The Balloon

It's not your eyes. These pictures are out of focus, but I like them because they capture a moment.

Random Sampler: Luke

Luke's List of Favourite Things to Do:

Watch Traffic

Eat Soap

Head Butt Windows

Vacuum (no Luke is not for sale)
Visit Isabella in Jail

Luke can say words but he doesn't regularly talk. Once really early in the morning I thought I heard him say," I done in here! I done!" Meaning of course: get me out of this blasted crib, I want breakfast. It's a little early for sentences and for personal pronouns so he probably didn't say that. Lately he's been experimenting with yep and yah, which I like better than NO!

His favourite words are apple and Idone. Mostly he just gestures or points or throws stuff. And naturally there are words you should never ever say in his hearing. Like Cookie or Bop (for lollipop).

Doggie is a weird word. I'm never sure if he's going to scream (he's got an adorable I'm -afraid-for-my-life-squeal). Luke is afraid of most dogs, but he loves his bedtime dog and his dog books and he calls anything furry and smallish a dog and he even likes to growl like a dog. So clearly he's got that word a little over generalized. Otherwise he's a genius.

What Luke means when he throws x object at you:

• His shoe - take me outside
• A Cup - Fill this cup up over and over again with water until I start spitting water at you.
• A Book - Read to me
• Himself - Wrestle me

A Conversation with Luke:

M- Hercules!
L-[looks at me and cocks his head inquiringly]
M- Yes, I'm talking to you. Come over here.
L- No!
M- I need to change your diaper.
L- Oh No! [and then he launches himself at me]

Luke often has to be wrestled to the ground in order to change his diaper... but he loves the other elements of personal hygiene. He comes running from anywhere when it's time to brush his teeth and or have his hair combed. He even likes bath time, for a little bit.

A different Conversation with Luke:

L- [Throws a cup at me]
M- Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?
L- No! I Don't! [Holding out his hands for the full cup]

Again, it's early for personal pronouns, but that's what it sounds like.

Random Sampler: Isabella

Isabella is not a hungry girl. She doesn't even like chocolate. We can sometimes bribe her to eat with Candy but that doesn't always work. Lately I've been telling her she can't be an astronaut unless she eats. I even describe what the food is good for- like a carrot is good for your eyes. She really likes for me to detail the journey a carrot makes from her mouth to her stomach to her blood to her brain to her eyes. Although I'm having a little trouble with describing how a cookie is good for your soul. What has really helped is having a hungry brother and being almost four.

Four year-olds have super powers and are very competitive- it's great! Isabella told me today that if she eats a jujub she can fly. A few minutes later she asked me what a jujub is, then she changed her story... if she eats a gummy octopus she can fly, but it's dangerous because she can't stop. She said that with an almost manical smile. She's a little fascinated with scars and the blood and carnege involved in getting them. Yesterday at dinner she asked to see Willy's scars. We have disgusting conversations at dinner. She's so cautious and I really would like to encourage her more intrepid side- but I think we might be over doing it with the gore. This summer she started climbing up and jumping off tall things and going down the slide voluntarily.

She doesn't ask "Are we on a boat?" anymore. Instead I'm bombarded with "Who are you?" Every ten minutes I'm a new character. Isabella's favourite characters are the backyardagans, followed closely by LandBeforeTime, Elmo&Co and Curious George. Once she told me I was Spike (a dinosaur who doesn't talk or do anything but chew the cud)... it was great until I tried to say something. Then she shhhed me!

For awhile I was worried about Isabella's drawings. She really likes to fill the spaces in coloring books, and if given a blank page she'll fill the entire blank space. Sometimes with only one colour. She'll do it slowly and meticulously and I think maybe she's telling herself a story at the same time. I thought something might be wrong because she doesn't draw things or people. Only when I asked her to draw our family she made these funky scribbles that looked like people but without the outlines people like me depend on. So I guess she just has a unique way of seeing the world. Luke tore up her picture of our family, but it was great. Each person had an emotion and a reason for feeling that way and there were some made up people and there was a robot too. Now Isabella likes to draw kelp forests with fish and submarines and scuba divers-only without the outlines so it just looks like a bunch of scibbles.

A Ten Minute Argument with Isabella
Isabella asks me a question

M- Sorry Bug, I don't know

I- Yes you do [she repeats the question]

M-Isabella. I don't know

I-Yes you do [she repeats the question]

M- Really I don't know

[It goes back and forth back and forth like this for a bit]

I-Mom! You know EVERYTHING!" [it would be a compliment except she's yelling]

M- ah, no I don't.

I- Yes you do!

M-no, really, I don't

[It quickly devolves to...]

I- Yes!

M-No

I- Yes!

[and then it becomes a fit of temper followed by a tremendous amount of tears]

Don't ask me what the question was. I don't know.

Mom Asks A Question:

M-Isabella, what's the meaning of life?

