The Kwamai and Felicity Show!

Pictures from Felicity's Birthday Party

2010-04-26T13:13:00.004-04:00

Ok, I'm not such a great birthday party photographer. I admit it. I'm not that much for throwing fancy parties, either. But there was cake, there were friends, there were presents, and there was rejoicing.
Some photographic evidence:

Kwamai was on task with a short video:

And Felicity Goes to Art Class

2010-04-14T15:21:00.002-04:00

Today I actually had the experience of having both children in classes! While Kwamai was investigating school, Felicity attended her first homeschool art class at the local Center of Music and Art.

Last week we happened to stop by there to drop of a poster to advertise a benefit concert I'm organizing. I had never actually been inside before, and both Kwamai and Felicity were very excited by the place. Kwamai wants to take drum lessons, and Felicity was awed by all the art supplies. The Center offers a class for children ages 5-12 twice a month, and as Felicity is less than a week from 5, it seemed fitting for her to try it out. There was only one other girl who came to the class today (as it is a session-by-session class, so people can attend when they wish), and she happened to be 12. So the teacher was able to work with each of them at their respective levels. Felicity learned to draw people and make people out of clay, and she also drew and colored some lovely flowers. They use high quality art supplies, which is probably the most fun of anything. Felicity said she can't wait for the next one because she's excited to discover everything there is to learn. I think she has also discovered her new favorite place to shop.

Kwamai's First Day of School

2010-04-14T15:06:00.002-04:00

Kwamai spent today visiting a 3rd grade class at the local Catholic school (Bishop John King Mussio Elementary). He asked me a few weeks ago about the possibility of him going to school, and I suggested that he try it out for a day, sort of taking a test drive. He went through phases of being excited about it and then wanting to forget about it. But then with the passing of time, he simply took it as a serious experiment in which to participate today.

He sprang right out of bed at 7 this morning, and was remarkably polite to me as he got ready, ate breakfast, and tried to figure out what to do before we left at 8am. We arrived just in time for morning prayer in the cafeteria, where the Principal met us and was rather surprised by how (as she put it later) about 3/4 of the kids greeted Kwamai by name!

I got at least a partial report on the way home. Over all, he said he enjoyed the day but likes homeschooling better. He said the best things were that he traded his potato chips for Doritos at lunch time, and that he made friends extremely fast. But he said also that with our style of education at home, "you just find the answer, not the problem." I think that translates thus: he values learning in a natural setting, where finding the answers to questions makes sense in a real-life context. School, on the other hand, seemed to propose a lot of abstract, fictitious reasons, like textbook questions, to find answers that held no apparent meaning.

It seems he enjoyed the experience, and wasn't surprised by much of anything. But he's not itching to make a permanent switch. It was also sweet to see that he really missed Felicity. Upon returning home, he asked "Felicity, will you play with me? Yes, or yes?" I don't know that I've ever heard him explicitly ask her to play with him like this before.

As I watched all the kids file out after morning prayer, I couldn't help but notice how young they all looked. That particular school only goes up through 5th grade, so I suppose Kwamai is right in the middle age range.

The Principal asked me if I was nervous for him all day. Pfft, I said, heck no. I was just really interested in hearing everything he would think about it.

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-06T16:05:00.003-04:00

Kwamai just carried out a neighborhood Easter egg hunt that he organized. And believe me, he organized it all quite apart from my involvement (and even knowledge, and schedule-approval at first!). It all worked out, though, sort of. There were about a dozen kids from 3-10 who gathered at the school yard behind our house (the school has been closed for a couple of years). Kwamai and Felicity hid the eggs, and the other kids found them. There was some dissent especially among the older ones who didn't like having to share with the smaller ones, especially that smaller crying girl, Felicity. One of his friends was quick to point out Kwamai's organizational flaws: not enough eggs, having to share with the little ones, everyone let loose at one time. Kwamai was a bit put out by the complaints at first. But then the kids from one of the families all marched back and started thanking me for the Easter egg hunt. I told them they'd need to thank Kwamai since it was all his doing. So, they did. I think that made Kwamai feel a bit better.

I was really rather impressed with Kwamai's initiative, leadership, and the direction he gave the group even though of course there were a few bumps. I hope he also took to heart the lesson of having disgruntled kids on his hands, because somehow I can sympathize with how that feels!

Kwamai's Christmas Letter

2010-01-28T11:06:00.003-05:00

I am late to post this, but this was the letter Kwamai gave Felicity for Christmas. We've quoted it several times since then. It states: "I love you Felicity and you are a cat. Ho ho ho, Love Kwamai"

Felicity likes to meow a lot, in case you were wondering.

Christmas Eve Pageant

2009-12-26T20:29:00.003-05:00

Here is Felicity dressed as Mary for the Christmas Eve pageant. She did a great job traveling to Bethlehem and laying baby Jesus in the manger.

Here is Kwamai suited up as Fr. Alexander. He claimed to be blushing significantly as he walked up the aisle.

Here is the video of the pageant, minus the first minute or so when Mary and Joseph made their entrance. It is hard to make out the narration, but the idea was that after talking about the Christmas story, it talked about the gift of the priesthood and the priests who have been pastors of our parish. Kwamai played the role of a priest who is currently visiting us as a graduate student from Kenya. He was not available to play himself, but our current pastor was. You can tell which one he is because he is a bit bigger than the others.

St. Nicholas Day Photos 2009

2009-12-07T15:26:00.012-05:00

A day late again this year, but who's counting?

It is getting rougher and rougher to persuade these guys into serious pictures, so we go for the slightly silly look in most of these. Felicity's first fashion pic was a summer dress, which would be right up her alley, but at the last she settled on her last year's Christmas dress with no tights. Close enough. Kwam the recalcitrant did not want to dress whole hog fancy, but a white shirt and black jeans is a fairly good concession.

A very sweet shot of The Girl, which unfortunately is just a tad fuzzy.

My favorite shot of Kwamai, with a glimpse of sad Felicity whose turn it wasn't to be in the picture.

The official twosome shot.

Kwamai's silly sequence

Can't figure out how to get that third picture to line up, but oh well...

Felicity's candids: true to form she is crafting, then shopping.

Felicity Poses with Alien Friends

2009-11-30T20:46:00.001-05:00

"Post it on the Kwamai and Felicity Show, Mama," she said.

Merry Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T11:16:00.002-05:00

Felicity has the decorating and holiday celebration bug. She's been asking for a while to be able to put up the Christmas tree, or at least our outside lights. When I told her it wasn't quite time yet, she asked if she could at least decorate for Thanksgiving. I did a quick online search for craft ideas, and she selected a coloring page of a pilgrim couple. She promptly added a manger with a baby and a star, colored the man brown and the woman blue and dubbed them Mary and Joseph.

