Alex and his cousin Bernadette, getting in a little kung-fu training.
Training with his cousin
Alex and his cousin Bernadette, getting in a little kung-fu training.
Author: Shane
Evie’s Fish
After the whole rabbit debacle, Evelyn has set her sights a little lower. Meet the new family pet, Perry the betta fish:
Evelyn paid for everything in the picture, from Perry himself, to the tank, heater, and little blue stones at the bottom. She feeds him twice a day, and she already has plans on how to improve his cage.
I have to say, that Perry does seem pretty happy. I’m used to seeing betta fish just kind of listlessly lying about on the bottom of teeny tiny, empty glass bowls. Perry swims around like crazy in his big tank, and honestly seems as happy as a betta fish could ever be.
We had a fish tank when I was little, and I do feel a sense of nostalgia about the whole thing. I remember going to 33 Aquarium and rifling through all the little aquarium accouterments, saving up to buy silk plants and treasure chests that opened and closed. We had a little house with a wheel that would spin around from air. I remember the way 33 Aquarium sounded, and the way it smelled. I remember cleaning the fish tank, and various fish that we bought over the years.
Anyway, hopefully Perry will bring Evelyn as many memories as our fish tank brought me (and also hopefully kill any desire for any more new pets!)
1st day of school, 2016
Portrait of a 3rd grader and a 1st grader
Yesterday was the first day of school, and the kids were pretty excited. For Ollie, it was not just starting 1st grade, but having a new teacher and new classmates (he’s been in a looping class for the last 3 years). For Evelyn it was moving to an entirely new set of buildings, and adding new kinds of classes (particularly French).
Neither kid has ever had any particular issues with separation anxiety (now THAT’S an understatement!) so there weren’t any first day jitters. In fact, all Evelyn wanted to know is when she could start walking to school by herself, now that she’s in a different building.
Just to make sure the day wasn’t entirely pedestrian, Oliver went ahead and lost his FIRST tooth on the FIRST day of FIRST grade!
By the time they got home today, everything was old hat and they hardly had anything to say about the day. In other words, after a long summer, things are back to normal.
8 month comparison photos
Forgive me for not getting this out in a more timely fashion, but we did take the pictures, and better late than never.
It seems like everything is happening all at once for Alex. He really seems like he is starting to really understand things. He (sometimes) gives high fives. He looks at the window if you say train, he looks at the ceiling fan if you say “where is the fan?”, and he looks at the bookshelf if you say book.
Speaking of books, that boy *loves* books. He gets so excited. Some of his favorites are Baby Shoes, Goodnight Moon, The Big Red Barn, and So Big!
He’s crawling pretty well now and pulling himself up to stand. If you hold his hands he will take steps like he’s walking.
He got his 2 top incisors now, for a total of 4 teeth, and he’s putting them to good use. He mostly likes everything we offer him, but some of his current favorites are sweet potato, a mixture of quinoa and lentils, and peach slices.
He sobs a lot when it’s time for bed, and starts getting anxious as soon as he comes out of the bath. I kind of thought this would only last a few days, but here we are a month later and it hasn’t changed.
Despite that, he’s actually sleeping pretty well in his crib at night, which has gone a long way towards getting our life back to normal!
Quote Monday is going to hell
Evie: “I’ve been getting very angry lately, and I have to stop myself from saying some of the bad words from Billy Elliot.”
Evie: “But can I watch it someday?”
Me: “Well, I don’t know when. I don’t know how. But I know something starting right nowwwwww –”
Evie: “I’ll ask mommy.”
Ollie: “What I want for Christmas is SCOTCH”
::two seconds pass by::
Ollie: “…tape.”
Grandma Butterfly: “I’m just always cold. I told them, when I die they better toss a sweater in the casket, so I won’t be cold.”
Me: “Where you’re going, it’s not going to be a problem.”
Grandma B: “Well, I’ll see you there, then.”
Shane Halbach 