Everything That's Beautiful

"Everything that's beautiful, everything that's wonderful, every perfect gift comes from you".

The other morning e and I wanted to "rock out" (thank you Janine for the lingo, it's cute to hear him say it). I put on a Chris Tomlin album and we danced and sang to Everything That's Beautiful. 

e says to me: "Yeah, it can't come from US then it wouldn't be a great surprise!"

You're right e. You're a perfect gift, one that is full of surprises daily! And for this I give thanks.

Dinner Talk

e: "I'm going to live with my Daddy when I'm older."

Me: "You are?"

e: "Yeah, I'm not going to live far away!" (said with a "gosh/dah" like attitude with a smile)

Me: "True, (with exaggeration) that's not far away!"

e: "It's south, actually I'll live in the south."

Me: "The south, like Florida, where Papa Joe lives?"

e: "Yeah, or southwest."

Me: (never hearing him refer to the southwest) "Oh, like New Mexico or Texas?"

e: "Yeah, Texas, you know where they have those things?" (he's now motioning with his pointer fingers and going poke poke)

Me: "e, are you talking about a cactus?"

e: "Yeah, those."

Not sure where Southwest - Texas - Cactus all came from but it's hilarious to me. 

Well done e!

Golden Dragon Acrobats

This past weekend I took e to see the Golden Dragon Acrobats. This was the first time I have taken e to a Performing Arts Theater. The show was at the Touhill Theater on UMSL's campus. We had balcony seats in the first row so that he could freely move about without anyone obstructing his view.

I had talked to his Daddy about taking him prior to ordering the tickets since it would cut a bit into his time. He loved the idea and got him ready for me before to the show. I wish I had a picture to post of how handsome e looked when I picked him up. Daddy had spiked his hair, layered his clothes, put him in a pair of skinny jeans from H&M and (best part according to e) he got to wear Daddy's cologne. As e walked out of the house to meet me he was holding his shirt out, with a large grin on his face, for me to smell.

I had talked up our date and went to YouTube with him to get a small preview of the performance ahead. We were both ooohing and ahhhing over the acts. e: "look Mom, they're juggling!" me: "look e, it's with their feet!"

e was quite taken by the theater. He was ready for the show to begin and he found it more exciting to stand at the balcony and watch. At first he was still and quiet, then he went from exaggerated applause to (by intermission) getting a little too comfortable with the railings on the stairs. I was starting to notice his little gears working out how he could maneuver such moves/stunts. It was then I knew I was going to have to drill in his little (almost) 4 year old head that we don't attempt these "tricks" at home. The Acrobats are trained professionals and if little boys want to learn they have to go to Acrobat School.

We had a nice rest of our evening, after the show we went to dinner and then on home. After putting on our PJ's I told e how I could help him continue to learn some gymnastics. I have been teaching him a few skills sharing how I was a gymnast for many years myself and then moved on to teach little boys and girls his age. With great enthusiasm he wanted to practice and when giving him some direction I could clearly see that all he was interested in was learning to scale the wall or do a "flip". I'm not exactly sure why there weren't more disclaimers to that show, I'm definitely taming a little Acrobatic beast within him now!

I'm thankful for...

At bedtime I encourage e to list some things he's thankful for during prayer. This evening we made a game out of it. He would say one and then when I would go to share mine, he'd giggle and interrupt me with another one of his. Our dialog went a little something like this...

e: I'm thankful for Jesus healing my elbow (he fell and scraped his elbow).

me: Yeah, that's a good one.

e: I'm thankful for Jesus healing my belly.

me: Oh yeah, how's it been feeling? That's so great e.

e: How does he talk to us?

me: He speaks to our hearts.

e: I'm thankful for Jesus healing my knee. Remember that one day...I can't remember, but he healed it.

me: Yeah, I remember you once having a hurt knee, that's a good one too, He's so faithful. Isn't it cool how he made our bodies heal?

e: Can our bones break?

me: Yes. And do you know our bones can grow back together?

(I then went into a description of how they heal using my hands and fingers to show a break and then how they come together/fuse back together. Then I told him it was my turn.)

me: (rushing while e was interrupting) I'm thankful for a nice dinner.

e: I'm thankful for Jesus healing your back.

me: (again rushing while e giggled to get his in) I'm thankful for you.

