November Jack-o-lanterns

Well, we've got a lot of pumpkin. Most are, admittedly, pie pumpkins, but we did real well growing them this year. Now if we could only grow some pies. But with all of the costume excitement, we didn't do so well on Jack O Lanterns. Josie carved one at a party, but it molded in 3 days!

Last night, Amanda carved a pie pumpkin. So of course, Josie and I had to do one too! I let Josie take a pen and draw the face, and then I faithfully cut out whatever she drew, with no artistic license, just exactly what she put. And this is what we got! I think it's museum quality. I continue to be overwhelmed by the amount of graphic skill and hand-eye coordination she just flaunts for an almost 4 year old.

...And the final doorbell...

Here's Josie and Monkeyboy at the final stop of the year Tuesday night at our neighbor's house. note Josie's jacket on under her costume, and the halloween socks she picked out herself. Jasper has learned the game, just put the shiny stuff in the bag, make sure I get as much as her. Nothing more realistic than a little, waddly toddly monkey who doesn't use his knees scuffling up the the door, looking up from between those dinnerplate ears, holding out his bag and going "ugh ugh!!"

Afterwards, while Jasper was going to bed, Josie and I had a long heart to heart about what it is a flower fairy actually does. We decided together that her job was to take care of the flowers, put them to bed in the fall and wake them up in the spring. Needless to say, at 8:30 on a freezing halloween evening (aren't they always freezing?) Josie and I were out shivering around the yard, putting imaginary blankets on each and every flower in each and every garden. And believe me, I planted a lot of flowers this year!

Hallowhirlwindy!

Mama really pulled out all the stops with the costumes this year. I am proud to report that Josie was one of only two kids at preschool with a homemade costume, and hers clearly looks professional, as the pictures show. Hopefully she (and Jaspie) will get lots of additional use out of them after all the effort Amanda put into them! I'm thinking we will need an organ grinder monkey at both Thanksgiving and Christmas if we can just get him on the plane!

Without further ado, here is our first (of four) trick-or-treating outings this year:

Just moments after finishing the costumes, we are studiously accessing the street:


Josie really starts to enjoy it:

Meanwhile, the other child can only be described as "grumpy monkey":

Afterwards, we reviewed the afternoon at a nearby restaurant. A classic Josie triptych:



Meanwhile, my primate of a son just kicked back with a cold milk:

p.s.

There are two new posts that follow this one, so keep reading.
In the meantime, though, I wanted to make you all aware of a nifty feature that the blog offers. If you check down there, in the lower right corner of my post, you'll see a cute little pencil and something that says "0 comments". If you click on the little pencil, you can leave a nice comment on how great the kids are, what a fascinating life we must lead, or how lovely the weather's been. I know you're reading this, so give it a try.

quick update

Josie: is really enjoying school. It was my day to stay and help on Thursday, and she really seems to be comfortable, fit in, and know what she's doing. She plays so nicely with everyone, and feels free enough to talk to any of them or say what she's thinking to the teacher. She just seems happy there, and that makes me so happy!
We went to the big (really nice) park in Golden together on Thursday afternoon, after a long day where neither kid would nap for long, and Josie rode her bike on the path along the creek. It's a little kid bike that I found at the thrift store (although it's a quite nice bike), and the training wheels keep her upright. When she falls over she says cute things like "Good thing I was wearing my helmet!" then gets up and rides on. We later went to the library where she insisted on wearing the helmet.
Jasper: is really loving the park. He is so happy to follow Josie (and her friends, whenever available) around and do what they do. Usually after school we stay for 45 minutes to play with Josie and her buddies. I think he thinks he's also three, and they really treat him nicely and try to let him join in a bit...and he does his best to keep up. He's quite proficient at sliding now, although it's usually feet-first on his belly (the safest way, no doubt), and can climb the ladder up to the second level on the play structure. I just can't get over it! Josie was an early slider, compared to her friends, but she was 16-17 months rather than 12 when she started. Okay, so he gets injured frequently, but he bounces back really quickly, and is just so generally happy and fun to be around (even when he's teething, his reflux is acting up, and he hasn't slept!). He's also really enjoying books right now, especially if they include large pictures of animals, preferably photographs, that he can point at and say "dog", "duck", or "that" or make the signs for "elephant", "butterfly" or "fish". We also think he says "right there", but that one's not so clear... I've also discovered that he understands everything I say, like "let's go in the kitchen!" or "can you put this in the basket over there?". I think he understands when I say "No!" too, but that one gets a less pronounced response...
favorite books: Anything fall-related, with leaves, pumpkins, or apples (Josie) "My Big Animal Book" and "Peek a Who" (Jasper)
favorite music: Soundtrack to Curious George the Movie (haven't seen it!) by Jack Johnson (Josie); anything danceable (Jasper)

