Just a few months ago, thanks to the wonders of digital networking, I re-established contact with a friend from high school. We hadn’t seen each other for about 20 years. We had both been living in France back then, so I was surprised to learn that she was now living in Canada. (We’re practically neighbors!)
My friend asked for our snail mail address so that she could send us a card at Christmas. In mid-December, the card arrived in a fat box guarded by some cute companions: a backpack with some unidentifiable creature, and a cuddly plush of some other unidentifiable creature. These mysterious cute companions were none other than two of the mascots of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, the city which my friend now calls home. The creature on the backpack turns out to be Quatchi, a sasquatch. The plush was Miga, a “sea bear,” some sort of bear/orca hybrid.¹
Phoebe and Theo were quite taken with them. As the older child, we let Phoebe pick which of the two gifts would be hers. She picked the backpack, as she loves packing things for trips, and said that Theo, who still has comparatively few toys of his own, could have the plush. Judging from her expression in the photos, she may have had some regrets about this state of affairs.
So it goes that when I tried to get photos of my children happily enjoying their gifts, thinking to send them to my friend by way of thanks, I ended up with a series of photos that would make Poster Children for Poster Children proud. Happy they may not be, but I defy you to tell me that they are not cuddly.²
¹ Merci, chère amie, pour les cadeaux fabuleux!
² This week’s Photo Hunt theme is “cuddly.”
collecting tokens 
These are laugh out loud hysterical. I love them.
Awww… re Phoebe and her expressive face, Theo and his thoughtful looking one and their reactions to the cuddly plush (and the other’s handling of it)! :D
It’s so fun to get presents from abroad. :) Those are very cute! My little girl has a backpack from Sweden with an unidentifiable character on it, too.
Have you seen this?
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-videos/meet-the-vancouver-2010-mascots_181324g184910-gG.html
SO CUTE! Now I want one too. ;-)
Cuddly indeed all three of them and what a great angle on the cuddly theme this week.
Scott at World’s Best Photography Blog ;^)
Aww, what a beautiful first picture!
Awww, those creatures are quite cute!
Hey, I have much enjoyed your blog. I’ve just used an image I stumbled upon here to illustrate a recent poem of mine (of a punch pupper, drawing, black & white). Thank you. I’ve linked the image to this wonderful blog.
Although I am Brazilian, I’ve been writing pieces of poetry in English, and many are those who appreciate it. I’ll leave some links, just in case:
http://fejapimenta.blogspot.com/2010/01/mark-of-cain.html
http://fejapimenta.blogspot.com/2010/02/hope-under-new-scope.html
http://fejapimenta.blogspot.com/2010/02/facing-mirror.html
If you like them, just tell me (in a comment in one of these) that you’d like to read more. Then I’ll share more.
By the way, I’ve linked your blog in mine, so that I keep in touch with what you write.
Thanks!
–
Fernando.
Cuddly all right.
That friend in question is me !!! I am so happy to see Phoebe and Theo with quatchi and Miga !!! Thank you, Alejna, for the lovely pictures !!!