Self-portrait

Levynn spent a lot of time today, including a program at The Art Institute, with the daughter of one of Mom's co-workers. Here is her finished art project, a self-portrait collage that looks like something Picasso would have made.

She finished it!

And then she immediately started reading the next book in the series.

This is ridiculous

Wonderfully, momentously, ridiculous!

Five-year-old kindergarten students don't read Little House books all by themselves! Right? Wrong!

Fun paints

The Pearl art supply store in our neighborhood is closing and has all its products on sale for half price. So we wandered through it the other day and found the one thing we hoped to find, tempera paint. Levynn used it at The Art Institute once, and the vibrancy of the colors really struck us. We used it today for the first time.

Funny man

Alan Arkin. Dan Aykroyd. Jim Belushi. John Belushi. Peter Boyle. John Candy. Steve Carell. Stephen Colbert. Rachel Dratch. Chris Farley. Tina Fey. Bonnie Hunt. Eugene Levy. Shelley Long. Jack McBrayer. Tim Meadows. Bill Murray. Mike Myers. Gilda Radner. Harold Ramis. Joan Rivers. Horatio Sanz. Betty Thomas. Nia Vardalos. George Wendt. Fred Willard.

And our own Lincoln?

He started a new program today with Dad at The Second City, the same Chicago sketch comedy theater where all of those performers began their careers.

He's not learning improv, per se; it's primarily a socialization class. But we quickly jumped into mirroring exercises, which the instructor described as basic improv techniques, and Lincoln really enjoyed it.

He wasn't too sure about it at first because he was expecting toys; we had told him it was a playgroup, and his previous playgroup had a lot of toys. But once we started moving our bodies after the first few minutes, he was into it.

This should be fun.

Talent?

Levynn started her 16-week ballet class at Old Town School of Folk Music today, and she's been so excited you would have thought she couldn't wait another day.

Well, after class, the teacher - who should know her stuff - told Levynn that she has "ballet feet."

Maybe it's just that she already had done ballet twice. Or maybe it's something else.

Let it snow!

Why not? We neither drive nor shovel!

We're in the middle of what is supposed to be Chicago's largest snowfall of the season so far, perhaps topping a foot by tomorrow afternoon.

So even though the temperature had not reached this month's high of 23 degrees(!), Dad and the kids went to the park after school today.





By the way, the kids seem to have made an impression on this building's staff. On the way outside, two of them - first a maintenance guy coming out of another elevator, then the leasing agent running out of her office as we passed through the lobby - stopped us to discuss a movie night being planned for tomorrow. Each wanted to know whether 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. would be better for us. Dad said 6, and a short time later there were flyers advertising a 6 p.m. showing of "Up."

Christmas with Massachusetts

We have a veterinarian in the family.

... and a firefighter.

Loves for Gram.

Fun with Dan.

More fun with Dan.

And even more fun with Dan. What else is new? (Ask him how many kids of his own he wants.)

Get him, Linc! After all, he got you!

There must be something about sweeping snow.

Reading with Papa.

Swimming with Dan

and Gram. And Papa, too. Mom and Dad sat this one out.