to the Vet

Off to the vet again today, for a follow-up appointment to another bite wound from another cat fight.  Since it's finally cold out, I think the cat may actually stay inside now and hopefully encounter less injuries.
This time Chris helped me load her into the carrier before he went off to work.  Sam packed a backpack full of toys, even though I explained we would only be there for a short time, and after a scramble to get dressed (how are we doing this with two again in a few months?), we were out the door.  The cat of course was going nuts, meowing nonstop, so "to make her feel better," Sam belted out, "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," and "Baa-Baa Black Sheep," for the drive.  When I finally got him to sing at a normal volume, the cat strangely enough did quiet down.  The bite was all healed, some vaccines administered, and she is of course on quarintene again, inside for 6 months.  When we got home, she immediately got out when Chris got home, but came back shortly after as it is snowing and cold.
Sam's been checking on her constantly, giving her no peace at all, but she seems content.

Christmas Cookies

Sam thought that making sugar cookies was a great project.  He did really well with it, considering it's not instantly gratifying.  After making the dough there is an hour in which the dough has to chill.  Even without that hour of chilling dough, the project took over two hours, in which he was fully immersed (though about 15 minutes of it was racing matchbox cars through flour and handing them to me to "take to the car wash").

"Hello in there!"

Sammy and his cousin, Oden, looking in the window of Saint Anthony's church.

Fifi

Just before Thanksgiving we lost our grandmother, Sam's great-grandmother.  It was a relatively quick time, in which it was unclear as to whether she would bounce back, as she had in recent years.  Now, it seems surreal, since events and time moved so quickly, and trying to keep up with work, and then Thanksgiving being on top of us.
There are many things to say about her, and to miss.  For now, a few of my favorite photos of her in recent years.  One is of her at our wedding reception, taking a bow, as we were married on her wedding anniversary.  Fifi loved being the center of attention, so the picture is somewhat fitting, and she looks young and vibrant in it, which is how she lived her life.  The other is of her with Sam the day after he was born.  She seemed to find joy in him and I'm glad that he was able to visit her during her last days with us.  It's amazing that she lived to know some of her great-grandchildren.  I wish she had been around for a few more years so I know that Sam would remember her.

Election

Yesterday we were trying to juggle voting, long poll lines, work, and other obligations.  I thought it would be a good idea to vote before work (like many, many other people).  I actually left the house at quarter to 7 and instead of going to the polling center and waiting outside, I went to get a coffee.  So that when I arrived at just before 7, there was a long, long line.  I went to work instead, which meant I had to return to vote later with Sam, and hope that there was no line. 

En route to picking Sam up after work, I talked to Chris.  He had also been planning on voting before he dropped Sam at school, but also found a long line.

"Sorry Sam, no voting now.  We'll go to school, Daddy will vote later."

After Sam burst into tears and wouldn't stop wailing, Chris finally got to the bottom of it.  Sam had heard "voting" as "boating" and was VERY upset that he was no longer going on a boat.  It took about a half an hour of explanation to communicate that there was never a boat or water involved.

Still, when I got to the polls later that afternoon, Sam kept asking when they were, "going to move?"  I think he still thought there was some sort of adventure to be had (and not a grown up adventure in politics).  We made do with feeding the ballot into the electronic machine, which was pretty cool.
(I had a ten minute wait, unlike some voters who waited hours to cast their ballots.)

Sam also seems to have gotten in his head that politicians will help snow go away.  We're not clear on this one, but I guess indirectly they do.  I think it has more to do with him not liking the change in temperature, since up until about an hour ago, it hadn't snowed this year.

Now the voting/boating is over and everyone is a little tired from the late night results, except for of course those who were fast asleep in their cribs while their parents agonized over the results coming in and debated moving overseas.  We'll stay put for another four years at least.

Halloween 2012

Taking in the neighborhood sights from the porch and trying to figure out what was going on.  He was pretty excited to get his candy though and thoroughly enjoyed his lollipop afterward.

