Lego fun

Here’s Sebastian showing his newest Lego creation:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Short and sweet: photos are up!

School!

Just a quick post to say that the photos from Sebastian’s first day of first grade are up, along with some others from the past week or so.

Sebastian posing outside of school

We made it just in time for announcements after a scramble to get all the supplies packed and ready, so sorry there aren’t more. You’ll also see a few shots from last Friday when Sebastian joined me for a fun-filled day at work. He was a great companion and we even put him to work in the warehouse. I don’t know that he’ll want to follow in my footsteps but let’s be realistic – neither would I.

Then & Now

What a change 4 and 1/2 years makes…

Happy Birthday, America!

Sebastian says: “The fireworks were cool!”

I would have to agree. The show at the LA Coliseum is an hour long and has an amazing finale. AM & I were talking and neither of us can remember anything so grand from our childhood experiences. They started abruptly with a small, short barrage of the loud variety and I thought Sebastian was going to demand to leave immediately. But he stuck it out and by the end he was having a great time. Below is the grand finale of the event — not the best quality of video but you get the picture:

And there are some new pictures up, too.

Trip to the pits

We made another trip to the La Brea Tar Pits yesterday and had a good time poking the tar and looking at the fossils. The helpful excavators working on project 23 directed us to an exceptionally gooey deposit that was bubbling up with the sticky stuff and AM & Sebastian were fascinated by it. That isn’t to say that I wasn’t, only that I tend to be a little clumsy and didn’t want to get too close, lest I become the latest victim of “the the tar tar pits.”

There are some photos of our day here and we’ll have some more this week as Sebastian is graduating from kindergarten TOMORROW! Check back soon!

Xmas break

Well, Sebastian’s break from school has officially begun! The school had a Christmas pagent on Thursday night. Each class performed a song and dance with costumes and all. The kindergarten song was “Mi Burrito Sabanero” and they were all so damn adorable!

I can’t remember any xmas performances that I participated in during school — did we not have them or am I blocking them from my memory for some reason? Anyway, enjoy the pictures and we’ll update again soon!

Spiders… beware!

We made the trek to the spider pavillion at the Natural History Museum yesterday and I must say it was impressive. The crowds were much lighter than at the “Pavillion of Wings” exhibit, due both to a USC game at the stadium next door (I imagine, at least, that parking is at a premium around Exposition Park during USC football) and to the inherent “ewwww” factor normally associated with spiders. An interesting factoid, though, is that there are about 40,000 species of spiders in the world and only 28 are considered “potentially dangerous” to humans. Still, I wouldn’t want this crawling on me:

Ugh

A new chapter…

Sebastian started school (officially) this week. The kindergarten & first grade classes only went for half days to ease into the routine and they start the full days on Monday. AM & I went together to drop him off on Tuesday (the first day, what with Labor Day and all) and he looked absolutely dapper in his formal uniform – white shirt, black tie, navy vest with the school crest, blue cords, black shoes – and didn’t shed a tear. I was a little torn about that, but suppose that I’d rather he be excited than scared, so good for him.

Last night was the “Back to School” night at the school: a time for parents to be introduced to the faculty & students and to tour the school. After an uncomfortable (though informative) hour in the non-air-conditioned auditorium we went to the 2nd floor to see the new computer lab and then back down to Sebastian’s classroom to spend time with his teacher. All in all the night reinforced our decision to send Sebastian there – the school is clean & well-maintained, the faculty & staff friendly and caring, the parents involved. Thank goodness.

There are some new photos up of the first day as well as from our trip to the Peteresen Automotive Museum last weekend. Enjoy and take care…

Another Birthday

Wow. Five years have flown by and our little baby boy ain’t so little any more!

Sebastian had a great birthday, waking up at 6:30AM and running into the living room to see his gifts. We rolled our lazy butts out of bed and watched as he tore them open. He seemed to like the scooter, but I feel bad that the monorail toy we ordered won’t arrive until this Wednesday — the picture I printed to show him it was on the way was sadly pixelated and I don’t know that he grasped completely the intent. Oh well, he’ll be happy come Wednesday. I had to go to work shortly after but he & AM went to Nick’s Cafe for a huge breakfast (he had a pancake sandwich: 3 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 bacon, and a piece of AM’s toast!) then headed to Target to spend Ma & Pa’s gift card. He spent HOURS carefully examining all of the toy offerings, finally settling on a toy vacuum cleaner for $15 — his eyes lit up and he was ready to head straight home & clean… but I showed up and instead we had an early birthday dinner at Islands first. Once we got home we opened the package and, much like our recent experience with our real vacuum, the damn thing was broken. So yesterday we spent ANOTHER day at Target as Sebastian went too and fro trying to see if he had changed his mind on his choice. He didn’t. We exchanged it, went to Whole Foods for a quick bite & some groceries & headed for home. And vacuumed. Every room. And this morning, too. All in all it’s been a good birthday. Plus the carpet is clean.

Thanks to all for the gifts & cards & such! And Happy Birthday (again) Sebastian! We love you!