Two loves

Philip chanced upon our dear son in this pose. These days the hat hardly comes off (hence the 10 year old browny kind of color), the glove goes most places, even if it has to stay in the car or a cubby, and the uniform must constantly be cleaned. Our son is in love with baseball. He plays T-ball, but he is learning to like baseball in the way aficionados like it--you know the type: statistics, differences in uniform over time, players from different times, etc. True to form, he gleans much of this from books checked out from the library, though he also has a weak spot for mlb.com! Here I think the book is not baseball-related, so he's combining his two loves in simultaneous pursuit of two subjects.

New Library

A little over a week ago we went to Hurley School in La Puente, where the whole school was gathered to celebrate the grand opening of its new library. The school had received seed money from a foundation that raises money for school libraries, so the school--with the help of the district, private donors, a hard-working library committee, and a dedicated, handsome, and loving principal--renovated two classrooms and designed a beautiful and spacious new library. There is a raked seating area to fit an entire class and a "cozy" alcove that includes an electric fireplace (this seemed to the favorite place on opening day). We enjoyed listening to the children read poems and essays, sing, and play musical instruments. We were impressed with the new mariachi band, and the percussion group was fabulous! Here are OP, Grandma, and Grandpa with the shelves named in their honor.

Send your list of 5 by February 18th!

Hello, friends!
Oliver will turn 5 on February 18th, 2009. When he was 3 & 1/2 it seemed like everything would happen for him when he turned five. That was the age he quoted for getting a chance to move, becoming a paramedic, reading competently, and other items. Well, he's been reading for ages, we just moved two months ago, and I don't have the heart to tell him that paramedics have to be at least 20.

We do want to do something special for him, and that's where YOU come in! Here's what we're asking you to do:
1) Make a list of 5: things you like to do with OP, things you like about OP, your favorite foods, your favorite places to visit, your favorite books. Any G list of 5 would be fab!
2) Attach or otherwise affix 1 or 2 photos:
a) of you at age 5
b) of you with OP (at any age)
3) Make sure all fits on an 8.5" x 11" sheet.
4) Send to Mama Esham by email, surface mail, or owl post by February 18th.
Call or email with any questions. Have a great time, and thanks in advance for participating!

our new place!

We have heard the requests-- well, demands really--and we're responding at last. Here are some photos of our new place. Oliver is talking to the ornaments and singing as he pulls them out of the box. Notice the ingenious location of the nativity!~
We very much appreciate all the light in our new place. And the kitchen open to the living area; people can hear me when I speak from the kitchen (I have to keep reminding myself). And there's the desk! Of course, all that light means that I can't actually see my computer screen for half the day; must borrow a tall ladder and put up curtains!

What would YOU wear to a holiday parade?

Oliver chose to wear this tiger costume that Gramme made. The theme for this year's holiday parade was "Fairytale fantasies" or some such. Before we went we talked about what might be there--reindeer, knights, Santa, etc. Up pipes our dear son, "Well, I'm going to wear my tiger costume. Maybe some people will think it's for Tigger, but I'm not going to be Tigger; I'm going to be a tiger." Suffice it to say our little tiger lit up the evening with his very unusual attire. He had at least 25 verbal greetings/appreciations, including the aforementioned Santa Claus, who called out, "Hey, tiger. Merry Christmas. Grrr!" Many more people simply smiled as they passed us. OP's choice turned out to be creative, joyful, and warm. Nice work, young man!

(whispered) "Papa, come back"

WARNING: There will not be a photo to accompany this story. Attempting to photograph this episode in the new Esham household would have totally ruined the moment. Read on and enjoy conjuring your own images of our budding dramatist/artistic director/composer.

Our family has been reading a wonderful and rather long chapter book called _Dragon Keeper_, by Carole Wilkinson. Two nights ago Oliver decided it was time to mount a show that would tell the story. What a felicitous moment! I told him I had just been thinking it would be cool to tell the story in the style of Peter and the Wolf, in which each character gets their own tune. Another felicitous moment, as Oliver had just that day rediscovered his penny whistle following our move. (Yes, it is a nice place; you should come visit!) So Oliver arranged us: he would play the music, papa would operate the puppets (imaginary), and I would stroll our hallway (we have a hallway!), remarking on a poster advertising a performance of DK.

This I did, and I ended up on our couch with the musician and player behind. Oliver directed papa for each scene, then played musical accompaniment as Philip raised his hands over his head, making the puppets do the appropriate movements. I was spectator and narrator, parroting back the scene Oliver had ordered. Oliver decided when these scenes were finished and called out, "Papa, come back" in a most excellent and effective stage whisper. I'm not sure how long this went on--10, 12 scenes on the first night. Yesterday morning we finished the book, so we had to have another show to finish up.

Oliver says he's ready for the next book, _Garden of the Purple Dragon_.

Team Spirit

Saturday was the last soccer game of Oliver's first season. He had a great time, especially when he stopped thinking about saber-toothed cats and started playing the game! Two times we had to pull him away from kicking or trying to kick the ball when he was supposed to be resting. He has had a lot of fun.
At the team party the coach handed out trophies and certificates. Oliver was given the award for team spirit, which prompted him to quiz his coach: "What do you mean by team spirit?" The coach began a list: you're always cheerful, and when you're there you make others cheerful; you're happy to do whatever we're doing; you even came to practice when you were sick." At some point in the litany Oliver said, "Ok, I get it. I get it." That team spirit must have an off switch ;o)