Growing

Last week I started getting the idea that Linus might be having a growth spurt. He was sucking down milk all of the time, sleeping in, and tripping a lot. One day he even took a nap. Yes, a nap! It was a beautiful fall day and we were tackling a couple of new projects. We found a small book case in the alley and I bought a headboard for Linus off of Craig's List for $10. Score! We were cleaning them up and sanding them. After he got tired of helping with that, he hauled every single one of his plastic and wood animals outside to play. Quite a while later he announced that it was time for us to take breaks. He made a couple of trips into the house to bring out a cozy and books for us. I did need a break and I was touched that he'd gone to my bedside table and grabbed the top three books on the stack. So we rested and read books. Next thing I know, I realize he hasn't said anything or moved. He was leaning against my leg. When I pulled away and sat up, I could see that he was asleep. He NEVER naps any more! He was that tired out!

I took a picture of him napping because he looked so sweet.

By the way, he is awesome at sanding and staining. He totally gets the whole thing about going with the grain.

Rites of Autumn

Yesterday we had friends over to make caramel apples. Barrett, her brother Matt, and Linus played outside in between the batches of caramel. They dreamt up a game of tag in which the one who was "it" buzzed around like a bee. Linus is still proclaiming that he enjoyed the party and liked making caramel apples. This evening he asked why we had the party. I told him, "Because it is nice to do things with our friends. That is how we make happy memories."

After the guests left and I'd cleaned up a tiny bit in the kitchen, we headed to the front yard to rake leaves. Wednesday's snow and rain took down most of the leaves in our maple tree. The three of us had fun working and playing with the leaves. Just like last year, Linus got upset when we started bagging up the leaves. Sorry kid, but that is the point of all that raking.

On Friday I helped chaperone Linus' preschool class to a pumpkin patch. We walked the kids there, with each child holding the hand of a classmate or grown-up. We talked about the different sounds we heard as we stepped on dry leaves or wet leaves. The Pumpkin Lady at the patch told us a story and then the kids each got to pick out a little pumpkin for themselves. They all wanted to bring them home, but they will be decorating them in class this week. Last Friday I worked as a substitute for the teacher's assistant. She was out with the H1N1 virus, which then resulted in her having pneumonia. I loved playing teacher with the kids in the art room and I even got paid! The money will be applied to Linus' tuition. Langley teases me that I'll be teaching there next year and all the kids will want to be in my class. Very flattering. (In the class photo, Heidi, the lead teacher, is on the right and her assistant, Laura, is on the left.)

Independent Streak

Linus wants to do nearly everything for himself. If I get out a spoon for his breakfast he complains and doesn't stop until I put the spoon back. Then he reaches into the drawer and takes out the very one I'd chosen for him. I'm getting much better about remembering that he wants to use his skills. Of course I still get the whiney, "Mama. Take my boots off for me. I'm too tired to do it."

Out of the blue I discovered that he could cut pictures out with scissors. Linus' teacher suggested in her weekly newsletter that we give our kids some strips of paper to cut into small pieces. That sounded like good practice in cutting, so I pulled out some scraps of printed scrapbook paper and gave it to him for cutting. He cut out a few jagged strips, glued them together, and told me it was a tree. The very next morning I found him cutting out the pieces to an activity we got from the library. I was shocked and said, "Since when do you know how to cut so well?! Did you learn that at school?" He said, "No. I cut the paper yesterday and now I know how to do it." Amazing! It is interesting how kids can go from not being able to do something, to doing it quite well over night. He was pretty proud of himself.

Doesn't he look cute in his sweater? I love guys in sweaters. Linus chose his outfit, including the boots, and I chuckled to myself that he was dressed like Matthew. We got the boots secondhand from neighbors. They are a bit beat up, but still have a lot of wear in them. Linus wears them everyday now. I took the outdoor pictures on our walk to preschool last week. I enjoy our time together on our walk. He holds my hand much of the time. We talk about things we see, like the leaves falling off of the trees or acorns we find. It provides us some focused togetherness before we part at school.