How do you do?

Oliver's class got to visit the nearby horse stables this morning. What good fun! They held onto a tether with colored circles and ambled merrily through the parking lot to the white fence, where they waited patiently and in great anticipation of a how-do-you-do? with a horse. Before they met the horse they got to see chickens and goats. When the big moment finally came, Lauren showed her grooming tools to the children and then groomed her horse in front of them. They also got to feel a horseshoe, knock on a helmet, guess the different parts of a saddle, and see the horse's teeth. Each child who wanted to got to come forward for a brief personal encounter with Jackie O., the horse. A fun time was had by all!

belly photo

We enjoyed a great visit with Claire last weekend. OP anxiously waited her arrival. When we heard her approach he went cautiously to the door, then burst from it, proclaiming, "I love your fat belly!" Immediately he went to her to take her hand and bring her in. He was ready to bestow the gift our family had brought for their family: _Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?_. It was meant for the shower the following day, but who could deny him in his enthusiasm? He gave Auntie Claire the book and proceeded to read the whole book to his new cousin, who currently resides in Claire's belly.
The next morning OP ate a huge breakfast in anticipation of the belly photo shown here. All weekend he enjoyed loving on his Auntie and her Baby Bear. It was fab!

Casting a Big Shadow

Oliver was recently given a digital camera, so we took it out for a spin after the recent chalk festival. He wanted to document all artwork with animals or superheroes. Here's my favorite--not because of the artwork, but because our little artist's shadow nicely complements his chosen image. When we pointed this out to him, he said, "No, that's my pop. Look how big it is!"