Hurricanes and Pumpkins

Hurricane Sandy hit this past week and more or less kept us inside for about 48 hours.  We fared really well, all things considering.  The only damage we really had was a few downed limbs and lots of leaves to clean up.  Our power flickered once and never went off.  Compared to the news of New York and New Jersey, which are still turning power back on, without gas, and essentials, we were really lucky.  Even parts of surrounding towns got their power back on mid week.

We also had a house guest during the storm, Chris's sister Katie, who was visiting from Florida for a few days.  She flew up Sunday as the storm was beginning, on one of the last incoming flights to Logan.  

My school was canceled Monday and Tuesday and Sam had no school Monday and a delay on Tuesday.  Some of the teachers at school were relieved to come to work and have electricity and charge their electronics.

All the inside time was a little tricky with Sam and Katie, while Chris was answering flooded basements, leaking roof, and downed tree calls late into the nights.  He also got to shut of alarms from power going out and being restored, among other things.

Here are a few photos of the pumpkin carving we undertook while we were waiting out the storm.

 Scooping out the seeds.  He actually sustained attention to this task for a good amount of time.

 Here he's telling me, "Ok.  Now I figure out how to draw a face on my pumpkin."

 Here's the face he drew in marker.  I carved the face that I thought I saw in the design and left it at that.

Bad Moods and Cinnamon Fires

Sam had the beginnings of a cold this past week and this seems to be the cyclical time of year that we all come down with something.  Last year it was walking pneumonia, so I'm on high alert.  It was  the day after Halloween last year, after stuffing a screaming Sam into his lion costume, that he was sick for about 2 months on and off.  Looking back I feel a little guilty.  His screams may have been about feeling crappy, not about his dislike of his costume.    So this year I've been plying him with home remedies to ward off any impending germs.  He takes a couple of probiotics a day, has been having "tea" with honey and ginger, and any form of antioxidants I can think of (bring on the blueberries!).  

Since his naps at school are considerably shorter than those he takes at home, and he's in a whole new germ pool, I figured it was only a matter of time before he was sick.  It was no surprise when at 2:30 am the other night, I heard a scuffle from the nursery.  Since he had a bloody nose recently, I went to investigate.  Sam was standing in his crib yelling, "no boogies!  Go away!  All finished boogies!"  He was pretty congested.

He ended up in our bed, and he ended up being the only one who slept for the rest of the night.

That next night we decided to break out the humidifier, easier said than done.  It was no where to be found, though I had distinct memories of cleaning it and packing it away in the spring.

Chris checked closets, the attic (no easy feat), and eventually we decided it was in the cellar.  This would be my job to fetch, as I knew exactly where it would be.  Accessing it would be the issue.  Our cellar has become a chaotic storage facility with more items littering the ground than anything else.  I've tripped twice lately trying to get winter clothes and wrapping paper and I'm convinced it's hazardous to my mental health to be down there.  It's becoming a bone of contention.

"If I go down there, I'm going to end up in a bad mood," I told Chris.

"I know!  We don't want that, trust me." Chris told me.

"Bad mood?" Sam asked.  He was already wary of the mysterious humidifier.

"Mummy doesn't like the cellar, it puts her in a bad mood."

"No bad mood!  I don't want bad mood!"  Sam yelled.

"Me neither!" Chris said.

Sam started to cry.  "I no want to see bad mood.  Mummy no see bad mood.  Bad mood go away!"

"No, it's okay, we're teasing.  Mummy won't be in a bad mood."

"Bad mood no get mummy!  Make it go away!"

We realized this was now the bad mood had become a tangible basement monster that was clearly going to get me if I went down there.  So we set about trying to explain what a bad mood is, and then naturally, directly related it to the humidifier in his mind.

"No, a bad mood is when someone is grumpy or sad.  Mummy is just looking for the humidifier for your room."

"No cinnamon fires in Sammy's room!  No the cinnamon fires and bad mood!"

"Humidifier Sam."

"NO Cinnamon FIRE!  No BAD MOOD!"

