Peep Flies!

A few days after we watched the movie Up, Peep and I packed up our overnight bags and headed north to see our friends and family. We decided our new plan was much too good to keep to ourselves and we had to share it as soon as possible.

The first part of our plan was to buy balloons. You can't fly like the house in Up unless you have balloons! Since it was almost Christmas, all of the stores were packed full with people buying presents and chocolate and decorations. And balloons! We hoped there were still some left!

So on our way, we stopped at a very large supermarket. In the section where you can buy flowers, you can also buy balloons. Peep and I looked at every single balloon there to pick out our very favorites. There were lots to choose from: elephants, tigers, hearts, stars, turtles, rainbows, fish, lions, zebras and even flowers. We searched and searched for dinosaur balloons, but didn't find any. But that didn't matter! Peep is a dinosaur, right? We bought so many balloons! And then we brought them all back to our friends' house. This was going to be so much fun!

Finally, we arrived at our friends' house and it was time to do a test flight! We did it indoors so he wouldn't accidentally fly away. I tied the ribbons into a big loop and fitted it around Peep. It became his flying harness! Then I let go of Peep...

Look, Kate! Look! I'm flying!!

And Peep flew!

He giggled so hard from excitement, and I could tell that he really wanted to hop and bounce all around, but he had to be careful he did not fall out of his flight harness. I hopped and bounced and giggled all around the room instead!

Peep floated all around the room. He visited everyone he could to show off his new balloons!
First, he saw Lee:

Lee! Lee! I'm up so high, I can touch your nose!

Then he floated over to the Christmas tree:

The tree is so sparkly! Hello, Miss Bunny!

Can you see Peep's big smile in that picture?

Peep floated around some more...and found another dinosaur!

Visiting more family!

He was a very quiet dinosaur, so Peep didn't notice him before. They visited for a little while, and then Peep discovered something even more wonderful!

Woof! Woof! I can fly, too!

We had a few extra balloons and Alice heard Puppy asking to fly just like Peep! Alice had made a little flight harness for Puppy, so he got to fly, too! Can you see him in the picture? He's very small - even smaller than Peep!

Then it was time to go.

Peep and I could barely sleep that night because we were both so excited. The next morning, we were going to try a flight outside!

So, when the sun came up the next morning, we hopped and bounced and giggled around the house. It was so hard to eat breakfast! Then, we went to Peep's family's house. Alice was all set to go. She was going to help us with this flight while I took some pictures so we could show you what happened!

But, first, Peep asked if he could fly around in the house again. It was a different house than the night before and he also wanted to see the sparkly Christmas tree up high.

This tree is even sparklier!

Then we went outside! Alice carefully tied an extra long ribbon to Peep's harness. Then she put a loop on the other end so she could keep a firm hold on. We didn't want Peep to fly away with no way back!

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I'm flying! Look at meeeee!

And then Peep wanted to go higher! So, Alice climbed up to the roof of Lee's car. Look at how high that is!

I can see the whole neighborhood from here!

But the house in Up flew for hundreds and hundreds of miles on a great adventure, so everyone decided that Peep should get to have an adventure flying places, too! Off we went on a walk while Peep flew above us. Alice held on to the ribbon! Peep giggled and laughed the whole way and so did we!

We went to the soccer field...

We can play lots of games here!

Then we went to look at the neighborhood farm...

Shhhh! The fields are sleeping!

Peep looked for chickens and goats, but couldn't see any, even from way up high. He thought they must be in the barn keeping warm. We thought so, too. Even the fields looked cold. It looked like the farmer had put down some hay on one patch to keep the rows warm!

Then we all walked along the dike. Peep wanted to know what a dike was  - we explained that a long time ago, the river flooded the whole town and lots of buildings and houses were ruined. Everyone had to use boats to get anywhere. Peep thought that the boats sounded like fun! But, we explained, when the river went back to its normal level, some people didn't have houses left - the river had washed them away! So, a bunch of people got together and built a high mound of dirt all along the fields between the river and the houses - that's the dike. That way, the river could flood the fields when it got too high, and the mound of dirt kept the houses safe from the extra water. And it made a great place to go sightseeing!

Peep was quiet for a minute. Then he said he thought that the dike was a pretty good thing.

Alice and Peep, best buddies!

Alice walked all the way down to those dark green bushes you can see in the picture, and Peep flew right along with her. Then they came all the way back!

Peep was still giggling and Alice was hopping and skipping along! But soon, they were both cold and shivery. The rest of us were a little shivery, too, so we all decided to head back to the nice warm house. Alice held Peep close to her so he could get a bit warmer. He is so small, after all!

