Just realized that this entry will mark exactly two years since I started this website. Wow, it really does go fast and so did this short month.
Lilah
These days Lilah is really into her tap/jazz class. She really loves to hear the Nutcracker music and do her routine which includes this tough little trick where she squats down and alternate kicking one leg out to the side then the other. I believe it’s called the Russian dance. She also likes go get dressed up in her dancing costume as often as possible.
The things that were suffering for a moment were her Spanish and piano classes. We got the typical “I don’t want to go to” statements from Lilah when it came to these activities. However, we also noticed that she curtailed her piano playing quite a bit because she’s found a new love — the computer. We haven’t introduced the kids to any wild, shoot ’em arcade games, but they do love to play the different educational games and can spend all day in front of the screen doing that if you don’t monitor them. Thus we have begun limiting computer time and Cathy has stepped up and begun sitting with Lilah while she practices her piano.
We both realized that we had gotten spoiled with Lilah because she would be the one who always took the initiative to go play her songs on the piano. But now it seems that she’s more willing to do it if we go with her and hang out with her. So that’s what we’ve done — although, when I sway “we” I mean it’s mostly Cathy. I do however read in Spanish with Lilah at nights to reinforce the things she is learning in her class.
Luke
Luke has become the shirtless wonder. He constantly complains about being hot when you have him in a long sleeve shirt and, on occasion, he also wants you to remove his short sleeve shirt because that makes him hot too. Of course, ten minutes later he’ll complain about being cold and ask you to put the shirt back on him.
He’s also becoming much more of a conversationalist. He will go back and forth with you on things now and follow along admirably. I mean it’s gotten to the point where Luke has become a bit of a smart alec. The other day, I went to check on him in the bathroom because I sensed he was just goofing around in there as part of his attempt to procrastinate going to bed. Here’s the exchange we had:
Me: Luke, are you ready yet?
Luke: Am I done brushing my teeth yet? (toothbrush and toothpaste in hand)
Dad: No
Luke: Then I’m not ready yet.
That exchange caught me so off guard that I had to excuse myself from the bathroom for a bit and go laugh. In many ways it reminded me of some of the rhetorical questions I would use against my teachers in high school in my own “smart alecky” days.
Another Photo Shoot
This month featured another chance for the kids to go hang out with my friend Tyson at his new business venture IcedPita Music lessons. Tyson needed some images of kids playing instruments and the kids did a pretty good job helping him — although we did run into Luke getting hot again under the lights and insisting to take his shirt off during the time he waited for Lilah to pose. However, we got through the shoot pretty quickly and the kids enjoyed seeing the final pictures of themselves on the actual site:
That wraps up another month with plenty of action on deck including cousin Sebastian’s party in March and Luke’s party in early April. Until next time…