(And then I stepped it up a notch and started naming a bunch of people.)

me: Daddy, Janine, Pop, LaLa, Grandma, Papa Joe, Uncle CJ, Great Gran, Aunt Celine, Our Church Family......(by this time he's really silly and laughing).

e: I'm thankful for my Daddy creating my house.

me: Oh e! That's wonderful! I've gotta tell your Daddy that one, that's so sweet.

e: (very seriously) You know...we have bones and they heal. (Gesturing with his hands) they go like this and then we put soil with them and they grow back together.

me: (I said nothing but rather made mental note of blogging this entry.)

e: Why do you have that in your hair?

me: It's my barrette that keeps my bangs out of my eyes.

(And after a long pause and time of me convincing e it was time to go to bed e says this to me:)

e: I'll hold your hair back Mommy so it's not in your eyes.

e you are such a sweet boy.

love you son, good night.

A Short List Of Great Words

E has been using some great words lately, he uses them properly in a sentence and can give me their definition.

• Delicate
  
• Participate
  
• Similar
  
• Disgusting
  

Just A Few...

This recent photo was taken at his Daddy's. I love it.

Just a few things said and asked today:

• Although I realize this question is inevitable, it still won't ever be an easy one to answer. On the car ride home from school today e asked why Daddy and I don't live together and that he wished we all lived in one home.
• Tonight at dinner I was singing a silly song. When I couldn't remember the words e reminded me; "Daddy is a greater knower". Me: "your Daddy is a great knower, I'll have to ask him". (Hey Daddy do you know the lime in the coconut song? What are the words?) By the end of dinner e had made up the words, "you put the lime in the coconut and I don't know" (repeat). Pretty funny.
• e and I took a walk after dinner. I pushed him in the stroller not the wagon tonight. We were going over bumpy sidewalks when he said, "we need to get Ewan here." I questioned what made him think of Ewan and he said, "remember Mommy how Ewan and I laugh when we go over the bumps in our wagon?" I love his little memory. Ewan and family we miss you.
  

The Office

Ummm, what? Huh? Is this a post?
...yes, yes it is! And after I share this story I'll post a long list of events I need to cover!

When I picked up e from school today I saw that this evenings teacher was a substitute so she didn't have much to report during her short shift, so I asked e how his day was.

After offering to hold his graham cracker he started sharing a story that quickly got him flustered. It started off with him saying he "didn't do anything wrong", or "bad" or "naughty" which I of course questioned. He then stopped at a little lounge area, sat down on the couch and told me, "me and Ms. Ann had a 'serious' talk today". He didn't want to share the details of this "serious talk". I got down to his level and told him how it takes courage to tell the truth and that I wanted him to speak from his heart. Yes, I seriously say those words to him for those perhaps giggling or taking notes.

The story jumped around a little but I did clearly get that he ran from Ms. Ann and had to go to the office. We passed by the office on our way out and I asked the girls up at the front desk if they knew anything about his bad behavior today. One woman with a soulful voice said, "ummmmm hmmmm, I know he did something but I didn't get the details". The other woman stopped and shared a bit more to help put his pieces together. Apparently children who jump from cot to cot in the classroom during nap time get to go have some "quiet time" in the office so they don't disrupt other children's sleep.

I told e as we walked out to the car that we needed to call and talk to Daddy, tell him honestly what happened, he hesitated at first then agreed. We continued to talk a little bit about what is the "right and wrong" thing to do. He told me he appologized and then decided to compare and contrast the "serious talk" he had with Ms. Ann to some of our "serious talks". Then without skipping a beat shared that at Daddy's he "doesn't have any 'serious talks' with Daddy"... I had to stop myself from laughing!

We had a great rest of the evening. e called his Father and shared the news (well, I did then he did). He's apologized not only to the teacher but to both his Father and I so I've laid it to rest. Nothing like getting called to the office for the first time. Can't wait to see Ms. Ann on Monday and get her version of the day.

Now for the list of blogs I MUST get to writing:
(Not in any special order and I'm certain I'm missing thousands in between)

• Mother's Day
• Our trip to England
• A shift in our schedules
• Your audition
• Your theatrics
• Easter 2009

Roast Beef

I told myself that when I revived this blog my first entry would be titled "Roast Beef".
Entry no. 3 in 2009
Title: Roast Beef
Story:
There are tons of changes happening in our lives right now and in the recent past. I'll get to all of them one of these days but this story MUST be a priority. It's simple really but does need a little explanation up front.

e's father has sold his home and they are moving to a home that used to be his Grandfather's (a home he lived in when he was younger for a short period of time). e's father is looking forward to this new beginning and is ready to try on new things. One of those new things is gardening and perhaps raising a chicken or two. How yummy to have fresh eggs!!