Brrr!

He just giggled and grinned. We all had such a great time, and Peep said that it was the bestest adventure of his whole life! When we got home, he crawled onto a soft, warm blanket and fell asleep right away with a big smile on his face. 

So, the very kind little purple dinosaur got to fly and see the world from a different point of view, and Alice, Aerin, Lee, Al and I got to help. That means that everyone went on an adventure! We think that's just about the best kind of adventure you can have. 

I wonder what our next adventure will be?

Movie Adventures!

Finally, Movie Night!

Peep and I had been wanting to have a movie night for so long we could hardly stand it anymore, and we thought tonight would be just right. I had my golden crown and was feeling much better, so I borrowed one of my favorites from the library! Have you seen this movie?

Peep will love this movie!

I also went to the store and bought some goodies to snack on while we watched. I even bought some Peep-sized goodies! We laid out a little picnic on the floor and I got out a huge, fluffy pillow and a warm quilt so that we'd be extra comfy.

Yum!

There were kumquats, which look like very tiny oranges and you can eat them with the peel on. Peep ate four right away! And we had tiny apples that tasted very sweet. I ate two! And we had nachos with blue tortilla chips! Peep thought the blue ones were much nicer than the usual yellow ones. Blue tastes better  than yellow. (Except for bananas. Those are pretty tasty.)

We even had a Peep-sized movie screen!

Then we snuggled under the warm quilt and the movie started.

Nice and cozy!

We watched a bit and laughed and then, all of a sudden, Peep's eyes got really big and he went very still. "Oh my GOODNESS!" he exclaimed. "The house is flying! The house is flying!"

A flying house! With balloons!

He was so excited! I had never seen him so excited. He was shaking all over! Then he started hopping and bouncing up and down and giggling and laughing.

"Kate! Kate! Can I fly, too? Can I fly like the house? I'm much, much smaller than a whole house!"

At that, I hopped and bounced and giggled and laughed, too!

Well, now. That's a whole separate adventure, isn't it?

Adventure at the Dentist

So, this month continues to be Dentist Month, and little Peep has been busy taking care of me with kind words, soothing hugs and soft snuggles.

About three weeks ago, I went to the dentist to get a temporary crown. Peep asked me what kind of a crown it was - would I be a princess? Or a queen? Or Miss America?

You could be a princess!

None of those, I replied sadly. Then I explained how I did not take care of my teeth as well as I should have when I was younger, and one of my teeth now needed some serious help. There had been a big cavity a long time ago, and a dentist fixed that with a filling. But then sometime afterwards, the tooth cracked! Peep thought this sounded really bad and gave me lots of hugs, but I explained that it wasn't really that awful as long as the crack didn't crack more. And it didn't hurt. But, I went on, the dentist was going to take some of my tooth away and replace it with what she called a crown.

Peep didn't like this idea that some of my tooth would be taken away. He thought it would hurt! So I explained all about how the dentist makes sure you don't feel anything at all and you get a shiny new toothbrush afterwards and he was relieved! Peep is so kind!

That day three weeks ago, I got a temporary crown, which is made of plastic. The dentist had to make a mold of my teeth before and after she took some of the tooth away in order to make a permanent crown that would fit perfectly. Then she put that bit of plastic on to protect my tooth until I got my real crown. I had wished I had Peep with me that day!

Peep thought a plastic crown didn't sound very nice, but then I told him about the permanent crown - it was going to be golden! So, I could be a princess once I got that. Peep thought I could be a secret princess, and I agreed. We both liked that idea a lot. After all, the crown would be mostly invisible to everyone else!

The day came and I was very glad to have Peep with me! I was a little bit scared. Because the dentist had to work so carefully, Peep stayed in my bag, but peeped out at me and whispered soothing things.

You'll be a princess, Kate! You'll be okay!

The dentist took off the plastic crown and she and her helper made sure everything was ready to put on the golden crown. Peep wanted to see it! We had to take a break to wait for the medicine the dentist gave me work - it would help me not feel any pain at all.

Peep hopped down out of my bag and clambered up to where my new crown was waiting.

Wow, it's so shiny!

You can see in the picture that my crown is sitting on a mold of my teeth.

Still shiny!

Finally, the medicine was working, and the dentist was able to put the on my new golden crown! Peep hopped back into my bag to watch. 

It was very quick! The dentist and her helper made sure the glue that is used to attach the crown went only on my tooth, and then they stuck the crown on and pressed it down. I had to gently bite on some cotton wadding for a few minutes while the glue set. Peep asked me what "set" means just now - it means that the glue gets stickier and stickier with time until finally it has the crown well and truly stuck down and won't come off. This glue only takes a few minutes to set, so I didn't have to bite on the cotton so long.

