When the camera comes out these days, Tess is far more interested in looking at it than in smiling for it. So we’re trying to get a good, big grin and haven’t been able to in a while. But in the second row, you can see her teeth! And she’s pretty cute even without the big grin.
N: Hey Mama, you know what the back of a ship is called? The poop deck. [mischievous grin] Haha. The poop deck.
Naomi: Mom, you know when I read or hear something sad, I feel like I’m going to cry.
Me: Yeah, that can happen.
Naomi: I get a lump in my throat. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m about to cry. I think it’s a clump of dry tears.
I told the kids the other day about an elderly neighbor of ours who is moving with his wife to an assisted living facility because of mobility issues. I suggested that maybe we should send a note to them, and maybe we’d go visit once they got settled in.
Me: Mr. B. is probably sad that he’s not going to be able to be in his garden this year.
Naomi: Maybe we should take care of his garden for him!
Simeon: Maybe we should buy him a wheel chair!
Me: Um…maybe…
Naomi: Simeon, a wheel chair would be very expensive! Maybe even a hundred dollars!
Simeon: We could take it and not pay.
At which point I thought to point out that maybe we should visit Mr. and Mrs. B. and see if they needed anything before we decide what to do for them. Stealing wheel chairs isn’t going to be on the list in any case.
Our trip was almost a month ago now, but I still wanted to share some fun pictures. One of the days, we arranged to meet our friend Fr. Jerome, who is now at a parish in Los Angeles. We decided to meet partway between LA and San Diego, and on our way up there, we stopped at La Jolla to see the harbor seals again. Last time we were there, Sim called them water kitties. They were still really cute, and it was pupping season again!
Can you see Michael up on the top of the cliff? He’s in the middle of the picture. He was waiting near the car with Tess, because Sim had fallen asleep in the car. Sim ended up waking up in time to see the harbor seals from afar. The big girls and I got up close.
We then met up with Fr. Jerome, had a delicious lunch at a place called Q’ero (South American food – delicious!), and went to the San Diego Botanic Garden, which isn’t actually in San Diego. It was a lot of fun, though. It’s a gorgeous garden, and they have a great children’s garden, including a huge climbing structure.
As you can see, a good time was had by all. We highly recommend both the La Jolla harbor seals and the San Diego Botanic Garden if you’re in the San Diego area.
Sim had a math lesson yesterday. It was his first one ever. I’ve noticed that lately he’s seemed like he wanted his own school time with Mama, so I thought starting with the very simple math lessons at the beginning of the beginner’s book would be a good fit. He breezed happily through the lesson, which took 10 minutes or so. Hannah and Naomi were very enthusiastic and encouraging, telling him how fun math is (this was from Hannah, who professes to hate math…) and how great it was that he was doing it.
Once the lesson was over, it was like a shark feeding frenzy.
Hannah: Sim, I could be your teacher! How would you like Hannah to teach you?
Naomi: [displaying the clock we’ve been using to teach her to tell time] Sim, what time does this say? No, it’s 7 o’clock. See, you look at where the minute hand is, and if it’s up at the twelve, then you look…
I quickly realized that his dear siblings, in their enthusiasm, would quickly frustrate Sim by offering problems that, at the tender age of three with very little math instruction under his belt, he could not be expected to do. I had to explain this to Naomi in particular. I reminded her that he didn’t actually know how to read numbers yet, so telling time might need to wait a while.
Next thing I knew, Naomi was trying to teach Sim to read numbers.
I think Simeon’s usually happy-go-lucky outlook is going to be a necessary part of his education, if only to stand the intensity of having two very well-meaning and enthusiastic older sisters.
Despite the quiet on the blog, lots has been going on at our house.
Tess is old enough to start solids! I think I’d be a bit more excited about this if she actually liked any of the solids we’ve tried. Here’s what she doesn’t like: sweet potatoes, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, avocado. Here’s what she tolerates sometimes: rice, applesauce. Here’s what she likes: gnawing on fresh apple or pear or carrot, as long as no pieces actually break off. So I think we’ll take a break and try again in a week or two, hoping that she’ll like things more then.
Sim is using the glider! Today was his first day. He’s been using the tricycle, and he’s great at pedaling. The next step is to learn to balance, hence the glider. When he first tried it, he started crying. He hadn’t actually fallen, nor had he failed, but he was crying. However, I convinced him to give it a try, and by the end of the hour, he was excited and into it. He keeps asking when we’re going to go biking again, so I think he likes it now.
Naomi is using the 16” bike! Monday was her first day. She’s been using her 12” bike, and getting too big for it. When she first tried the new bike, she hated it and started crying. Hmmm… do I notice a pattern? Why, yes, I do! I convinced her to give it a try, and by the end of an hour, she was really excited and into it. She was especially excited because she can keep up with Hannah better. Somewhat predictably, Hannah wasn’t as excited about that part.
Hannah hasn’t moved up a bike since last summer when she got her new GEARED bike, but she is moving into division in math. She doesn’t seem too concerned…or excited. It’s crazy to me that I have a child old enough to do division in math. She also learned that there’s a subject called English at away school, which involves reading! “Mama, can I do English?!?” I had to break it to her that she already does do English, we just haven’t been calling it that. Humph. She bought some new seeds for her garden today: “Mama, I just LOVE garden stores! I think I get that from you.” Indeed.
Naomi turned six last week while we were in San Diego. She had been somewhat hesitant about the idea of a birthday in San Diego, which was alarming, since the tickets had already been purchased. She decided, in the end, that she would like to have her birthday there (phew!), and ended up enjoying it immensely.
For her birthday activity, she chose to go to the beach. Not to swim, as it wasn’t warm enough, but to play in the sand and wade a bit.
It was a gorgeous day.
And a gorgeous beach.
And everyone was harmoniously enjoying the beach. Except Tess, who didn’t like the wind, so went to sleep in the front pack, with her head snuggled in so as to avoid the nasty wind.
The joy of the water on one’s toes,
the happiness of wearing a matching dress and hat, comforting a brother who fell into the surf with all his clothes on (“Sim, did you know that some people don’t have any brothers or sisters?!?), and the added felicity of going home to put on another dress, a new dress, made by Grandma Ellie and brought along to open on the day, all made for a great time morning.
Here’s the dress, although somewhat difficult to see because of the fleece.
Naomi’s choice for dinner: the food court at a local mall! She wanted a hot dog.
Hannah sponsored a ride on the carousel for her siblings – well, the ones old enough to ride the carousel. This was after dinner.
(Ummm…yeah…spinning ride right after dinner. This is reminiscent of Michael’s trip to the State Fair with the older kids, which was just after Tess was born. He told me how he’d fed them all lunch. “And then we went on the [spinning ride – can’t remember which].” He then realized his narrow escape, and we laughed about it. Then I was telling someone about this trip, and realized we’d done it again. So now I’ve developed our new slogan: The Bernsteins: Building Strong Stomachs One Spinning Ride After A Meal At A Time.
Does anyone want to join us for our next trip to the Fair?
I suppose the good news is that the kids do appear to have strong stomachs, as nobody lost their meals either time.)
Cookie cake, made at the rental house. Of course, the food court had a cupcake place. Of course, Michael and I didn’t even mention this, since our food allergies prevent visiting such a place.
Naomi wanted to put the icing on, and her will prevailed. Michael let her write her name.
Unbelievable that she’s six. She used to be so little!