confucius say....

Josie's hand-picked fortune (from a cookie) of Friday, 13 October:

A GREAT PLEASURE IN LIFE IS DOING WHAT OTHERS SAY YOU CAN'T


enough said.

overdue...

I've been told that I'm waaaay delinquent in updating the blog, but for good reason! Since just before preschool started we've suffered a string of debilitating (okay, not that debilitating, but annoying!) runny noses, sore throats, and general malaise. We seem to be getting over this last one, though, so here I am!
Josie's been in preschool for about a month now and is really enjoying it. Her teachers seem to be very in tune with the kids while being super-calm and keeping things fun and engaging. Josie's slowly breaking through her wall of shyness and speaking up more, singing along, playing with lots of kids (rather than just the four she already knew), and trying all of the activities they have. Every day follows the same routine, with circle time at the beginning, an hour or so to work on the 'projects' (Josie's word) they've set up [she usually goes for whatever gluing/painting/beading/coloring project they've got, then the cutting-with-scissors project, then the woodworking center (usually popsicle sticks and wood, plus glue make something vaguely recognizable as a boat or....something)], plays games, etc. She's really engaged and having fun. Then they have a snack, play outside or in the gym if it's wet, and we come get them. It's all very interesting to her, and she asks EVERY DAY at LEAST once if it's school. Even on weekends. She's just so happy, and it gives me a nice chance to spend a few minutes just with Jasper (and enjoy his naptime, but more on that later!). She's also been doing a lot of drawing and writing at home, which is part of the reason for my delinquent blogging--I've been meaning to scan in some of her more interesting pieces to share. They've gotten to be really detailed and have good stories behind them. We've also been doing a lot of sewing lately (it seems like I skip between paper things, knitting, and sewing, but Josie and I are kind of on a sewing streak right now, what with Halloween sneaking up on us!). We've nearly finished a coat for her. She was perusing the Butterick book and found a lovely a-line polarfleece number with a round collar. We found some lovely blue to match her eyes, and some pink kitty-face buttons to keep it around her. We've also got a jumper, fairy costume, Jasper's secret costume, and a bunch of pincushions in the works, plus bear and kitty dolls in the 'almost finished' pile. I'll have to get pictures of those, but I'll have to wrest them away from Jaspie first, since he seems to have an absolutely unmatched love of stuffed animals.
Speaking of, he's growing fast. I need to get him in for his one-year checkup (okay, so we're six weeks past that, but he'll be fine, so long as the mumps aren't going around) just so we can get his weight. It's somewhere upwards of 26-27 lbs, but I'm falling behind. At least he can walk now, and I don't have to cart him nearly everywhere any longer. Just a month ago he was taking his first steps, now suddenly he walks from one end of the house to the other, chasing Josie around for his morning hug (or post-naptime hug, or anytime hug), falling, getting up, smiling, dancing, suddenly a boy rather than an infant! It just happened so fast!