Finally, it was on! I couldn't feel that side of my mouth, so I couldn't smile to take a picture of my new crown yet. I would have to wait for the medicine to wear off.

The dentist, her helper, Peep and I cheered! Now I was a princess! Peep reminded us, though, that we should keep our voices down - I was a secret princess. Shhhhh!

Then Peep asked if he could sit on the chair where I got my crown. The dentist said yes!

This is where Red Kate got her crown! Yay!

We both thanked the dentist and her helper a lot! 

There were some pictures of on a sort of light box on the wall, and Peep asked what they were. I explained they were x-rays of my teeth. Peep wasn't sure what that meant, so I explained that they were pictures of what my teeth look like on the inside. The dentist could see how my teeth were doing much more easily than my just looking in my mouth. Here they are:

Teeth have long roots...

The doctor could take a picture of the inside of teeth?? Peep thought this was like having a super power, or like being a spy! I think it is, too.

We looked at the pictures for a while and then it was time to go. Peep was so kind - he thought we should go home to have soup and snuggle under a quilt. We could watch a movie!

I had the perfect one in mind!
But you and Peep will have to stay tuned!

Visiting!

It was the weekend again, and Peep and I decided to visit his family. He still wanted to stay with me for a bit, but he was really eager to see everyone and tell them about his adventures!

So, on Sunday, we drove North to Peep's family. We got lots of hugs from everyone when we arrived! Then Peep hopped up on the couch and snuggled with Rufus and Beep. Peep told them all about his adventures since he'd come to stay with me. Rufus showed off a sock that Lee had been knitting, which everyone admired throughout the day. It's so pretty, isn't it? Beep told Peep about the books they'd all been reading - adventure stories! The whole family loves books. Do you see them in the background there?

Catching up!

Everyone was so happy that Peep had come for a visit! There was a lot of hugging! Lee got first squishy hugs because she's the mom of the house!

I love you THIS much!

Then Alice joined in. Because how could she not? Everyone needs an Alice Hug! It's like a hug from sunshine and cherry blossoms with puppies and kittens on top!

Feel the love! Yay!

And then Lee said she needed to talk with Peep for a bit. So they talked...

Hmm. Really?

And they talked...

Yep! Really! And so what do you think of...

And they talked some more!

This conversation looks really serious. 

Lee was doing something really interesting and Peep couldn't figure it out. But Beep and Rufus had a pretty good idea and visited with Lee for a bit.

And then Peep went off to visit with more of his family, the bears! One little bear went right up to Peep and hugged him mightily. What a kind little bear! He really missed Peep a lot!

I'm so happy to see you!

Then another bear came to join in, and Alice gave Peep a festive ribbon to wear. Peep was so happy to see everyone and look his best with a new ribbon!

Yay, Peep! Tell us all about your adventures!

Peep talked a long time - he had so many adventures to tell! Finally, all the bears came to visit with Peep, Rufus and Beep. They hopped and bounced and hugged and danced and even sang! Everyone talked and visited and was so very happy the whole evening long!

Happy family!

It was such a wonderful visit! But then I had to go home because it was nearly my bedtime. I asked Peep if he'd like to stay with me a bit longer, and he hopped up and down and said YES! Then he made a beeline for my bag and jumped right in! After all, he explained, I still had two more appointments at the dentist, right? Peep is so very, very kind!

Although I am not looking forward to my visit with the dentist, I am very happy that Peep decided to stay with me a bit longer. We both put on warm things because it's winter outside and very cold. I took Peep out of my bag for some hugs and Lee snapped a picture! We will come back again soon!!

Squishy hugs from Red Kate! 

We got home and and took off our warm layers and got ready for bed. Peep fell asleep asking me what sort of adventure we should have next. He is so cute and curious! 

I wonder what kind of adventure will be next...?

Baking Cookies!

Peep and I have been having so much fun this past week! He's been coming to the office with me and getting to know some of my friends there: Kelly, Ruthie, Stephie and Paula. Kelly and Stephie work way across the room and are always very busy, so we don't see them much. Ruthie is much closer and walks past very often. She always says hello to Peep when she's going by! Paula was visiting from Spain and brought Spanish treats, which she shared with everyone. She made sure that Peep got one, too! Isn't Paula nice?

Thank you, Paula!

So, we thought that we should bring in treats to share with her and our other friends at the office. Cookies would be perfect! And since Peep had never baked anything before, it would be another adventure!

