Time Spotting

Simon is completely obsessed with clocks and time now. He'll lay in bed at night just staring at his digital clock. We can tell how late he stays up, because one time he was so excited to tell us that "12:12" is a real time!  He loves watching the hour change and any time there are repeated numbers. The drive home from school is always very exciting because he usually gets to see 5:55.

Here are a few of his favorite times:

Here's a couple of videos of him watching the time change.

He also loves typing the numbers into the calculator. You can't see it very well, but in this photo both the time on the oven and the numbers on the calculator say 1111.

BBQ Plans

We are eating supper on the back deck, and Simon notices a wasp on the door.

He asks, "How will we get back in the house because there’s a wasp on the door?"

Zac says, "Well we do have another door." We also discussed the possibility that the wasp would  fly away.

But then, I also say, "We could just stay out here forever. I mean, we’ve got a grill and plenty of meat."

Simon thinks about it for a moment, and catches on. He looks right at me and says, "Mom, I’ll eat Dad and you can eat Alice." 

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Simon working at school

When I picked up Simon from school today, he was working away on this incredible volcano picture.

Menagerie

As our friends Kate and Rob pack up and get ready to move, they've been finding some stuff to give to the kids. So now we are the proud owners of a large stuffed iguana. Alice loves it, and it seems to be making new friends.

Volcano!

Alice Roller Skating

It was a lovely rainy Saturday morning, perfect for taking Alice to the roller skating rink.  She did much better this time, and by the end even skated on her own on the wooden floor.  (Usually she likes to do laps on the carpeted outer area.)

Luckily, Parker was also there, so they got to hang out.

 And, I indulged and let Alice buy cotton candy. She was thrilled.

Simon's Musical Performance

The sign that strikes dread into my soul every year.

They had the kids design the backdrop.

Simon's drawing was a little different from the others.

We had to sit through many abysmal guitar performance groups until Simon's cohort came out. As soon as he saw us, he squeezed his eyes closed the whole time. It was hilarious.

But for the signing portion, our shy little Simon got up and sang at the microphone. He's hard to see since he's facing away from us, but he knows all the words and is singing at full volume.

The reward! Cupcakes!

Simon's Work

This first picture is of our house Simon drew at school. It's actually pretty good. Bottom right is the guest bedroom. Bottom left is the basement play room.  Then the main floor, where apparently we just stand around with our arms out. Then upstairs he is showing his and Alice's bedrooms with their ceiling fans. Then the attic is apparently just large boxes, which is also fairly accurate.

He's really into rainbows, suns, and moons. Often he'll draw an eclipse too, but not here.

Volcanoes are still a prominent artistic subject.

I have no idea what's going on here. 

I think he said this was a dinosaur.

Simon on a bike.

He loves writing in the numbers on the calendar and will often make his own. I'm impressed by his neat handwriting.

Alice's Artwork

I don't know anything about the other pictures, but Alice explained that this first one is a Hamburger-Bat-Cat.

Mother's Day

For mother's day, we had pancakes for breakfast out on the deck, then opened presents in the basement (where the new homemade Lego table was revealed).  

After that, we had lunch and drove to Burlington to watch Amelia's performance in the Lion King.  The kids did great and loved it!

Then we headed back to Fountain Place for some fish feeding, video games, and scooter riding.

Biking

Simon loves riding bikes! Now that he's getting better, Zac will take the kids on bike rides down to the park.

Blue Jay Point

On Sunday, Zac took the kids to Blue Jay Point, up at Falls Lake. They appear to have had a great time!

 

Playdate at Eastgate Park

I drove the kids to a new park in North Raleigh for a playdate with Izzy, Oscar, Xavier and Felix.  Alice was in a weird mood most of the time, but Simon had a lot of fun.

The ice cream truck came right at the end, to the delight of all.

Home Depot Workshop

On the first Saturday of every month, Home Depot has a kids workshop where they come and build a craft. This morning's project was a flowerpot windmill.

Daycare Mother's Day Celebration (Last One)

I went to the last Mother's Day celebration at Simon's daycare this morning. We ate breakfast together, then did the morning circle together. Simon actually sang this year!

He asked me to read him the poem and I started to but then choked up and cried. Jeez.