Sounds like he's waking up, so I'll cram as much info as I can into this last paragraph--he's got about ten words (book, milk, dada, doggie, kitty, mo(re), something approximating 'Josie', maaaamaaaa (when he needs something), and duck), plus a few signs (more, fish, light (the favorite), waving hi/bye, clapping, etc). He's a great imitator, trying to pin my fabric for me, or knit, or chop carrots, drawing, painting. If Josie's got a fork, he needs one too. Although the biting and sand-eating is winding down, he seems to have grown a possessive side, from the way he flipped out when Josie had 'his' orange cup yesterday. Loves the water...at the pool he's like a fish, and if you put him near a sink he climbs in and turns it on. Eats anything (just like his sister!), falls down and gets up without so much as a whimper (usually, unless there's blood), good with the shape-sorter. Oh, and he drives and 'vrooms' for anything with wheels between bringing books over that he wants to sit on my lap to read. Best of all, he's free and easy with the hugs and kisses, just like a good boy :)
favorite books: "Metro Cat" (Josie) "My Big Animal Book" and "Goodnight Moon" (Jasper)
favorite music: "something jazzy" (Josie)
etc: Jasper's now moved on to popsicles, and they both love oatmeal or p'nut butter toast (preferably RAISIN toast) to feed selves for breakfast;
recent favorite quote, about the mutant underpollinated indian corn in our garden:
Josh: "wow, that's something else!"
Josie: "no dada, that's just corn."

now back to our irregularly scheduled programming...

Okay, so vacation's over, summer's winding down and school has started! I've been such a bad blogger, taking the last so many weeks off...it almost makes me sad to look back at the last post, with Josie leaping into my arms, realizing that that is now past! Anyhow, it's time for a big update, so here goes!
We had a great vacation, several weeks in Plymouth with Sisi, Papa, and Uncle Brian followed by more than a week with Grandma and Grandpa (plus a surprise appearance by Uncle Bread!) in Kettering. We did so many fun things I can't even begin to reiterate them all here, but needless to say, the high point of the vacation was all the time we spent in the water. We hit every major geographical feature: ocean, pond, lake, pool, water park. Jasper takes to the water like a fish, crawling into whatever he can find (usually over his head!), and wanting to do whatever Josie does. He floats along happily, and could literally spend all day in the water without complaint. Josie moved from being pretty unsure and trepidatious to feeling very confident about putting her whole head under, jumping in, floating around, even trying to swim (which mostly consisted of walking on the bottom of the pool until someone pulled her up to breathe). She even took advantage of the opportunity (with Uncle Brian) to take up her new favorite hobby of fishing, and she was a champ. With a bit of assistance, she caught two little bass and a whole mess of perch.
Josie started school last week and absolutely loves it. Josh and I are both very happy with the school we found; it's at the local Methodist Church, less than a mile away. The teachers seem to be very comfortable with each other, they're well stocked with fun supplies and creative ideas, and have a great playground. Josie couldn't be happier (well, unless she could go live with princesses who don't have a baby to pay attention to, but that's another story), and neither could we! The teacher was surprised to see that she could write her name, saying that it's a skill the kids usually pick up this time next year. At that point I realized that Josie started it this time last year. Goodness! Speaking of which, she's figured all the letter sounds out and can read simple words and books. I guess I'm not all that surprised (and she certainly doesn't seem to be!), but it's so exciting to see her acquiring all these new skill and taking such pride in her new abilities. With the start of school she suddenly seems...older...and bigger. Her language is getting to be so complex, with long phrases and interesting words...and so polite! She continues to be a really fun kid to be around!
At the same time, Jasper's got about ten words that we can figure (milk, book, dog, kitty-cat, mama, dada, something approximating 'josie', and a couple more), and a few signs (more, no, dog, wave goodbye or hello, light, milk, airplane). He's also really been interested in books. It started about a month ago when he would try and get in with Josie and I to read whatever we've got. Now he'll find books on his own to sit and page through. My favorite part is when he tries to pick the blueberries off the page :) He's also become really mobile in the past month. When we left Plymouth he was just starting to come around to the whole idea of walking unsupported, then Josh tempted him into walking...with blueberries. He would stand a few feet away with a blueberry and Jasper would walk over, nibble it out of his hand, then walk a bit further for another bite. Now he's walking wherever he wants to go, and is absolutely thrilled about it. He's also quite the climber---whatever he can do to get up on the counter where we keep the (you guessed it) fruit.