It was time to get out the cookbook and have a look at recipes. It wasn't hard to find the perfect one: sugar cookies!

Let's make these!*

Peep and I read the recipe carefully and gathered up everything we'd need. Then, we measured out the flour and baking powder. I stirred it all up very well with a whisk. Peep made sure I mixed correctly. 

Are the cookies ready yet?

Then he hopped all around the counter, to and fro. He couldn't wait for cookies! He's such a silly dinosaur, hopping and bouncing! Then I was silly, too, and I beeped him on the nose.

We're both super silly!

Then I put the butter in another bowl. Peep read the recipe and made sure I put in the right amount.

That's a lot of butter! These cookies will be so delicious! Are they ready yet?

I carefully added the sugar and mixed it with the butter. Then I mixed it some more. And mixed and mixed and mixed. So much mixing! When the batter was finally smooth, it was time for the eggs. Peep looked them over carefully. Which ones should we use?

Let's use the blue ones!

You might not be able to tell in the picture, but two of those eggs are blue and the third is brown. We used the blue ones because those were the prettiest. Peep asked if the blue eggs came from blue chickens. I was thoughtful, and I said I didn't know. Peep liked the shells and then he was suddenly thoughtful. I cracked the eggs and added their contents to the bowl. Peep wanted to see the shells of one.

Dinosaurs hatch out of eggs, too...

Peep asked me about chickens and eggs and dinosaurs and hatching. He also asked me about the eggs in the bowl. I explained that not all eggs have chickens in them, just some. Then Peep's eyes twinkled. He suddenly grabbed a dishtowel!

Can I have a little chicken friend?

Peep wanted to build a little nest with the dishtowel to make the brown egg warm so it could hatch. He wanted a little chicken friend! I explained to Peep that the eggs from the grocery store never have chickens in them. Peep was a little sad, so then I explained that I have a friend with chickens, and we could go visit them sometime if he wanted. I'm sure the chickens had never seen a dinosaur. He hopped and bounced around at the thought - yes! He wanted to visit some chickens! Another adventure! 

But first we had to finish the cookies - there was still a little mixing to do.

I added two kinds of sugar: brown and white. Then, I gave the flour and baking powder mixture another quick mix, just to be sure it was mixed properly. Peep checked the recipe to make sure I got it right. Then he watched to make sure I mixed enough.

Good job, Kate! That's really mixed up.

The flour mixture got added to the butter mixture. I mixed and mixed and mixed. Then it was time to make the cookie shapes!

I spooned out a bit and rolled that into a ball. Peep was so excited! The cookies were almost ready to bake!

Are the cookies ready yet?

Then I showed Peep how to roll the balls of dough in sugar.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'!

When they were all covered in sugar, we put them a cookie sheet in neat little rows. Then each sparkly ball of dough got squished down with the bottom of a glass.

Almost ready! Almost ready!

Peep read the rest of the recipe: we had to preheat the oven to 350F. That's really hot!

When all the sparkly cookie balls were squished down into cookie shapes, and the oven said it was hot enough, the cookie shapes went in. We both hopped around in excitement. They had to stay in there for a whole ten minutes!

Waiting was really hard.

T minus almost three minutes left!

It was almost the longest three minutes left in the whole world. Peep and I really wanted a cookie!

Then, when they came out of the oven, we had to wait three more minutes. They were so hot and we didn't want to get burned!

Cooling cookies!

Peep danced and leapt about as I set the cookies on the cooling rack. Then he set himself next to them to get a better look. They smelled so delicious! He started to gently blow on one of them to cool it off some more.

At long last! They were cool enough and we each got to eat one.

Mmmmmmmm! Yummy!

They were perfect and warm and delicious and wonderful! Peep ate his whole cookie and I ate mine. We decided that we should have this adventure again soon. Peep learned a lot and was really helpful - I didn't forget a single step because Peep kept a keen eye on the recipe.

We baked the rest of the dough and ended up with fifty-six more cookies! Peep said the mountain of them looked like heaven, and he couldn't wait to do it again. I packed the cookies up in large bags and brought them to work with me the next day. Everyone in the office really loved the cookies - it made them so happy! I don't think they realized that I had had help from a little purple dinosaur. 

Peep also wants to learn to make ice cream. So many adventures to have!










*From The Best Recipe, by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Boston Common Press, copyright 1999.

Library Adventures!

Yesterday, Peep and I decided to go to the library. His family goes a lot, but he had never seen one. I think his last adventure has made him very brave!

So, off we went!

