Happy Holidays from Aaron, Diana, Connor, and Mei!
Category Archives: photos
Seeing the world through my viewfinder.
Christmas Preparation Festivities
We hauled the Christmas decorations down out of the attic this Saturday: pre-lit artificial tree, giant box of ornaments and other holiday accoutrements (including the baby Santa hat that Connor still manages to fit on his noggin every year), giant box containing the Very Breakable lighted ceramic tree with music box, and the toy train that Grandpa Jim got Connor a couple years back.
This year, Connor decided to put the stickers on all the signs, then plunk them around the perimeter of the tree skirt. Mei was clearly unfazed.
After the halls were bedecked, Connor decided it was time to write out his Christmas list. Most of his wish list items came from the Mindware catalog that showed up in our mailbox, and a great many items made it onto his Amazon Wish List.
Connor’s already asking when we can go back to Children’s Wonderland to see Santa. Last year was the first time we took him to see Santa, and it clearly made an impression. I still haven’t been able to make myself use Santa as a behavioral prompt — Santa’s watching you!
It’s still early — not even December yet — but the holiday season is off to a good start.
First Grade!
[Taken August 20, 2018 at 6:53AM]
He was the first to arrive at Extended Time before school this morning, and complained to me this evening that all he could do was play dollhouse with the few girls who showed up until they opened the gym. I’m planning to let him bring a toy and a book tomorrow, just for before school.
Apart from that, and us not knowing he’d need an afternoon snack from home, the first day of First Grade sounds like it was a good one.
Fuzzy Bumble
[Taken July 27, 2018 at 9:19AM]
Visitors to the Front Garden
This evening, after my daily 15 minutes of weeding, I sat down in my front garden to enjoy the flowers and flying things.
I saw a female hummingbird last week, so I was only moderately surprised (but still super thrilled) to see a male ruby-throated hummingbird stopping to enjoy nearly every single milkweed bloom, sharing space with the giant fuzzy bumblebee that was also enjoying the buffet.
What DID surprise me was the monarch butterfly flitting overhead. It didn’t stop to taste any of the flowers — it just fluttered in loops and figure-eights above the garden.
When it finally lit on a tree branch, I stood and slowly crept up to it with my cameraphone snapping away.
It let me get within a couple inches of it, and didn’t fly away until my phone and I had backed off.
Enjoy the milkweed, Your Majesty.