Hummus!

I, motherly bias in tow, feel like Aeli has really sophisticated taste because he LOVES hummus.  He eats it with a spoon, and gets offended it you won't accept a taste off of his soggy pita chip.

 

Also, he is a ham.

Rockstar

Sometimes he looks particularly grown up.


Instruments Aeli plays: kazoo, harmonica, slide whistle, castanets, drums, xylophone, keyboard

Things We're Growing

Tomatoes, strawberries
Okra, cucumbers
Jasmine, and blueberries
Papaya, avocado,
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans- from Israel,
stowed internationally in Stefin's front pocket),
Arugula, cauliflower (that spirals like a snail shell),
Lemons, and other trees:
Pomegranates, figs, and mulberries.

Oh, and this baby.

This kid!

Fun at the Vietnamese Market!

"I know this is bringing her joy, Dad, but I don't like it!"

 

Aeli has been doing much better at sleeping through the night lately!  Bonus for us.  Stefin, Dana, and I were all feeling ill Thursday and Friday, so it was especially nice of Aeli to sleep so well Friday night.  He and Stefin got up early yesterday, and went to the Vietnamese market in the East, and the farmers market downtown.  It sounds like it was a really cool experience: live chickens and chicks for sale, vendors selling fish, which they would chop with a sharp rock while sitting in an Asian squat. 

Last night we made great spring rolls with kolrabi, dikon radish, and watercress.  Stefin made a great pho broth.  Aeli likes kolrabi, and likes feeding it to us even more. 

He's getting so adept at communicating with his signs, I think he's in no rush to start using words.  (He does imitate intonations.)  His latest sign is for "Auntie Nico," which entails raising his arms and waving them around above his head.  He also likes that it makes us all laugh.  (She chose that sign for herself.)

Also of late: he puckers his lips and then walks at somebody, and smiles after receiving his kiss.
*swoon*

Wow Mom!

Auntie Nico and Aeli getting ready to take the wee one to school.

1,2,3.

Photo by Nico.

I. Music
So the other morning, Aeli, as he often does, cruises over to the computer/ipod/speakers area of the desk.  Dana puts on some nice, calm, Ingrid Michaelson.  Aeli cries and points.  Dana changes the song to MGMT.  He throws himself on the ground crying.  Finally she says, "Okay, if I put on your song and you get up and start dancing, we know you're really something ridiculous."

Sure enough, she puts on Arcade Fire, Rebellion and he stands up and starts gettin' down.

This kid is absurd.

His other favorite tracks include:
Florence and the Machine, Dog Days are Over
I Like to Dance, by Yo Gabba Gabba

II. Gardening/School

Infusing olive oil with calendula and rosemary from our garden, in preparation for making salve.

Nicole has basically been student-teaching with me for the past six weeks.  I get the class set up with expectations and the general outline, and she delivers her awesome content knowledge like BAM! with enthusiasm and that radiant kindness that you think of when you think of Nicole (for those of you who are lucky enough to know her).  I help by reminding kids they still usually must raise their hands, and delivering consequences when necessary (i.e. on the day of the full moon with a group of seventh-grade boys when we're talking about plant parts and reproduction, while the seventh and eighth grade girls are less than 50 feet away at PE.)

In other school news, I now am also doing a grammar mini lesson twice a day.  I teach half the class for fifteen minutes talking really fast and trying not to be too loud about it, and then after 15 minutes we switch, and I do the same thing again.  It's basically like the movie Speed.  Less Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reaves.


III. New Orleans/Grad School
A month ago, we were leaning strongly toward moving to the Bay Area next year.  I was applying to grad school, and applied to three (one in each region where we were talking about living- to pursue my Master's in School Counseling).  Since then, we have decided that we are not quite done with New Orleans yet, and trying to get to California this summer would feel like rushing (and it seems silly to rush to meet a deadline we make for ourselves).  So, although ultimately it's likely that we will settle out West, for now we're finding New Orleans so special, and the opportunities here so unique, we just don't have the heart to leave yet.  As Josh said, "I mean, I know it's not the most important thing, but sometimes it's just the best thing to wake up or get home and your best friends are right across the street." 

I had a phone interview with PSU last week, and I have two more interviews on Monday... so... excitement!  I'm also really loving my part-time employment, and pushing for Stefin to get a bit more part-time next year.  Big conversations, life choices... and how exciting that we get to make them.  And hang out with this guy!

These photos by Michelle!