Kwamai the Cub Scout

2009-11-18T19:33:00.003-05:00

Kwamai started Cub Scouts tonight, and has been so incredibly excited about it it's not funny. There is a pack that meets at our parish, and for some reason Erol was under the impression that Kwamai's membership required Erol to attend with him every week. But this Sunday I happened to be chatting with one of the men who works with the pack and this misconception was dispelled. So Kwamai is completely psyched about participating and doing lots of fun things with them. The first thing on the schedule is to help build a float for the Steubenville Christmas parade on December 12.

Felicity Say to Me, She Says...

2009-10-16T09:19:00.003-04:00

"Mama, I'm a whole hand."

"A whole hand?"

"Yes, because a thumb is not a finger."

She holds up the visual aid so that I finally get it. She's 4 years old.

Cat Diaries

2009-10-05T22:51:00.003-04:00

And speaking of cats, Kwamai today decided to begin creating "The Cat Diaries." This is a series of camera-made videos chronicling the adventures of our cat Blacky. He had great fun realizing that he could talk to the camera, and it had to listen to him! Here is his very first video.

Meow

2009-10-05T22:50:00.001-04:00

Felicity has taken to meowing a lot lately. I think because she became so verbal so early and quickly, she has now decided she can go somewhere else with her communication and simply make animal sounds for awhile instead. When she isn't meowing, I still often need her to repeat things multiple times until I understand what she is saying. Part of it is her tiny little voice. But I guess it is just her phase.

Kwamai, the ESTP

2009-08-28T18:48:00.001-04:00

I had Kwamai take the Myers-Briggs test on line today, and his result is ESTP. Here is a portrait of what the ESTP type is like. Amazingly, it really seems to describe him to a "tee".

Look at the Butterfly we caught Today!

2009-08-09T15:57:00.001-04:00

Felicity had her face painted at the Lebanese festival today (in Wheeling).

Composition

2009-07-16T09:00:00.002-04:00

Kwamai is quite the composer. Just now he is developing a song with the refrain "I still feel stinky like an artichoke." At least he has progressed from bathroom issues.

Swimming, Redux

2009-07-13T16:13:00.003-04:00

We're back at the swimming lessons, but at a different pool this time. Felicity not only was very excited and comfortable, but asked to be moved from level one to level two, as she didn't want to start over again from the very beginning. I think it helps that this pool is both outdoor and heated, so it is a more fun environment. However in the level one group there are about 25 kids! It's amazing. A friend who did the last session said there were only 5 kids then. These lessons run for four days a week for two weeks. Kwamai is in level 3 and has already been taught some new skills. The pool is in a city park with a playground, and they have three shifts of lessons each day between 9-12. So it is quite a production, and there are lots of families participating that we know. So it's a nice little social outing. Starting the day significantly earlier than usual will be interesting for these weeks, but I think it is worth the effort!

Kwam the Ninja

2009-06-24T16:35:00.003-04:00

These are pictures which Kwamai took of himself recently as he posed with one of his lightsabers. Probably the fact that he didn't know when the picture would flash accounts a bit for the pensive looks on his face! He asked me to post them to the blog, so here they are.

Sequential Learner

2009-06-24T16:23:00.002-04:00

Felicity is definitely a sequential learner. She adores videos that show you step-by-step how to make something or bake something or perform an experiment. We have gotten some of these from the library which come in a series called "My First (subject matter) Video."

So today I had one of those secret Mom smiles as I listened to Felicity in the bathroom as she narrated the brushing of her teeth, and then: "That concludes 'My First Toothbrushing Video.' Other titles in this series which you might like to explore include My First Cooking Video, My First Science Video, and my First Activity Video."

I've found that her fascination can help calm her down out of a fit of frustration rather quickly when she wants to do something but can't figure out how. I just tell her the first step, second step, third step, and generally she's ready to absorb what I'm telling her.

Pigs Fly

2009-06-15T21:30:00.003-04:00

Vacation Bible School started today, and my only role this year is to drop Kwamai and Felicity off and pick them up again.

Felicity seems to have had a wonderful time.

She made this colorful flying pig (don't ask me exactly what this has to do with learning about the Trinity) as her craft. She spent half of the afternoon playing with it and other similar creatures she had previously made at home. She recounted lots of little details from the day. It was actually an hour shorter than normal today because of a funeral at the church. Kwamai's was far more interested in staying around later on to eat food at the funeral reception. (The funeral was for a former choir member, so I sang with the choir for it while they hung out with one of the teenage helpers.) I tried to explain basic funeral etiquette, that one doesn't just crash in for the food, but he had a hard time accepting my explanation since a couple of his friends were staying. Of course, they actually knew the woman. I've only been in the choir 6 months, and I wasn't even sure who the woman was (it was a few years ago that she sang).

Comfy?

2009-06-10T08:14:00.001-04:00

I would have liked to have witnessed how this arrangement came to be this morning.

Super Size Me!

2009-05-29T20:25:00.003-04:00

Last night Kwamai and I started watching Super Size Me, a documentary about a man who decides to eat nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days. I say we started watching it; I finished it, but Kwamai decided to leave at one point. He then started feeling sick, eventually threw up, and told me that the next time he goes to McDonald's he will order a salad and a bottle of water.

He was feeling perfectly fine before the movie started, and perfectly fine afterwards, and I highly suspect this was strictly a psychosomatic reaction.

We had gotten this DVD from the library on Tuesday, and when we drove by our neighborhood McDonald's on Thursday morning he asked me "Mom, if the McDonald's people know their food is bad for people but they sell it anyway, are they just evil?" It was an interesting discussion, and I tried to talk about how people often use faulty reasoning to justify lots of things.

So, About that Swimming

2009-05-28T16:31:00.005-04:00

Last week I managed to put on my swimming suit and sit on the side of the pool during the swimming lesson. The (teenager, non-parent) swimming instructor thought it a bad idea for me to actually get into the pool, because he presumed Felicity would then not pay any attention at all to the swimming instructors. But as it turned out, my being poolside was all it took. Felicity got a smile on her face, got in the water, started working her kicks, and even came back beaming about how much fun she was having. She hasn't developed a whole lot in the way of swimming skills, but at least she has recovered from her long bout of water refusal. And the pool has warmed up, too. She even practiced jumping into the pool from the side and let herself go partly under water, so it seems fear is not her issue, just comfort.

Kwamai has been doing fine. The quality of the swimming instruction (since it is usually a different set of student life guards each time) has not been that great in terms of systematic progression from one skill to the next. But, it is an opportunity. It would probably simply be worth our while to go to the open swim and practice skills that way during the summer.

10th Anniversary Picture

2009-05-23T12:02:00.002-04:00

We had this picture taken right outside the place where we had our dance. Immediately afterwards Felicity marched off not return, so this was the only shot we got of all of us this year. It might have had something to do with Kwamai's insistence on making bunny ears behind her.

