Last Monday, Grandma Margie took the kids shopping for the school clothes they'll need in the fall. Aidan got some jeans, shirts, and a lightweight jacket. Esme got a dress and a couple of outfits as most of her clothes still fit. Both kids were treated to three pairs of shoes - dress shoes, tennis shoes for everyday wear, and the required white-sole no-street-use gym shoes for school. Thank you so much, Grandma.
On Tuesday, we were treated to a visit at our house by Aunts Wanda and Juanita, our cousin Geraldine, and my parents. We had a terrific chat, lunch at Red Robin, and a bit of a drive in Grand Rapids so the aunties could see the house where they visited their grandpa in the fifties. It was super great to have them here, and we hope we can do it again sometime soon.
Aidan and Esme had their eight- and five-year checkups last Wednesday. They have really grown!
Aidan , at age eight years and five days, weighed 64.4 pounds (75th percentile) and measured 51 inches (55th percentile). When he heard his height, he jumped up and said "I'm tall enough for go-karts!!!" He has been waiting for that milestone for a long time, apparently...at Craig's Cruisers you have to be 51" tall to drive the full-size go-karts. Not that his parents are that keen on letting him do that, but he is probably a better driver than most of the teens that drive at Craig's. The thing is, they're on the track, too.
Esme, at age four years, ten months and twenty-three days, weighed 45 pounds (80th percentile) and measured 43 1/4 inches (75th percentile). Esme had to have her checkup a little early because she had to have vaccinations before kindergarten this fall, and her birthday is only two days before school begins. She grew three whole inches in less than a year! She had DTap, IPV, MMR and Varivax vaccines and threw a big fit. Four shots at once, though, is a lot. She calmed down pretty quick, though.
After the checkups, Esme and I got haircuts - and Esme's is shorter than it has been since she was a baby! She looks really cute and a lot cooler.
We spent Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday with Mom and Dad, trying to help get things arranged and put away. They suddenly have two houses' worth of stuff in one house, and it wasn't pretty. We got the laundry room, living room and dining room straightened out for the most part, and worked a lot on the kitchen. Hopefully they find it more liveable now while they work on all the renovation and stuff they've got planned.
For those following Doctor Who, last night was a big night! The Doctor and Donna were joined not only by Martha and Rose, but also by the remaining cast of Torchwood (Captain Jack, Gwen and Ianto - don't forget Owen and Toshiko are dead), along with Sarah Jane and Luke of The Sarah Jane Adventures. And you'll never guess which enemy has returned...the Daleks. For Pete's sake, how many times does one bunch of robots have to be vanquished???
Today we found three (count 'em, three!) geocaches, one of them a three-stage cache in John Ball Park. Then we went to the zoo for a bit - the boys did the zipline three times, the sneaks! Esme is tall enough now for the zipline but doesn't weigh enough so the two of us visited the stingrays and then sat on a rock to watch our boys scoot across on the zipline.
Aidan and Jim have gone out to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull, Esme's in bed asleep, and I'm working through my large pile of paperwork I've been neglecting all week.
26 July 2008
20 July 2008
Adieu...
We have been catching up on TV the last few evenings, and last night we watched the season premiere of Monk. We were saddened to find that Stanley Kamel, who played Adrian Monk's psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger, died of a heart attack in April of this year. He was sixty-five.
19 July 2008
Vacation & Birthday Pictures
Here are Aidan and Esme at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, getting ready to board Esme's very first airplane flight!
We were lucky enough to be on a slightly larger plane between Cleveland and Boston, and therefore there was a first class cabin. Yes, we're spoiled.
Here we are at the USS Constitution in Boston harbor.
It's quite a boat, especially considering it's over 200 years old!
The kids were sitting under this shelter in the Wampanoag camp at the Plimoth Plantation.
I'm pointing out all the different vegetables and plants growing in the Pilgrim garden and no one is listening.
Can you imagine living here, without the benefit of Target?
Yep, it's morning! Shake a leg, you two!
In downtown Plymouth, there is a statue of Massasoit, the Wampanoag chief at the time of the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World.
The kids are sitting on the steps of the Mayflower Society house in Plymouth.
Oh, look, a reflective surface - so naturally Esme is posing.
Here we are at the Submarine Museum - Aidan and Esme are "driving" this deck gun.
We got a tour of the Nautilus! Whoo-hoo!
They have periscopes inside the museum that allow you to look all around the outside of the building - so Aidan is looking for our car.
Esme found what she thought was a racetrack - but it was really just the parking lot seen from a distance.
They look like they're really driving the boat, don't they?
At Mystic Seaport, the first thing we did was try out some of the old-fashioned kids' games. Aidan really tried hard to walk on stilts, but he just couldn't seem to get the hang of it!
