My plan to visit the Art Institute with Ming Ming and Oscar with my free admission (free for students!) attracted not only Oscar's parents but also the Lacroixs to come along.
The museum staff were gracious, they allowed the kids to lay down and draw. Nourit and Oscar imitated some artworks, while Avi and MM just drew whatever they felt like.
Oscar left early for his Cello lesson, while the girls stayed for more fun downtown.
No, not five yet! but Ming Ming turns four today!
Thank you for everyone who have called to wish MM happy birthday: mamie and papou (from France), papa Antoine (from Germany), popo (from Hong Kong), Tatan Nana and tonton Andre (from France), Selina Yiyi (from Belgium), Tata sylvie, tonton Nico and petit Alex (from Canada), and German Yiyi (from facebook)!!
MM's family is so far away, but luckily her friends are close by! We celebrated her birthday with the Big Guys on the Go summer camp Class at Akiba.
Started by making some cupcakes together. main Chef: Ting, Sous Chef: Ming Ming, Anya, Jeffy, and many other kids.
these guys are busy! they helped me make cupcakes, and then attended a show titled "Tales and Scales" at school, a lot of animals apparently. I did not got a chance to see it, it was much longer to cook with kids, I ended up alone in their classroom making cupcakes for more than an hour (which was not so much fun for me).
luckily they came back! eating some fruit before getting their cupcakes.
here they are: 24 Owl cupcakes!
Birthday song in a school ritual. They started by singing what they put in a birthday cake, then asked the birthday person's name and age, and then "today is Ming Ming's birthday, she is four year old", followed by the birthday song in English and Hebrew.
When we got home, Ming Ming told me, "I did not sing because it is my birthday. if I sing then people would not know whose birthday it is." That is right!
Avi and Nourit brought down a bag of presents for Ming Ming when we got home! Sweet neighbors!
In the afternoon MM stitched a felt monkey face with mama (the body had to wait), danced ballet, watered Jacob's vegetable garden (which is entrusted to me for a month), played outside with Lucas and Lily, eaten dinner with Xiaohu, had a dessert brought to her by Helen and Oscar. The evening ended with an impromptu concert!
Xiaohu, age 6 1/2, has been learning for a year and a half; Oscar, three months short of turning six, just started ten weeks ago.
Ming Ming was pretty contented except reiterating her desire to start learning Violin at Suzuki. In the concert we suggested that she sang instead but she did not want to, she wanted to play an instrument. Papa should we reconsider?
a White Socks' game on Friday night. my first time at a baseball game, it was quite fun.
Ming Ming was not happy because White Socks lost. She thought it was a like a story book, of course the team we support would win the match not matter what happened. During the whole game her main question was: have the white socks won yet? how many points do they have now? when are they going to win? this is very long!
walking around the ball park to get beer and cotton candy
got her cotton candy
firework even though our home team lost.
MM slept through the entire firework show, which lasted for 15 mins at least.
Saturday, the commune celebrated Keven's graduation
ghetto kids
Monday afternoon, we went to the Field Museum with the Lacroix family membership. this is the underground exhibition in which we are supposed to be about half an inch tall and all the bugs and tree roots are gigantic.
Ming Ming was scared here!
Mommies exhibition. but the most interesting is still the evolution of the planet earth and all the species.
The field museum will be a frequent destination in the coming year. We are going to learn so much here!