Nothing like realism and capturing the essence of our current point in history.

2009-05-19T15:36:00.001-04:00

Oh, and by the way, I think I'm finally convinced that Felicity is due for a short haircut. She is developing the classic Hansen/Hosdil thick hair and hates hairbrushes. Maybe Friday.

Swimming Update

2009-05-19T15:31:00.002-04:00

We are half-way through swimming lessons now. Kwamai can almost swim without assistance, and tied in a race across the pool with a more experienced swimmer yesterday (while they used kickboards).

Felicity, on the other hand, has left the pool twice with a huge frown on her face and tears in her eyes, and last time she wouldn't even get in at all. Sigh. The water apparently is too cold for her tastes. I can't say I blame her, as I often feel the same way about pool water. It takes work to relax and then kick hard enough to warm oneself up. She told me she would stay in the pool if I got in with her, so I may try that approach next time. The one-on-one attention from the life guards has dwindled a bit, so it is nice for those kids who want to practice more independently (like Kwamai, who keeps complaining that they are "so strict" just because they try to show him how to swim) but it is a downside for the younger kids like Felicity who end up sitting still and freezing in the water while waiting for someone to pull them around and train them in kicking, etc.

Hairstyle

2009-05-06T15:49:00.003-04:00

On the Saturday before Palm Sunday, Felicity got her hair cut at the beauty parlor again. The beautician decided to curl her hair with a curling iron a bit, and so she had big swooshy curls for awhile. It was very cute, but alas Felicity did not consent to getting her picture taken.

Unfortunately her hair was cut with a part in it, which of course has not stayed parted since. Next time I think we go with bangs, until such a time as Felicity again likes having things in her hair to keep it in place (which seems to have stopped as soon as she had hair long enough to move around).

2009, 2002

2009-05-06T15:44:00.002-04:00

Here is our family picture, taken with Bishop Conlon on the occasion of Kwamai's Confirmation/First Holy Communion on April 19.

Compare with this one, when Kwamai was 2 days away from turning one year old (on the occasion of the Bishop's ordination).

Is It Time, Yet?

2009-05-06T15:38:00.003-04:00

Kwamai and Felicity started swimming lessons again on Monday. They go twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Felicity is particularly excited about it and has asked me at least 15 times already today when we are going. She's been dressed and ready for the last hour. Only one more hour left to wait! Kwamai went off with a more advanced group halfway through the first lesson. Felicity did a really great job. The good thing about this year is that the high school swim coach has her swim team teaching the kids one-on-one, while she coaches their teaching techniques "from above". This way, no one is just sitting around in the pool, waiting for his/her chance to get out and swim.

Felicityism

2009-04-24T11:22:00.000-04:00

"But Kwamai, you don't even have a driver's slicin's."

Classic Kwamai-ism

2009-03-20T13:35:00.001-04:00

While playing with the broom pole:

"Hey mom, guess what? I got the nine ball in the corner pocket. I'm playing poker."

Blessed are the Peacemakers

2009-03-20T11:15:00.002-04:00

... and those who forgive.

Kwamai went to a birthday party yesterday, and he brought home as a little party favor a plastic torpedo-shaped toy to use in a swimming pool. It lay on the dining room table this morning, and Felicity came upon it, and suddenly it was the most interesting thing in the house. Felicity wanted to play with it, which of course made Kwamai want to play with it. Fights ensued. No one was really playing with it, but everyone wanted to hold it and prevent the other from playing with it. After law enforcement was called in (aka Mom) to prevent physical beatings as a part of this process and some restraints were put in place, I set a timer. Felicity had five minutes to play with it, and then Kwamai had five minutes. Well, after two of Kwamai's minutes, Felicity suggested a truce and asked if she could play army man set up with Kwamai, promising not to take the torpedo. Kwamai readily forgave and agreed, and that game morphed into several others. Peace reigns.

Sigh.

Now for the rest of the morning.

Now Kwamai is busy composing (and singing at the top of his lungs) a song called "Stop Copying Me." Must get him signed up for youth choir.

First Reconciliation

2009-03-15T19:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was Kwamai's first reconciliation in preparation for receiving his first Holy Communion and Confirmation in April. He was a bit nervous about the whole thing. All 23 kids who are receiving sacraments this year in our parish gathered for the prayer service. And when the priests announced the time to head to the confessionals, Kwamai ran to the front of the line. He returned with a broad smile on his face. When I mentioned the fact of his smile to him, he said "I'm blushing!"

We didn't get official pictures of this sacrament (of course), but a friend did take a few of him playing tag with the other boys in the church hall afterwards. I'll post some if we can make him out on any of them.

We Protest!

2009-02-27T14:58:00.002-05:00

We did a little life learning today by attending a political protest. I was so proud of Kwamai and Felicity for being troupers, and they enjoyed the fact that we were so close to a Dunkin Donuts. This involved a drive to downtown Pittsburgh, so we had lots of time to discuss our adventure and enjoy all that we were learning about political issues, the behavior of various adults (e.g. we saw more smokers this morning than we've seen in Felicity's lifetime), life in the "big city," history, and more. Great experience.

Learner at Work, Her Way

2009-02-16T09:48:00.003-05:00

Felicity is so not Kwamai.

This morning she insisted we go to the basement to do school, because that's where the school desk is, along with all the books and things she needs. Um, but it's freezing down there.

Compromise! We brought the school desk to the dining room. And now I'd better get to helping her with her workbook.

Thanks, Kwam

2009-02-08T23:20:00.004-05:00

I spent quite a bit of last week feeling not so good. Wednesday was by far the worst day, however. But it was Kwamai's chance to shine.

He has a truly tender heart for those in need. And since I could hardly get out of bed without feeling dizzy, he managed to check in with me regularly and bring me water and nibbles to eat. He managed to entertain Felicity and otherwise refrained from those things which tend to get her all upset. He even made or procured breakfast and lunch for himself and Felicity, and although he had some help with dinner, he played a key role there too. He read me a story and played with Felicity in the attic.

Yes, the house was completely trashed, and no, it has not proven a permanent behavioral shift. But it sure made a hard day easy to deal with.

Puppets

2009-01-22T16:54:00.003-05:00

Last night I got an inspiration to create puppets. I suggested it today, and it was a huge hit, even before we had any decent supplies to create them. Felicity created the one shown here with very little help. The idea of putting it on a paper bag, and help stapling were all that was contributed. She did all the drawing and creative stuff.

Kwamai made several sock puppets, including Batman, Robin and ghost, and a cardboard sheriff and pacman character.

This afternoon Kwamai invited a friend over to show the puppets off, and while the friend preferred to build with legos I can see that this puppet idea is one with a lot of mileage to it.

