Purdy

We had an unexpected visitor last weekend--Purdy, the penguin mascot of Andres' preschool class. This ushered in Andres' week of being "Penguin of the Week" in his class, which at his age is pretty much like winning an Oscar.

This being February, Purdy is well-traveled. I last saw him about a month ago at a birthday party that Andres attended; the poor penguin was the unwitting life of the party, which meant he was almost killed due to excessive throwing, tackling, and merriment inside a bouncy house. And with lice (!) going around Newton/his classroom, Purdy's first destination was the dryer for a quick fumigation.

I had been looking forward to Purdy's arrival for a long time--I imagined a weekend filled with fun photo ops, and definitely a blog post chronicling his various adventures and missteps while in our care. So it should come as no surprise that the weekend he finally showed was the weekend that Natalia and I went up to Maine, meaning that we would miss out on much of the frivolity accompanying Purdy's visit. (Though overall I was ok with this trade--a weekend away with friends rather than chaperoning a stuffed penguin around Waltham.)

Tita proved to be a capable penguin caregiver. Purdy watched Andres swim on Saturday morning, then read some books with both kids at the library. And when we arrived back home at noon on Sunday the penguin still had all his flippers so it seems that nothing too untoward happened in our absence.

The following Tuesday being Valentine's Day, we did need to put some effort behind creating valentines--and Purdy oversaw the whole process, though he was undoubtedly exhausted from the weekend.

Purdy offers advice on how to make a perfect valentine.

Soon it was time to eat. Purdy initially refused rice, so we offered him goldfish instead--which is probably closer to his preferred diet anyway. Andres offered some assistance.

Healthy nutrition is key to maintaining a healthy coat.