These are "training stilts," which are supposed to help you get used to lifting with your hands and lifting up your foot at the same time.
Here's Esme, a "green hand" in the Mystic Seaport production of Tale of a Whaler.
All the hands were on deck to swab it!
Aidan, aka "Rain #3" is raining on his sister Esme, aka "Green Hand #2".
Michael was kind enough to take this family shot at Gillette Castle. That's the Connecticut River in the background!
Here's the Qin family! Michael holding Andrew, Laura holding Ada, and Laura's cousin Diana.
Aidan and Esme are about to get eaten by this great big clam at the American Museum of Natural History!
This is one huge dinosaur!
Esme didn't mind the subway at all. This was only one of the three or four times she fell directly to sleep while riding the hectic and loud New York City subway.
Yee-ha! We're at the Statue of Liberty!
...and there's the Manhattan skyline directly behind us as we stand on Liberty Island.
Geocaching in Central Park!
This was definitely the best part of FAO Schwarz. What fun, to make a song just by running around.
Aidan and Esme with Lego R2-D2. They didn't have a C-3PO (or as Esme calls him, C-P30).
Aidan and Esme in our room at the Waldorf-Astoria, ready to go down for breakfast.
Good morning, Prometheus!
Jim and the kids on the observation deck at Rockefeller Center.
Home again, on Aidan's birthday: he was really impressed with his birthday gift! (This shows about 1/3 of the collection, which wouldn't all fit in the frame.)
Aidan working the line-control AT-AT Walker.
Jim took some beautiful portraits of our handsome son at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. These are fourteen of the best. We will be having prints made of the best ones, once the grandparents choose their favorites.
This is my favorite (below).
Happy 8th birthday to our dear boy.
We were lucky enough to be on a slightly larger plane between Cleveland and Boston, and therefore there was a first class cabin. Yes, we're spoiled.
Here we are at the USS Constitution in Boston harbor.
It's quite a boat, especially considering it's over 200 years old!
The kids were sitting under this shelter in the Wampanoag camp at the Plimoth Plantation.
I'm pointing out all the different vegetables and plants growing in the Pilgrim garden and no one is listening.
Can you imagine living here, without the benefit of Target?
Yep, it's morning! Shake a leg, you two!
In downtown Plymouth, there is a statue of Massasoit, the Wampanoag chief at the time of the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World.
The kids are sitting on the steps of the Mayflower Society house in Plymouth.
Oh, look, a reflective surface - so naturally Esme is posing.
Here we are at the Submarine Museum - Aidan and Esme are "driving" this deck gun.
We got a tour of the Nautilus! Whoo-hoo!
They have periscopes inside the museum that allow you to look all around the outside of the building - so Aidan is looking for our car.
Esme found what she thought was a racetrack - but it was really just the parking lot seen from a distance.
They look like they're really driving the boat, don't they?
At Mystic Seaport, the first thing we did was try out some of the old-fashioned kids' games. Aidan really tried hard to walk on stilts, but he just couldn't seem to get the hang of it!
These are "training stilts," which are supposed to help you get used to lifting with your hands and lifting up your foot at the same time.
Here's Esme, a "green hand" in the Mystic Seaport production of Tale of a Whaler.
All the hands were on deck to swab it!
Aidan, aka "Rain #3" is raining on his sister Esme, aka "Green Hand #2".
Michael was kind enough to take this family shot at Gillette Castle. That's the Connecticut River in the background!
Here's the Qin family! Michael holding Andrew, Laura holding Ada, and Laura's cousin Diana.
Aidan and Esme are about to get eaten by this great big clam at the American Museum of Natural History!
This is one huge dinosaur!
Esme didn't mind the subway at all. This was only one of the three or four times she fell directly to sleep while riding the hectic and loud New York City subway.
Yee-ha! We're at the Statue of Liberty!
...and there's the Manhattan skyline directly behind us as we stand on Liberty Island.
Geocaching in Central Park!
This was definitely the best part of FAO Schwarz. What fun, to make a song just by running around.
Aidan and Esme with Lego R2-D2. They didn't have a C-3PO (or as Esme calls him, C-P30).
Aidan and Esme in our room at the Waldorf-Astoria, ready to go down for breakfast.
Good morning, Prometheus!
Jim and the kids on the observation deck at Rockefeller Center.
Home again, on Aidan's birthday: he was really impressed with his birthday gift! (This shows about 1/3 of the collection, which wouldn't all fit in the frame.)
Aidan working the line-control AT-AT Walker.
Jim took some beautiful portraits of our handsome son at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. These are fourteen of the best. We will be having prints made of the best ones, once the grandparents choose their favorites.
This is my favorite (below).
Happy 8th birthday to our dear boy.