We finally calmed him down.

"What bad mood look like?  I see it?"

"No sweetie, you can't see it, it's when someone is unhappy.  Look Elmo is in a bad mood!"  We got stuffed Elmo to show Sam what Elmo would look like if he was grumpy.

"NOOO!!!! No Elmo bad mood!"

This conversation continued to deteriorate until the humidifier was retrieved, and plugged in, but then was not allowed in Sam's room.

"Cinnamon fire make me cry.  Cinnamon fire and bad mood not in Sammy's room!  You take it out now pwease!"

So the cinnamon fire/humidifier resides in the hallway.  With an irrational fear of it (think side stepping the monstrous machine to get around it) and a fear of the bad mood which might not be far behind.

Armed with my 20% off Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupon, Sam and I went on a shopping trip a few days later, and found a friendly monkey "cinnamon fire" that is allowed to be in Sam's room.  Of course he is still sniffling, but the cold doesn't seem to have taken over.

 

And Annie, the cat, demonstrated a bad mood for us today as we wait out Tropical Storm/Hurricane Sandy.  She was royally pissed off when she finally came in soaking wet and meowing her head off.

"Oh, Annie mad!" Sam told me helpfully.

"Yes, she is mad."  I agreed, then jumping on my opportunity, "she's in a bad mood!"

"Oh!" Sam nodded knowingly.  "Yes, Annie in bad mood.  Annie wet, Annie no like wet.  Annie bad mood!"  Thank you Annie.  Think we might be good now.

Apple Picking Fail

We attempted to go apple picking today, but apparently apple picking season in the immediate area has ended for the season.  Since we didn't want to drive far to pick apples and run into nap time, we tried local, only to find out the hard way there were no more apples to pick.  So instead we choose a pumpkin and bought a bag of apples, and checked out the tractors, all fun activities.  We also arrived early in the drizzly morning so missed the crowds (and the sun).  Here are a few photos.

"Beep-Beep"

"Beep-beep," seems to be a large part of Sam's vocabulary these days, for better or worse.  For a very verbal kid, I think it just ties in with the vehicular obsession that he is growing further into, instead of out of.
We went to this very cool Whole Foods the other day, that has multiple shopping carts shaped like cars, with steering wheels.  The kids are actually up at chest level, so that you can see them (and whether they grabbing things off the shelves).  This was very delightful until Sam started yelling, "BEEP-BEEP," every-time another shopper walked in front of or near me.  Then it became a little embarrassing.  Most customers seemed to find it adorable and would smile at him like he was angelic.  He truly gets this habit from his father, and what I was waiting for, was him to yell, "you get out of the way donkey!" which is what he tends to yell in my car, after he has driven with his father for extended amounts of time.   He will also yell this at the playground.  Luckily those words didn't escape his mouth at the store, I think I would have just turned and fled.  I had to fly around the store, convinced he would say it.  Thankfully it was just, "BEEP-BEEP."

A few days later, we were driving home, and I asked Sam whether he had gone outside at school, since the weather was a little iffy.
"Oh yes," he told me.
"Oh good.  Did you hold your loop on the rope?"  (The children each hold a loop on a rope as they learn how to walk in line).
"Yes, I hold my loop.  You know what Mummy?"
"What's that Sam?"
"I say, boys and gwirls, you stop!  STOP!  Sammy dwop his loop!"
"Oh yes?  And did the boys and girls stop?  Did they hear you?"
"No," Sam told me sadly, "they no stop."
"Oh dear.  What did you do?"  I was kind of envisioning him potentially getting trampled by little feet.
"I yell, BEEP-BEEP, STOP!!!"
"Ahh... yes."
"Then they stop."

Full Moon

We were driving home from my parents last night and Sam was looking for the moon.  When he finally found it, he commented, "oh moon is big tonight!"
I glanced up and saw that it looked like it could be a full moon.
"It is big Sam.  Do you think it's a full moon tonight?"
He looked at the moon for a minute and then said, "oh yes, full moon.  Moon eats so much dinner!"

