It's not true!

I like my name like Chrysanthemum.  I like it because I am named after a store. The name of the store is Ethan Allen.

Tooth

In the middle of the night, EJP lost his lower left, second from the front tooth.  He didn't swallow it.

Bike

After we got home from a free They Might Be Giants concert in San Francisco, and had our dinner of ice cream from Sweet Retreat in San Jose, the kids were out front, and EJP decided he wanted to ride his bike, and with a little help from his sister and mom, he did it.  At first, he was getting "starters" from SKGP, then we told him how he could get going himself, he was able to do the whole process from start to crash all by himself.  Perhaps it isn't the most graceful biking, but it's a great start.

Hooray!

Mystery Tooth Fairy

EJP lost his other front tooth.  He didn't want the Tooth Fairy to take it before he took it to school to show it off.  Then he forgot it there.  Days passed.  It came home, but didn't make it under the pillow.

The other day, we came home and were told that the Tooth Fairy left the pile of money on the floor. I don't know where the tooth is.

We can't find any adult who knows what happened.  Is one of the kids testing us?

Tooth

EJP's second top front tooth just dropped out in a slice of pizza.

Tyke-oons

On Monday (8/24/2009), the kids entered the stock market.

EJP bought 5 shares of PetSmart (PETM) at $20.18 each.  He likes to go see the animals.
SKGP bought 2 shares of Kohl's (KSS) at $52.33 each.  She likes to shop for clothes.

For future comparison purposes, the major indices closed on Monday at:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average -- 9,509.28
• Nasdaq -- 2,017.98
• S&P 500 -- 1,025.57

Tooth

Merry Christmas and happy new year, my loyal readers.

EJP has his first loose tooth. It is the front lower right one. It'll probably come out in the next week or so.

Playdate

Ejp went over to a friend's house for the first time
Today. Apparantly he had a good time an was a good boy. His friend is James from his class.

Scar

A week or so ago (the day before picture day, of course), EJP was in the family room arguing with RCP.  When she asked him to do something, he ran away to escape her.  He misjudged his exit and fell into the corner of the fireplace and whacked his forehead pretty hard.

The wound has healed, but there is a noticable hole.  I think there is a good chance it is going to be there for the rest of his life.

So, E, when you are at a party some day, and someone asks you where that scar came from, you can find out here.

[As always, RCP, you are welcome to revise this post to more accurately reflect reality.  What was the fight about?, I could see future E wondering.]

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school.  I took SKGP to her school out in the country, and RCP took EJP to his shiny new school near the house.  She's in the third grade GATE program, and he's in the Kindergarten Dual Immersion program.

They both seemed to have fine days.  SKGP knew several people in her class and at the school, and she seems to have enjoyed it.  She took a math test, and was taken down a peg by the speed of some of the other kids.  I think this will be good for her; it took me to my first calculus in college to realize that there were people much, much smarter than me around.

EJP says he likes his teacher.  I don't think he met anyone, but he seemed to know a couple kids.  He told RCP that he didn't finish his lunch because someone sat down at the table with him.  By the end of the day, he'd lost his lunch box, and missed the bus.  I believe the latter was the teacher's fault.

We took them out to dinner to celebrate their accomplishments.

Today is his first day in Spanish.

PS. We locked him out of the house for about 45 minutes last evening, because he consistently acts like a monster.  He still acted like a beast this morning.  He did get to ride the bus this morning, which he was disappointed about missing yesterday.

Ned

Ed is the last surviving tadpole. Ned didn't survive the shock of moving to the new tank, I think.

PS. It turns out that Ned survived, and Fred and Ed didn't. Title updated.

Fred, Ed, and Ned

Today is EJP's birthday. He's 5 now.

Aunt E sent him a unique birthday gift that is prefect for his creature loving mind. Bull frog tadpoles. They arrived in the mail last night. E named them Fred, Ed, and Ned.

Unfortunately, Fred didn't survive the night.

RCP has now bought supplies, such as a tank and food, and is putting together their environment now, in hopes of saving Ed and Ned. If all goes well, we'll have a couple bull frogs for a couple years.

Hola!

We got the letter from the school district yesterday. EJP has made it into the Dual Immersion program. Hooray! So, for the next 5+ years, half of everything he does will be in Spanish. Reading, math, social studies, PE (a joke, I think.). The program has teachers that only speak each language to the kids (and parents).

Luckily for him, RCP has picked up some conversational Spanish in her career. If he just relied on me for help, he'd be in deep trouble.

The Boy

I just got a text message:

[The] Boy found [his] pocket knife... and slashed his thumb. Waiting to have it looked at. Don't freak out, he'll be fine.

Status update: He's getting 3 stitches.

Pineapple Rings

The other night at dinner, we had pineapple rings as our side vegetable(?). When EJP opened the can, he remembered about eating pineapple rings at the hotel. Pineapple rings were often the best thing available for dinner.

That was 3 years ago, making EJP 1.5 at the time. That's a pretty impressive memory.

Bet On It!

I was driving EJP home from Morgan Hill to Gilroy the other night, when the Girl Scouts went to see the Harlem Globetrotters, and he made us listen to the song Bet On It from the High School Musical II soundtrack the entire way home. We easily heard it 7 times.

New Low

EJP hates me. He yelled it at me during dinner.

Hot Dog

EJP read his first book today. It is Hot Dog by Molly Coxe.

Dog is hot. Mom is not.
Go play, Dog.

Dog is hot. Cat is not.
No way, Dog!

Dog is hot. Pig is not.
Oh, no, Dog!

Dog is hot. Boy is not.
Too slow, Dog!

Dog is hot. Sheep are not.
Shoo, shoo, Dog.

Dog is hot. Skunk is not.
P. U., Dog!

Dog is hot. Girl is not.
Silly Dog!

Dog is cool. In the pool.
Chilly dog.

EJP Update

9/5/2007: EJP just counted to 49, with only a little help in three places. Pretty amazing.

Since school began after labor day, his pre-reading skills have really taken off. (RCP: Provide details!)

He is taking a Spanish class after school on Tuesdays. The teacher said that he is doing well in it, which makes me believe RCP that he's got an ear for language. We are plotting on getting him in the dual immersion Spanish/English program at his future school. [M, do you have advice on how to raise a polyglot?]

9/15/2007: Today, we went to the park near our house. SKGP rode my scooter, and EJP rode his bike, and I walked. The training wheels on his bike are a bit tweaked (since I put it together), with one side higher up, so he's got a wicked angle when riding. There is a sidewalk around the play structure at the park, and he rode around and around it. After a while, I could see him balancing for a second or three. When he falls over, he very calmly puts his foot down and stands up and doesn't hurt himself.

If we devote some time to it, I'm sure he is going to be riding a two wheeler soon (way ahead of his sister).

Take A Gun To Play Day

Early in the summer we went over to my friend Erik's house to have dinner and let our kids play together. They have a 2-year-old son.

That day EJP was obsessed with his toy gun. He has a cool looking Nerf pistol, which he insisted on bringing. So, he's running around pretending to shoot stuff. I felt a little strange, with our big 4 year old kid exposing gun play to a 2 year old. I hope we didn't alienate the parents.

All three of the kids had fun splashing around in a little inflatable swimming pool. They pulled a play structure next to it, and used the slide to slam into the pool. It was funny. It was also nice to hang out with adults for a while.

The next day, EJP wasn't interested in playing with the gun anymore. I hope we didn't turn little Dylan into a psychopath or anything.