Joseph took his first steps on Monday, and celebrated his first birthday yesterday. He's such a happy baby, and so easy to take care of. We got him a 6'x6' playpen, since our house isn't exactly babyproofed, but he doesn't spend all day in there. He'd rather be out with us. As you can see, he likes peanut butter.
Jacob got a new musical instrument. It's a Chinese instrument called a gu zheng, the ancestor of the koto. It has a few more strings than a koto, but can be tuned the same. It sounds a little like a harp. He bought it at the Claremont Folk Music Center after he sang there last month. Jacob's performance was rather interesting. When he got up to sing, he asked the audience if they would rather hear him sing in French or in English, and they all said "French!" so he let loose with "Si la Rigueur" from "La Juive," an opera written in 1835. They were impressed, though I'm not sure the crowd was ready for that. Jacob says next time he'll probably do something by Johnny Cash.
We just got back from enrolling Rachel in Platt College, located near Ontario Mills Mall, about 40 miles from our house. She'll be commuting there 4 days a week, and taking Unix at Victor Valley College on Fridays. The admissions director really liked her art portfolio, and is going to have it evaluated for a possible scholarship. That will help a lot, since this is not an inexpensive school. She'll also be able to transfer quite a few units from VVC, though the music classes won't transfer.
