1964: The Tribute

Last night Becky and I went to a hospital dinner that featured enterainment by 1964: The Tribute. They are a Beatles tribute band that not only sing like the early Beatles, they play like them, talk like them and look like them. They performed many of the favorite Beatles tunes from the early days and got a bunch of doctors and their spouses dancing - including us. Needless to say, that doesn't happen often. Though neither of us were born then (sorry, had to mention it) it still caused a bit of a flashback moment for Becky because she saw this same band perform at a live concert in college. Big difference this time - no mosh pit and no large guys dropping on her head after being body surfed in her direction.

Mom's Day at MVCDS

Every year at Alex's school they invite the parents to participate in a day of school with the kids. Last year Jason got to go for Dad's Day. This year I (Becky) got to go for Mom's Day. I have been waiting for a year and a half to have Mom's Day at school with Alex. I have been at school many times for field trips, Alex's birthday and preschool parties, but this was special, he didn't want me to leave his side all day (8:15 am - 3:00 pm). I got to see how he starts his day in class and he introduced me and I got to tell what I do for a living. I simply stated that I am the mom of Alex and Aaron and have started my own handmade jewelry business. Alex had to write in his journal about occupations and then we had to write 3 letters to people in the preschool (I wrote a special one for Alex) and mail them. Alex was assistant postmaster that day. They cancel the stamps and deliver the mail for the day. Our next task was to draw and color a 2 sided flag of our choosing (Alex wanted the American flag) to be used later.

Alex then had to go to "specials". First was gym. I saw him run and run playing tagging games. Next was art. I got to help him decorate his police car (their vehicles unit) that he had constructed. It was great fun. I also got to be surrogate mom for those kids who didn't have their moms there, due to work or visiting older siblings (that will be me in a couple of years). Then we headed back to the classroom to finish our work and then on to lunch. Friday is Papa John's Pizza day. We also had a fruit cup and carrots. Alex opened my milk carton and gave me a straw and napkin. He wanted me all to himself at our own table. We gobbled down our food and ran out to recess. We played hide and seek, jump rope, hopscotch and basketball. When we came back in we had "DEAR" time. That means Drop Everything And Read. Alex had brought in a book that he loves for me to read to him. He chose "I Will Always Love You", about a bear named Alex that breaks his mom's honey bowl and he worries if he does other bad things will she always love him. I knew he would choose that one.

Next all the kids (57) got their flags and went into the old auditorium (75 years old) single file for the preschool olympics procession. Then they had 3 events, bobsledding (using belly scooters),speed skating (using paper plates as skates) and hockey (spongey sticks and balls). Then for the closing ceremony, everyone got medal ribbons for their shirts and then the kids and moms did some ice dancing all together. We all had paper plates under our shoes. It was a hoot.

After that excitement Alex could choose an indoor activity or go back outside, so out we went. Before school let out we sat down in class and decorated a new art protfolio for Alex's work. There was a little closing meeting where we charted how many gold, silver and bronze medals the U.S.A. had earned to that point.

I will never forget our big day. Alex and the school made me feel very special.

Toothbrush Race

This isnt always going to work, but I've tapped into Alex's competitive nature to get him to brush his teeth longer. We got him a battery powered toothbrush (with Spiderman on it no less) but he still would give only a lackluster effort when brushing his teeth. He's really getting too old for us to do it for him. So, he and I have been racing to floss and brush our teeth. The catch is that he who finshes first loses. I don't dilly-dally, but I do floss and brush my teeth thoroughly while he's trying to do the same. Even though I have more teeth, he'll keep brushing until I yell, "Finished!" and then show him a look of disappoinment when I realize that he is still going at it. Hopefully the habits will stick.

Super Aaron and Super Alex

The kids watch Play With Me Sesame with the characters from Sesame Street on Noggin. There is a skit on there where Super Grover encourages kids to "Put on your helmet. Now, put on your cape. Now, fly around the room." Aaron loves to do this even when the show is not on, so Grammy made the boys helmets and capes to help them with their make-believe.

Introducing Cool Steam

I've been looking back over this blog with a critical eye, and I've realized that I've been straying a bit from my original mission. I want this blog to be a bit of a scrapbook about our family and things we've been doing, especially where the kids are concerned. I want to instantly share fun pictures as soon as I have them on the computer. Some of my posts have been little essays about topics that interest me, reviews of movies that aren't exactly family fare, and recipes that I've tried. I like writing about those things, so I've created a new blog to explore these topics and some others that I've intentionally left out of this one, like politics. If you're interested, check out the new blog - Cool Steam - at coolsteam.blogspot.com.

AIAI in a Green Ball

Alex's new favorite videogame is a fun one called Super Monkey Ball 2 that has a quartet of monkeys that are trying to save their island from the evil Dr. BAD-BOON. They do this by rolling around in balls to and solving 3-D puzzles. You can also have fun by playing monkey ball mini- games like Monkey Baseball or Monkey Bowling (the monkeys are in the bowling ball and hurtle themselves toward the pins). The leader is a chimp named AIAI. This is AIAI in a green ball by Alex.

Aaron's 2-year-old Checkup

Aaron went to the doctor today for his 2 year old checkup. He's doing well. For those keeping score at home, he weighed 26 lbs. and measured 32 1/4 inches long. He didn't like holding still for the exam parts. He did cooperate with telling his doctor most of the words he knows, many of which he's developed over the last month. Next routine checkup is in a year.

Alex's Week Ending Feb. 16, 2006

Today was my last day of school this week. I learned it's almost George Washington's birthday. I twisted my ankle today when I was running through the house. It's feeling better now. My brother Aaron turned 2 years old this weekend. We got to have a birthday cake with an Elmo sticker that we could eat on it. It was yummy - it had white strawberry-flavored icing.

