Jim Hargate III is howling at sirens outside.

RM: "He's mooing mom!"

the buggle...

i feel like 'the buggle' has gotten a bit of the shaft lately in my 'press coverage' of her. oma did a sixish month photo shoot for her recently. i say sixish month because she's seven months, but you know - that 'mid year' stage mommas want to capture when their munchkins are finally catch their balance to sit well, and are grinning that big gummy grin that is absolutely irresistable. I bet you can't resist her either. Can you?
Cute: Her impish grins. Her PEANUT sized self. Her chewing on my chin. Her keen awareness of everything around her.
Room for improvement: Her distaste for baby food. That high frequency screech. The night waking lately.

I'll take it. :)

one last group before winter is over...

i know everyone has probably had quite their fill of the snow pictures by now, but for posterity, i'm posting this group of shots too. Our sweet neighbors took them, so i was delighted to see them! Junebug was napping.

We were watching Floyd sledding. RM: "Daddy! That's SCARY!" I haven't had that much fun sledding in years.

"Mr. Jim" grew up in Wisconsin, and we wouldn't have had snowmen without his expertise. I'm not kidding - his tips were great! It is such fun to get to play in the snow with your neighbors. I still need a picture with "Ms. Mariame" and their dog Honey.

And just so you know, this was all before breakfast.

privacy

yes, i know, i know, the burning question: "Why did you password protect your blog?"

answer: we received some hits from sites that were linked to content that i do not want associated with our family, so in an effort to protect our family, this mechanism allows us to invite friends and family to participate in our virtual world.

i apologize for any inconvenience, but this day in age, you can't be too careful, right? thanks for understanding our decision!

Our Snowy Day

We were DELIGHTED to have another dose of 'white stuff' to play in for the 2010 winter season, and this time, it was light and fluffy and powdery and PERFECT. If you don't believe me, ask these two guys above. Two out of two snowmen agree, it was PERFECTION!

Anyway, enough about them, on to the real scoop: Evelyn, Floyd & Co.

Recently, we've been reading The Snowy Day to RM and J'bug. She mostly just chews on the cover while he becomes totally transfixed on the story and illustrations. You probably know it well:

The Snowy Day, a 1963 Caldecott Medal winner, is the simple tale of a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night. Keats's illustrations, using cut-outs, watercolors, and collage, are strikingly beautiful in their understated color and composition. The tranquil story mirrors the calm presence of the paintings, and both exude the silence of a freshly snow-covered landscape. The little boy celebrates the snow-draped city with a day of humble adventures--experimenting with footprints, knocking snow from a tree, creating snow angels, and trying to save a snowball for the next day. Awakening to a winter wonderland is an ageless, ever-magical experience, and one made nearly visceral by Keats's gentle tribute.

So with that in mind, we've been talking about "The Snowy Day" a lot lately.

Me: "RM, see the snow in that field? And the cows?"
RM: "Dohs cows mom! Wook at dohs cows! Dey're eating The Snowy Day!"

Floyd: "Red, watch this ice dripping. It's melting."
RM: "Aheeeeeeee! See dat Bubbies!? It's melting!! HAHAHAH!!"

Me: "RM, do you want to sled with the big kids?"
RM: "Nope. I no want it. It's coooold."

Floyd: "Red, want to help make a snowman?"
RM: "And kick it? And Break it?"

Okay, so maybe those guys in the picture above wouldn't agree that it was totally PERFECT.... Maybe they got a little abused.

monday musings

So, we potty trained a few weeks ago. I have been afraid to mention it, to jinx myself/RM, but I figure I should account in some way for his amazing transition. Seriously, to say I was worried about it is a grave understatement. And he's taken to it SO well. No stage fright. And whether the reward is gummies or high fives and lots of applause, he knows my refrain. So much so that he shouts back, "I'm so proud of you, Mom!"

He also started playing the 'air guitar' more recently. I looked down at church yesterday, and he's standing their during worship strumming his air guitar furiously, and nodding his head to the beat. I-N-T-E-N-S-E.

Junie is teething. And peeing and flooding her PJ's in the middle of the night, which makes no one happy, but the teething is the real kicker. But i love her gnawing on my shoulder and snuggling her up. She also has enough hair for a hairbow.

That last point reminds me. Does anyone know how to convert a 3GP file from a phone video to upload and view on your computer? For some reason, I seem to be having trouble with it... that combined with not enough time to figure it out is the reason y'all haven't gotten to see some pretty cute 30 second clips yet.

As tired as this little season of life is, I was reminded this weekend how good and pleasant it is too. I watched a video about the persecuted church in other parts of the world. Seeing children smiling and singing while living as gypsies in a city dump. When I am woken up earlier than I want to by someone yelling "Mom!" in the monitor, I have been overcome by the gifts of a warm bed, healthy children, clean diapers, and clothes. A hot shower. Coffee. Warm food. These are no small things. And for whatever reason God saw fit to give me this very comfortable life experience. Sometimes I don't prize it as I should, and am all to prone to worry. I need these reminders.

Baby girl consistently refuses rice cereal, pureed bananas, applesauce. Tonight decided sweet potato fries were right up her alley. Skipping baby food? Hmm.

sleet-ish/snow-ish/ice-ish...

So, Floyd had to work for a few hours Saturday morning, but i was bound and determined to brave the elements for the toddler-man's sake. I bundled him up, and touting the new boots and new mittens, I hip-hip-hurrayed for our good fortune that God had sent us such a fun Winter Storm. I mean, after all, we only get one of these a year.

He wasn't buying it.

I even tried to get him to sled with me on the hill across the street, and it was an all out panic-attack response. So we did not sled. It was kind of the Captain Caution thing all over again.

We went back inside.

And back inside we "cuddled" and enjoyed the 68 degree climate our lovely furnace was providing. You know, I did the things momma is good at. Apple juice and animal crackers picnic? Sure. And then daddy came home. And I realized the error of my ways.

Apparently, I should have suggested poking the white stuff with a stick. Or tossing ice chunks into the road. Or stomping on it and watching it crack. Boy stuff.

And for crying out loud, loose the gloves mom. Boys need to have red-cold hands to put in their pockets.

And maybe one of these days i'll figure out how to convert the video from the phone to add it here. Just so you can see how happy he was once Daddy was calling the shots on winter-storm-fun.