Evie Update

Evelyn’s First Piano Recital

/ Shane / Leave a comment

Evelyn had her first piano recital over the weekend, and she did great. She has been taking piano for a couple of years now, but we have been pretty low key about the whole thing and this is the first time she has performed.

I was really surprised at how nervous she was! She typically has absolutely NO stage fright, and has performed on stage for audiences many, many times this size (including singing and dancing!) without being nervous at all. So I was really surprised at how nervous she was! She said later that it was hard not to make mistakes due to how hard her hands were shaking (just in case you’re not a piano player, I can let you in on a little secret: it’s really hard to play the piano without the use of your hands).

When she sat down afterwards she just gave me the BIGGEST smile.

I have to tell you that there is almost nothing the kids can do that makes me as happy as to hear them playing piano. Evelyn has long ago eclipsed my own musical ability, and Oliver is pretty close. When I see them playing it’s just like magic. Absolute magic. I often just laugh out loud when they’re practicing because it seems so crazy that their fingers are doing these things. How are their fingers doing these things!

I love it. I want them to never stop taking piano.

Boogie Shoes

/ Shane / 1 Comment

Evelyn had her first tap recital over the weekend, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed! They go before I get home, so I had only seen a practice once when they first started learning the routine (and Jesse wasn’t even there that day!)

Not too shabby for only 6 months of lessons!

(Apologies for stupidly taking a picture in the middle of the video!)

Hero Update

/ Shane / 1 Comment

As expected, Evelyn’s “Hero Reward” showed up last night with a vengeance. Even counting the 3 times Alex threw up on Sunday night, Evelyn’s total last night alone has far surpassed everyone else combined.

However, after about the 5th time she threw up, she just started cleaning it up herself.

Hero status: maintained.

Evelyn, the hero

/ Shane / 2 Comments

Yesterday around dinner time, Sara started feeling pretty sick. Like, sick to her stomach, confined-to-the-couch sick.

“Evelyn,” she said, “I can’t make dinner. You have to make dinner tonight.”

So Evelyn started making nachos, like you do when you’re a little kid and suddenly have to care for a family, and then of course Alex was crying, so she picked him up and was making dinner while holding him, and then, of course, while she was holding him, Alex started puking.

Now, holding a puking baby while making dinner is almost the stereotype of life as a mom, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the typical day-to-day for a 3rd grader.

I wasn’t home, so Sara started texting me things like, “You need to get home before I start throwing up”, “I am going to throw up, you need to get home before that happens”, “hurry”, and “too late”. She then proceeded to text me coordinates in the house where Alex had thrown up, and whether or not they had been cleaned up yet.

Basically, by the time I got home the vomit situation in our house was roughly equivalent to one of those fountains they have in Vegas.

“Evelyn is a superhero,” Sara whispered to me. Evelyn had not only taken care of Alex while Sara couldn’t, she had also fed Oliver, gotten the two of them ready for bed, and cleaned up some of Alex’s throw up locations.

That is one amazing little girl, ya’ll. I recommend her as a babysitter as soon as she is old enough (I recommend her now, but I understand if you want to wait until she’s at least double digits).

And now, I assume she shall be rewarded with the finest award a superhero could ask for: the stomach flu. As of my writing this, the three of us are unaffected, but I can’t imagine that will hold.

I’ll be over here, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Someone’s got a new look

/ Shane / 1 Comment

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The kids’ dentist is downtown in a high-rise. Last time we were there, we were looking out the window at the smaller buildings.

Me: “Look, there’s a pool on top of that building.”
Evie: “Where?”
Me: “Right there.”
Evie: “I don’t see it.”
Me: “Look where I’m pointing. It’s right there.”
Evie, following the line of my finger: “I don’t see it.”
Me: “…what do those big letters say on that building?”
Evie: “I don’t see any letters.”

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On Friday we were walking to school and I said, “You know, after you get your glasses you’ll be able to see all of the branches of that tree, instead of a big brown blob.” Evelyn laughed and said, “I don’t think that’s a thing, daddy.”