Sam at Life is Good Festival

He loved, loved, loved it this year.  Ran around, danced, dragged us from event to event.  Of course this picture was taken after we told him five times to stop picking the grass, and a man walking by stopped to talk to him, and he thought he got in trouble.  But he did stop picking the grass.

Trying to Figure Out This Baby Thing

Sam knows that I am pregnant, but doesn't really "get it."  If we talk about it, he either ignores the conversation entirely, or lifts up my shirt to look at my belly and see if the baby is coming out.  Now he knows the baby will come when it has finished growing and is ready.
Last night as I was putting him down to bed, he asked me, "Mummy, your baby ready to come out and play yet?"  (The baby is due at the end of February).
"No, not yet Sam."
"Soon?"
"After Santa Claus comes and it gets cold out again."  (I really don't know how to explain long term time to a two year old.)
"Oh."  Pause.  "Yes.  Baby gets hat and mittens on and then comes out."

Blue Fishy

We ended up getting a little Beta fish recently, one weekend when Chris was away, and Sam and I had a lot of time together.  We had been reading a lot of "going to school" stories, as Sam was transitioning to a toddler program in a toddler- grade 2 school, and we were trying to prepare.  For some reason, every story featured fish and feeding fish.  Sam likes stories and reading and seems to get a lot out of his books, so I think he related to most of what the school stories were implying (say goodbye to parents, have fun with friends, do projects, eat snack, read books... fish?).
On day three of Chris's trip, we were trying to run some errands.  Going to more than two stores is asking a lot of a two year old, especially if it requires getting back in the car between places.  Luckily, that day, Sam was being cooperative (it may have had something to do with the Panera chocolate chip bagel I bribed him with to get him out the door in the first place).  With two errands down, and one left to run in the same plaza, I couldn't fathom trying to come back to the area again, I told him we could go and look at the fish in the pet store if he would go to one more store with me.  It worked, and we ended up with a Beta fish.  I had been contemplating getting one anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal.  Now he would relate to the pet fish in the books also.
The fish, who was blue, was aptly named, "Blue Fishy," by Sam.  He was quite proud of it and would have to visit it periodically throughout the day to show it various toys and tell it things.
"See Monsta twuck Blue Fishy?  I play with Monsta twuck.  You like it?"
"Don't worry Blue Fishy, I home now."
"Blue Fishy, Daddy come home soon," and so on.  I did have to point out that Blue Fishy didn't want to see Monster truck up close (like in his little tank) and remind him about putting things in Blue Fishy's water that weren't food.
Anyway, Blue Fishy was a good pet for two whole weeks.  Then, we got an great assignment from Sam's school that I had five days to complete: a list of photos to bring on the first day.  I have very limited printed photos at all, so this was quite a task (photo of child's face, the whole child, a family photo- recent?, and photos of the family pets).  I was going to skip the photo of Blue Fishy, but figured Sam would inevitably mention it and I'd get caught.  Turns out I needn't have worried.  Camera in hand I approached the cubic tank and found Blue Fishy motionless and not revived upon a gentle shaking of the tank or by addition of food.
So, Blue Fishy is no longer.  Sam accepted Blue Fishy's death well.  We just talked about how it wasn't going to swim anymore and it was time to let Blue Fishy go (in the toilet).  Sometimes he will look into the toilet and ask if Blue Fishy is coming back and then say, "oh no, I 'member.  Blue Fishy go home.  Yep, bye-bye Blue Fishy."
I think we got off easy on that one.  He also hasn't asked for a new fish, so for now we'll stick to the cat.

Happy Birthday Mama!

Family photo from surprise party on Saturday for my birthday.  We had just sung "Happy Birthday," so Sam is excited.

Chocolate

We try to restrict the sweets in Sam's life, though I'm a lot more lenient than I used to be.  He gets the occasional cookie as a treat, or lollipop when he visits the bank with his dad, but all in all, the kid is a little sugar deprived.  He loves chocolate though, chocolate anything.  So because he was & is reluctant to have anything to do with his potty (it was a storage facility or a place for his baby doll to poop), we give him an M&M when he sits on it.  If he ever produces anything potty related while he's on it, he gets another M&M.

