Yar-ing Up the Joint

Keen-eyed observers of certain pictures in the last post--especially those who have been at White House recently--will have noticed that we have finally hung something permanent-looking over the mantel.  For well over a year, what had been hanging there was an enormous sign reading, "We love you Mommy!" that the bambini had made on butcher block paper with Ted's help when Julie was away on a day trip last spring.  We'd hung a good number of pictures not long after we moved in and painted all the walls, but had been struggling with the big space over the mantle, the first wall you see upon entering through the front door.  But recently, some art that had been hanging in Southold arrived, and a cocktail party was in the offing, so we decided to revisit the artwork--old and new--that remained unhung.  A eureka moment resulted in the four black frames going over the mantel with boating pictures in them after we'd hung a metal sailboat sculpture across the way.  (Longtime readers will no doubt recall Julie's affection for all language nautical and the idea, at least, of sailing.  And of course, Ted can sail and she adores him.) Our Fans who knew Southold might also be interested to see the harbor scene painted by one of Grandpa Tom's patients, now reframed and cleaned, and hanging in the pass between the kitchen and dining room here at White House.

Pile It On

Not everyone can rock this look.

Our Birdie is, of course, as our longtime Fans know, a fashion fan.  These days, some days, she sports an on-trend, minimalist, plum moto jacket (that she picked out herself thank you very much).  She also has a pair of pink cowboys boots which Julie thought were pretty kicky.  But on days when Biride is left to her own devices, there is nothing minimalist about her look.

Moto Birdie.

She really likes those pearls. 

They really compliment Joe's soccer and Little Gym medals.

At least three tutus are on Birdie here.

Which is better for swirling. 

And pretending to be a ballerina.

Obviously.

Tumbling Birdie

As late summer has given way to fall, Birdie has begun going to a gymnastic class called Funny Bugs at the Little Gym late in the afternoon on Sundays.  Fashion opportunity alert!  Gymnastics fashions are more garish than your ballet fashions, but the Birds have embraced them, the younger of the two with unabashed zeal.  Although it is true that Birdie would have loved the soft pink of a ballet leotard and the attendant floaty skirt, her affection for the bright and sparkly drama of the gymnastic leotard is undiminished.  She loves her hot pink, purple, and aqua shimmery leotard and matching aqua tap pants.  (Those tap pants often ride up a bit over the course of the class, revealing a bit too much cheek, and making them, we regret to say, less tap pants than hot pants.)  You should see her though, Brigade.  She's always been sure-footed and confident of how her body moves and it really shows.  She is all ears when she is in the gym, and tries--and does--it all.

Take Us Out to the Ballgame

Our last Twins game of the summer was a night game.  Ted planned to take Joe, but bought the Birds tickets, too, when we were offered four that failed to materialize with excitement already running high.  We scored stocking hats with pom-poms on them, which were just the thing for the late summer evening as the sun went down.  The bambini had cotton candy for the very first time.  Clara was delighted by its pinkness; they were both taken with it in all other respects.  There was a marriage proposal that night!  Joe really likes the "love cam" (as he calls the kiss cam), and actually cried when he returned from the bathroom and learned he had missed it, and a marriage proposal.  That was the first sign that we weren't much long past the seventh inning stretch, which is when we packed it in for the season.  The kid's cam never caught the bambini's dance moves and projected them on the jumbo-tron, but there's always next year.

Our Book Worms

What?  You don't don your pearls to read?

Fans.  We're back.  The last few weeks have been lost to birthdays and the attendant birthday cakes, the last Twins game of the summer for us, visitors (form of: Bishopps!), a cocktail party, the last gasp of summer itself, the start of fall, and--frankly, a deluge of books that have come in at the library, for which there is a waiting list for many, putting pressure on one to read them straight away instead of issuing reports from the front here in the North Star State.

Now that we are back, we can report that we are all of us absorbed in our respective books.  Longtime Fans may recall that the school year at Susan Lindgren Elementary kicks off straight away with the annual read-a-thon fundraiser.  Last year's theme was Read to the X-treme, with that x-treme X.  We regret to tell you that this year's theme is something so tame and forgettable that we have in fact forgotten it.  But we are pleased to tell you that if you are so inclined, you may make a donation on behalf of Our Hero here by October 10.  He aims to read an average of 30 minutes a day over the course of the two-week read-a-thon.  So far, so good.  That's 420 minutes total in case you are a Fan making a what-you-would-have-pledged-per-minute-based donation.  Might be wise to keep your pledge per minute small.  The school-wide goal is 118,000 minutes.  If it's reached, then the Minnesota Science Museum will come and dazzle everyone with the delights of science.

It is also Reading Month at KinderCare (even if nationally, it is--at least according to the interwebs--March) so Birdie we have been logging the books that she is reading (or, more accurately, are being read to her) as well.  We are not counting the books that she reads every night after being tucked in since at this point, we think she is more "reading" them as best she can from memory.  By week's end, most of the books from her shelves are strewn about the floor and her bed, teetering in a stack on the nightstand.

Not infrequently, Joe will read to Clara.  You can see a clip of one such instance here. (Keep your eyes on their legs.)  They are both still huge fans of the Berenstain Bears and Fancy Nancy, but in recent months also met Henry and his enormous dog Mudge both of whom are now also beloved.  Turns out, Henry has a cousin!  Annie.  Annie has a bunny named Snowball.  These relations were just discovered this past week.  A whole new world has opened, which is of course, the joy of books.

Joe's Mudge.  Joe often sleeps on top of Mudge.  Probably because when he doesn't, there is barely room for both of them in his bed.

When Joe got Mudge, Clara got an equally enormous Pink Bear.