I plan to make a Patrick Henry puppet, and other generic dudes that can assist in reenacting historical scenes.

Child Weather Report

2009-01-20T13:52:00.003-05:00

Today: Partly to mostly cranky, with occasional outbursts of tears. High probability of gusty upsets following siblings touching each other, looking at each other, or looking in the same direction.

Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est natus

2009-01-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

And Felicity, well she is bursting into song. We have this song on CD and I sang it with my impromptu choir participation last Sunday. So, we've been singing it a lot, and Felicity now knows the chorus quite well.

Kanuka

2009-01-09T11:24:00.001-05:00

This morning Kwamai has decided his name is Kanuka, and I am Kanuka Mommie, and Felicity is Kanuka sister. He is a newborn who has just eaten his shell.

Um, ok. Whatever.

Medium Sized Boy

2009-01-02T20:45:00.004-05:00

My latest term of endearment for Kwamai which seem to have struck a chord with him is "my medium sized boy."After all, he's not a little boy, and he's not exactly big. What is more, he is very aware that he is at this Mr. Betwixt age. He will often jump into my lap now and say "I'm your medium sized boy!" I, of course, have become the "large sized Mama." Hmm. Terms are all relative, right? He is still trying to settle on a fitting but kind adjective for Papa.

St. Nicholas Day Pictures

2008-12-09T00:55:00.007-05:00

This year I neglected to take my traditional St. Nicholas day pictures on the 6th, so these are actually from the 7th (shh... it's a secret!) It was a bit of a challenge to get Kwamai to pose seriously, but on the bright side he certainly has lost all inhibition about showing his lack of front teeth!

Verified Today

2008-12-04T14:13:00.002-05:00

Toothpaste gets crayon marks off walls.

St. Francis Xavier Feast Day Party

2008-12-03T22:57:00.002-05:00

Today we threw a little nearly-spontaneous party (planned only a couple days in advance) to celebrate today's feast day. Because St. Francis Xavier had been a missionary to Japan, it seemed a good reason to have a Japanese-themed party. So I invited two families from one of the homeschool lists I belong to. One family lives just in the next town, and the other is from Pittsburgh. I was getting a bit nervous as I started adding the numbers and realized I was looking at having 13 children over! But as it turned out, the nearby family had double booked themselves and could only stay to "meet and greet". But we had a nice time munching some tasty (and some new) foods. I did make a pizza just to be on the safe side for everyone as well! The family has three boys, ages 8, 6 and 3 whom Kwamai kept entertained with Legos and commando-fights and general boy mayhem. The two girls, ages 5 and 15 months, kept Felicity busy. The baby really just kept her mom busy, to tell the truth. But Felicity actually spoke to the mother several times, and this goes on record as being the first time she has ever spoken to an adult she has just met. (So many people will be jealous! She still doesn't talk to lots of adults she sees regularly!) When I first heard Felicity answer that she was 3 years old, I almost didn't believe it was her voice!

So, a good time was had by all meeting new friends. We might travel to Pittsburgh in a few weeks to see a living Nativity in their neighborhood.

Ear Mouses

2008-11-17T16:26:00.003-05:00

Today we discovered the winter gear bag once again. Here is a picture of Felicity wearing her Winnie the Pooh "ear mouses."

I Love You, Mama

2008-11-17T09:08:00.002-05:00

Last night, as I was carrying Felicity up to bed, she spontaneously told me "I love you, Mama." Although that wasn't the first time she told me that, I think it was the first time that she initiated the comment out of the clear blue.

Talk about the ultimate in Mama fuel. I thought to myself as she was going to sleep that I might just be able to cut down a forest with my bare hands for her if need be. Well, at least I would sure want to be able to.

Felicity's First Haircut

2008-11-08T13:06:00.006-05:00

Ok, well it's not the first time a scissor has touched her hair, but it was the first time her hair was cut in a salon. I've been thinking she needed some assistance with her hair, more than just a snip here and there. I'm not sure that the stylist did much more than that, but at least it was a very positive experience for Felicity. She didn't even have the slightest upset let alone tear, and she even nodded in response to the stylist, whom she'd never met before, which is far more than she normally would do in conversation with an adult she doesn't know.

Everyone agreed that her hair is beautiful :)
The certificate of authentication!

You Can Tell We Don't Get Out Much

2008-11-02T22:09:00.005-05:00

Last night Erol and I went to a banquet on the occasion of him becoming a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus. (Those are the guys you see with the feathery hats, capes, swords and white gloves.) So our neighbor Meg came to babysit for Kwamai and Felicity.

On the way home I realized we'd been gone over three hours. And imagine our surprise when we got home! There was a sign on the door leading into the kitchen "Welcome to the Big Clean House!" We were greeted by two children in their Sunday finest, a house swept and tidied, a table set with sausages and snacks, and two cards, one that said Mama, and one that said Papa. (Meg gave significant help where the writing was involved!)

They wanted to surprise us and welcome us back home.

You can almost make out, in my card on the left, the picture Kwamai drew of me looking surprised, and his word "soprisd". (If you click on the pictures you can see a larger version.) There was also a picture Felicity drew for me on a separate page. She told me it said "I love Mama." Kwamai and Felicity each ate one of the sausages they made, and we all nibbled on the apples covered with cinnamon.

It was a very sweet welcoming home.

Halloween

2008-11-01T13:40:00.002-04:00

Here is Kwamai's costume. Felicity kept changing her mind and her clothes too fast for me to catch a picture of her princess outfit. (She finally decided on her princess robe when she found it too cold to go outside with just her regular clothes on!) Kwamai's costume was easy, as the robe with orange cuffs came from Aunt Carrie. I added the mascara'ed eyebrows and widow's peak. Of course, Kwamai supplied his own scary look ;)

Adventures in Learning

2008-10-30T00:01:00.002-04:00

Kwamai is at what one would call a low-tide in learning right now. Which just means he is processing rather than doing a lot of taking in right now. According to the library books we get coded by level, he can read at a 2nd-4th grade level. What is more important to me is that it is not unusual for me to find him sitting down to read just for the fun of it. Tonight he was reading one of his comic books to Felicity (who was rather bored by it). He also reads books to Blacky sometimes. He also gets fascinated by science tidbits and experiments and has an interest in learning. This is what is so valuable to me. If I give him something too structured, he shuts right down on me. If he can initiate a project, he's loving it. So be it.

The other morning, right after Felicity opened her eyes and found mine, she said "Mama, what's ten plus ten? Twenty plus twenty? Forty plus forty?" "How many years until I'm 11?" She apparently dreams like this. This morning she was remembering one of the Croatian songs Erol plays in the car sometimes. Last night before bed we read Dick and Jane. We got through about half the book, and she read the title of every story, with help only sometimes. She is going to be a completely different sort of learner than Kwamai has been.

