who had a little curl!

I don’t know how she did it, but when Hannah woke up this morning, her curl was standing up.  It remained standing up all day.  She looked so cute with that curl sticking up on her head!

Today, Paul and I hung out the four loads of wash that I ran through the washing machine last night.  He did a very good job.  He handed me nearly every piece of wash.  It completely filled the line, and I had to go back and squeeze pairs of socks in between the underwear.  I used all but about 10 of my clothespins.  I was afraid I was going to run out.

Just a picture of Hannah.

We also vacuumed the floor today.  Paul loved it.  Hannah tolerated it most of the time.  While we were getting started on Paul’s room, my sister Lucy from Wyoming called.  Here I am talking to her and giving Paul horsey rides.

At one point the button on Paul’s sleeve got caught in my hair.  Ouch!  I was hollaring.  Then, I bumped the off button on the phone and cut off Lucy.  I called her back, but we agreed to talk again another time and ended our conversation.

I mentioned Hannah tolerated the vacuuming.  When we were almost done, and it was time for naps, Hannah decided she didn’t like it and was crying.  So, her daddy took her to his office and showed her movies on U-tube, using his new gizmo i-pod touch  (I think that’s what it’s called.  He got it to use with his work, it actually belongs to the company in CA, or at least, they bought it.).  Hannah liked watching Chinese gymnasts better than watching the vacuum sweeper.

We had the Carr’s over for supper.  It was a wonderful time.  They are some great friends of ours.  Andrew grilled steak, and we had cauliflower, broccoli, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  We had a sugar free jello salad for dessert.

Mrs. Carr & Hannah

And my children don’t understand that.  *sigh*  I feel like I have been in a charge of a daycare center all day long.  I think it was only the 5 min. after I got up from my afternoon nap and before I went to get Paul that I wasn’t surrounded with Paul and/or Hannah at all times.  If you have been or are a mom, you know what I mean.  If you aren’t, then, here it is.

Every couple minutes bending down to the floor, or squatting down on your haunches to tend to someone with short stature.  (I never dreamed I would be this limber.  A class in gymnastics couldn’t do better than having two tiny children to condition my body to fold up like a pretzel, and even stay in that position for lengths of time.)

Every single time you want to take a step, the walking toddler is standing/sitting/or lying exactly where you are going to put your foot.

At least 1/4 of the time you go to back up (away from the sink, etc.) as soon as you start, you realize your toddler is grabbing you around the knees to give you a hug.

As soon as you start feeding one, the other one decides he wants a drink at that very moment (and he has to wait).

Every single task, and I mean every single one, has the help of a not-quite-two-year-old.  That includes washing dishes, making bread, sewing, chopping vegetables, feeding Hannah.  And Paul has started talking and he says, so sweetly and excitedly “Help Mommy!”.  How can I refuse him?  (But sometimes I do–twice today I told him he was not helping me wash dishes.  I did let him help me wash dishes for a long time this morning.)

Conversing with a just-starting-to-talk toddler nearly constantly.  If he hasn’t initiated something (by asking a question) then it isn’t long before you need to give some instruction.

Changing diapers, wiping behinds, putting on shoes, putting on coats, pulling up sleeves, pulling down sleeves, and bathing bodies.

Always doing the most  pressing thing at the moment, which is usually getting the next meal ready.  We start fixing lunch as soon as breakfast is finished.  We start fixing supper almost as soon as we get up from our naps.  That means less pressing things don’t get any attention–like watering plants, paying the bills, sewing on the bean bag chair…

And that’s why I say I have things to do!  I am running the washing machine like mad this evening because I am behind on the laundry.  I hope to get it all washed so I can get it hung out tomorrow–hopefully before 2:00 p.m.

I wasn’t going to post on my blog until I got the bean bag chair finished that I want to give Paul on his birthday.  I was going to work on it a lot the beginning of this week.  Well, ha, ha.  Any spare time and energy for Monday was used to go to the fabric store 15 min. from our house and get some yellow fur for the Winnie the Pooh I want to applique on the bean bag chair.  It must have taken us an hour to do 15 min. of shopping.

