Lehti! Leaf!

Lumi's daycare is in a little forest, and when she walks through, she demands a leaf for each hand. They don't have to be especially big or pretty or colorful. She has been known to select half-rotted ones. But she will hold onto them, even through a nap.

Buried

This is a photo from back in September, but I hadn't posted it yet.

Halloween Party

Here is the story:

 We didn't think Lumi would tolerate much of a costume. So I found (at a local toy shop) wings and a head thing and tutu -- basically a fairy set up. I spent a while prepping her mentally (mentioning it the week before and day before, and talking about it the morning of the party, then putting on my own bee costume with a tutu, then producing hers). And then we packed it up and then all 3 of us walked to Villa Luna, her daycare place. But Kimmo and I didn't consider that a lot of the party would be outside. Finland doesn't celebrate Halloween, and I grew up in a warmer climate, so I didn't consider the necessity of a over-the-clothes costume.

 So when we arrived, all the other kids were dressed up, but Lumi had her snow pants and coat and hat on instead of her costume. It was chilly, so I put the tutu on over the snowsuit. But then one of Lumi's caregiver's daughters was there and she had a witch outfit with a crazy wig on, and she took the wig off and put it on Lumi. And it was a huge success!  Everyone was delighted. You have to remember that Lumi is practically bald, so it was disconcerting to see her with a lot of hair. Plus her little hat/pipo underneath kind of looked like a sweatband.

and...voilà!

Lumi and Äiti / Lumi ja Äiti

Lumi threw a tantrum and ran screaming through the middle of a very serious concentration camp museum. But instead of kicking us out, the sweet guards cooed at Lumi and gave her an apple!

Time for school / Kouluaika!

Lumi scored a cool retro dress.

Casual

Lumi loves the pockets of her snow pants.

Happy Halloween!

We carved pumpkins at the day care Halloween party!

New skill - Handling Money | Rahan käsittelyä

We thought that it was time for Lumi to learn how to hold three coins between her toes and then shake the leg.

bed / sänky

yesterday we transitioned lumi from her crib to a 3-deep pile of baby mattresses on the floor.  we plan to start proper potty training in a couple of weeks, and i read that you should try to transition to a non-crib bed before you do that.  plus i read that it's easier to transition to a non-crib bed if you do it before the kid realizes that getting up is an option.  and sure enough, last night she didn't seem to realize she could get in or out of the bed by herself, despite the fact that while we were setting it up, she was playing in there and climbing on/off the bed easily.  when we put her to bed, she stayed in bed.  and then this morning when she woke up she cried for äiti to come get her.  she is napping there right now.

obviously this won't last and she will figure it out soon.  but until then, we are enjoying it!

How to use a knife

Isä gave Lumi cutlery lessons at lunch today! Isä opettaa käyttämään veistä tänään!

The best pillow in the house / Paras tyyny kotona

reading time

isä ja lumi lukevat yhdessä.

Waiting by the Cathedral of St. Vitus | Odottelua pyhän Vituksen katedraalin vieressä

Mummu & Anne were visiting cathedral, but we decided to hang out outside this time

Lumi's 20th Month

I'm sorry about all the English, but I hope it's better than nothing! It was a good month with a lot of activities.

Events:
We started out with a visit from Grandma. On her 19th month birthday, we went to the zoo with Grandma and Lumi rode a pony! Then we took a weekend trip to Finland for the wedding of one of Kimmo's closest boyhood friends: Sami (to Ilona). This was momentous because Lumi spent the night in Nakkila with Mummu, and it was her first overnight with neither father nor mother. Then just last weekend we all went to Munich for Oktoberfest. It's not the greatest event for a toddler, but the point of going was to meet up with some old friends from the US, Mike and Matt (and Ian and Kate, both Peace Corps friends).

Potty training:
At home we try to keep Lumi pants-free so she can easily go to the potty whenever she feels the need to go. We also keep her little potty in the living room for the same reason. She gets most pee in the potty while at home, but still poop on floor most times. She knows enough to warn us with about 1 second lead time about poop by shouting 'pee!'. :) At daycare (and they have been very helpful and understand about this transition), she is often peeing in the potty, but poop in the diaper. Late in the month, she switched to yelling 'kakka!' right after she pees, and also having trouble remembering to go to the potty. This may be our fault for not asking frequently enough if she needs to go. And on 1 October she opened her own diaper -- one with snaps that is supposedly babyproof!

Food:
She loves berries, kidney beans, green peas, green beans, bananas, olives, cheese, and milk.

Language:
Lumi speaks Czech, English, and Finnish with a number of words in each. She seems to understand German (which she gets in smaller quantities at daycare) but doesn't really speak it. She is beginning to separate out the languages, although that could just be repetition and my imagination working together.

Health:
She had a cold with a high fever toward the end of the month. And her last incisor arrived during Oktoberfest.

Devil with a blue dress