I-[she looks up from rummaging through the cupboard] I know. It's 43. [She goes back to her perusal of the flour and sugar]

M- [I pat her head] Almost, Douglas

We name our clothes in this family:

M-Isabella, do you want to wear your deep sea underwater dress today?

I- No. I want to wear my sparkly fairie shirt

[she could just as easily have said- my Elmo has friends shirt]

Complements from a stranger in the Elevator:

S-Gee those are nice shoes.

I-Thanks. They're my traffic cone shoes.

S-Where'd you get them.

I-At the traffic cone store

Who Are You?

I-Mom let's play you're the daughter and I'm the mom

M-Okay, mom

I-So darling what would you like to do today?

M- ummm let's go to the park

I- Yes darling let's go to the park. Let's bring Luke too.

Getting Ready for a road trip
M-Isabella, what treats do we need for our trip?
I-popcorn
M-good, what else?
I- and a glass of water
M- a glass of water! are you sure? [thinking, that's not much of a treat]
I- I mean a plastic of water
M- [Laughing]
I- We need a bottle of water

Family Fun at Great Falls

Looks like glass, right? Well it's not. It's Great Falls, before the falls.

Even better scenery... don't get any ideas ladies. He's taken.

No one is looking at the camera. On purpose.

I am a Dinosaur hear me Roar

Rooooaaaar!

Wonder what critters are crawling around in those leaves.

Lime Disease, anyone? Anyone.
Sentimental Walking Away From the Camera Shot

Okay folks it's quiz time again. Isabella is in every single picture. Can you find her? Double points if you can locate her in the very first photo in less than 5 minutes. Ready. Set. Go.

Vermont

The First Week of October we visited the Cousins Snow, Paul Sarah Ethan Sadie and the not yet born Bex. Great Grandma Snow was visiting too, and that was our excuse to billet ourselves on the Cousins. It rained the whole weekend, but it was still completely worth the 10 hour drive (yes Steve, we know how far Vermont is). Travelling was fine, although I think next time I'd rather just pay the tolls. It's not particularly scenic to tool around on the back roads of Pennsylvania. Oh, and we did get lost. When don't we get lost? This time it was in New York City for 3 hours. It was a nightmare, and a little ridiculous to repeatedly drive by Yankee Stadium and say "look there's Yankee Stadium" like tourists everytime.

Anyhow Vermont is gorgeous in the fall. We saw Dartmouth, and dully admired Raether Hall. I especially liked the McClaughlin Atrium. We also went to the Joseph Smith birth place, where I completely lost my manners and my children insisted on touching everything. The best was just being with family. We love you Snows!

Sarah gave me the super idea to serve cream of wheat for breakfast and to fatten my kids up with whipping cream in everything. Thanks Sarah, the CofW is not such a great hit but I love it. I've even tried mimicking your elegant pouring technique.

Here's our Gratuitous Family Picture

Here we are a Happy Family

Oh, I forgot to mention Home Depot. This was fantastic. Isabella and Ethan made PiggyBanks.

Luke and Sadie ran wild through the store

And Grandma was beautiful and kind, as always

The End of Summer

In August Willy and I celebrated 6 years of marital bliss
Me- Willy, did we do anything for our anniversary this year?
Willy- ahhhh, I think we did something. Maybe with the kids?
LONG PAUSE
Willy- if you think hard enough you'll remember. (he doesn't know either)
LONGER PAUSE

Anyhow, here's a picture of our new snow globe. It's upside-down because I'm trying to get a shot of the funky slime (growing?) inside. It is my fatal flaw to not take care of mundane yet vital things, like returning unwanted snow globes, until it is everlastingly too late... so the algae is here to stay. Philosophically, it's a tribute to the fruits of gormlessness.


My birthday was in September. Instead of a cake I opted for Cinnamon Rolls. They were gooooood. Except maybe next time I would forget the sprinkles. And maybe I wont bake them in sweet'n condensed milk (thanks for idea Katherine), since I can't hold my sugar like a 5 year old.
For my birthday/labor day we went to the beach (Flag Ponds in Maryland- a great place for fossil hunting). It was really really windy. We didn't take any pictures. Incidentally, we didn't take any pictures of my mom who visited us that whole week. But we do have lots of new toys to prove she was here.

Also, that same week our car was stolen. Three days later it came back, only a little dinged up and just in time to drive my mom to the airport. The total damage cost $1000.00 plus a parking ticket. Thanks for nothing you bleeding hoodlums! However we did get a really great pair of scissors out of the deal. Did you know... you can steal a car by jamming a pair of scissors into the ignition. Just an idea if you're bored and if you're a hoodlum.

Happy Birthday Friends

Isabella had so much fun at this birthday party. Actually she loves birthdays. I'm toying with the idea of celebrating unbirthdays once a month- we could make a cake and decorate it and send candy to the cousins. I love the picture above. She's such a serious child that it's special to have captured a moment of uncontrolled glee.