What they like to do together these days (besides fight, right before dinner nearly every day like clockwork) is play imaginitive games, like Indian alien scouts who build fair rides or cooking show hosts. They also still make up rhythmic songs and sing together, and of course hide from the bad guys, who are usually Erol and me. Oh, and chasing the poor cat through the house is another new pasttime. She's still skinny enough to hide under the hutch. That area is getting a pretty good dusting these days.

Another Blacky Picture

2008-10-27T10:23:00.001-04:00

Testing out the new subscription service linked to this blog. You can enter your email address on the upper left sidebar and get email notifications of new posts.

She's Growing on Him

2008-10-26T22:25:00.002-04:00

Kwamai has taken some time to warm up to Blacky, despite being the main protagonist in her joining us in the first place. Touching her has been something he's worked up to, but the other day he graduated to being able to pick her up. And then, like the rest of us, he didn't want to put her down.

Kwamai, Recycled

2008-10-26T22:21:00.002-04:00

Felicity enjoyed her "new" outfit, despite there being nary a pink thread. And we won't tell her if you won't that they were once boy clothes. I don't think Kwamai wore the sweater more than once, and he never did like the pants.

Introducing -- Blacky!!

2008-10-17T23:40:00.003-04:00

We have a new kitten.

Monday morning, Kwamai was playing outside and suddenly came running in the house, anxious about being chased. I poked my head out the door to see the tiniest, cutest little black kitty trundling down the driveway. I realized Kwamai's angst had come from this kitty (he's still a bit phobic about all animals), but my heart melted! We had just had a discussion around the dinner table not a week before where Erol revealed that he actually sort of liked cats. With an excitement that surprised even me, I said "Well, let's get one, then!"

Back to Monday. The cat followed Kwamai right up onto the porch and in a short minute was in my lap. Kwamai and Felicity headed off to catechesis, and Blacky (whom I had already named) sat in the yard, waiting. She became the talk of the neighborhood, and all the kids came to see her and to take turns holding her, and to come up with all sorts of reasons why Kwamai would not be able to keep her (fueled I think by jealousy, and the excitement...)

Erol came home from work, and I explained that there was this cat, she was cute, Kwamai and Felicity already loved her, and I'd heard how cats could even live outside. Erol said not much in reply (which is sort of his way, I guess!) Five minutes later, I opened the door, and -- imagine that -- in walked Blacky. Hmm. I guess she was an indoor cat now!

Long story short, we got all of her supplies the next day, got her thoroughly de-fleaed, learned she knew exactly what to do with a litter box, and that she was a bit tuckered out. She's much more playful now, loves to cuddle, and Erol even fell asleep with her nestled in the crook of his arm tonight.

We might need to get her a bright fuscia collar, though. When she sit on our black couch, you can hardly see her. By the types of teeth she has, I'm saying she's at least 8 weeks old, but she's almost small enough to hold in one hand.

"Blacky" is the most unoriginal name, but it just sprung from my lips when I first saw her. Felicity calls her "Red and Blue." Kwamai calls her "Black-Black," but also though Cesar would be a good name.

And if I thought it weren't enough that I occasionally get Kwamai and Felicity's names confused, once now when Felicity woke up in the middle of the night I called her "Cleo," the name of my cat when I was growing up.

The interesting thing to me is that the arrival of Blacky has finally made very evident to me the developmental difference between Kwamai and Felicity. She is so verbal, and so many of her interests over lap with Kwamai (although vice-versa does not always prove true) that I sometimes forget that she is only 3. But with Blacky, even though Kwamai still gets panicy when she runs to him, he understands her as a fragile creature. Felicity sees Blacky as a fun, living toy to play with. Blacky is very patient about being carried in gift bags and in general being picked up and carried everywhere (and she has not scratched anyone yet). But I need to repeatedly remind her to be gentle, to let her eat, etc. And we discovered tonight that Blacky is not too fond of Felicity's harmonica playing. She ran and hid under the china hutch!
Stay tuned for further adventures!

Social Circles

2008-10-10T17:07:00.002-04:00

Felicity has a new neighborhood friend. Her name is Maggie; she's 4 and she lives right across the street. They are happily playing together right now. Kwamai is off to a birthday party tonight for his friend who just turned 9. It will be a bowling party. Kwamai picked out a few small gifts for him and bought them with his own money. He also did not get all itchy to buy one of the same for himself, as he did just last summer, the last time we were birthday gift shopping. He is becoming more mature by the minute.

The Gang's All Here

2008-10-02T21:25:00.002-04:00

Here is a photo of Erol's whole extended family, taken at my mother-in-law's recent birthday party. Felicity the blond looks a bit out of place, doesn't she?

Harvest Time

2008-09-23T15:25:00.002-04:00

We dug up our whole crop of carrots today, pictured above. The whopper of the group was the two incher on top. This is close to the size they were supposed to be. You see the tiny pea-sized carrot to its left, which is a bit more typical of the size.

Not bad for our first year of gardening.

Yes, Kwamai Actually Said...

2008-09-18T23:29:00.002-04:00

We are on round two of exercises that Dr. Sobek has prescribed for Kwamai's vision therapy. Fortunately, we are passed the gruelling gross motor exercises like sit ups, and into repetitive left/right body crossover things. But part of the exercise is to pratice reading with a little frame window, so as to focus on only two to three words at a time. Doing this, Kwamai can read fluently, and he's even getting better at reading with expression.

But what surprised me was that tonight, after the physical exercises, I announced that it was time for the reading exercise. Kwamai said (drum roll, please)

"This is the best part!"

Too cool. :)

Um, What?

2008-09-17T17:17:00.002-04:00

I have often found communication with Kwamai not making any sense. We just had one such exchange, so I thought I'd capture it:

Me: Why don't you help me make dinner?
Kwam: I can't. It's too hard, and besides, we don't know where it lives.

Possible translation: he was worried about a new dog roaming through the neighborhood, which is why he came in from playing, and he probably heard me say something like "why don't you take the dog back home?"

I'll just take it as proof that he has an iron-clad focus on what is going on in his head. It just doesn't involve hearing other people right now.

Felicity's Lexical Pursuits

2008-09-17T00:29:00.002-04:00

Some time ago, Felicity received the Dick and Jane reader as a gift. From time to time we pick that book to read through before bed. And recently, I've noticed that Felicity is actually reading some of the words. We also have those magnetic poetry words on our fridge, and she can spot the word "baby," which is one she could identify from Dick and Jane. A few weeks ago we were going through some of the beginning readers friends had given us (who had retired from homeschooling first-graders). She asked if we could read them, and as I slowly read and pointed out words, she said a few of the words ahead of me. She now says she can read all the big words in Dick and Jane (meaning the huge-sized print on the title pages), and will read some of the repetitive words in the "stories". She often asks me to read words on signs or boxes, and some of her favorite games are "what starts with A" or listing rhyming words. Oh, and her other favorite game is to "match" things, so we will find piles of Bob the Builder objects or Thomas the train objects laying in piles around the house. (See, it isn't really just clothes and junk laying around; it's a taxonomist at work!)

