October 2011

Happy Hallowe'en

For the first time this year we carved our own Jack-o-lantern, to Thomas' specifications.  We used egg-carton parts to give it some dinosaur spikes, and roasted enough pumpkin seeds to last us for weeks!

Thomas and most of the boys in preschool got Superman faces painted on them, not sure whether this is in the context of Hallowe'en or not as it's not celebrated in the same way here (where the kids' dress-up festival is in February, in connection with Lent).

Trialling waterbusses and snowsuits

Copenhagen's public transit network includes a waterbus link around the canals, and the local stop near our apartment has recently been upgraded from basic canal-tour type boat to proper waterbus including ramp for wheelchairs & prams, bicycle storage etc.  Thomas and Mum checked it out on the first day, and the whole family gave it a go the following week.

The time has also come to bring out the winter clothes, so the boys tried on their "flyvedragter" (flying suits / snow suits) for size during the outing.

Animal parks

We made a brief outing to Remiseparken, where we visited the horses, rabbits, pigs, chickens and of course the spaghetti-loving goats.  Thomas demonstrated a goat head-butt which made quite an impression on him.

The previous week we visited the Zoo, without the pram for the first time.  It was quite a freedom to be able to get through public transportation, up double-decker buses etc., but we kind of missed it as James started getting tired towards the end of the morning.  Nice to see the baby hippos and giraffes out and about anyway, and fun to watch an elephant throwing a small stone around.

Visiting Ingeborg

Thomas' long-time friend Ingeborg and family were kind enough to invite us for an afternoon of play and fine food, in their lovely nearby apartment.

Swimming and other activities

We hadn't been to the local swimming pool since early Spring, so we attempted a couple of outings there during this month.  The splashy part was very popular with both the boys, but James was not very happy going through the changing/shower room process.  By the time we came out again he was too tired to complain much, and hungry enough to eat a little more lunch than usual.

October brings with it cold season, and both boys have been home with some kind of illness a few times over the past weeks. James is also teething with those painful back teeth, drooling everywhere and clearly also getting headaches now and then. 

Thomas is still interested in doing small jobs to earn a bit of money towards building up his Lego Ninjago collection; it also gives him a chance to have some close time with Mum and/or Dad.  He's also started doing more complex puzzles, and recently discovered 3D skeleton models of some of his favourite dinosaurs, such as the Apatosaurus seen below.

Updated 30.10.2011