This definitely motivated him to sit on his potty.  Sometimes he'll pass by the bathroom, then come out staggering under the weight of his potty.

"Mama, Sammy want to sit on potty.  Sammy get chocolate!"  

Of course he still hasn't done anything in the potty, but at least he's sitting on it minus the diaper.

("Mama, I no know how make pee-pee").

Yesterday we were driving when he told me, "Mama, guess what?"

"What's that?"
"I find chocolate.  I eat it all up!"

"Oh.  You did?  Today or yesterday?"

Pause.  "Yesterday?"

"Was Mummy home or Daddy?"

"Mummy and Daddy home.  I find chocolate under chair.  I eat it.  I tell Daddy, I eat chocolate all up."

"Was it yummy?"

"Yes, chocolate is yummy."

Silence.  I have a vague recollection of cleaning out my purse and finding loose M & Ms on the bottom from a recent trip to movie theater.

"Mummy."

"Yes?"

"I no sit on potty AND I EAT CHOC-O-LATE!!!"

Okay Sam, you totally win that one.

Resting

Sometimes when Sam is up super early (think between 4:30 and 5:45), we will try to get him back in to sleep by bringing him to bed with us.  However, if there is any sign of daylight, even a crack of light around the window shade, he is pretty much up for the day.  He will lie quietly for a little while, and then sing softly or start wiggling or petting one of us.  Often I will open my eyes to find him giggling in my face.  It's cute, but only after at least 5:30.
To let one parent sleep a little longer, someone will take him out to the living room to play, get him some juice and fruit, and then lie back on the couch to doze.
Usually the parent who attempts to rest on the couch will be offered, "softie?" (his blanket), "binky?", "baby?", and then a variety of other favorite objects, usually involving Thomas the Train and friends.
Then, that parent might be read to.  This is Sam choosing a book, summarizing the pages, and then holding it up, "see?  See fire en-jin?  Yes, red fire truck.  Loud!"
He might do a puzzle.  This is narrated and occasionally one will get poked.  "This piece go here?  You watching Sammy?"
Sometimes he cooks in his kitchen and I will open my eyes to find a plastic hamburger, wooden bun, and a handful of other toy food near me.  Today I got lucky and also received a real raspberry, which somehow was not mashed into the couch.
I wish I had this child's energy level that early in the morning.  Of course, three hours later he won't be the most pleasant person around.  And one day he'll be grown and out of the house, and I'll miss my collection of trinkets when I am lying on the couch, (except maybe the berry).

Relaxing in the Water

Vacationing in Falmouth, Ma.  Sam loved his beach chair in the water so that he could watch the waves go in and out.

Trike Kisses

I was trying to clean up the kitchen yesterday after breakfast and Sam kept riding into me and bumping me in the legs with his trike.  It didn't hurt, but I was getting really annoyed.  I finally looked at him and said, "Sam stop bumping me with your trike.  That's not nice."
He looked up a little pitifully and said, "Mama, trike is kissing you."

Another Beach Day

   Gone are the days of relaxing at the beach.  At least for most of us.

This is what happens when Daddy tries to take a nap.  It's all fun and good until he gets a bucket of sand over his head (much to the amusement of our beach neighbors).

It was a beautiful day though and nice to arrive early in the morning and leave before the heat of the day settles in.

Visiting Thomas the Train

We journeyed down to Edaville over the weekend, where Thomas the Train makes an biannual appearance.  Chris and I were totally overwhelmed by the mayhem of strollers, toddlers and preschoolers, and general noise and confusion.  Sam handled it better than we expected.  I don't think he was completely taken with Thomas.  They hook up one "Thomas" car to the front of their usual train.  Sam kept asking us while we were on the train, "where Thomas is?" but he enjoyed the park until we made a hasty departure around lunch time.