Sharing the news with e, his father asked him what he'd like to name his chicken. Without skippping a beat e said, "Roast Beef"! "Perfect", said his father. I think so too, PERFECT! Now I'm just waiting for the move and for the purchase. I can't wait to go visit their new home and take a picture of Roast Beef. Be sure to look for that entry.

Giggles,
e's Mommy

A Special Gift For A Special Friend

e and Ewan just turned 3. As you see from the Birthday post the theme was trucks. On their invite I created out of construction paper a garbage truck. Here is one I created out of fabric.

This was Ewan's Birthday gift from e and I. I will be making another one for e soon. When Aunt C came to visit she brought e an iron-on to wear on his Birthday but it didn't quite come out as she had hoped. So on his gray hoodie I will be making another for him (covering up the iron-on). That picture is to come. We love you Ewan!

The Boys Celebrate Their 3rd!

This is the invitation for the boys, Karl helped with the typography this year.

e and Ewan celebrated their 3rd Birthdays together again this year. We had a great time! This year was so special for many reasons, some I will share now and others I will share in a post at a later date.

We celebrated at the park with a few very close friends and family. The kids enjoyed the truck theme with hard hats and all! Louise and my Mom (Grandma) made really yummy treats. This year was super special because Celine was able to come in town and celebrate with us. Celine, my cousin e's second cousin lives in Tallahassee. She's Aunt C to e. It was a really fun visit. e continues to talk about his time with her. We will be seeing her soon this November along with Aunt Lo, Papa Joe, Great Gran and lots more family and friends.

Here are some fun pics from the day.
Thank you to everyone who was able to come!

Pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing with trucks on top!

Thank you Celine for the hard hats! I made the trash cans with Oscar on top filled with Oreo dirt and gummy worms. P.S. The Oreo cookies were the healthy version, the worms...not so much.

Our handsome boys!

All the kids minus Poppi she didn't feel like getting her picture taken.

After the party we came back to the house and had lunch together. The boys continued to play, here are some videos of their fun.

E was doctoring Ewan. This video cracks me up...how he tells him how he feels and that he has a present for him.

The boys singing.

The boys drawing their birthday cake. Lots and lots of icing.

This year e celebrated his third Birthday a couple of times. Not only did we celebrate as a family with Ewan but his Daddy and Janine threw him a second party in the park.

e's Daddy surprised him that morning with a brand new bike, with training wheels! He does so well! On his actual day we celebrated again with Ewan, Louise, Anya, Grandma, John and Kara. It was a perfect day with those we love. And John was the perfect punching bag! The boys love ruff housing with him. Thanks guys for being with us!

Great Weekend Started With A Happy Friday

This week was the first of a new schedule at work. I am now working 4-day work weeks. This is truly an answer to prayer...many, many where I would hope for more time with my boy. Even though he is almost 3 (putting his father's and I separation at 2.5 years) I still struggle from time to time with the time we share. Knowing it's amazing time with his father, it's been hard not to have a day with E without any obligations. Our custody arrangements are not the typical every other weekend scenario, my days with E have always been with filled commitments.

Prior to Friday I looked into a tumble class for E. He loves the commercials by The Little Gym. So after doing some research I enrolled him into their gymnastics classes. Friday was our first day and he was truly thrilled. He did a great job. Nervous (only at first) of the tallest balance beam he ran to every aperatus and defeated any fear. He swung on the uneven bars, bear walked on the parallel bars. E did forward rolls with ease and walked the balance beam only having his one hand in mind, the other out and his eyes not focused down but forward. His skills caught his teachers attention. It was a joy to watch him. The rest of the day was spent with his best buddy Ewan. Louise and I look forward to sharing our Fridays and continuing to grow the boys friendship.

This evening after dinner E and I decided to make our own holiday decorations. E loves to get out his scissors.
Our creation:

It was a perfect evening with the house opened enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

E, I had a lovely weekend with you. I look forward to our Fridays together!

Where does one start?...

With September over in a few days, I see that my last entry was September 2nd so I'm beyond overdue for a post. I think this is a record for the least amount of entries in a month. And truth be told, there was a lot this month to talk about but time escaped me and now I must get creative on what to share and where to start....

