Videos of Connecticut life

The last few days have been very cold here, and the water in our garden amongst the trees is frozen into what Bluet regards as an ice skating rink:

Meanwhile, Wilder is continuing to learn everything about the world. First, here is how he says goodbye to his sisters every morning when they board the school bus:

And here is how I entertained him for half an hour whilst his sisters were in German class:

And finally, Wilder shows you how to enjoy music: First, get the volume and sound right, and then you can dance, putting your hands in the air like you just don't care

The streets of Philadelphia

On Monday the schools were shut for Martin Luther King Jr day, whilst Tuesday they were shut for in service teacher training; at the same time Emily had an all day meeting in Philadelphia on Tuesday, so we decided to make it a road trip for the whole family, and stay in a hotel there overnight. On Tuesday the kids and I headed out on the SEPTA Subway to go visit the Liberty Bell and other historic sites, only to discover that thanks to the unnecessary and stupid Government Shutdown currently going on, all of these National Monuments were closed to visitors. Did I mention that it was very cold? Anyway, the lack of warm museums to go into was leading to some very unhappy children, so after stopping in Starbucks to warm up, we headed back to the subway. To salvage something from the excursion, I took us past the US mint, so we could at least see where half the coins in the US are made. Walking around this large, grey building I noticed a sign for visitors. We headed up the steps, and to our surprise found that the mint was open for visitors (and the security guards welcomed us excitedly, as we were the only people there and they seemed quite bored; presumably everyone assumed that this aspect of government would also be shut. They gave each kid, including Wilder a plastic envelope containing a 2018 1 cent* and a blank 1 cent). Anyway, the museum is great. On the top floor you can even look down on the factory floor and see all the steps of coin manufacture. And all the kids were warm and entertained. What more could you ask for?

*for some reason struck in the Denver mint, rather than Philadelphia

Wilder in Subway eating lunch

On the SEPTA subway

We did technically see the liberty bell

Ice crystals on the trees at home before we left

Instagram

You might also want to check this out for more kid pics:

https://www.instagram.com/ben_collins/

Tuna sandwuch

ilona drew a Tuna sandwich at school because she loves tuna sandwiches. I am so proud!

Nearby walks: Mark Twain's old house grounds

Very close to our house, just behind the Mark Twain library is an area called Stormfields, which is the grounds that used to belong to Mark Twain. From these pictures I think you can see why he invested his money there. Also every time we take Bluet and Ilona they have a great time playing on these bridges without getting wet (so far).

Wilder's Words

Having mastered walking and stair climbing, next up is talking. So far we have:

Ba-bye (Bye Bye, with a wave often, sometimes involves closing the door or waving to the school bus that takes Bluet and Ilona every day)

Bey-ey (Belly, accompanied by patting belly)

Za (Zip, accompanied by a small chuckle when he sees a zip)

Chz (Cheese)

Shz (shoes)

Mama (general purpose I want that/what is that/do something for me word)

Done (said at the end of dinner)

Ba (first word, meaning ball. He will also bring you a ball (with great glee) if you ask him to)

Ed (head)

Am (ham)

Pa-pa (paper)

Bk (book, usually involves presenting/gently hitting you with said book until you read it 3 or 4 times)

Ca (car; if he picks up a toy car he will also make the noise a car makes)

Na-na (banana)

Kacka (cracker, as in the foodstuff)

Abby (Happy, often said several times in a row whilst walking around)

So this is Christmas

Here is Christmas 2018, spent in Redding, CT for the first time. Christmas Eve it snowed, then melted, but there was enough time for the kids to go outside and Bluet even managed to build a snowman. Then on Christmas day the kids laid waste to our living room with torn wrapping paper and empty boxes, as they devoured their Christmas presents (found under the tree) in record time. Later, we had Christmas dinner which even included crackers and Christmas pudding (pictured below, on fire, as it is supposed to be).