. We want more snow for more wintery fun! Hopefully this weekend when we spend a night with P's family upstate to cut our Xmas tree we will have more. Our sled is packed and ready ride!

P is for Persimmon

We always get out our Eating the Alphabet book to match a new fruit or vegetable with the illustration by Lois Ehlert. Emma pointed to the picture of the persimmon when I opened to the P page... Hmm, lucky guess? Or astute pupil! Emma then got her toy knife and tried to cut it. 

(I ended up cutting it with my real knife but you were right on target, Emma!)

We have never had persimmon before. It looks a bit like a tomato.. Before taking a bite Emma held a piece to her nose and smelled it.

The sample.. 

The gobble

And seconds? 

A tale of the birth of Nurse Emma

Emma is growing into quite a caregiver, as evident by the extra love she is showing Patrick and I, her stuffies, and- of course, Catrick.

Catrick doesn't always want to sit for a brushing.. Alright, he NEVER does but he is as gentle as he can be when Emma lays her head on him, gives him kisses, or puts her hands on his face. 

A little digression here...

Later that same day we had a power outage caused by lines down on our block. With the sun down at 430 it was dark in the apartment by 5 and we had to go about our business by flashlight. Emma enjoyed discovering this tool by lighting her path or shining the light on different surfaces. But we thought there was something missing from the apartment... Uh oh, it's Catrick.

I let him out in to the patio thinking that no feral cats would come around to taunt him out into the dark and rain. I was wrong! Emma and I suited up and went out looking for him.

Wearing Patrick's bike helmet and light- which is incredibly bright made finding cat a breeze, but breaking up the cat fight he was in and managing to get a hold of him while wearing Emma was no easy task. My first attempt was a heavy hand on his shoulders which made him howl and bite, then I just scooped him under his arms and carried him home, his legs sticking straight out in front and yowling. We're lucky he didn't put up a fight because with Emma attached to me I couldn't risk her getting scratched, I would have let him go and we could have lost him. 

Emma was upset by Catrick's fury, his screaming and aggression towards me especially touched her. She was so concerned about my injury. It was minor but scary for her. 

I got the neosporin spray and she watched me apply the medicine as I explained that Cat was very angry at another cat and I got in the way. It wasn't his fault. Still, she stayed away from Cat the rest of the night and next morning. It was that morning that we left for New Hampshire to stay with Patrick's family for thanksgiving, where Emma would recall her knowledge of medicinal care.

This is Mitsy. You could probably tell by looking at her that she does not want your hand coming towards her. Emma got too close one day and Mitsy gave her a swat. The scratch on her hand was small but her heart was torn. Through the tears of hurt and shock she held her hand to me, knowing what came next. Medicine! Just like mama had for her scratch. Luckily I had it within an arms reach in that instance. I sprayed the neosporine on the cut and we compared scratches. I'm glad I had been bitten by Cat the night before so I could show Emma that it was okay, we get medicine and carry on. Because of this she wasn't alone in unfamiliar territory. 

Later that night Emma found the neosporine spray and pretended to apply medicine to Patrick and I with a shake and a "Tss, Tss, Tss!" spraying sound. We played a little doctor together, saying that one of us had a cut and needed medicine, then Emma would come in and apply.. "Tss, Tss."

Thanks for taking care of us, Emma. 

 We're not the only ones getting the love. Emma continues to share her food and water with all her animals while making hilariously overdone biting and slurping sounds. Lately though she has been interested in giving them pony rides (with help from us to hold the stuffy on her back) and also doing their nails. Using a small metal clip as her nail clipper she trimmed Panda, Moose, Beary and Pig's nails. All with a "Cuh! Cuh! Cuh!" to sound like the popping of a nail clipper. 

I'm amazed at the sort of imaginary games she is interested in playing as well as what she is thinking up on her own. Today she brought a bean to the spider (mentioned in my previous post) and tried to coax him down from his corner to feed him. Maybe to bury the hatchet... as she also tried brushing the spider's teeth with her own toothbrush when we first discovered it on the baseboard heaters. Poor spider was not expecting that one.

She surprised me too, Spider.