I'll start at the beginning of the month with our travels. Early this month e went on his first "Hunt Vacation". His Daddy took him to the lake, a place that holds special memories for him as a child so I know it meant a lot to take his boy there. e, Bull Shoals lake is a special place for many reasons. Not only is it a place that carries a lot of history of your father's family but I learned it holds history of mine as well. Your great great grandfather helped build the dam and maintained cabins there many many years ago. This was my father's mother's father. I'll never forget how excited your Great Gran was to know I was traveling there, she has fond memories of that place as well.

Your Daddy told me you traveled pretty well during the long 4 hour drive down. You were met with more of your family there, Lala, Pop, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Christy. From the photos and video taken it looked like you had an amazing time. Not to mention how you continue to talk to this day about how much fun you had. The wind in your hair, how the boat went fast, your new friend, everything spoken so quickly you can barely get it all out. Don't worry, I'm certain you'll spend a lot more time down at the lake.

While you were traveling I also made a special trip with Andrea to Boston to visit our friends Sara and Ana. It was a good visit, a healthy, blessed one supporting our friend who needed to be with her girlfriends. One day my boy you will have friends you care for so deeply that when they hurt you'll find the way to be there right by their side. It was such a great trip that it deserves its own entry titled "loving your friends" (I smile).

The time away was good and I was so happy to receive so many reports of how you were doing. You would jump on the phone and ask if I was still in Boston or if I was home now. You would share something fun from that day and then quickly jump off the phone to get to your next activity. My favorite call was one you left in my voice mail saying that you loved and missed me and good night. I thanked your Daddy for that one, I would listen to it every night while we were apart. I speak of this time apart because it was our first time being apart for that long. It was hard but it was great for the both of us!

It seems like the month went by quickly after traveling. We quickly got back on schedule and filled our weekends visiting with friends. Hence why I'm just now writing during a lunch break because it's the best available time. Some other fun September news would be:

• You got a handsome haircut.
• You went to a Balloon glow (second year, this year with fireworks...you love this!).
• Had a candle light dinner with Grandma.
• Started having private book time where you're enjoying reading your books alone.
• Although your Birthday isn't until next month, you've starting sharing already that you are 3.
• Your best buddy Ewan has been missing you so much that he walks around with an invisible e friend.
• I received a final email at work stating that our office is going to a 4-day work week! This means I get a wonderful full Friday with you that we'll spend at The Little Gym in a tumble class and having great visits with your buddy Ewan. We'll replace the imaginary e with the real one!
• You are definitely coming "into your own". It's been a difficult time with you but a memorable one. A time where I'm not only learning a lot about you but about myself as well. I'm learning to give you grace and patience. Yes, even when I'm dishing out the discipline I'm full of love and learning! I'm also learning during trying times with you that your father and I are truly on board together raising you. Although we don't live under the same roof, we connect daily keeping each other informed of behaviors and disciplines so that we don't confuse you with different methods. We're parenting together and several times this month I've shared that we're doing about as best as you can get for a "divided family". I hope e, you grow up feeling this togetherness rather than ever feeling split apart.

I'll work on doing better next month. It's going to be a busy a October. Birthday's, family visits and holidays. Love you e!

Classical

e has really taken to classical music. Ever since he was a baby I have been playing it in the car. I've always enjoyed listening to the music even though I don't know much about its history. e has labeled the channel, the violin station.

Lately when we've been listening I've been putting a story behind the music. As I mentioned I don't know the composers well so I use my imagination. To name a few examples...The high pitched, rhythmic sounds are mice or ants. The low, slow horns a fox, wolf, or bear. The stringed instruments can also take on an environment like a storm or sunny day. I will start the story and e will chime in adding in his little details.

One day I heard a piece that sounded very familiar, yet I couldn't figure out from where. I started my make-believe illustrations and then thought I was listening to Peter And The Wolf. I then shifted the illustrations to fit the story and when the piece was finished it was announced as being from Fantasia. Ah! I had recognized it but put the wrong story to it. I then got excited and told e what the music's illustrations really were and that I would rent for him the Disney movie. He thought it was pretty silly to hear about dishes, bubbles and brooms dancing.

The other day after picking e up from school he asked if I would turn on the "mouse" song. I didn't understand his request until he asked again calling it the "mouse and wolf" song. Ah, he wanted the classical station and immediately wanted to imagine the illustrations.