I've got great pictures for all these adventures we had, so I'll have to upload them in the next few days...stay tuned!

favorite books: "Horace, Morris, and Mostly Dolores Join the Chorus", "Where the Wild Things Are"
favorite music: "Catch that Train" Dan Zanes
etc: Jasper's really loving fruit and graham crackers; Josie digs the peanut butter cookies and popsicles

blogger vacation

Hey! Thanks for stopping by! Sorry there hasn't been much going on around here lately, we've had guests, and now a long, lazy vacation is robbing us of valuable time around the computer.
Please entertain yourselves with this lovely slideshow of our intrepid scout of a daughter dunking herself in the swimmin' pool. Jasper's fully dunkable too, but he's not quite so capable of jumping as his sister (although he thinks he is!).

Make a Free Flash Slideshow

....and here are a few extras

Cherries Jubilee!

OK, we seem to have a fruit theme going in this family. Or maybe just food. I think it is caused by Jasper, the never-ending dinner guest. At any rate, we spent the 3rd of July on the Western Slope helping out with the bing cherry harvest.

Josie-o is a very efficient worker, who got a bag and set about her task:

Jasper is a very efficient eater, who got the box and set about his task:


Josie did not hesitate to join Mama on the ladder to get more cherries:

Jasper Did not hesitate to wait at the bottom of the ladder for cherries to drop down:

I think the only thing he likes more than cherries is dog food. He can smell that stuff from miles. Note the discarded cherry remnants all over his lap. Now that I think about it, no one told him he could eat cherries, I set him down and he just assumed they went in his mouth...

Josie Hugs Jasper, Jasper chews on a cherry leaf (equal opportunity eating):

After an exhausting day and a short night, the team poses at the Sonnenshien Alpinhaus Bavarian:

26.8 lbs of cherries back in our kitchen (less what we ate on the way home):


Anyone want some cherries? If you don't eat them, Jasper will!

recently heard from a certain three-year-old:
"I need a poop wipe"
"Did you go poop already?"
"I went poop. Therefore, I need a poop wipe."
...........graphic, but true!

Jasper also stood unsupported for a few seconds (on some rocks out by the back hose-spigot), and this morning he waved goodbye!
He's also signing more pretty consistently, and could clap if he knew what it meant. Or maybe he is clapping. I can never tell, he just looks so happy all the time :)

Josie and Jasper are getting along pretty well. He still bites a little bit, but yesterday he crawled over to Josie and gave her a big head-hug (where he leans in with his head, four paws still on the floor) after he made her cry. Wow, it was neat!
Josie is still really interested in reading, and is trying hard to sound words out two ways. Sometimes she picks a word and tries to figure out how to spell it (she pretty much got 'message' the other day--mesag--when Daddy told her that that's what goes on the other side of a card she made). We were reading Go Dog Go! and another book last night, and she sounded out 'down' and 'sad'.
We've also been playing outside a lot since it's been so hot. It's supposed to be 99 this afternoon. Thank goodness for the basement--and the SuperTarget...they have air conditioning!

Mama is 29!

Here she is, modelling the black forest cake of all cakes. Josie and daddi-o added EIGHT layers of cake, alternating between chocolate and yellow, with whipped cream slathered between each layer and all over (a quart by the end), with pie cherries in homemade glaze between the layers, almonds on the outside, shaved semisweet dark chocolate on the top, with marichino cherries on top. No one could make it through a piece. Note the avalanche of whipped cream and cherries on the side.

Blueberry introspection

We are so very nonchalant about our victory over the horrid blueberry bandito. Lo, tho' the walls, the table, the floor, and even the picture on the wall are covered in his vile blueberry oatmeal remnants, we are not concerned, looking only to the coming banana threat across the room...

