All Tucked In

Rophone has been working long hours the past few weeks and it has made him a bit tuckered out. He crashed on the couch this morning while I was getting breakfast made, and when I came out of the kitchen I saw this:

Big sure does love his daddy.

Early Labor Day

Since it was 98 degrees today, and Monday is only supposed to be about 60, we decided to have some "Early Labor Day" fun. The older kids played in our blow-up pool this afternoon while Big napped. A lot more fun today than it would be in the much colder weather on the real Labor Day, that's for sure!

Bud's hair looks like he's part of the cast of "That 70's Show". I really must find someone who knows how to cut his hair the way I want.

I had a funny conversation with Pen while she was hanging out on her towel after getting out of the water:

Pen: My legs felt kind of weird and scaly when I was in the water.

Me: Your legs are probably dry. You'd better put lotion on them when we get inside.

Pen: No, it wasn't that.

Me: Maybe you had too much sunscreen on them.

Pen: No, it wasn't that either. (pause) They were just scaly feeling.

Me (as a light bulb appeared above my head): Are you trying to get me to reveal to you that yes, indeed, you might just be a mermaid? That it runs in the family, or something?

Pen: Nooo! (but I can tell she's lying)

Me: I hate to break it to you, Pen, but you're part fish...a really ugly catfish with long whiskers, actually. Sorry!

Pen: Mah-um!! (that's supposed to say Mom with that sing-songy pre-teen inflection)

I can't believe that Pen is almost 10 years old! I'm glad that she still hasn't lost that certain part of her that hopes the make-believe things she reads about are really real. Even though she knows better, she still hopes to attend Hogwarts, stay young forever in Neverland or become a mermaid while swimming. 

(I used to be kind of the same way-- I would try to deliver the newspapers for my paper route before I got up from bed, using only mind-power. I was always a bit disappointed when I went upstairs and saw the bundle of papers still there, waiting to be folded). 

Hopefully, as she gets older, Pen will be able to maintain those characteristics of hope and optimism (maybe a bit more realistically). They will serve her well. 

Heaven

Big can't seem to decide whether he is right or left handed, so we made sure he had a mitt to go either way. For a mitt lover like himself, what he experienced here was pure heaven:

I think it's quite possible that in this picture he is actually smelling the leather and blissfully sighing:

Now that's a happy boy!

Bud was looking cute in his new shirt as he hung out with us:

Bud sure does love his brother:

Bud, giving Big a kiss on his freshly shorn head....

and getting a hair in his mouth in the process:

It sure is a lot quieter around here during the day now that the girls are back in school. It's kind of weird....but awfully nice!

Talking

Big is beginning to get excited about the things he is now able to verbalize, and the "doors" he finds communication can open. (He is also becoming more upset when he can't get his point across the way he wants, however, as is usually the case.) He loves being able to point out to me, "wall" followed by, "nother wall" and have me understand him and praise him. 

He had a huge proud moment tonight when I made a goof and he managed to say, "silly Mom". It's fun to see him begin to put things together and see his mind work. I'm sure we'll have a lot of frustration along the way, but it's great!

I Love Sesame Street

I am so glad that Sesame Street chooses to include humor for the parental viewers! Telly cracks me up! He and Baby Bear just heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from a book, and Telly's guess at what the sound might be was that "it's a herd of lactose intolerant antelope who just ate cottage cheese"! Awesome! How would I make it through my day without it?!

Cone Discovered

Recently, Big has discovered the joy of eating an ice cream cone. What is it about eating a cone that causes such pure, unadulterated joy? Have you ever seen someone that looked sad while eating an ice cream cone (not counting those kids who dumped their scoop on the ground, of course)? Even I, not a big sweets eater, am occasionally drawn to partake, and I enjoy every minute of it.

The best part about a cone is that there are no rules when it comes to eating it. The ways to eat a cone are as varied as..... (couldn't think of much original-- stars in the sky definitely isn't new, dimples on my thigh isn't very appetizing...well, you get the idea!)

Those who are in a rush may nibble the ice cream with either teeth (if they're tough) or lips. These folks don't even have to worry about catching wayward drips on the sides of the cone with their tounges--there isn't time for any melting to be done.

The more unhurried partakers lick the cone 'round and 'round with a flattened tongue, maybe even making a skinny mountain that reaches to the sky until pushed down flat again by that same tongue that built it, only for the whole process to begin again.

Some of the more adventurous eaters poke holes with pointed tongues or surround the whole cone with their mouths and pull the ice cream into an impossibly long and squiggly peak with their pursed lips, and the peak stands for only a brief moment before being bitten off or folding back down upon itself. 

As a kid, my little brother, Rib, would always bite the end off of his cone and then turn it back upright to eat the ice cream while his lap collected the steady drips out of the bottom end. 

No matter how we choose to eat our ice cream cones, there is joy to be found for all!

Here is Big, loving his cone:

He was doing great, until he decided to test it on the back of his hand--as though he was trying to find just the right shade of lipstick for his skin color:

Go eat a cone and enjoy!

First Day

I can't believe it, but the first day of school is here again. One part of me says HOORAY! (admittedly the larger part), while another part of me is kind of bummed--the part that will miss the girls and doesn't want to have to start the whole routine again. The house sure was a lot quieter today, with a lot fewer problems to solve. Nice.

Big was happy to get back to the routine that was his life before summer began. As we were headed out the door this morning he kept grinning and saying, "Go, go, 'cool". He loves getting out every morning, even if it's just for the short drive to the school and back. He sure did miss the extra attention he had become used to receiving throughout the day, though, and was glad when the girls reappeared in the afternoon.

Here is a picture of the girls just before we headed for school (really early! It's funny how for the first little while I can't make them wait until it's time to head out the door, and later I can't get them out the door on time!):

They arrived home just as happy, which is a good sign, but much more wilted looking. It was in the upper 90's today, and they had to spend the day in a school without air conditioning and then walk home, too! 

Heat stroke is something I worry about, especially when I see how full their water bottles still are when they get home. I don't know how any learning gets done in such heat all day, either. I couldn't even sit still and focus during back-to-school night! I think we'll all be happy when it cools off.