What is also so fantastic is that e will listen to the music and match the characters mood to the compositions. If the music sounds somber, he will ask why the mouse is sad. Or when the music is loud with cymbals and drums he will say that the mouse is scared cause the wolf is coming to get him. He pays close attention to the musical notes and generates an emotion that I believe is wonderfully fitting.

I recommend when driving with e to turn on the classical station. Ask him what he hears, perhaps help him with his choice of characters and watch/listen to his imagination grow. I look forward to our stories. I look forward to him playing an instrument one day.

Juicy e!

This week you can visit: http://publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/arts.artsmain

e had a great time with Daddy, Janine, Kris, Nikki and Poppi at Eckerts picking peaches. This was one of the shots I posted to his Flickr site and sent to the group KWMU, St. Louis Life. They selected it to be the photo of the week.


This shot of Ewan and e playing at Tower Grove was selected about a year ago.

Do you think he needs a portfolio?

Thanks KWMU!

Thank You Friends

I realize that some posts (like the last entry) are more for me, "the mommy" than fun to read. I know his voice and see his facial expressions and am constantly amazed at everything I forget and wish I would have written down. Before I sat down and wrote that last entry I swore I had twelve more moments but they all slipped my mind. And for that reason is why I blog, I don't want everything lost in my memory.

This weekend was a great one spent with loving friends. It started Friday night with a girls night for me. e enjoyed his Saturday with Daddy in the park (our weather here has been crazy beautiful, highs of 80 and lows of 60) and I enjoyed spending time over at the Mowery's with Daniella too. Later that night Rachel invited us to stay for dinner and spend the night. The Mowery's somewhat recently moved to my old neighborhood the one that e's Daddy still lives in. I miss the neighborhood for the very reason that on Saturday I was able to walk over to pick up e from Rachel's house. I took the wagon and rolled him back for our slumber party.

Our last slumber party over at the Mowery's didn't go so well. At midnight we had to leave because e's molars were hurting him terribly. It was easier and more comfortable for him to go home than for us to run out to Walgreens making the slumber a success. This time we were free of painful molars. e, Ella and Simon played wonderfully together and the night was a great evening spent with great friends.

While observing the kids playing (e almost 3, Ella just turned 4 and Simon 2 in Dec.) I loved the imagination and imitations. I've been encouraging e to read on his own. We read a lot together and he does a fantastic job reading to me but the alone time is what isn't developing yet. Ella is wonderful at reading; taking several books, curling up in a corner and creating her own stories from memorization and from the illustrations. I was able to watch e do the same thing. At bed time after they were washed up I took e and Ella downstairs for story time. Story time consisted of both of them each with their own pile not only reading to themselves but each other. Finally it was my turn with The Cat In The Hat so I quickly jump over this word and that completing it in a timely manner.

They played monster imagination, they danced to (one of my all time favorite soundtracks) Pretty and Pink, read books and e even let Ella play beauty shop with his luscious hair. All the while Rachel and I had great adult conversation and catch up time. There is nothing like your girlfriends! There is nothing like friendship e! Thank you friends!

(As we left and were giving love to our friends, Ella hugged e and said, "I'm going to miss you"...we'll see you soon my friend!)

A Few Of My Favorite Things

I'm overdue, it has been a busy couple of weeks. I have several entries I want to write but haven't managed my time to write them. So tonight before I go to bed I'd like to share some recent "favorite things":

• Lately with great enthusiasm e will say, "I've got a great idea!"
• I'm quite certain I've been over allowing e to watch the Bee Movie cause he's certain we have one in our home. Every morning he speaks of "the bee" he saw.
• I got to go on a field trip with e for the first time to Grant's Farm. It was a fun day! We got to feed the animals and watch a elephant poop and pee...more to come on the outing.
• I recently saw a cute pic of a friends daughter in the tub. The water was shallow enough so that she could lay flat and her hair made for fun/silly Medusa like pics. Why I hadn't thought of this for our bath time routine and rising e's hair...I don't know? He gets such a kick out of it. He'll let the water go, swirling it to help it down the drain. He'll lay back testing the depth and with patience wait for just the right height. Note: It's great for rising the soap out without water in the eyes.

As you can see they don't have to be big things, it's the little things that are repeated daily; new words forming sentences, imagination, adventure, poop and silly water play.

