Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Clara's new look
I knew Clara was getting a haircut today, but I didn't expect this! (I love it, by the way.) And yes, her ears are now pierced, as a reward for finally licking the thumb-sucking habit. Somehow, Ellie managed to get her pierced at the same time. (All piercings done by a board-certified pediatrician, a/k/a Ellie Rose.)
posted by Tom 8:12 PM

Sunday, June 22, 2003

quahteh quahteh h-a-h-f n-o-t-e
Today Clara had her first piano recital. She took some group piano lessons through Westfield's recreation department, but when they did not have enough enrollment for another session, we signed her up for private lessons. We found our teacher through my friend Karrie from work, who knows every single person in Westfield, I'm convinced. We all really like Chin-Wen Deng, Clara's teacher. She is fairly serious about the piano, but easygoing all around. She does a good job keeping Clara focused, but she also is loose enough to change plans to engage Clara's interest.

There were probably 25-30 kids in the recital, and Clara's #6 slot in the line-up reflected her relative inexperience. She had worked pretty hard on her two recital pieces, and was the only kid to go up to the piano without any music. She played well, and seemed proud of herself. I enjoyed listening to the other kids, particularly one near the end who played two gospel pieces. I imagine that was an example of Chin-Wen's flexibilty.

Clara's teacher is also a savvy marketer. We had asked Clara if she wanted to continue lessons over the summer, but she said she'd rather wait for the fall, which was fine with us. So at Clara's last lesson, Chin-Wen showed her the book she had picked out for Clara to play next. Clara immediately decided to take lessons over the summer. Perhaps we should hire Chin-Wen at AT&T.
posted by Tom 7:05 PM

Saturday, June 21, 2003

swarms of Muggles
Predictably, we joined the swarms of Muggles who lined up to get the new Harry Potter book last night. We went the our town book store (called the Town Book Store) for a party from 10:00 - 12:05. The tiny store was overrun with Hermiones and Harrys (more Hermiones), as well as the occasional house-elf, and even one He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named. They had snacks (wands made out of licorice, etc.) and games. The kids got sorted into houses (the sorting hat sent Clara to Slytherin!) and then competed in a trivia game.

Clara had wanted to dress as Hermione for ages, and Ellie was going to be Winky the house-elf. Ellie inevitably changed her mind at the last minute, and ended up being a mermaid (from the last of the Tri-Wizarding contests). Since she waited so late to change her mind, we gave her the constraint that her costume would have to come from existing stock; we weren't going to make an extra shopping trip for it.

We saw a few people we knew, and felt oddly virtuous for skipping the extravaganza at Barnes and Noble. It was still a bit overwhelming in such a small store, and I was only too happy to escort Ellie out to the car where it was "more peaceful." We spent close to an hour in the car, returning to the store around 11:45, whereupon everyone made a fuss about Ellie, saying she had won a costume prize! Mallary had collected the Harry Potter cap that Ellie won, and Ellie put it on, saying over and over, "I can't believe I won a prize!"

We then collected our two copies of the book and headed home. Mallary and Clara each read a bit before bedtime. If they just read a few pages each night, they should be finished before the movie comes out!
posted by Tom 5:35 PM