Imperial walkers have entered the base ... Imperial walkers have entered the base ...

It's been quite a week so far.

Samantha seems to be taking well to kindergarten. This morning she got dressed, ate breakfast, and got everything ready to go to school well before we had to leave, without a single argument or complaint. She loves buying her lunch at school, probably because it makes her feel very grown up and independent, which are her driving motivations in most things right now.

When Amy and I picked her up after school today she came out of the building, saw us standing there, and yelled Daddy! I got a super sparkler for being really good in school today! A super sparkler is some sort of recognition (a little certificate), though I confess I have no idea how the kids earn them. Sam implies that you collect them and they're worth something at some point in the future. I should ask her teacher about this.

I think Amy was a little miffed that Samantha ran to me and told me about her award, and didn't really say hello to Amy until afterward. Sorry Amy :-( I'm sure it's just an age thing, and the fact that she sees me less than she sees her mom.

After school Sam had her first dance class; she's learning ballet and tap dance at a local well-regarded dance school. She says she likes the class and wants to continue doing it, though she didn't say much in detail about what they actually did today. She's the same way about school -- she says it was great, but isn't interested in sharing any of the details.

Now as to the title of this post (which comes from "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back"), it's reference to the fact that Samantha and Marie both report that Joshua took his first couple of unsupported steps yesterday. I haven't seen him do it yet, but they both insist that he's officially started walking. He's definitely become more interested in the whole standing upright thing, and why not? He can reach so many more things and get into so much more mischief that way.

The other big development is that Joshua fed himself with a spoon for the first time tonight. This is a big deal in a couple of different ways. For the past couple of months or more he wouldn't even eat anything that required a spoon; if he couldn'tpick it up in his hands he wasn't interested in it at all. Now he not only ate something that required utensils (my fire-roasted maple flavored sweet potatoes, which are also a favorite of Samantha's), but he fed himself. I've got a few seconds of video, which I'll post here at some point when I have more time.

L'shanah tovah.

And happy birthday, dad. Eighty two years is a hell of a thing.