There were no carts.  The door was self-closing (which means you have to try to hold it open with your foot while you work a stroller over the bump and a short-legged person through without getting anyone pinched in the door.  Fortunately for the trip in, a sales lady came and held the door for us.).  The aisles and displays were close together.  I was pushing Hannah in the stroller with one hand, and holding Paul’s hand with the other.  I would get one item in a hand, then alternately shove on the stroller or let go of Paul for a moment or two as we made our way to the counter.  I would put down the thread, or zipper, or whatever I had, then we would go search and secure another item, and juggle our way back to the counter where our pile was.  The entire time Paul was very excitedly exclaiming and asking about all the beautiful things he saw.  I was answering his questions constantly.

Monday, after Paul’s nap and until bedtime, he cried nearly constantly.  I decided to take him to the doctor’s the next morning.  They have a walk-in clinic from 8-9:30.  I called Julia and she agreed to meet me there to keep Hannah in the waiting room while I took Paul to see the dr.  He was so cheerful and happy Tues. morning it would have been easy not to go.  But, he had been acting this way (crying in the evenings, happy in the mornings) for a while, and it was just getting worse and worse.   It turns out he has an ear infection in his left ear.  So, now we are giving him Tylenol regularly (it really helped to stop the crying and fussing) and he is taking an antibiotic.  So, there was all spare time and energy for Tuesday.

So, not much progress on the bean bag chair.  Here are a few pictures from this week so far.

Paul helping me make pancakes on Pancake Morning.

We were making a bunch to re-stock the freezer.

We made Pineapple Up-side Down cake

to take to our pastor’s house for supper

on Wednesday evening.  They had invited

us for supper, and we brought the dessert.

Paul helped make it, and he enjoyed licking

the beaters afterwards.

Hannah was very intently sucking her toes

this evening.  Now that it is cooler and she has

socks and shoes on most of the time, she doesn’t

get very many opportunities to do it.

And now, you have go to see the piece that is in danger of turning my husband into a moron.  Even Paul is in danger of it to.  It was a birthday present (to Andrew) from Andrew’s sister Wendy.

It is sand enclosed in glass, and the sand is different colors.  You flip it over and over and watch the sand drift through cracks in the bars and make designs and colors.  I went downstairs one evening, and Andrew was watching that thing, then flipping it,  watching it, flipping it, watching it, and then he began to give it little shakes and move it around, and finally I asked him what he was doing.  It turns out the sand had formed a little bridge at one of the breaks in the bars and wasn’t flowing through and he was trying to get all the sand to flow through at that particular break.  (!!!!)  To what benefit!  I called him Jon Arbuckle, who watches the red sock in the dryer for entertainment.  (Wendy, do you have one of those things at your desk?  Just don’t let your boss walk by while you are trying to adjust the sand art!  They might send you to the psychiatrist.)

I can hardly believe that I did two things outside of my cyclical circles (pottying, diaper changing, feeding, dishes, and laundry) today and actually made some linear progress.  I fixed a shelf that had fallen down in my island cupboard, and I have the letters sewn on the bean bag chair that I am making Paul for his birthday.  I got the letters sewn on, and now I am in the process of doing the applique stitching (which is tight zig-zag stitching around the edges).

The shelf bit, well I could go on and on about that.  If you have cheap cupboards like we do, they are made mostly of particle board and have plastic ears sticking out of the walls that hold the shelves (which are particle board and bubble up if they get wet).  Well, the plastic ear pieces broke and down came the shelf that had my corning ware and Pyrex on.  It’s a wonder something didn’t break, the way it clattered down.  That was last weekend.  I moved all my glass stuff into the office room floor (where else would I put it?).  I needed to get it off the floor so I could access my sewing machine to work on the bean bag chair.  Hence, I swindled my husband into using his power saw and cutting six little square wooden sticks where I had marked them.  Then, I put them at each corner of the cupboard and at the middle posts.  I drilled little holes in them, then using the whiz-bang screwdriver feature of my husband’s nice drill, I put wood screws in them.  Then, I had props to set the shelf down on.  I loaded it back up with my Pyrex and corning ware, and I don’t believe it will be falling down again.  By the way, I was sweating by the time I was finished.  I was nearly standing on my head to work, peering down into the bottom of a cupboard.

