Grown-ups getting a play date

It seems like it has been an eternity since I was able to go to a concert. But come November, that streak will be at an end!

I'll be attending a show for Rachael Yamagata as part of the Hotel Cafe Tour at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis on Nov. 8. I'm so freakin' excited!! She's one of my absolute favorite artists and the fact that I get to actually take a day to do some grown-up stuff without the kids makes it that much better. An added bonus is that Alice Russell is also scheduled to perform that night. From what I've heard of her singing with Quantic and the samples of her solo material I've stumbled across, she's someone high on my list of music to add to the collection - and now I get to see her live!

Since the move to Missouri, the extent of events we've been able to manage that didn't include the kiddos was catching the Simpsons movie at the theater in August... of 2007! I absolutely love being a dad, but sometimes I really miss the freedom of not having kids to worry about and plan around. A big thanks to Kim's friend Jenni for stepping up to watch the kids overnight that night. We owe her big time!! :)


Kid stuff
Man, the kids just keep growing up faster and faster. Anisa has started to pick up the concept of reading and words. She's started pointing to a word and asking, "What's that word say?" and even started to recognize certain words. Not really reading them, but if you point to "cat" and ask her what word it is, she knows.

Kim has started Anisa on the path of juvenile humor already. Momma taught her the joke: "Guess what?" "Chicken butt!" and Anisa has gone on to improvise so that the answer can be "* butt!" - "Anisa butt!" "Xanadu butt!" and my personal favorite, "Computer butt!" I can't wait until she's in preschool next year and we get a call from the teacher about this joke being abused during class.

Jasmine, meanwhile, is doing her best to catch up to her sister. She's putting together sentences and is really getting a grasp on language. She knows pretty much all her basic colors now and is starting to learn her numbers and letters. I'm amazed at how much of a help having big sister around is. When they play in the bathtub or with the fridge magnets, Anisa will ask her to get a certain letter or certain color and help her get it right. It's sooo cool to see.

Almost as cool as seeing how their cooperative play has blossomed in the last couple of months. For a long time, they just played side by side - together, but not really playing with each other. Now, it's rare to see them playing alone. Anisa has been fixated on Jasmine being her "sweetie" lately. "Hey sweetie - let's play bookstore!" "Hey dad, that's my sweetie" "Sweetie needs a new pull-up. Stinky butt!!"