Aaron's New Stepstool

Aaron got a present in the mail today. Papa made him his very own stepstool like his brother's. He loves sitting on it and he and Alex posed side by side for me, with Alex sitting on the stool Papa made him. Thanks, Papa!

Aaron Turns Two

We celebrated the second anniversary of the birth of our youngest son today. Aaron turned 2 today - which, not coincidentally, has become his new favorite number. We started the celebration last night with dinner at the Champps restaurant at the mall and then a screening of the new Curious George movie (very well done adaptation). Aaron loved the movie so much that he talked about it incessantly...during the movie. Mostly he wanted to make sure I was paying attention and took note of whatever fascinated him at the moment - DADDY?!?! as he was pointing at the screen.

Today we opened presents after eating the cake Becky made. Aaron got a lot of fun Playmobile toys, bath toys, and educational games and toys. He still likes to open one thing at a time and then play with it for awhile, while the rest of us were encouraging him to move on to the next gift. After a well deserved nap, we found out that Chuck E Cheese's is VERY crowded on a Saturday night. Aaron and Alex had a blast. Now we begin the Terrible Twos. As what I'm sure is a premonition of what is to come, his newest favorite word is "No." However, to his credit, his still says it very cutely.

Double Layer Chocolate Elmo Cake with Strawberry Frosting

The title says it all. Becky made this one herself for Aaron's birthday. We had a small family celebration and didn't need a a lot of extra cake sitting around. The centerpiece is an edible sticker sheet, but Becky did everything else, including baking the two layers, flavoring the icing, piping on the decorative icing and writing on it with more colored icing. have I mentioned the icing? It was delicious!

Occupations Day: Family Physician

Alex's kindergarten had a special guest today that he got to introduce - his dad! I was asked by his teacher to come and speak to the entire preschool/ kindergarten (50+ kids) about being a being a doctor during occupations month. Alex got to be my model to show them how I used some of my tools. 

Aaron's Big Boy Bed

Becky and Susan heard a thump during naptime today and found that Aaron had built up the courage to climb out of his crib. He's such climber that we knew it was only a matter of time. So before bedtime, Becky and I took the front rail of the crib of, put up a roll guard, and put a child safety gate in his doorway. He loves the change. We're still getting used to it. Our baby is growing up!

Cellphone Safety Tip Of The Day

Don't drop your cell phone down a flight of stairs while in the open position.

Field Trip to the Fire Station

Today Alex's class went to the Perrysburg, OH Fire Station. He got to meet the firefighters, hear about fire safety, and check out the vehicle in the apparatus bay. He really enjoyed it. Becky volunteered as a chaperone and took these great pictures.

Underworld: Evolution

Every once in a while I can talk Becky into seeing a vampire movie with me. I'm not sure why I like them - they're usually stylized productions with often very clear delineations between good and evil. My favorite movies tend to play with these conventions and blur that line. Underworld and its sequel that we saw today, Underworld: Evolution, do just that. As with most of these, it was gorier than Becky usually prefers. I enjoyed this one more than its precursor because it seemed more original in its style, whereas the first movie was derivative of several other movies I had seen. If you like action-packed horror movies, this one is a must see. This one is definitely not for the kids.

Playing In A Meager Snow

The forecasters called for 4-6 inches in our area, but we got less than an inch. However, we did promise the kids a romp in the snow. There wasn't too much to do other than slide down the plastic slide and throw handfuls around. It wasn't a "snowman snow" - not sticky enough to roll into balls. The kids loved it anyway.

Alex's Sunburst

Alex made this at school this week. It is a painted on white paper, then cut out and pasted to blue construction paper. It is a little larger than would fit on the scanner but this gives you the idea.

Alex's Week Ending Feb. 3, 2006

At school I made a headband and a bracelet out of connecting plastic pieces that I got to bring home. I got enough Play Points to open a new mini-game in Super Monkey Ball 2 on our GameCube. We played a new game in Music class called Cut The Cake. Grammy came to see us today. We picked her up at the airport during a snowstorm. We might make a snowman tomorrow if we have enough "snowman snow".

[This is the first of what I hope to be a weekly feature on the Evans Family Blog, similar to a Newsletter that his class does for school each week. I'm transcribing, but eventually he may type these in. -JE]

Alex's MidTerm Report Card

Ok, he really doesn't get a report card. We sat down with his teacher and reviewed his progress so far. Becky had to do the last one by herself in October because I was in Louisiana. Overall he's doing very well. He's one of the best readers in his class and had strong academic strengths all around. His biggest areas of concern were mostly with behavior issues. At times he is a follower when other kids are misbehaving. He also will do anything for a laugh and doesn't know when enough goes to too much. I'd say we've seen a general improvent in this since last year as he has gotten older and is in a smaller class. By the end of the conversation we were quite pleased overall with what we heard. The areas of improvement he has to work on were about what we expected.

This week we met with the Head of the Lower School to find out what 1st grade would be like. They actually spend 2 years in the Primary level of Lower School, correspoinding to 1st and 2nd grade. So, he'll be joining some kids who've already been there a year, many of them he'll be rejoining from when they advanced out of Kindergarten last year. This pattern continues through Middle School ("8th grade") so he'll get to know the kids in his grade level and one year in either direction. This allows older kids to help him when he needs it and for him to reinforce what he knows by helping kids younger than him. We think it's a great system. We were very satisfied after talking to the Lower School Head about what next year holds for him. We're going to start doing "homework" now several nights a week - having Alex read to us or doing a workbook page - to prepare him for what he will be doing next year.