Last evening we all (all as in Andrew, Paul, Hannah & me) went up to my Grandma Gardner’s and took supper up there.  I wanted to bring corn bread left over from last weekend to go along with our U. S. Senate bean soup that I made, but Grandma insisted on trying out a corn bread mix that she had and had never used.  I helped her get that put together once we got there (she didn’t have it completed because she was waiting for us to bring her one more egg for it).  While it was baking, I chopped up veggies for a salad.  We had the soup, corn bread, and salad, and more corn bread for dessert.  We all had a good visit.  Paul and Hannah behaved nicely, but it was so nice to have Andrew along to watch them while I took care of the kitchen end of things.  Here are some pictures from that visit.

Hannah & her Great-Grandma Gardner

Paul offering a plastic banana to Hannah, who

has her mouth open to take a bite!

Happy Hannah with her Great-Grandma Gardner

I really would like to get up there to visit Grandma twice a month, especially since I know she gets lonely for company.  I am making renewed efforts since I am well and able to get around.  The last time I was by myself with Paul and Hannah.  Sometimes I schedule to have my mom come and help watch Paul and Hannah, or else I will drop Paul off at Gail’s house until I get Grandma’s toenails trimmed and can then concentrate fully on my children.   (Both Mom and Gail live very close to Grandma’s house.)  So, I figure out ways to make it work out.

I am posting a recipe that my sister Rachel wants.  I thought some of you may want to try it too.  It is low-carb, as you can guess, and it tastes great.

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

Prep: 10 min. + marinating Bake: 25 min.

5 T. redued-sodium soy sauce

2 T. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 t. brown sugar

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. coarsely ground pepper

2 pork tenderloins (about 1 lb. Each)

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Place meat in an 11” X 7” X 2” baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 25-35 min. or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Transfer to a serving platter. Let stand for 5 min. before slicing. Serve with pan drippings.

Note: I sliced my pork tenderloin before marinating it. I sliced it about ¼ inch thick. It took in the flavor very well and tasted great.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional Analysis:

4 oz. Cooked pork equals:

217 calories

8 g fat (2 g saturated fat)

91 mg cholesterol

317 mg sodium

2 g crabohydrate

trace fiber

33 g protein

Diabetic Exchange: 4 lean meat.

I don’t have enough time to write up a post about our big weekend (maybe tomorrow evening, who knows?  I did get the pictures up-loaded to the computer and took out the red-eyes.), but we have had a great day at home today.  Last evening, I realized I hadn’t sat down and read books to Paul at all yesterday.  I was so crammed up with things that just had to be done.  My mom stopped in and picked up a birthday present I was sending to Gail, plus I got a box ready for the mail to go to Laura, so she took that to the post office for me.  Then, I whizzed through the shower before two church ladies came to practice a song.  We practiced.  When they left, I had to get lunch on the table.  Then, it was soon nap time.  Then, cookie baking for the kids club, then supper, then Bible Study, then dishes, then bed.  No books!  Near disaster, if you ask Paul.  So, last evening I decided I was going to enjoy our children today.  Well, I did, but there are still limits!

This morning, Paul and I sat on his big bed and read books.  Then, we started up the washing machine (I know, I know, you are supposed to get that labor-saving device going as soon as your feet hit the floor in the mornings.  I don’t always do what I am supposed to do.).  Paul, on his own initiative, went to the closet and got out “his” vacuum sweeper (a sweeper pipe with a brush on the end).  He positively loves to vacuum with me.  Soon, he was in my bedroom calling me to come.  I went and he was excitedly pointing at the big vacuum, wanting us to vacuum together.  Since I wanted to get some crumbs up at some point today, and since Hannah had just woken up, I got it out and we vacuumed together.

It was soon time for lunch.  I was going to have Stroganoff Sandwich for lunch, but I started the French bread in the bread machine too late, and it wasn’t ready in time.  So, we had hot dogs instead.  After lunch, I decided we should get outside to enjoy the sunshine before the rain comes this weekend.

Here is Hannah enjoying a leaf.  She is very content to sit outside and watch Paul and me do whatever.

I was going to put the wash in the dryer and just play with Paul and Hannah outside instead of “working” by hanging up the wash.  But, you know what?  Paul is happiest when we are working together.  So, I brought up the laundry from the basement and he handed me clothes and I hung them up.

Of course, he took some breaks to run circles around Hannah, or push his wagon backwards, or pick berries off the tree, and whatever all else.

