You might remember Tobias as this little pumpkin who was in the blog in October. He’s still as scrumptious, but so much bigger than he was then.
Which is extra exciting in this particular instance, since for a bit it was uncertain that he’d make it here.
But here he is. Doing spectacularly, and getting more delicious each time I see him. Truly a celebration for the whole family. Happy birthday to all five of you!
Today we met Marlo and Nancy and their kids at a local park that had some water features. Ellery spent the entire time hanging out with this tiger while Shep played king of the mountain. (Which means he stood at the top of a concrete hill, all by himself, and looked very happy. For an hour.)
Neko tried to herd all the rest of the kids like sheep, convinced that all would be right with the world if everyone would just do as she says. This kid has some harsh reality coming at her one of these days. Either that, or she’s going to be an amazing politician.
I put sunscreen on all the kids, but somehow forgot myself. Whoops and ouch.
I give you the Giant Leopard Moth. A beautiful creature, and not one bit shy. Neko’s favorite, for sure.
And as you can see, those teeth FINALLY fell out. Since they took so long to fall out, the new teeth look like they’re already halfway in. There’s clearly not enough space for the new ones, so at our dentist appointment in a few weeks we will be discussing an orthodontic plan. Welcome to my world, little one.
Today we kicked off our summer field trip series with a trip out to the local state park. We’ve been to this park many times, but it occurred to me that we could probably call and ask for a naturalist to give us a presentation. Lo and behold—they would!
Chad did a great presentation with snakes and turtles where the kids got to touch each one. Then outside to watch him feed the cougar. As a special bonus, since we came first thing in the morning, it was time to bring all the birds outside. So one by one, he brought out each bird for the kids to see.
An excellent start to the summer, and many more exciting field trips to come!
Today was an exhausting day. I think we can both agree on that.
I had worked a festival all day yesterday selling t-shirts while you watched the kids. We were supposed to cap off the evening with dinner at that amazing Mexican restaurant to celebrate your half-birthday. But you had a cold and our babysitter had a migraine, so we ended up canceling.
Today started early. (As usual.) You didn’t get to sleep in. We had a few gifts, but they weren’t very inspired. I offered to let you leave and do some stuff for yourself for the day, but bless you, you stuck around. We were both pretty spent, and the kids were grouchy. It was good we had the whole team at bat.
The very fact that you were willing to spend Father’s Day knee-deep in grouchy children and a tired wife is why we love you so. And hopefully, on some random Thursday, I’ll be able to put it all a bit more eloquently.
But in the meantime?
Happy Father’s Day.
Neko and Shep decided to get married today. The groom wore black, complete with felt bow tie made by Tom. The bride and the flower girl dressed in princess attire. And, like any wedding, there was lots of dancing and the white man’s overbite.
Neko’s kindergarten teacher had a baby just before the end of school. And in a month she’ll be packing up and moving for her husband’s new job. Talk about highs and lows—Neko is ecstatic about the new baby but devastated that Heather will be leaving.
Heather made this year easy. Neko adored school, and cried on the days she was too sick to go. I nearly changed our flight back from New York when she sobbed at the thought of missing a day. From day one, she has been engaged and excited and overjoyed. Heather found that magic spot in between taming her wild streak and encouraging her exuberance. Neko is already asking when it’s time to go back to school.
I can’t think of a better way to begin a journey through education.
The kindergarten held a congratulations and bon voyage party for Heather, Tim, and baby Liam. Nancy H. helped the kids illustrate quilt squares and constructed an amazing quilt as a gift.
I broke the cardinal rule of not taking a group photo at the beginning of the party, so, sadly, I don’t have one. Our kids melted down in a nuclear fashion, so we had to make a quick exit. Which is probably good, because I don’t like goodbyes. Neko sobbed a bit on the way home, and wailed about how she would miss Heather.
I think we’re all going to miss Heather.
