He is ready to be six. We spent the morning recounting the story aloud about my water breaking and going to work all day (sounds much crazier now, writing it down) not wanting to miss the feast in my classroom. It took me most of the day (teaching second grade from a chair-while the head blocked the majority of the water) to realize my baby was coming a month early and I was in serious denial. He was born that night. This is one of the photos my friend Janet took a week later at our home.Henry’s response to hearing the story was wondering why I didn’t wrap him up in a box and wait for Christmas,  since he was early.

My response: it was love at first site. We let him be in charge of today (within reason) and decided last night to go to the Natural History Museum today with friends. And yes, we already went to Legoland but it feels like ages ago to a six year old.We saw the mummies- who knew they were mummifying people in Peru? I assumed they were only in Egypt. This exhibit had both. We saw the tools and containers used for pulling out the organs. The eight year olds couldn’t get enough.
We walked over to see Endeavor as well. This ship has been to space! If I hadn’t become a teacher, I would have become an astronaut. This is my other fascination. At the exhibit, I loved watching the time lapsed video of when it was taken from LAX through the streets of LA. I remember teaching the day it flew in and running out of my classroom, students in tow, to see it go overhead. It was low to the ground. We spent some time in the gardens running around
I love that in this outdoor space the children are encouraged to climb and explore.
Olivine was more interested in seeds and plant pieces on the ground.After lunch  we went back inside to glimpse a few more animals.When these five are together there is a balance of lingering and talking and asking questions to each other that I like to overhear.The early readers carefully determined where the animals are from and what the animals eat.Oh and let’s not forget the fossils.I was keenly aware that the museum had fewer people than normal which added to our slow pace and letting Henry take the lead.Olivine napped on the way home and we stopped for ice cream as a birthday treat. Sundaes!And now we can count today and our birthday boy as part of the many reasons to be thankful.

Hope you have a happy holiday with people you love.