It was nap time very soon, and Hannah was crying because she wanted to go to bed by the time we go the wash all hung out and the diapers off the line (which I hung out yesterday and found them on the ground this a.m.  Andrew and I went outside first thing and got the line put back up.  It had come untied from one end.)

I was hoping Paul and Hannah would nap longer than me so I could cut out a bean bag that I want to make Paul for his birthday.  Not a chance.  So, Paul helped me cut out his own birthday present, only he doesn’t know what it is or what it is for yet.  He helped by pulling the pins out of my pin cushion.

Then, he put pins in the pattern and fabric along with me (I’m sure because that is what he saw me doing.)

Intermittently he would push his chair over to the island and pet the French bread loaves for a little bit.  He really liked them.  Yeah, our food is contaminated (by the hands of a little person whose hands travel many miles between soap-and-water contacts), but we have really low pH in our stomachs, and we rely on it to work!

By the time I was finished cutting out the bean bag pieces, it was late and I had to try to rush to get supper.  Well, that’s when Paul and I get a little out of joint, when I am trying to rush and he’s hungry.  He was trying to help cut up onion, and things were not going well.  He went and sat on his bed with his Bible and blankie and got himself under control.  Then, he was helping to wash green beans.  After that, fortunately, he was content to wash dishes (under running water–a trickle, really) while I finished getting the Stroganoff Sandwich ready.  Andrew was another great helper and fed Hannah her solids, set the table, and then put Hannah down for an evening nap when she got fussy.

After supper it was bath time.  I ran those little bodies through the tub, (Andrew undresses Hannah while I start on Paul, then he dresses Paul while I bathe Hannah), and then we had about 15 min. until 8:00, so I played the piano while Paul and Hannah played in the living room.  Paul helped me play the piano.

Here is Hannah, taking in it all in.

Well, there you have it.  One of our typical days.  Keep in mind that along with all the help from Paul, we take a trip to the potty every 45 min. or more or less often during all his waking hours.  Sometimes, I almost feel like I might suffocate, but then, I try to remember that these years with little helpers will go by fast.  I just have to be content to get very small amounts done each day.

Good-night folks!  Tomorrow we start all over again!

…is still flowing through our veins, even though this blog has been sadly neglected for nearly a week.  My apologies.  We had a full weekend.  Then, Monday evening I had a regular doctor’s appointment, so I didn’t blog that evening.  Then, Tuesday evening, we had a family from church over for supper (I loved cooking for that!), and after Andrew washed all the dishes (I have a terrific husband), it was way too late to blog.  And, that brings us to Wednesday, which is today.  We had Bible Study this evening, so I shouldn’t be blogging even this little bit.  It is nearly 10:00 and I need to clean up my kitchen yet and zoom to bed. ‘

Hopefully tomorrow evening I will get up some pictures and more meaningful text.  I enjoy reading your all’s blogs (those who have them).

How do you do that?  First off, expect to get nothing done.  Second, do nothing.  Third, don’t get disturbed when the day is over and you have done nothing.  Then, consider that you had a good day.

When I woke up this morning, I felt positively terrible.  I’m not sure why.  I didn’t exactly feel nauseated, but as minutes went on, the more I was sure I might feel better if I could just vomit.  But, that didn’t happen.  However, instead of heading off to the basement to crank away on the stationary bike before the rest of the household came to life, I determined that the best thing I could do for myself to improve my health was get back in bed.  I haven’t missed very many days (except Sun. mornings, I don’t exercise on Sun. mornings), I think only once before, since sometime in July when I started biking.

Quite out of the ordinary, when Hannah started talking over in her room, Andrew offered to get up and feed her and let me sleep.  I hadn’t even told him I was feeling poorly.  I guess he surmised that by the fact that I was still in bed.

Hence, Andrew took care of not just Hannah, but Paul too, until I woke again at 9:30.  Here’s a picture he took of them.

I felt better than I had earlier, but I still was so not feeling normal.  I just lazed and dragged around all day.  I finally changed out of my night shirt around noon.  After lunch, until it was time for Paul to start his nap, we lazily worked on switching summer clothes out of his drawers and putting in some winter clothes.  When Paul and Hannah were both napping, I crawled back in bed myself.  But, 30 min. later, Hannah was up and ready to eat again.  So, my nap didn’t amount to much.  I took a shower while Hannah sat on the bathroom floor with a stock of toys.