First let me say that I don't "let" the boy eat dirt. He really does that of his own accord, no matter how many "not for you Jaspie!!"s Josie might provide, or how many "no eating dirt/sand/dog food!!!"s I might calmly shout as I run across the living room/kitchen/yard. So don't leave me comments telling me what a bad dirt-feeding mommy I am. Really, though, just think of it like a good multivitamin. Extra nitrogen, phosphorus, that other nutrient that neither Josh nor I can remember making him grow big and strong. Just look at those buns. Steel I tell you, steel!!


That said, here are a couple of shots of two of our gardens. I took the one of the 'big family garden' over the weekend, and things are already twice as big. We've got cantaloupe and zucchini against the brick wall, and a trellis for them to grow up. Lettuce/spinach, peas, onions, and beans in rows, then tomatoes/peppers, carrots, corn, potatoes, rhubarb, pumpkins, and watermelon. Josie and I still go out and hoe every day to keep the weeds down, but she's already enjoying the peas :)



"Josie's little garden" began life as a bare patch in the lawn where Josie planted a few old pea seeds in, oh, February. One sprouted and has been joined by a red pepper, carrots, spinach, and radishes. Yum! She waters it, tends it faithfully, and brings offerings of roly-polie-olies and worms whenever she finds them. Oh, and she's not just growing peas, they're 'sweet baby peas', since that's the kind Jasper likes. What a sister!


Finally, here are a couple of gratuitously cute shots of the kids. Couldn't resist, and I knew you wouldn't mind :)

consonants

I think the kids are getting sick--jasper's been pooping all morning, josie threatened to throw up. Oh well, such is life. We had fun this morning, rode our bikes to the doughnut shop, then across the street to the park where we sat on a blanket and shared our sprinkles. It was very nice (if a hard ride up the hill :)
After one particularly big rumble in the diaper, Jasper sat on my hip, blowing raspberries and practicing the new consonants he's discovered in the past couple of days. goos and gaas, and heees and haaas. very cute!

Gardening behind the scenes...

So even though these photos are from a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be good to see the team working together in the main (not josie-sized) garden. In the first photo, you can see how helpful Josie is being with the Tomato plant, Mommy is getting ready to plant it, and ... Wait, what's that Jasper's doing?

the second photo shows more clearly...

Along the gardening theme, Jasper recently sat for the traditional posed picture with daffodils, preferably in a Paddington Bear jumper. Note the two new teeth he's sporting! This was one of the few photos when he wasn't trying to eat the daffodil...

Josie and her kitties

Josie has decided that today she has three baby kitties. They're imaginary, of course, and their names are Jana, June, and Jasha. I'm the grandma kitty, my name is Asher, and I take care of the other baby kitties (whose eyes aren't open) while Josie takes the sick one to the doctor then out for a treat. I don't know where she came up with these names, but they're cute!
Jasper started reaching up with his arms when he wants to be picked up. This morning in the kitchen I was making some lunch and Josie was up on the counter. He crawled over, sat right in front of me, and when I looked down he put his arms up, then was just so happy I knew what he was trying to say! It was so neat!

Things are going pretty okay back here at the ranch...the weather's been very nice, bordering on a little too warm, these past couple of weeks, and we've really been enjoying all that summer is poised to bring. The garden is growing nicely, with little bean plants, peas, and greens; the rhubarb is growing (after immediately killing my four previous efforts!), melons and pumpkins are sprouting. Josie has a little garden in the middle of the lawn (she found her own little dirt patch and planted a pea seed), and her one pea has been joined by radishes (which sprouted in a little more than 24 hours and already taste nice and radish-y), carrots, and spinach. Oh, and a red pepper, which Josie likes to remind me are yucky. I think she'll eat them anyway. We go out every morning or early afternoon and hoe all the new weeds out (trying not to get anything we've planted) and water the seeds. Since I'm usually pretty delinquent with both of these, having Josie to remind me has been a big help!
I'll have to get some pictures of the two gardens, though...sorry I keep forgetting :)
One interesting thing, though...Josie's a natural-born pusher, but Jaspie seems to be a biter (just like I think I remember being, interestingly). Josie was kind of pushing him around yesterday and Josh was trying to convince her to back off when he made some sort of growling noise and zipped over to bite her arm. I was at the dentist, and so sad to have missed it! We'll have to work on nipping this in the bud, since pushing isn't nearly the problem that biting is (and Josie hardly pushes any more)...
Anyhow, here we are enjoying the spring weather:


In this last one, Josie's playing croquet...at least trying to figure out how!

