Max and Esme

Max's first grade class held a musical performance about the importance of family this morning. The kids sang several songs with some minor choreography and each child had a chance to say or sing a line or two. Max sang a duet. He sounded lovely, but he acted shy and self-conscious rather than enjoying himself fully.

Saturday was Max's school fair, we began the day with a parade from the town park to the school, accompanied by the fire trucks, police, and a lot of balloons. The kids and Peter visited the games, crafts, and cotton candy while I did a volunteer shift selling books. Today was spent riding bikes, swinging and swimming. Here's a picture of Max practicing his new skills in the empty parking lot.

Max reminded us this morning that his stuffed snake, named Snakey of course, will be two years old in two days. We got him as a prize at the Milton School Fair, which is coming up again on Saturday. During our morning commute Max planned Snakey's birthday party. All the stuffed animals are invited, as well as Peter, Esme and myself. Esme told Max that he could use her play kitchen to make food for the party and together they agreed that Lego cupcakes would be the way to go. Mmm... can't wait.

Those of you with kids of a certain age have likely been exposed to Flat Stanley - a series of books about a boy who becomes flat and has many traveling adventures. For a recent school project Max had to make his own flat person (whom he named Jordan) and send him on a visit to someone. Having recently returned from our own North Carolina trip, we sent Flat Jordan to cousins Matt and Riley for some playtime during their school break. Flat Jordan arrived safely home last week along with a diary of his activities and several photos of him reading books, playing ping-pong, and jumping off Matt's loft bed! Last night Max created a book of Flat Jordan's Adventures in North Carolina which included many of the photos and his own narration. He shares it with his class later this week. Thank you Matt and Riley!

Well, fewer anyway. After about 15 minutes of practice on Saturday, Max took the training wheels off his bike and is riding like he's always known how. He and Peter went out on Saturday afternoon and when they returned I was called out to witness Max careening down the driveway slope and around the back lot. He was very proud of himself, but perhaps not as much as his dad and I were. Another milestone watching our little boy grow up...

Peter has been in Florida the past few days for a fishing expedition, so I've been playing SuperMom while he's been gone. The kids and I began our time together by going out to dinner on Friday night. They didn't want to go to our usual pub for french fries, but to the nice restaurant in town instead. We had a lovely meal together complete with dessert. Max had another root-beer float which he described with several stupendous adjectives. Esme wanted the rice pudding because it was called pudding. I knew it wasn't the right choice for her, but I enjoyed it very much while she shared Max's ice cream. On Saturday we had our first real taste of spring - 60+ degree weather and sunshine. After ballet we spent some time on the playground, visited the library, and then enjoyed lunch on our back deck. Haircuts for both kids followed in the late afternoon. Esme insisted on going to a "girl" salon rather than letting Johnny at the barber shop cut her hair. S...

On the 100th day of school Max had to write 100 words. Take a quick read through (in order) to see a six-year-old mind at work... a I to too give school moon mine ten eleven australia asia europe china russia biscuit one hundred car drive snake shark ninety me you together yikes ahh twelve good toy dog car lizard eyeball pupil smirking bull shark tiget shark antidisestablishmentarianism weather fish surfer summer fall winter spring september october november december february march april may june july august half way there sunshine making alien u.f.o star sun mercury venus earth mars jupiter uranus neptune pluto comet popcorn pasta index unlucky lucky bruise scar ouch creature culture crater antibiotic army ants on pants cupid donner vixen prancer dancer teacher school spanish

The kids and I enjoyed another snow day yesterday after we received 8-10 inches of snow overnight. Sadly the trains were still running so Peter had to go to work. Esme helped me shovel the sidewalk and the steps - I managed to do the driveway around the garage when she was napping in the afternoon. We all bundled up for a walk to our friend's house for a playdate. Esme took about four steps and wanted to be carried. Granted - the snow was up to her knees. I loaded both kids into the sled and pulled them the half-mile we were going. On the way home we stopped off at a little hill to try sledding, but the snow was too soft and deep so the kids would just get stuck about half way down. A nice day off all around.