Arthur's First Day of School

 

Today was Arthur's first day of school!* He is in the Red Room, where Beatrice started out, with Miss Maria and Miss Charlie.  Beatrice, meanwhile, is right across the courtyard in the Yellow Room.

 

Heading into the unknown

 

Overall the first day went relatively well.  Unlike his sister, who never cried once, Arthur burst into tears when I dropped him off this morning.  However, after I left the playground, I snuck back around to see what happened next.  Miss Maria called Beatrice over to help calm Arthur down, and a few minutes later Arthur was sitting in Miss Maria's lap quietly playing in the sandbox.

 

When I came to pick him up four hours later, he was still sniffly and emotional.  Miss Maria told me that Beatrice had been called in again to cheer him up - I am really proud of Beatrice for being such a good sister - and that Arthur had insisted on being held by a teacher most of the day. 

 

 

When I asked him about his day he said, "I was sad," but conceded that he enjoyed playing in the sandbox and eating his lunch.  And he seemed enthusiastic about Friday's weekly pizza lunch, so I think things are looking up.



Eating snack (Cheerios and milk)

Playing in the sandbox during our tour

* Well, his first day alone. On Monday we went to school together for an introductory day.

Beatrice's Fourth Birthday Interview

It's time for another birthday interview!

1. Summer: What is your favorite food?
   Beatrice: Strawberries.
2. S: What is your favorite animal?
   B: Mouses, because they're very small.  We're doing an interview!
3. S: What is your favorite movie?
   B: Wreck It Ralph, because he starts to not wreck it things anymore at the end. [Dev took her to see this movie at the library a few months ago.]
4. S: What is your favorite thing to do at school?
   B: Play in the sandbox.  We're doing an interview!
5. S:What makes you the happiest?
   B: My Legos, because they help me build when I can't build. [She didn't clarify this.]
6. S: What makes you sad?
   B: Dying by lava.
7. S: What makes you scared?
   B: Seeing a monster.
8. S: What is one new thing you learned to do this year?
   B: Climb an enchanted mountain. [She means climbing Enchanted Rock in Texas last week.]
9. S: What is one new thing you want to learn next year?
   B: I want to learn to swim like Jack.
10. S: What would you like to be when you grow up?
    B: A vet for animals all night. [She wants to work in a 24-hour veterinary ER.]
11. S: What is your favorite holiday?
    B: Valentine's Day.  We're doing an interview!
12. S: What is your favorite color?
    B: Red. [The only answer unchanged since last year.]
13. S: What is your favorite song?
    B: "The Bloodmobile." [From the They Might Be Giants' album Here Comes Science.]
14. S: What is your favorite toy?
    B: A spinning toy that always spins. [No idea what she means here.]
15. S: What is your favorite book?
    B: How Animal Moms Love Their Babies
16. S: Who is your favorite character?
    B: Tuck, the Wonder Pet [I'm surprised she didn't say Kai Lan.]
17. S: What is your favorite thing to do?
    B: Do ballet in a funny way.
18. S: What do you like learning about?
    B: Eating neatly.
19. S: Where is your favorite place to go?
    B: Baby gym.
20. S: Can you name some of your friends?
    B: Sophia and other Sophia, so there's two Sophias, there's not just one Sophia, there's two. Sophia E. and Sophia Razouki, they're my friends, they really like playing with me. [Of course she didn't mention any of her closest friends - Miller, Donovan, Jack, Finn, or David - but oh well.]
21. S: What is your birthday wish?
    B: Seeing a bear,

See last year's interview here.

I made paneer!

Using this recipe and it turned out great.

I added this batch to some baingan bharta inspired by a dinner Naresh made for us in Dallas last week.

Beatrice and Arthur

Maybe my favorite photo so far of Beatrice and Arthur.

Highlights of Spring

Before we head into summer, a few last photos from this spring.

Gardening with chickens

Icing lemon tea cakes

 

An assistant soccer coach holds B's hand.

 

Arthur shares his cheese with his stuffed gorilla at the zoo.

 

 

Waiting under David's birthday piñata

At LACMA

Korean ink painting at Kidspace

 

She calls this outfit "An Explorer."

With Amy's dog, Heidi

 

A lap full of eggs

Learning how to make paper.

 

Adding to her pressed flower collection

Walking Cromwell while dressed as a bee

A squirrel in my purse

 

Happy Birthday, Beatrice!

Frankly. this was a somewhat disappointing birthday.  We arrived home from Texas after midnight on Saturday, the day before B's birthday, and most of her actual birthday on Sunday was spent unpacking and catching up on post-vacation errands. 

Beatrice was - and still is - exhausted (today she napped for seven hours).  In fact, she didn't even get her (store-bought) cake or her presents until today, the day after her birthday, and even then she was too tired to eat any cake.

Nonetheless, we had some fun.  On Sunday night, Amy and Jordan invited us over to their house for swimming and a barbecue to celebrate Beatrice's birthday, my birthday, and Summer St. P's, too.  Amy Robb gave Beatrice a Calico Critters family of hedgehogs which are now B's favorite things in the world.  And today Beatrice shared cupcakes with her school friends.

So this year's birthday timing was a little rushed and imperfect, but we still have the big birthday party left to come. Until then, Happy Birthday, Beatrice!

Since we didn't take any proper birthday photos this year, here's a great GIF of Beatrice wearing a bird costume she made herself a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Arthur!

Arthur is two!

The day began with birthday doughnuts.

For his birthday this year, Arthur got a basketball hoop, a toy car garage, some beautiful blocks from Mina and James, and a large illustrated book of animals.   

 

 

Everyone was sick today so we didn't do a big trip to the zoo or to the beach, as we'd considered, but we did take Arthur to the park and then let him choose what he wanted for lunch (he emphatically chose tacos). 

A birthday animal parade.  I copied this idea from the blog Oh Happy Day and Arthur loved it, he was particularly excited about the "gorilla in a hat."  (His favorite animals are gorillas and turtles.)

   

I also made a special hat for Boo.

We had dinner at home, followed by birthday cake.

When Arthur's enjoying himself he's fond of shouting "I'm having fun!" or singing out, "I'm so happy!" Here he is talking about his birthday and his cake.

 

Witty, perceptive, affectionate, joyful, and smart - you're only two years old and already you're a full and fully wonderful person.  Happy Birthday!