1. Xander's main sentence right now: "want this." Alternatives are "want mama" or "want wa-wa" (water). He claps along to Shabbat songs - his favorite is the Shabbat dinosaur knock-knock-knocking at his door.

Daddy about to knock on the table.

Babbling/singing along.

2. Simcha escaped yesterday! And we didn't even know it for hours. Around bedtime I realized that I hadn't seen Simcha since lunch at 1, we had thought he was sleeping upstairs. Then we remembered Xander standing by the screen door. We put two and two together... Simcha meowed at the door. Xander wanted to be nice and tried (as usual) to open it. Apparently he succeeded. I was so worried all night, but then, while trimming tree branches this afternoon, we heard sad pitiful meows from beneath the next-door neighbor's porch. He was very dirty and very glad to be back.


3. Yesterday when the boys were at the aquarium I finished The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (who, coincidentally, is married to Ayelet Waldman of Bad Mother. The man writes a novel that reads like poetry, and creates entire worlds. I don't usually read mystery or suspense, but this was well worth it. Thank you Sylvan for the recommendation, and Gwen for the book!

4. Apparently at the aquarium, the penguins were the big hit. Then the fish. Then the drinking fountain, and then the stairs.








5. Fourth of July! Our friend Rachel's parents live on a farm about 30 minutes north of us. They have 300 acres, complete with horses, cattle, and pastures covered in hay bales. They threw a huge party, with bounce house, 20 foot water slide, kiddie pool, and tons of other toys. We got there early so Xander could go in the bounce house without lots of big kids in there with him, and he loved it.

6. The video game Harry Potter Lego: Years 1-4 is fabulous. It's sooo well done, I'm really impressed. Jonathan got it for me as my anniversary gift, but we only started playing it yesterday. Go LEGO, they're so original!

7. And speaking of video games.... something funny. I was at the hospital wanting to tell my coworkers about this webisode series The Guild, and I asked if any of them were gamers. "What does that mean?" asked one. "Gaming as in hunting?" Asked another. I wanted to laugh but held it in. It was one of those things where if they had to ask, the answer was no.

My two gamers.