Cousin Lovin'

The Little Miss is a Kindergartner!

So, Miss S started Kindergarten this week. Wow. Now I am really not one to get all weepy, but it is hard to believe that my baby is in Elementary School. There has been so much planning and anticipation wrapped up in this moment - it is a very exciting time. 

As you know, we recently moved, and the move was driven by the opportunity for Stella to attend this amazing public school. She woke from nap one afternoon to find this Tiger balloon (school maskot is a Tiger) attached to the mailbox with a handwritten note from a 2nd grader, welcoming her to Percy Priest Elementary. She was so excited! What a very thoughtful gesture from the school's amazing PTO.

First Day of School. I don't know if she is ready for this. Ha!

Happy Father's Day to Me, Episode 5

My family treated me to a fantastic 4th Father's Day by letting me sleep a little later than usual and then surprising me with a trip to Foggy Bottom Canoe for a super-fun morning on the Harpeth River. We picnicked on a river bank, built a stone tower in the water, looked for fish and butterflies, got stuck on a boulder, and floated on our backs with the lazy current. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

And as an added bonus, here's Stella's artistic interpretation of me.
Lots of stubble, crown and chin. :)

Our New Home

Stella Sketching in the Sun

Green Eggs and Ham!

Recital

It's official.

I have survived my Stella has completed her first dance recital! She (and her friends from her school - Aubrey and Jane) did a great job, and were even rewarded with flowers and a trip to Las Palmas.

I was so proud of her I ordered a second margarita.

Goodbye Mr. Max

I had to say good-bye today to my buddy Max. I rescued Max and his sister Cleo when they were 6 weeks old, 12 years ago. He was the shyest little guy, quiet, timid, unlike Cleo who has always let her presence be known.

Max, Cleo and I have been through alot together; they moved to Nashville from California with me almost 10 years ago. Chip, Stella and I, with all of our animal friends (Max, Cleo, Jack, Maggie), just moved to a new house a few weeks ago.

Max fell ill just a few days ago and with the support and guidance of the Veterinarian, I last saw him today. This photo is from our visit together, just me and him. I gave him the pets he likes best, at the tip of his head and ears. He was quite docile in our visit, not unlike his disposition, generally.

It is strange to be home to Cleo tonight, not knowing what is going on in her little mind. These guys were in the womb together and have been at each others side every single day. We love her a little bit extra tonight in his absence.

Good-bye, buddy.
M


Side note: Yes, we're ok. I know its been some time since we posted. We were preparing our house to sell, sold a house, looked for a new house, found a house, have since moved and our world has been turned upside down. We have SO MANY things to post about, so at some point, prepare yourself for a ridiculous run of events. xoxoxo

Lincoln

While putting Stella to bed last Thursday night she told me she was excited that Abraham Lincoln was visiting her class the following day.

I said, "What?"

She said, "Yeah, and did you know that Abraham Lincoln had a mom, but she died, and then he had a stepmom. But it's not the real Abraham Lincoln. He died. He got shoot."

I might've picked a different set of highlights from his career, but not too shabby.

Then we get this image from one of her teachers...

Holy cow! It's Abraham Lincoln! And he's 18 feet tall! (And there's our goofball left front barely holding it together.)

Anyway, here's her pretty awesome artistic interpretation of the emancipator:

On a somewhat-related note: Stella has been using Mommy's computer recently to do some math and spelling lessons, and the website she loves reward kids with a "pet" hamster that she can feed, water, build tube mazes for, etc. She grilled Markana endlessly to give her some pet names, and after turning them all down I proposed...

Abrahamster Lincoln!

Genius, right?

She shrugged it off and chose "Trixie".

A little theater

Monday night turned into impromptu theater night at the Jordan house, as we enjoyed the rival of 2010's puppet theater. A few $4.99 IKEA puppets + the soundtrack from "Tangled" = an extremely enjoyable lamb/horse duet.

Please note the audience singing along with the face-to-face song climax. (pic #2) Believe it or not, it was more moving than the pictures illustrate.

Jordanbread Men

From January, 2013

Stella's school is awesome, and one of the things they work on is '"pin punching," a technique of using an oversized pushpin to cut shapes out of paper. It improves fine motor skills, and the kids use it to cut out shapes of animals, the seven continents, and, as seen above, gingerbread representations of their parents.

Markana, seen in orange here, is evidently overjoyed to look somewhat like a Bengal tiger. I'm the big-nosed guy on the right with dress shirt buttons, glasses, a five o' clock shadow and shaved head.