"Shoulda Had a Camera" Moment

2008-09-15T22:16:00.003-04:00

Felicity picked up a scarf I had in the attic, which I had draped (with a dose of wishful thinking) over a basket of photos, to keep dust off them. It was one of those sheer scarves that adorned the head of many a woman 50 years ago when they just had their hair done and had to go out on a windy day.

I showed her how I could tie it under her chin. She went to look at herself in the mirror, smiled, and without missing a beat, said "I look like an egg!"

And she did! Such a laugh I had....

Beatboxers

2008-09-12T00:05:00.002-04:00

In the course of trying to describe for my esteemed blog readers the type of talent by which I find myself surrounded, I have, tonight, learned a new term. Beatboxing. Kwamai perhaps lead the way, but Felicity is currently the most prolific.

I have no footage of them yet, but check this out to get some small idea of what I mean. They don't do much of the "electronic" sound (thankfully!)

I have two questions racing each other for first to be asked: Where did my kids pick this up? and How has this odd childish pastime become a world-wide competitive craze?

Instruction Manuals

2008-09-11T23:37:00.002-04:00

Note in the picture that Felicity's book has a big "3" on it. These are child development books, specific to 3- and 7-year-olds. (I actually got the 4-year-old one as well since Felicity always strikes me as being just somewhere between her age and Kwamai's.)

This scene occurred shortly after we had gotten these books home from the library. They each grabbed "their" book, presumably to read up on what they should be up to for their respective ages. I wish I had taken a movie instead of a picture, because it was such a hilarious moment. The chairs represent a school bus (Felicity's invention) and they were actually arguing over whether they were going to school or staying at home. Take a guess which child thought which! They each had their "instruction manual" and were off to learn everything they needed to know.

For the record, the books are not all that helpful, to them or to me!

Karate Monstor

2008-09-04T16:31:00.002-04:00

Kwamai did his month of karate lessons. He has decided it wasn't really his cup of tea. I've known he isn't one easily adaptable to formal instruction, but even so I was a little surprised that he described the karate teacher as "bossy". I watched him closely during his first lesson, and he was clearly having a good time trying his hardest to show his skill. The teacher noticed, as well, mentioning something about "oh, you've done this before I can tell." But when Kwamai realized that he wasn't really free to chat with the other kids or form relationships during the lessons he no longer really got the point of why they were all together, if just to be "bossed around" by the man in the black belt, without making any tangible progress.

But, all's well that ends well. Here is Kwamai dressing up a box in his uniform (which came free with the first month's tuition, thankfully!)

He's decided he wants to pursue swimming again as he did last fall.

Tooth on the Loose

2008-09-03T00:58:00.002-04:00

On Monday, Kwamai lost his very first tooth. He came in from playing and found his tooth much looser than it had been, and before long, out it came. It's the bottom left, the very first of his teeth to have come in (when he was a full year old).

I've read that maturity, learning-readiness, and tooth-losing all seem to occur together. This is proving very true for our Kwam.

The Harvest Begins

2008-09-03T00:56:00.002-04:00

Last week we harvested our very first carrot. It is not a bad specimen, considering it grew in almost solid clay. We split it four ways and we all agreed it was one of the most delicious carrots any of us had ever tasted.

Kwamai's New Glasses

2008-08-27T18:31:00.002-04:00

Here is Kwamai wearing his new focusing glasses. His optometrist (who specializes in developmental issues) discovered that while Kwamai has no vision problems (in the 20/20 sense) he has some significant focusing issues. It was a very interesting appointment as I watched the doctor test him in all sorts of different ways, and to see how much easier it was for him to do some thing with a trial pair of glasses on. So, now he has his own. He is excited about them in theory, but getting used to something new that feels funny on his face has not been the easiest thing.

It's Kwamai's birthday! Here's his movie

2008-08-08T00:17:00.002-04:00

Just Call me "Mom"

2008-08-06T23:23:00.002-04:00

Felicity does!

About a week ago, Felicity suddenly started calling me "Mom." I have always been Mama, and sometimes Mommy. But now I have suddenly become just "Mom."

Erol is "Pop" now, too, instead of Papa.

And yes, Kwamai is now sometimes "Kwam". Of course, the rest of us call him that too, so perhaps she was just working toward symmetry. She does like things to match.

Play Day

2008-07-30T23:34:00.003-04:00

Kwamai and Felicity spent the better portion of the day today playing with the two neighbor girls. They were busy arranging the many, many Little Tykes toys we've had lurking under our back porch, in a gated off undercroft now known as "the ground hog home." (I'll let you guess why!) They arranged all the toys and furniture "just so" to create a combination beauty and pizza parlor. Then, after they arranged it all, they spent a couple of hours playing with it, followed by an obligatory water fight. I had invited the girls over for pizza (which I made just for the youngers, to eat outside, together -- do you hear clandestine planning for a "night in" for Erol & me?). After pizza and some more playing, Felicity settled back into the house and Kwamai remained off playing. He always mourns not having "enough time" to play with the girls. So, hopefully today gave him a necessary shot in the arm.

I should have pictures, but I don't. Maybe tomorrow.

Firefighters to the Rescue!

2008-07-21T09:37:00.004-04:00

Kwamai and Felicity were deeply involved in a long game of firefighter last night. Here is Felicity the firefighter. (This picture persuaded me to trim her bangs in the bathtub last night!) She has rescued one of the cows from the burning barn, and is now chewing on him.

Here is Kwamai inside the firetruck.

Here is Felicity in the driver's seat of the truck, with Papa the firefighter in the side car. Note she is properly dressed in her fire boots and fire underwear.

Karate Dog Versus Super Duckie

2008-07-13T20:25:00.004-04:00

It is all voluntary, and no superheros were injured in the making of this picture.

Felicity Plays Independently

2008-07-11T19:13:00.003-04:00

... almost all day! No, you don't get it; she hardly ever does that. She's gotten the nickname "velcro girl"! I actually sought her out several times today and found her happily playing (dress up, dolls, little people, with Kwamai and his friend, in the sandbox).

I wonder, though, how much it has to do with Kwamai's friend having been over here since about 1:30. She adores Jonathan. Maybe his presence transports her somewhere beyond constantly being at my side!

