Red Cedar River Horse

I learned a lot on my trip to Michigan this summer--like how to navigate with a mitten. It's a good thing we didn't go anywhere located on the "thumb" of the Michigan map. I have trouble finding mine, and we didn't want to take a wrong turn!

I also learned that there are no river horses in the rivers in Michigan. I guess that is because it gets cold enough in the winter to turn us into hippopsicles! It was plenty warm in the summer, though! Here I am by the Red Cedar River. The water was just a little too rough, and the fish just a little too big for a tiny hippo to take a dip.

So, I just cooled off at the nearby Starbucks. I couldn't decide which flavor Frappuccino I wanted, so I had two. Watch out for the brain freeze!

O Christmas Tree

I am very excited about my first Christmas, so I went to see the National Christmas Tree. There has been a national tree since 1923, but only a live one since 1973. Around the big tree are more than 50 small trees--one for each American state and territory. I took a photo of the Michigan tree since I have non-hippo family there.


Most of the ornaments on the tree were mitten-shaped like the state! It was cold out, but not cold enough for me to wear my mittens.

I liked looking at the trees and thinking about all the presents you could fit under them, but the best part was the trains running under the big tree. These trains were almost big enough for a tiny little hippo to ride!


Ho, ho, ho! Just 2 more days to go!

First snow

On Monday night Hippo got an early Christmas present to prepare for the winter festivities: a scarf, a hat, and mittens! They are colored in Spartan Green & White and Wolverine Maize & Blue, his four most favoritest colors.

So last night he wore his pajamas inside out and went to bed still wearing the hat and mittens. And this morning... SNOW! Time to try out Hippo's winter apparel.

This season, fringe is in. Fringe on the scarf, fringe on the tasseled cheek warmers, and poofy fringed cap top. Knit mittens keep delicate paws warm on blustery winter days and chilly winter nights.

Hippo has noticed that Santa is sending out delivery vans to get a head start on his Christmas Eve deliveries. Most of the packages so far were addressed to Amazon or Fedex. They must be a snake and a dog that live in our building. He's keeping his eyes peeled for a big truck labeled HIPPO.

All this modeling and waiting made Hippo hungry, so he tried catching a few snowflakes on his tongue as a little snack.