When Paul and Hannah were both up, I did the rare and unusual thing of putting the towels in the drier, even though it was a perfectly good drying day.  Instead of hanging up wash while we were outside, Paul and Hannah and I enjoyed bubbles!

Then, I gave them a very slow wagon ride in the yard.  It was Hannah’s first wagon ride.  She enjoyed it very much.

After all that, I put Hannah down for a short nap.  Then I gave Andrew a haircut.  Then, it was about time to eat our leftovers and head out to Bible Study.

Now, Andrew has finished watching the debate (you likely can guess, yeah, the presidential one), and we are going to bed.  I am fully expecting to be operating on normal mode tomorrow and ride my bike as usual.  I hope everyone else is having a good week.

This title should give you a clue about this great weekend I have been wanting to write a post about.  This last weekend was Autumn Peak (or now called “Fall Festival”) at Massanuttan.  You can ride the ski lifts and see the mountains in all their fall glory.  I have heard about it on the radio for several years and always wanted to go sometime.  We decided to do it this year.

We loaded up enough paraphernalia to classify as moving and headed off to Andrew’s parents house to leave our wee bairns with them.

Here’s Paul and Hannah getting ready to ride to Grandma’s house.

We got to Massanuttan just a few minutes before 11:00, which is when the opened for the Fall Festival.  There were just a few people there and we trotted right along to be among the first to get on the ski lift.  It was a little scary for me at first, especially when we went past those poles that hold and guide the cable and the seat jiggled as it went past.  Andrew had the camera strapped to his arm, and he took pictures like he was a teenager wasting film.  I won’t put all the pictures on the post, but I’ll let you see a sampling of them.

We were on the ride up here.  Note my jacket–the air was pretty cool, especially if you were in the shade.

This is the very pretty view down the east side of Massanuttan (the side away from us, for my siblings who may be reading this).

When we were at the very top, we got off the lift (everyone is required to get off), and then we hiked a short, but seriously-steep-at-places trail to the very tippy-top of the peak.  There we looked down to the valley toward the west, which is toward Harrisonburg.  It was simply gorgeous!  The only downside was that the air was still and big columns of gnats were hanging out and trying to go up my nose and in my mouth.

Even though there were plenty of people climbing around on this rocky spot, Andrew managed to set the camera down and take a time-delayed shot of us there.  (No one bumped the camera and we got a good picture in one attempt!)

Here is a “foot”  picture.  (I told you he was snapping pictures like a teenager!)  This is while we were riding the ski lift.

During our time there, we became more and more glad we got there just a few minutes before they opened.  There were very large crowds of people, and l-o-n-g lines to ride the ski lifts up and down by the time we were finished.  If you ever want to go, get there early!

Once we were finished, we sniffed all the food stands as we left, and then went to Andrew’s parent’s house where we had tacos for a late lunch.  We were very hungry, and they were delicious!

Now, for the movie part of the weekend.  Andrew has been after me to watch “at least one episode” of Star Wars ever since we got married.  His reasoning is, “It’s so much a part of our American culture, you just have to watch at least one sometime in your life.”  As part of his birthday present this year, I agreed to watch one Star Wars movie with him.  Before we left his parents’ house, he borrowed Star Wars, and not just one episode, but three!  That evening, I could tell he was itching to get started because he and Hannah were just “checking it out” to see if it would work on our rigged up system or if it was encrypted such that it wouldn’t show.  It worked.

So, I have now been exposed to Star Wars.  I think it was, well, I can’t even remember which number it was.  I would much, much rather watch Star Wars than Wall . e anyday.  In fact, I can’t believe this, but I actually enjoyed it.  But, it is scary, and it is not real.  And a lot of people die.  But, then it’s not real.  Anyway, I was awake a lot after we finished it on Sun. night, with stuff just running through my mind.  (We watched part of it Sat. evening, and the rest Sun. evening after church.)  I told Andrew we needed to wait a while before we watched another tape of it.  I need my sleep!

My advice to anyone who wants to be introduced to Star Wars:  watch it with Andrew so you can know what is going on.  I couldn’t have understood it very much at all, nor enjoyed it, if Andrew hadn’t explained a few things to me as we were watching it.

