A WOGGLE IN TIME

The Wog's loves her nightly bedtime routine--we usually read a few of her favorite picture books, followed by nursery rhymes or poetry. Lately I have been wondering if she might not enjoy a chapter book, and considering starting her on the Little House series. On a completely unrelated (or so I thought) note, I have been revisiting some of the young adult fiction I enjoyed as a child--the Narnia books, Madeleine L'Engle, etc. Last night was Marc's turn to put The Wog down, and I could overhear snippets of their conversation through the monitor. The first time I heard "Charles Wallace" I thought, "Well, that sounds familiar, but it couldn't be..." And then I tuned it out and went back to whatever I was doing on the computer.

When Marc came down later he declared, "She LOVES that book." I was like, "What book?" and he explained that--at her urging--they'd started reading a chapter book that was up in her room. It turned out to be "A Wind in the Door," which is the 2nd book in the "Wrinkle in Time" series about the transplanetary adventures of Meg Murry, her brilliant younger brother Charles Wallace, their twin brothers and scientist parents--including the Nobel Prize-winning (and beautiful to boot!) Mrs. Murry. The Wog must have brought the book up to her room; she had been fascinated by the many-eyed dragon from the cover art. It's definitely beyond her mental and emotional comprehension but she likes the dragon enough to want to keep reading. I hope she will eventually love these books as much as I did when I was a child. (I never read Madeleine L'Engle's other books so I've only just learned that Meg and Calvin name their daughter--and future series protagonist--Polly!)

I think I'm going to steer them in the direction of "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," or good old Ramona Quimby for future readings. In the meantime, she'll be the only kid in her preschool class who knows what "fewmets" are, I suppose.

A LOCAL WOGLEBRITY

(From today's issue of The Mountain Ear.)

WOGINISCING

The Wog's father and I have been reminiscing today over some old pictures of The Wog. She came over to look too and said, "Oh, I was such a cute baby!" She was, wasn't she?



She looks just like The Doodle in this one:


Our sweet girl:

WOGS ON ICE

We hit the ice at our favorite skating spot with our gang of guests. 

A brief stop in the action:

The kids found a hole in the ice and enjoyed shoveling snow into it:

Skating Osborns:

The Wog took a little nap:

Then climbed a mountain of snow!

Ellie and The Wog make a new friend!

Chases:

Everyone worked up quite an appetite!

And thirst, too:

The Doodle napped through the outdoor adventure, but woke up just in time for post-skating cocktails:

HER WOGESTY

The Wog participated in the annual "Snow Princess Fantasy" organized by our local Chamber of Commerce. More pictures are on the way shortly, but in the meantime just a couple:

LINDSEY WOGHAN

After months of battling with The Wog over the brushing of her hair (and out of fear of the imminence of dreadlocks) The Wog got her hair snipped today. What was her choice of reading material at the "beauty parlor," (as she and her friend Lily called it)? Not one, but TWO full issues of Teen Vogue.


And here's a close-up of the haircut for inquiring minds (AKA grandmothers):


Once in a while I look at The Wog and tell her father I see her "baby face" ie. the face she had when she was a baby. With this sweet haircut, I see it more frequently.

INTERNATIONAL WOG OF MYSTERY

We whisked ourselves off to Montreal for an overnight last weekend. Aside from the fact that the museums are all closed on Mondays, we had a great time exploring both the under and above grounds. We are looking forward to longer (and perhaps warmer?) future visits!

How Marc blends in with the locals while traveling:


His other disguise:


Heading down to the Metro:


Both kids went into a kind of a Metro trance--taking it all in--once the trains started moving. The Wog enjoyed the ride, but the verdict remains out for The Doodle.

A leisurely (and cold) walk to find pastries:






Pastries found!




The Wog looked tres European in her skinny jeans, boots, and puffy coat:


Aside from walking and walking and walking, I got some extra exercise while in Montreal: The Wog hasn't had much occasion for escalator-riding here in the country, but they are, of course, all over the place in cities. She was fearless as we worked out a routine including counting down and stepping--not on the crack!--out together. Alas, on one outing, we were preparing to step while a small crowd formed behind us. In a rush not to hold up the line, I didn't notice that The Wog was distracted and fiddling with one of her gloves. I stepped. She did not. As the escalator (with me on it) went down, down, down, and The Wog grew tinier at the top, I decided to put my recent elliptical training to work and run back up to her. Unsuccessfully. Luckily, the model-esque couple behind us took pity on my antics and helped her down. I fear I was dinner party conversation that night....

A TWEENIE WOG

The Wog is only 4, but once in a while the "tween" in her makes an early appearance, like when we are invited over to The Miller's house for dinner. The Wog adores Eliza and her friends and takes off after them immediately; luckily, they are very sweet about including her in their preteen play. Here they are sitting down to dinner:


(How delighted is she, right?)

While The Wog loves being one of the girls, The Doodle is just happy to just be one-of-a-kind. Mostly he enjoyed hearing the echo of his voice through this play microphone, dumping out all of the Jenga blocks, and eating a popsicle.

WAYNE DOODLEZKY

The Doodle and his father went ice skating for the first time last weekend. Apparently, The Doodle enjoyed the ride immensely and squealed with glee as Marc pushed him along on his little contraption:

LOVE, WOG & DOODLE STYLE

The Wog posing before leaving for the big Valentine's Day party:


The Doodle gets in on the V-Day action:


Making a candy necklace at the party:


Decorating cookies!




Pizza!


Two of our gracious hosts, the adorable Brady (in his signature pose) and spunky little Dylan:



Polly and sweet Arielle:


A Valentine's Treat:

(The Wog and I dipped the strawberries ourselves!)

The Wog definitely agrees that possession is 9/10th of the law.


The Wog had a multitude of Valentine's Day outfits thanks to Minnie. Alas, I did not capture them all, but here is a sweet one:

(She loved that the shirt said "LOVE"--although she insisted it said, "I love you," and she was way into the hearts on the knees.)