                         
Thomas among the crowd, where you could pay for a photo taken with him.  We choose not to.  There were about 10 regular train cars behind him, which was the deceptive part.



There are a number of mechanical rides, but other than venturing on one, we stuck with the shady park area where there are more stationary old vehicles to climb on and less crowds and noise.

At the Beach

Sam loves the beach this year, which is exciting, since Chris and I also do.  When he woke up this morning he stood up and said, "Sam wake now.  Go beach!" and was digging the sand from the moment we arrived.  He also loved the water, once he got used to the idea of the waves.  His favorite activity was "jumping" over the waves, which was Chris or I lifting him over them.
Here's a short clip of his exploration in his droopy trunks.

Trike at the Mechanics

Lately Sam has had to "work" on his trike.  Here are a few shots of the little mechanic at work.  It usually involves a variety of tools, including a garden spade, screwdriver, hammer, wrench, and sometimes Scotch tape.

At the Mechanic

We've had a long bout of Sam being sick again.  Nothing terrible, ear infections, the croup, and what is probably all related to the change in seasons and mild allergies.  After the second round of antibiotics and not eating for a good week, and being out of his routine, Sam's temperament and behavior was verging on terrible.  We finished up the antibiotics and he finally seemed to start to return to his old self.
Yesterday he was starting to return to the temper tantrums and endless tears and started to take inventory of, I swear, every misplaced toy he could think of.
"James??  Mama where James?  Sammy look for James?" with a note of desperation in his voice. After a quick search I located the missing train.
"Dump twuck?  Sammy no see dump twuck?  Is it?  Where?"  Now there were actual tears.  We found dump truck.


I was stumped when we got to Mater.  A little tow truck from the movie Cars, who is one of the uglier characters I have ever seen.  Sam hasn't seen the movie, but from the magical powers of Disney marketing, he knows who Mater is.
"Mater?  Where Mater?  Mama????" still in tears.  He wandered around the house calling for, "Mater..."  He returned to the living room and told me, very seriously, "maybe Mater mechanic."
I jumped on it.
"Yes, Mater is at the mechanic.  I forgot!  I'll call the mechanic now and check on him," figuring we could prolong this one until the truck turned up.
We "talked" to the mechanic, only to discover that Mater was still being worked on.

This morning I found Sam walking in circles on his toy phone.  "Yes, Mater?  Oh, no.  New tires Mater.  Yes."
He reported to me, "Mater not finished yet." Whew.

We were at a local farm today with friends and Sam fell asleep in the car coming home, and then was off his nap schedule.  Chris and I desperately needed him to take a nap to catch up with work we needed to do.  Chris somehow, in negotiating that Sam would at least lie down and rest, told him that if he rested, he would "go and pick Mater up at the mechanic."
This totally backfired as, first off, Sam never slept, only rested, and we spent the whole time he was "resting" turning the house upside down looking for the missing truck, and secondly, resulted in Chris running to Target to buy a replacement $2.99 Mater.

It seems that Mater got a paint job while he was at the mechanic.  This Mater has what looks like airbrushed paint on his sides.  Luckily Sam accepted the fact that Mater had a paint job.  He has also been inspecting the truck very closely.  "Oh, Mater new tires!"  "Mater yellow light?"  I'm waiting to see what happens when the old Mater turns up.

Town Day 2012

After a not very good night of sleep the night before, and an early morning awakening, Sam didn't know quite what to think about Town Day.  This was taken when I put him down to look at the Fire truck, which usually he loves.

Enka Fair 2012

We took Sam down to an annual fair this weekend.  He was excited at first by everything that went "round and round" but then became overwhelmed.  We stood in line for 20 minutes for a little train ride, that parents and children were riding on.  When we reached the front of the line, they changed the rules and decided parents could not accompany children.  Sam sat on the train (twice) but then quickly decided it wasn't a good idea to ride it without me accompanying him, so he never completed the ride.
His favorite moments of the fair were checking out the fire truck that was parked outside and eating fried dough and running around the grassy area.