2008-07-02T15:26:00.002-04:00

Felicity's current fascination is with Bill Nye the Science Guy. We have his Water Cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection) video from the library right now, and Felicity has watched it about a dozen times. Kwamai likes it too. For that matter, I like them too! We will pick up another from the library shortly (although we have to special order them).

Kwamai picked up one of Felicity's books last night (a basic story book), and with help on only a few words, read the whole thing to her. His reading proficiency has shot up this year to be sure!

Mushrooms

2008-07-02T15:22:00.004-04:00

Felicity has been very interested in the mushrooms which have been growing in abundance in our back yard. She's harvested three crops in the last few days.

Here is the first crop.

And here is today's crop, artfully arranged in a vase.

I wonder if they are edible?

Rejoicing at the Water Fountain

2008-07-02T15:17:00.001-04:00

Bike Takes a Hike

2008-06-22T23:55:00.003-04:00

Well, the bike riding joys were short lived. Last weekend Kwamai left the bike at the end of the block when he scraped his toe on the sidewalk. He didn't remember to go fetch it for nearly 48 hours. And of course, it was gone.

Sigh.

Well, they say you never forget how to ride. He may have to test that saying for awhile, though.

Kwamai Rides a Bike

2008-06-12T15:41:00.003-04:00

Completely on his own, Kwamai mastered bike riding today. I told him he accomplished this feat a full 17 years younger than I did! He was a bit shaking due to being filmed, but you can see him happily riding off into the sunset. And this on a bike once used by our 17 year old neighbor, which was just given to Kwamai three days ago.

Growth!

2008-06-09T22:45:00.002-04:00

In January we did one of those making-a-mark-on-the-basement-wall to show how tall Kwamai and Felicity were. Kwamai saw the marks today, and had me compare his height. It seems he's grown nearly an inch since January. Felicity on the other hand seems to have gotten shorter.

Um... or something.

What we're reading these days

2008-06-09T22:40:00.002-04:00

Doctor Doolittle's Caravan, by Hugh Lofting. This is the fourth out of ten Hugh Lofting books in the Doctor Doolittle series, when read in order of internal chronology at least. Kwamai absolutely loves these books, and generally he follows every detail very well. It may also help that we often read before bedtime lately, so he's keen on having me read and read and read without stopping.

Flip Flops

2008-06-05T23:35:00.002-04:00

is the name of the latest craze!

We bought Kwamai a pair while at Shopko (buying a new air mattress). Felicity didn't seem too interested, and they had none in pink or in her size. But we all quickly discovered that she was just as interested, and even declared green her new favorite color. At one point a significant fight ensued, which finally resolved with Felicity consenting to return Kwamai's shoes, and a pledge from Papa to buy her her own. I told those adults assembled, "and you think brokering peace in the Middle East is hard work!"

And yes, if you look closely you will noticed Felicity has hers on the opposite feet. The amazing thing is she can point out left and right correctly and will say "I have left on left and right on right" or "left on right and right on left".

Planting Flowers

2008-06-05T23:28:00.006-04:00

Kwamai and Felicity each planted a flower in Grandma's garden area.

This is the "aerial" view from the porch upstairs.

Kwamai posing with his finished project.

Felicity works at digging a hole.

Kwamai waters the "Felicity" plant.

The happy gardeners, job completed.

Kwamai's New Kite

2008-06-05T23:16:00.005-04:00

Kwamai loves the kite he received from Tama Bonnie. We took it to the field across from Grandma's condo to try it out.

Kwamai had it up and flying in no time, and even figured out how to do some stunts with it.

Felicity gave it a go, too. Not bad for a relatively windless day!

Sleeping Beauties

2008-06-05T23:15:00.000-04:00

This is the inevitable, but unenviable, reality of long car trips: kids sleep and parents stay awake. Of course, upon arriving at the destination, there is a strong inclination the opposite way on the part of both parties. Therein lies the rub!

And Speaking of Weddings

2008-05-24T11:12:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Felicity asked to see my wedding dress, so I hauled it out of its resting place. Here are the pictures and video I took:

It might be hard to make out all the conversation, but at one point Felicity asks me whether you need to be big before getting married, and asks how one gets married. Then she decides to play hide and seek in the skirt, but finally decides a game of "tidy up" would be more fun. (What a girl!)

Anniversary Pics

2008-05-24T11:05:00.005-04:00

Considering that Kwamai and Felicity had been in a sword and shield battle just moments before, these pictures turned out looking rather placid. (And I do mean the sword and the shield were used for punking each other!)

Here is our traditional "with flowers" pose for our wedding anniversary, May 22. I couldn't decide which one to make the official picture, so I'll post a few.

Obviously this does not capture Felicity's best side.

Always so hard to capture just the right pose! But the live action shots are nice, I think.

Good Reads

2008-05-14T23:17:00.003-04:00

We've been hitting read-alouds pretty heavy these last few weeks, as I mentioned awhile back. We are currently on our second Doctor Doolittle book: Doctor Doolittle's Post Office. The version we are reading has nearly 400 pages, but fortunately many of them are pictures, so we are still able to get through it at a fairly good clip.

Kwamai gets absorbed in the story. Felicity, of course, is less able to track and pay attention, especially when I read seven chapters at a sitting! But she is generally patient, or goes off to do her own thing while I read to Kwam.

I happened to note that The Great Turkey Walk that we finished a few weeks ago is considered at a 4th-7th grade reading level. I'm not sure that reading level and being-read-to-level are the same, because certainly children can comprehend more than they can fill their own minds with. When we began Post Office I would ask Kwamai some questions to see if he comprehended, and even though he struggles with coming up with the right words for his thoughts, he was able to convey that he was tracking with me and usually understood the flow of the story. (I actually started doing this because we were experimenting with whether he was actually able to listen and play a computer game at the same time. We discovered that was a no-go.)

Complete aside: today he asked me "What is a Marine Dolphin?" Turns out what he really wanted to ask was what is a Navy SEAL. Close.

Duets

2008-05-13T00:40:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned before how much both Kwamai and Felicity love to sing. Today (well, yesterday now that it's after midnight) Kwamai was singing a song about all the different types of birds he knows of. Oh, and we still get bathroom language songs, but at least they are becoming more sophisticated. Kwamai and Felicity will trade off parts: one will do the background "oh, oh, ohs" and the other will sing the, um, lyrics, and then switch back and forth at a prearranged signal.

Felicity also has an excellent sense of rhyme and rhythm. The other day I asked her what she wanted on her toast, and within a few seconds she was off singing "butter, butter, peanut butter, jam and butter -- toast!"

It Must Have Been a Mind-Blowing Gathering

2008-05-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

Felicity gathers the Nativity scene participants for a pow-wow. As you can see, baby Jesus (with His back to you) is the only one who has managed to keep all of his head.