Love you e.

It's Complete!

My other Craigslist find...a brand new Ikea bed (not the one I originally wanted) that I didn't have to drive to Chicago to get. I met a girl who was moving back to Japan and needed to sell her lovely new platform bed. It's perfect and completes e's room.

He was very happy to see it when he came home from Daddy's.

Lollipop, Lollipop!

So last nights post was too lengthy, so I share this story today.

This is e and his special lollipop treat.

Potty training e was actually rather easy. I've written about this before. I was more nervous about it than he was, worrying about when I would find the time. I didn't have to reward him with special these and that's, for him it was more about the games we'd play on the potty.

What I did start doing though is giving him a special treat if he came home in the same underwear as he went to school in. I thought it would be a nice reward for an accident free school day. I bought these lollipops at Trader Joes. They are colored with natural ingredients like turmeric for the yellow and beet juice for the red. No yellow #4 crappies!

Anyway, he loves them... We also sing the song together... You know the song where at the end of it you make the pop noise in your cheek?

This photo is of him having his lollipop while watching The Bee Movie while I cook dinner. When I asked him if it was watermelon flavored he just looked at me and said... e: "Noooooo! It's not a watermelon Mommy!"

So What Do You Think About That?

Tonight has been full of fun. So much so that this post will be a collage of it all.

First, I will start with the end of the evening. I'm doing this so that I can properly script our evenings prayers. When e and I say prayers we always start with giving thanks and end with blessing family, friends, pets or even perhaps his toys around the room. The routine is such that I say the thank you part and he names the names. Well tonight was different, e asked to say the thank you part and I say the names. It went a little something like this...
e: thank you Jesus for I like that I'm better, I feel better. And I took a nap at Daddy's house. And I saw a dinosaur. /saying to me/ your prayers? yeah? Okay.
me: Daddy
e: Good, okay
me: Mommy /his same response/Elliott.../and on and on/

See, last night was a Daddy night and when I give thanks I always say for a nice time at Daddy's house. So his version was remembering that he slept there and then taking it further to remembering (giving thanks for) the weekend at the Science Center and making a dinosaur at Build-A-Bear. And the "okay" part, he's been saying this a lot lately as to give confirmation that it was a good thought, suggestion, comment etc. And I always say "good" after he names a name so that's where he got that part.

It's just so sweet to hear him and then to know that he's caught on to giving thanks before we launch into our needs and wants. I'll have to record him sometime, narrating it just doesn't give it justice.

Earlier this evening was the first time I heard him ask me "so, what do you think about that?". It was to a line-up of the evening; when we were to play, eat dinner and so forth. He placed it all nice and neatly into his own order of favorites and then asked me my thoughts. Pretty cute.

After dinner he decided he wanted to take pictures. Not the kind on the computer but with my camera. It was sitting out, grabbed his attention and so I decided to coach him on proper handling and shooting. Here are a few he took...


Lastly, I had to catch on camera his maternal instincts. You would think I have another baby in my belly and I've been preparing him for a sibling. He's been taking to his animals and now a baby doll so much and caring for them so intently. I can't help but watch him and get a little melancholy that I can not give him a brother or sister now. I would truly love to e.

We can pray to Jesus, "what do you think about that" ? ; )

A New Addition To Our Family...

...meet Ewan Fish.

Although e's Birthday isn't for several months, I have managed to finish his Birthday shopping and gave him one of the two presents yesterday. Ewan Fish is an early Birthday present. Because of my continued guilt of e not having a pet at Mommy's house (e has Lola at his Daddy's house, a miniature Dotson) I bought him a Beta fish.

Yesterday I had to go see my printer and next door is a pet store. I got in my car, thought about it, drove away discouraging myself and then backed up the car to go in and make the purchase. Yes, that pet store was going nowhere but I felt the need to buy him a fish.

I was able to pick up e from school early. Excited, I showed him his surprise in the car after he was unsuccessful at guessing. First it was "a special treat?" then "a shirt?" so wa-la I pulled out his new fish. After discouraging him to hold the bag of water in the car, I put it back in the front seat safely with me and asked him to think of a name for his new pet.

After awhile I asked him if he had decided on a name, he said:
"Probably I name him Ewan Fish."
Me: "Your new fish's name is Ewan Fish?"
e: "Yes, that's a very nice name."

So welcome Ewan Fish to our family.