One more thing about Star Wars.  That movie gives more and deeper meaning to the word “hideous”.  I have never, ever, in my wildest imagination thought, seen, or imagined anything nearly as hideous as some of the creatures/critters in that movie.  I didn’t know that degree of ugliness could be thought up or captured on film.  (I told Andrew afterwords that now I knew how he could marry me and think I was beautiful.  Compared to the creatures in that film, I was Hollywood material!)

That’s what we call her at times, “Hannah Baby”.  Paul was “Baby Paul” until soon before Hannah was born.  Then we had to convince him he was a big boy so Hannah could be the baby.

Anyway, Hannah has grown like a weed, and probably still is.  I get tired of clothes constantly getting too little, it seems.  She is now 7 months old.  At her 6 mo. check-up, she weighed in at 21 lbs. 4 oz., and was 28 inches long.  I checked Paul’s baby book, and at his 6 mo. check-up, he weighed 19 lbs. 10 oz., and was 27 3/4 inches long.  So, they are about even with each other, as far as that goes.  Hannah sure gets heavy to carry though.  At church, some people ask to hold her.  Our pastor’s wife holds her, and then soon gives her back because she is too heavy to hold!  Andrew sometimes walks with her in Sunday school so she can go to sleep (he sits back down once she is asleep), and he says she just about breaks his back.  I’m afraid she isn’t going to get any lighter, and it will be a while before she is walking, I am sure.

She sits well independently, having developed that skill in the last month.  She rolls over fine, of course.  And she knows how to reach for what she wants.  She loves to put things in her mouth, so I have to make sure she only gets a hold of “chewable” books.

She eats very well.  She usually has 4-5 bottle feedings in a day, and she gets solids after the three that are at mealtimes.  If I don’t get her solids soon enough (which sometimes immediately is hardly soon enough for her), she hollars for her food.  She eats cereal, peas, mashed potatoes, and fruits.  I tried green beans, and lo and behold, she had a terrific tummyache all afternoon and evening.  I’m skeptical of trying those again for a little while, or any other gassy vegetable for that matter.

Hannah is also seriously interested in her feet.  She loves to hold them, and she even puts them in her mouth.  I tried to get a picture of her sucking on her feet, but she took her foot out of her mouth to watch the camera.

Hannah still has some of her original baby hair on top her head that never fell out.  It is her only curly hair.  It is getting so long that it doesn’t curl as much as it used to.    Here’s a picture of her curl right after her bath.

Here’s Paul and Hannah freshly bathed and squeaky clean!

Here is Paul, Hannah, and I pulling weeds on one of these pretty, not-so-burning-hot days.

And here is Hannah just being beautiful while we pull the weeds.

This one is of Hannah with a handful of grass.  She likes to pull up grass when she sits in the yard.  She had had a long-sleeved shirt on, but as the day got pretty warm, she got hot and I took it off.  That’s why she’s showing off her great muscles!

So that’s our beautiful Hannah.  We love her to death and think she is so cute she is off the cutie-pie charts!  She smiles very easily and laughs too.  However, she gets scared of strange people and loud  noises.  Paul loves to help me vacuum–I think it is his very favorite thing to do.  However, Hannah cries and cries because she is terrified of the vacuum cleaner.  Sometimes, she has to go play with her toys down in the basement with Daddy while Paul and I vacuum.  The same with the food processor.  She is very scared of its noise.

Well, once again I need to buzz off to bed before morning comes.  I hope to post again soon and share some pictures from our weekend (before the next weekend comes and I have more pictures to share after that!).

There is so much I want to catch up on in my blog that I believe I will break this down into a couple of posts.  First, take a look at what all Paul has been up to.

He helped me make banana pancakes recently.  I fried them in two cast-iron skillets, then he transferred them from the plate to the cooling racks.  (We make a bunch and freeze them for breakfasts.)

He soon discovered if he picked them up with one tiny finger and thumb at the very edge, a tiny bit would break off and he could eat it.  I soon had to remedy that!

Sometimes Paul likes to do whatever Hannah is doing.  If she is sitting down in the kitchen playing with toys, Paul often sits down beside her.  Here Hannah was playing in her barn, so Paul decided to play in the barn with her.

