Shake it up baby now

Another first: Evelyn has a favorite song. It's Twist And Shout by the Beatles and I estimate we're currently listening to it approximately 874,912 times a day.

She likes to "twist" by spinning in a circle and joins in the "ah-Ah-AH-AHHHH" section with gusto.

As songs to hear far too many times in a day go, Twist is more tolerable than most. Our master plan has been to push oldies over "kids' music" and so far it seems to be working.

On the topic of music I should also mention that for a couple of weeks now she's been helping out with Old McDonald in the evening by hollering out the name of each animal. Song time is getting to be a lot more fun now that she's participating.

-- Mike

Transitions afoot

Howdy folks, and happy new year. We hope 2008 is treating you well so far. Lots of changes underway or in the offing here at chez McBacon.



But first things first - we had a grand old time with friends Brian and Melissa who graced us with their company and helped us bid farewell to 2007. We ate, drank and made merry, played some poker and even managed to take in some culture at the art museum.







Whether it's exploring the awesome Portland Children's Museum (we're now members), walking all the way up to the park under her own steam or visiting with her friend H, Evelyn's interests and ambitions continue to blossom.

We've seen an increase in fussiness and we're hearing a lot more of the word 'no' than we used to. But at the same time she is still the same fun-loving giggler and her intellectual curiosity continues to astonish us.



This was neat: we were eating lunch at the zoo after a visit to the kids' museum. Evelyn (who is crazy about octopi) started hollering "Otta" as we were packing up to leave. I couldn't figure out why until I looked more closely where she was pointing. You have to admit, this coat hook does bear a striking resemblance to an octopus.



Finally, it's hard to believe but our year with Anne-Sophie is rapidly drawing to a close. She'll be leaving us in a few short weeks to return to France. She plans to do some travelling in Spain this summer then attend school in Paris. We're so happy for her but she will be sorely missed, not least by Evelyn who adores her "Oh-ee."

We're biting our nails a bit in anticipation of the transition. We'll have a temporary nanny filling in for 3 weeks and then Nataliia arrives from Ukraine and some semblance of stability will be restored. In the end I'm sure Evelyn will be fine but it won't surprise me if there is some short-term fallout from the disruption to her routine.

But such is life! Our best to all of you. Drop a line and don't be strangers.

-- Mike