 There was some safety in being held and not being down on the ground!

 The train was fun until the wait got a little long and realization set in.

Watching the Lawnmower

Sam likes to watch Chris mow the lawn from the upstairs deck.  When I walked by yesterday, he was out there with his trains lined up next time him.  When I asked, he told me, "trains watch Daddy mow lawn too!"
(If you look closely, there is a line of trains next to his left foot "watching" the lawnmower).

Bumblebees and Blocks

Sam was happily playing with his blocks and trains yesterday in the living room, while I started dinner.  Independent play at this hour of the day is a rare luxury and I was relishing in the fact that I could unload the dishwasher and start dinner, without hearing, "Mama? Mama play twains?"  every three minutes.  Then I heard a little voice say, "oh, spider."  Silence.  Then, "spida?  Spida fast!"  A few seconds later I heard, "no!  No spida play blocks!  Sammy's blocks!"  There was a note of panic in his voice so I went into the living room.  On his block I saw not a spider, but a huge bee.  Like the size of his pinky. 
"Mama, no spida play bwocks!" 

I slowly picked up the block, willing the bee to stay on it and not fly at Sam while I tried to run for the porch door.  Luckily it seemed to be attempting to pollinate the wooden cube and I got out the door and had to bang the thing off.  I returned the brick to Sam and told him it was a bumblebee, not a spider.
"No BUMBLEBEE pway Sammy bwocks!" he declared.  I agreed. When I finished unloading the dishwasher and had the rice started, I went back into to see what he was doing.  The block I had retrieved the bee from sat untouched, contaminated in the corner.  Sam was still shaking his head, muttering about the unwelcome guest.  I was glad I had gone to see this "spider" and that we had avoided a bee sting.

In the Garden

Outside is still one of Sam's favorite places to be.  He has a little set of gardening tools now.  A spade that I had bought for science in the classroom years ago, a rake that my parents dug up in their shed and repaired, a snow shovel that has become useful in all seasons, and to his great delight, the Easter bunny brought him a Radio Flyer wheel barrow at Easter time!  He will run across the yard with it, calling, "Eas-ta bunny bwought Sammy wheel ba-row!"  Everyday when we get home, he wants to be in the backyard.  He is usually moving dirt from one location to another random spot on the lawn.  Our grass looks like it has little pitcher's mounds all over it.

GrandJoe recently built a beautiful and elaborate, very strong gate to contain Sam, which Sam will affectionally pat, and say, "GrandJoe build gate," as he unlatches it ; )  We are working on the latch.  It is very exciting to come home and find GrandJoe and Nelson building the gate, rain or shine.  Sam immediately needs to get underfoot, or into wet concrete, or under the scaffolding.

They have started a gate on the other side of the house now.  This gate is still under construction and has two holes for the granite posts, that are not quite filled in.  They are wonderful for putting things into however and for splashing in.                                                                              Sam is getting the concept of putting plants and flowers in the ground, sometimes they are a little mangled when they are finally planted though.  The garden was a little neglected these past two summers, since he required much more attention.  It's starting to shape up though and it's fun to be out there with him.

Toddler Brain

Artist Melissa Balmain's interpretation of a toddler's brain.  A co-worker passed this on today, made me laugh!  Sam needs a vehicle area though, maybe replacing the Muppet section.

Little People and Big Places

At the end of my school vacation week, we went to Southampton, NY to see Chris's uncle and his partner and other family friends.  The trip is about 5 hours, the drive broken up by a ferry ride from New London, Connecticut across Long Island Sound.  It's a lot of car time, but Sam loves the ferry ride (they build submarines in New London, so there is lots of equipment visible for that enterprise), and the home in Southampton is full of places to explore and run around in.  The garden never ends and the neighbor has a chicken "coop" the size of our apartment.  There were two little girls there also this trip, who Sam adores.  He wore himself out playing with them.  They spent a good half hour running around trailing Bali banner that were trying to be hung for a party.



And on the way home, we got a push from a tugboat!