Josie after her (almost daily) morning shower

Planting gerber daisy seeds all by herself.

Jasper's looking cute, on the hunt for dog food

Well, I don't have any pictures today, but I have to keep you coming back. so here's the scoop on the kids:
Jasper's doing fairly well, growing out of clothes as quickly as we can buy (borrow or steal) them, sleeping a little better now that he doesn't have a stomach virus/enterovirus/teething/drooling/reflux. He's still very smiley and seems to have grown out of some of his separation anxiety in the past few weeks. His sounds still mostly consist of "aaaah!" and blowing raspberries, but he's obviously listening and taking in what we say (especially Josie!) Aside from walking or crawling really fast, he gets around surprisingly well, cruising around furniture, pulling up (and getting down) easily, and if there's dog food around he'll find a way to get to it :) If he's by himself and hears a voice he'll crawl around (bleating like a lamb) until he finds someone to pick him up. He and Josie are really getting to the point of being interested in each other. They still have tea parties together and have other little games they play (sorry, I have no idea what the rules are!). They're sitting next to each other in the back seat now, and Josie talks to him, telling him what a good baby he is, that she loves him, asks him how he's doing...and (for good or bad) feeds him bits of whatever she's got (I looked back there on Saturday and he was covered with banana goo). It's particularly fun to hear her talking to him the way I spoke to her when she was a baby, saying things like "not for you Jaspie!"
Speaking of Josie, she's doing a better job of listening when Josh or I ask her to do something (or not do something, as the case often is) without questioning us first. She's still really interested in letters and words, and has started sounding out words based on the sounds the consonants make. She's clearly got the idea that letters = sounds = words = ideas, she just needs to practice a little more. She's also trying to write more letters, and is drawing some really startling things. She was playing with some of her buddies last week and they got the sidewalk chalk out. Mostly the kids were scribbling big lines and circles...Josie, on the other hand, quietly drew a big lobed flower with a circle in the middle, a stem, and a leaf. Very clearly a flower (the way I usually draw it, anyway). She's great with the scissors too, but I have to keep her away from the sharp ones! She had her first trip to the dentist last week. I've been really apprehensive about the dentist myself, so I was worried that it be a fun visit for her. We found a pediatric dentist and it was great! They were great at working with Josie's shy nature, and gave her a lot of control over the procedures (holding the suction thing...oh, sorry "mr tickles" etc), and the jungle theme in the officce made it distracting enough that she wasn't worrried about a thing. The dentist was particularly sensitive to her, and had her talking to him within two minutes. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get through to her that quickly! Anyhow, her teeth were clean and cavity-free, although she's got an overbite and a little crowding that she may not grow out of. I guess we'll start saving for braces...
So, the weather's warming up, seeds are sprouting, and we can finally play outside every day. I'll have to take some pictures of Josie's garden (where she planted some peas in a bare patch the middle of the backyard) once the carrots and spinach sprout! Hopefully I'll have some more pictures soon :)

Well, we don't have any new pictures of late, but to keep you coming back, here are some reruns.....
CIRCA 2004

CIRCA 2006


and a word from Josie:

jrooo8uuedu9uyu9yggggggry948778GTTGY99999666tguuwfgtfdf JOSIIIIE-O

JOOSIE=O0
CCCZXVB

more on the patio

out on the patio

sibling snuggles

The weather has been really fickle lately, eighty and sunny one day, snowing the next. Really! On the nice days, though, we've been really enjoying hanging out in the backyard. It's great for all of us...Josie builds sandcastles, Jasper eats them. Josie fills a bucket to water a plant, Jasper dumps it over his head.