Future paleontologist

Many of you know that Eva absolutely LOVES dinosaurs, so much that she has named each of us a different dinosaur. (Daddy-TRex, Mommy-Allosaurus, Eva-Spinosaurus, Dylan-velociraptor...guess we're a family of carnisaurs). Anyone who strikes a conversation (cashiers& shoppers included) will undoubtedly get a lesson in the prehistoric creatures. They are always taken back by her knowledge and ability to pronounce names such as parasaurolophus and micropachycephalosaurus (what a mouthful!) Of course, the science teacher in me couldn't resist fostering this interest. So we bought her a fossil digging kit that she has painstakingly worked on for days. Her determination and patience were most impressive. Even I couldn't wait to dig the fossils out and kept asking if we could just take a hammer to it already- to which she of course replied "no, mommy, we have to dig them out". We finally finished today and as you will see in the photos, she was extremely proud of her accomplishment. Then, she asked "can we do another one tomorrow?" Perhaps someday she will be a paleontologist.

Trip to the Pond

The kids and I frequently visit the pond near our house to feed the ducks and turtles, or as Eva says, to visit Ming Ming and Tuck (of the Wonderpets, for those not familiar with children's programming on Nick Jr). If we're lucky we usually get a glimpse of the beautiful crane that also lives at the pond. Last week, while I was helping Dylan throw the bread into the pond instead of eating it himself, Eva excitedly pokes me and whispers, "look mommy the crane!!!". We all stood very still hoping he wouldn't fly away. The kids knew this was a rare and exciting event. I haven't seen them stand that still and quite since- well, ever. Mr. Crane walked right up to us, but wasn't even interested in the food. I guess after our many visits, he finally got the courage to check out the little ones who love to use their outdoor voices.