I Feel Like Tom Sawyer

2008-05-09T15:56:00.004-04:00

Today I got Felicity and Kwamai both exceptionally interested in the workings of the washing machine. Felicity is already very possessive of helping with the laundry task, so she didn't need much prompting. But we observed all of the cycles and I explained what all the knobs were for.

Then I managed to get Kwamai very excited about using our push mower. He got tired out, but not until after doing quite a good job on the back yard. The structure of the mower has him pushing it with his arms straight above his head, though, not a simple manner.

Oh, and Kwamai cooked his own sausage for lunch.

I imagine myself ten years from now, living a life of ease...

Recovery

2008-05-06T23:34:00.002-04:00

Kwamai has been struggling with this weird virus now, too. Fortunately he did not have a wheezing attack (his chiropractor will be glad to hear the adjustments have helped), but he still had a hard time breathing yesterday, with his little chest heaving in and out. Sleep seems to be the key to recovery, as he got lots of it yesterday and showed evidence of needing more throughout today.

Kwamai and Felicity's new favorite fight to have is for each of them to hug on to me and say "She's MY mommy." "No, she's MY mommy." How can I get mad at this?

We are Piggies

2008-05-05T00:57:00.003-04:00

I think Felicity's fascination with pigs started when she saw a picture of a sow nursing six piglets in a library book. She has felt great affection for the beasts ever since, and she and I regularly called each other "Mama Piggie" and "Felicity Piggie." Of course, the rest of the family are piggies as well (but perhaps they don't quite get into the title as much as we do).

Oink!

Overheard

2008-05-03T19:38:00.002-04:00

Kwamai and Felicity calling to each other: "Brother?" "Sister?"

Apparently a take-off on how Kwamai will play with the neighbor girl that they are siblings. How odd; siblings playing that they are each other's siblings.

Update: It's Spring Now!

2008-05-02T22:41:00.003-04:00

I'm passed due for something like an update. I think I may need to just change the focus of this blog a bit so that I can have something specific to keep up with, say, funny comment of the day or one interaction or something.

Anyway, while I cogitate on that, here's what we've been doing:

Kwamai and I have dug up a portion of dirt where our garage used to be and we intend to have a garden there. Kwamai chose carrot and corn seeds to plant. The soil is almost solid clay, so I don't know how the growing will go, but we have plenty of leaves to dig in as mulch. I'm thinking of adding some beans, just because it is one veggie we all like. Kwamai is willing to do the work in theory, but muscle man though he is, he has some trouble digging up huge shovelfulls of dirt. We need to wait for that frost threat to go away so we can plant. Then the fun will begin. And hopefully our neighborhood groundhog will leave them alone!

Felicity likes to go through her days singing. So does Kwam, for that matter. She and I have started singing morning and bedtime prayers together, just simple little songs. She likes to do things in set routines, the same thing every day. That's obviously not from my genetic make up. But perhaps she will help me in that department.

Felicity right now has a little wheeze. We took her to her doctor today, and he said he's not worried about it, prescribed a homeopathic remedy and albuterol if the former doesn't take. She at least is sleeping, which hopefully will be an all-night trend.

We've been doing more read-alouds. I've been reading a book on the value of reading aloud to kids of all ages, and I think I'm becoming truly addicted! I just feel so much better after we read several chapters of a novel together. We finished The Great Turkey Walk, a story of a teen who becomes a turkey drover and we are currently reading the first of the Doctor Doolittle books. This along with lots of picture books and story books.

For awhile we were on a Rogers and Hammerstein kick. We watched The King and I and .. what was that other one... but then Oklahoma was not such a big hit. We saw Meet Me in St. Louis. Both Kwamai and Felicity like the dance numbers. Kwamai is considering trying out for a part in a local production of Beauty and the Beast this summer, with the production in the fall. He has to get over the idea that it is too girly, however.

Kwamai still likes his nightly audiobooks. Right now he is listening to an historical fiction book about Bull Run. He seems to like historical fiction or dramatizations about historical figures quite a bit.

He also is showing interest in piano. He used to just bang on the pianos of friends, but he treats them respectfully these days and likes to spontaneously compose little tunes. He wants to take lessons from the father of a friend who teaches using the Suzuki method. We'll see. We never did get around to karate lessons, although I think he gets a lot out of doing his own freestyle work in that department.

Felicity is very concerned with counting things, often starting the first moments after she wakes up. She also has a very good grasp of phonetic sounds and will randomly say things like "Thomas starts with T." Her grammar is going downhill the more she imitates Kwamai however. She no longer says "We went to the store" but rather "We goed to the store."

I never realized how easy parenting becomes at the point where you try to teach the older child how not to aggravate the younger child. "Don't try to force her or you'll lose all hope of getting her cooperation!" It's a great two-fer. But the trick comes in trying not to force him to not force her!

Kwamai has a very busy social life. His circle of friends has expanded beyond just the next door neighbors to include several families round about us. Even among kids close to his age, most of his friends are older, by about two years. (He used to gravitate only to the neighborhood teenage boys.) And while I'm certainly open to him making all sorts of new friends, it is a good thing at this stage that I know the families of all of his friends, most of them quite well. And yes, the girls are starting to try to give him hugs and kisses, especially our goddaughter Lucia, who is 5. She has already decided that she and Kwamai are getting married. Kwamai just rolls his eyes!

Ok, I'll try to get on task with a few "things of the day" here soon.

Slacker Mom Posts Birthday Pictures

2008-04-26T14:20:00.007-04:00

Forgive me, I just am behind. Miss Felicity turned 3 on Sunday the 20th, and here I am finally getting some pictures of the day posted.

We had a simple lunch and a nice gathering with family and friends. Felicity enjoyed romping through the house with her balloons (see the movie).

My PhotoShow Experiment

2008-04-04T23:00:00.001-04:00

I'll try something a bit more organized later on...

Felicity's Performance

2008-04-01T19:39:00.003-04:00

Felicity was in a musical mood this evening, so I caught her action on video. About half way through, the songs become intelligible (even more so if you regularly watch Barney). She was going to launch into the soulful tune "Walk Together Children" when Kwamai began, uh, to want to demonstrate all his talents to the video. Some of which truly are not fit for public consumption.

Yet another interesting "live" glimpse of our daily life!

Chicken Bones

2008-04-01T19:36:00.003-04:00

Felicity enjoys eating her chicken right down to the bone! Mama Grandma would be so proud...

Belated Easter Pictures

2008-04-01T19:28:00.005-04:00

Kwamai was our photographer for the group shot, which explains where his face is. These were taken on Holy Saturday, before the vigil.

Vocational Adjustment

2008-03-30T13:19:00.005-04:00

Kwamai has decided he wants to design weapons for the army (we decided this would be called mechanical engineering), AND be a baker (confectionery engineering).