Vegetable Garden '09

After months of intermittent work by all of us on removing the vine from our fence, I was able to incorporate some compost into the clay and make a garden bed. My intention was to only plant peas and tomatoes, things we don't get enough of from our CSA farm. Instead, I'll be cramming in as many things as I can to accommodate Linus' demand that we plant broccoli, carrots, and green beans.

As I emptied the bags of compost onto the bed, Linus ran back and forth bringing his construction equipment to help with the work. At times we sparred over who got to work in particular areas. He wanted to be able to use the digger anywhere in the bed, including where I'd already smoothed out the soil in preparation for the peas. He let up when I went in to get the seeds. He was so excited to create the holes and drop in the seeds. Of course this activity led to new questions: Why do peas grow in pods? Why can't we plant the broccoli, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes now? Do green beans grow in pods? As expected, he soaked up all of the information and shared it with Matthew when he got home from work. It was adorable listening to Linus explain that first the root will grow down and then a leaf will grow up out of the ground. I suspect it was a proud moment for Matthew, our botanist.

Since it is too early to plant much of anything yet, Linus can still play construction site on much of the garden. This should tide him over to when he and Matthew complete building his sand box.

Sow Bug Fun

We gave Linus a Bug Jug, which is a little container to hold bugs while one examines them. In Linus' case, it meant quizzing me endlessly about sow bugs. I was clearing out a large climbing plant along our fence line so Linus and I can put in a little garden. Linus was delighted when I revealed sow bugs and ran into the house to get the Bug Jug. He had at least six in there and then started asking me questions:

"What eats sow bugs? Why don't they like the sun? How do you say sow bug in Spanish? What do they eat? What do they sound like?" The only one I could answer was that they eat things they find in the soil. This wasn't a good enough answer for him and he wanted to know exactly what they eat. So I ran into the house in search of a field guide to help. I took the book out and told Linus that sow bugs aren't insects because insects have wings and six legs. Linus promptly took the book from me and proceeded to "read" it out loud to the sow bugs. He started by telling them that they weren't insects because they couldn't fly. ( A bit later he told me that sow bugs in Wisconsin can fly.) He also "read" that we should be gentle and nice with them.

He put so much "homing" in with them (soil, mulch, leaves) that they probably felt like they were outside and free. I thought it was cute that he invented the meaning of "homing" to describe giving them things from their natural surroundings. In the middle picture he is looking at them with two magnifying glasses, one in the lid of the jug and a separate one we got him.

Later he very deliberately walked around some ants and said, "I don't want to hurt their feelings. Or them."

Easter Day

Shortly before Linus woke up on Easter morning, I got out of bed and quickly hid our dozen Easter eggs for him to find. He got up shortly after that and approached his basket with a sleepy face. He woke up quickly as he excitedly looked at the jelly beans, chocolate rabbit, and other goodies. Then he started spying eggs in various places in the living and dining rooms. He found them all quickly and joyfully. One thing that did disappoint Linus was that he thought the Easter Bunny was going to come and knock on our door for a visit.

Later we went to a friend's house for brunch with them and their family. We celebrated with a bit of Ukrainian influence in the menu of borscht, boiled eggs, sausage, special bread, and homemade donuts with a rose jelly filling. Then we relaxed and played games with the kids. We really did have a wonderful celebration of Easter this year.

Easter Eggs

We hosted an Easter Egg hunt at our house yesterday. We invited eight kids over to hunt for eggs in the back yard. At the suggestion of one of the five-year-olds, the big kids (ages four and five) hid the eggs for the little kids (ages two and three). That was a great idea because it gave the big kids a fun job to do. The six little kids did a good job of finding the eggs and when they reached their quota they stopped or helped the others find eggs. With some prompting from Matthew, Linus shared a few of his eggs with Chase. Then we all marched back inside and watched the little kids open their eggs while a couple of the dads hid eggs for the big kids. I got a kick out of watching the younger ones shoving candy into their mouths and moving on to more of their eggs. In addition to candy we put bunny barrettes, rubber lizards, paratrooper bunnies, and stickers in the eggs.

After the big kids found all of their eggs all of the kids ran around the yard digging into their baskets, playing with the paratrooper bunnies, and generally having fun. We wrangled them all together to get a group picture and then everyone packed up to go. It all went smoothly and not a single kid ended up in tears.

Later I went for a haircut and when I returned Linus gave me a gigantic hug and said, "Thank you for coming home." Then, to keep the non-stop celebrating going, we colored eggs. Linus preferred to dip each egg into at least three colors. Those eggs turned a pretty brown color. I did one egg, Matthew did two, and Linus did the rest of the dozen. He really got into the process of putting an egg into a mug, waiting and monitoring the other eggs in their dye baths, and then moving the eggs into other colors.