If Hannah has a hat on to go outside, Paul wants a hat on too.

Paul loves things that are round, colored, and interesting.  That is just about anything round–balloons, balls, pictures of the sun, etc.  Well, he gets very excited about the croquette balls.  One night he wanted to take them to bed with him.  Andrew was putting him to bed and asked me if I thought that was o.k.  I told him it wouldn’t hurt anything and we would remove them after he was asleep.  Here he is, sound asleep, with his beautiful croquette balls!

This is the next morning.  He is lining them up in a nice, neat line in front of Hannah.  I had to tell him to share one with Hannah, because she wanted to hold one too.  It was difficult for him to let one be out of the nice, neat line, but he managed.

Paul’s cousin Bobby came to stay with us one morning while Gail went to town.  They had corn dogs for lunch, and here they are with the empty sticks in their mouths.

This morning, I showed Paul how to build a road with his red blocks and then run his garbage truck on it.  I was out in the kitchen, and it was quiet for a while in the living room.  When I checked, Paul was rebuilding the road perpendicular to how I had built it.  This is the first he has done it himself.  I have shown him how to line up blocks before, but he didn’t attempt it himself before today.

Saturday evening, one of our neighbors was tilling the garden next to ours.  I asked him if he could till ours when he was done, and he said he could.  I figured it was a now or never chance for this fall, since I knew he would then unhook the tiller and wouldn’t want to hitch it up again for one tiny garden.  I ran down to the basement where Andrew was working and asked him if he would help me get the tomato cages and stakes out of the garden.  (The tomatoes were still producing slowly, but I sacrificed them for the tilling.)  Poor Paul, he cried when Andrew started ripping out the tomatoes by the roots.  He loves those tomatoes, and could hardly bear to see them being treated so brutally.  He got over it when I let him help me pick off the remaining ones, red, orange, and green, and put them in a big dish pan.

With the garden all nicely tilled, Paul got to play in the dirt this evening.

Paul is making marked progress in his expressive language.  He will repeat words fairly frequently, and just in the last about 5 days, he has started using a word or two on his own (without us saying it to him first) in a meaningful and appropriate way.  Such as, today he said “blue seat” to refer to Hannah’s blue walker.  A month or so ago, Paul completely surprised me when I was reading him an alphabet book.  I hadn’t read one to him very much for a while, so I thought I should start reading alphabet books again.  As I was reading it, he started saying the letter sounds even before I did!  I was very impressed.  He said the letter sounds for most of the letters.  Since then, I have discovered he has audible recognition of the alphabet, but not visual.  He will ask me what a letter is, then once I tell him, he will say the letter sound.  I can also ask him (without showing him any letters), “What does the letter T (or whatever random letter) say?” and he will give the correct sound pretty much every time.  His newest letter sound is for X.  So, evidently the months and months of reading him an alphabet book nearly every single day when the only word he uttered was “Dadadadada”, and his only other verbalization was “uunnNNNHHH”  (Andrew’s mom said it sounded like the sound a seal makes),  were not in vain.  It startled me again to realize he was taking all this stuff in, even when there was no evidence it was going in.  I must pay attention to what I let enter his “eye gates” and “ear gates” to make sure it is wholesome and worthy of a place in his brain.

Speaking of that, I just found out that the Bookmobile comes to the Clover Hill fire station on certain Mondays.  That is just a hop and a skip from our house!  Last Monday we went and Paul and I got some new books for him to read.  I am paying more attention to the books we choose, trying to get ones that will put useful info into his mind, and not all Dr. Seuss and Clifford the big red dog type of stuff.  This last time, we got a book about farms, and a book about chickens.  The book about chickens has lots of pictures in, and it tells all the parts of a chicken, such as the comb, the wattles, the spurs, etc., and even on the inside, the crop (or crawl), the gizzard, etc.  It also shows pictures of lots of different breeds of chickens.  I do have to skip over the part that tells how chickens evolved, though.  He loves the chicken book, and several of the others.  However, the book I got that has lots of pictures of many different musical instruments, he refuses to even look at it!  I don’t know why.  He shoves it away and gives me another book to read instead.

Well, I wanted to put up some other posts, but they will have to wait until another day.  I want to post about Hannah, and also about our weekend, but it is late right now.  Goodnight, folks!