We wandered in and Peep couldn't believe how many books there were, and couldn't wait to see them all! He danced around in my bag until I scooped him out and put him on the card catalog.

Look at all those drawers! What's inside?

Peep wandered back and forth and asked to see what was in the drawers. Unfortunately, they were all empty! I told him that all the books are organized a certain way in the library. When I was small, each book had its own card in the drawers that told you which shelf the book was on. Peep thought that sounded like a lot of little treasure maps! Then he thought it was very sad that all the maps were gone.

So, I showed him the computer, where the new catalog is.

This is much smaller! Yay technology!

Peep had a lot of fun with the computer! We looked to see if the library had books about dinosaurs and ice cream and cookies, but there were so many books, we couldn't make up our minds. Peep decided to explore instead to see if there were any surprises to find.

We found books here...

Yay! An adventure story!

And books there...

Oooh, another adventure story!

And more books everywhere!

So many books!

Peep hopped about and still couldn't decide!

We wandered and wandered, and found other exciting things at the library, too!

Houston, no problems here!

Look, Kate! Look! Aren't these pretty?

This house is almost Peep-sized!

A very nice librarian asked us if she could help us find a book, but Peep explained that he was exploring to see if he could find just the right book to borrow. She could see how excited he was to see such an interesting place and asked if he'd like to meet Woodstock. Who could Woodstock be?

We all walked over to a spot near the check-out counter and then we spotted him!

Hi, Woodstock! Let's be friends!

Peep really wanted to find out more about the library, but it was almost time to go. Peep looked around and saw a librarian doing something. He went over to find out. Peep really is very curious!

Hello! What are you doing?

This is Heidi. She's a Library Page. That means that she helps out at the library sometimes. She was very nice and explained that her job is to put books back on the shelf that other people have returned. It's very important that she puts them back in just the right spot so that someone else can find them again. 

Peep was very thoughtful. It's important to put the treasure where it belongs!

Finally, we had to go home. We didn't find any books we wanted yet, but we could always come back. It was getting late and we both were getting hungry. Supper time!

On our way out, Peep saw one last book he wanted to investigate. It was so big! With a lot of effort, he climbed up onto it to see what it was. It was a dictionary! This is one of my favorite kinds of books and I use them nearly everyday. It was already open, so we looked at the page. What was "dimethyltryptamine"? 

That's a hard word to say! 

Then we looked up "dinosaur".

Look, Kate! It's Uncle Rex!

When we got home, Peep and I ate our supper. We had broccoli and carrots and onions and cheese! It was so delicious, we forgot to take pictures to show you. But then we thought we could have some dessert and take pictures of that. Peep suggested we make some hot chocolate because it's cold out and we hadn't had chocolate in almost two days. I have a lot of chocolate in the cupboard. Peep asked me to show you:

The chocolate shelf.

But we couldn't decide on which chocolate to use! Peep thought we should look it up in a cookbook. What a smart little dinosaur!

This one, Kate! There are lots of recipes in there!

We looked through three books and Peep finally found a recipe.

Peppermint! Let's have peppermint hot chocolate!

I think Peep likes peppermint an awful lot, don't you?

We looked at the list of ingredients and I checked the cupboards. Oh, no! I didn't have any peppermint oil! But then we remembered that we had some peppermint hot fudge left over from our last adventure. Would that work? We weren't sure. But my friend Judy made the hot fudge, so she'd know. I sent her a text message, and she sent me one back - yes! It would work! 

Thank you, Judy! 

Judy said the recipe isn't written down anywhere, but we were allowed to tell you how to make it! Peep really wants to visit Judy one day. What a nice lady!

You need Herrell's Hot Fudge and milk, and a grown-up to help.

This will be so yummy!

Then you measure out one cup of milk and put that in a saucepan. Peep made sure I measured everything correctly.

One cup. Exactly.

Then we measured the fudge. We needed one tablespoon. Peep said I should use a really big tablespoon.

That hot fudge smells so good!

Then you stir that into the milk while it's heating up on medium heat. Peep made sure I didn't stop stirring so that the milk wouldn't burn.

Good job, Kate!

You stir and stir and stir and stir until the hot fudge mixes in with the milk and the whole thing is nice and hot.

Perfect hot chocolate. Yum!

The last step is the most important: then, you drink it! 

I don't have a cup that's Peep sized, so I decided to drink mine out of a bowl, too.

Ahhhhh! Delicious!

It was so warm and delicious that right after we finished, Peep fell fast asleep. I made him a little nest out of a soft blanket, and then I crawled into my big bed and went to sleep, too. What a great day!

What kind of adventure will we have next?

Peep and Kate