(The one picture shows Linus and Chase interacting very sweetly together. The parents were taking pictures of the group and I zoomed in on the two of them.)

Visit to Lexington

We woke up at 3 a.m. the following day to head to the airport for our trip to Massachusetts to see Matthew's family. Linus was a good travel companion throughout the long day and was quite the trouper through the various car and plane rides, security procedures, etc. Before our plane could take off they had to de-ice the plane. Linus soaked up every bit of information Matthew gave him about the process and the plane. Our first night there Linus got to run around outside with his cousins, Wesley and Lorrie, and open birthday presents from them.

We experienced nearly a full day of rain there and that was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I continue to miss not having rainy days now and then. We had a really fun time seeing the birds and farm animals at Drumlin Farm. I liked the lambs the best. Linus still talks about the red fox.

While at grandma's and grandpa's house Linus enjoyed playing with the pine wood derby cars from Matthew's Cub Scout days, bristle blocks, puzzles (including one from Jean's childhood), and he got a lesson in how to build a cabin with Lincoln Logs. He liked having us read Richard Scarry books to him.

Our last night there, Linus had a tantrum that lasted at least 45 minutes. Nothing would comfort him. He finally calmed down and told me he wanted to go home. That was a break through, because then I could talk to him about homesickness.

Third Birthday Part 2, The Party

The next day we held Linus' party with his friends. We invited Chase, Barrett, and Lena, whose brother, Gabriel, came too. The kids were playing nicely in Linus' room with Matthew overseeing it all while the moms hung out in the dining room drinking coffee and chatting. When I felt the kids get restless I got them started on an egg and spoon game. I didn't want it to be a competitive race, so the kids were told to show us how well they could balance the eggs on spoons. I had them take the eggs from one basket to another. It turned out quite well. It was just the right amount of challenge for them. Then Gabriel suggested that he hide the plastic eggs for the other ones to find. Great idea! After a couple of rounds of that, I gathered everyone around to watch as we marked Linus' height on his growth chart. From there we transitioned over to the cake.

Linus requested a raspberry cake. I put together a lemon cake with a raspberry filling. I iced it with a lemon cream cheese frosting. I colored some of the frosting blue and made my first attempt at using decorator tips to make a pretty border around the cake. I knew I had to get some sprinkles on there because Linus LOVES sprinkles. I put a red sprinkle dot on every other blue blob shape in the border. After doing all of this I then had to figure out how to cover it up so it wouldn't dry out before the party the next day. Matthew helped me create a plastic tent over it using cans of tomatoes, a cutting board, and plastic wrap. Before we closed it up he put in two small dishes of water to provide some moisture. What crazy things we do to deal with the dryness here!

The second we all sang the last word of Happy Birthday, he blew out his candles. We couldn't have timed it better if we'd rehearsed it! Until he understands how to make a wish, I've been making his birthday wishes for him each year. I hope it still works if I didn't form the wish in my mind until after the candles were out, since he moved so fast!

While they were eating their cake and raspberry sherbet, Linus and Chase kept saying, "Mmmmmmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmm." Everyone was silly and happy. To myself I proclaimed the party a success.

Third Birthday

This year Linus' birthday celebration lasted over a week. The fun hasn't quite stopped yet. I heard evidence of this when Linus asked me today where his growth chart was. I told him I had put it away until next year. He said, "But it is still part of my celebration birthday this year."

On his actual birthday Matthew took the day off from work so we could celebrate together. Linus has been on a raspberry kick so I baked a special breakfast of Lemon Raspberry French Toast Strata. It was so easy to make, but looked gorgeous and tasted lovely.

As he opened gifts I tried to keep up taking notes of what he said about things, but it was hard to do. He first opened up a Magic Garden kit from Star, John, and Junie and exclaimed, "They're beautiful! Yay! Oooooooooh!" His comment when he opened a present from Stephanie, Brian, and Brandon was, "A book! A book! Look Matthew, a book!" He was hilarious as he tried to figure out what the present was as he opened the one from us that was Curious George pajamas: "It's this! It's that!" As he opened up each gift he'd run to his room to put them away. (I'm all for that kind of behavior.) He received an ant farm and ant book from Sara and Billy and he wanted to get the ants immediately. He asked to go outside and catch some. While he started playing with his gifts I started cleaning up and he told me, "You're the best birthday mama." What a sweet compliment that was to receive.

He loves all of his gifts and they are all perfect for him. Thank you everyone for your thoughtful gifts.

(He has been cracking us up as he gallops around the house on the stick horse we got him. He chose to wear his plaid shirt that day, which he calls his "handsome shirt.")