Patrick Learning to Walk -- With Help

Anna taught Patrick how to use a walk-behind toy yesterday.  I can't tell who is more proud, the student or the teacher!

Patrick has been cruising around the room using furniture for support for some time now, but now he can go anywhere he wants, assuming he can improve his driving skills.  :-)


And, yes, his hair is still strawberry blond, or orange if the light is just right. 

St. Martin's Day

In Europe--Germany especially--St. Martin's feast day is celebrated with a children's lantern walk through the streets with songs and sweet treats.  It's a very festive celebration of one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic Church.  

We had our own mini version through our neighborhood complete with singing the German song "Laterne".  The lanterns we made looked really neat. 

Autumn in Our Backyard

I have been taking a photograph of a branch on one of our maple trees every few days to show its progression from summer to autumn.  It's gone from this one month ago....

 ...to this....

...to this...

Then, two days ago, conditions were just right:  dry leaves, a light breeze...and it sounded like soft crackly rain.  Look carefully and you'll see a squirrel passing through.

The next morning our tree looked like this:

 ...and our yard wore a carpet of bright jewels:

Time for the kids to do some raking! 

Some Patrick Moments

Here are two videos of Patrick being his usual cute self.  In both he is in his high-chair because every time I hide out with a still or video camera he speed-crawls over and ruins the photographic moment. Here he's captive, which helps.

In one, he's interacting with his big brother and sisters.  He started something of a chant, and they all joined in.  In the other, he is using sign language for the first time, signing "more" by tapping his hands together.  It's so neat when babies can start to tell you what they want!  They feel so powerful and proud.

Note that he still has his ginger colored hair and four teeth (two up and two down). 

Patrick's fingers are so tiny that he eats peas by poking his index finger into a pea, thus spearing it, and bringing it to his mouth.  Tonight after he tired of eating peas he found a way to rid himself of extras on his tray.  Over and over, he would drop one over the side of his high-chair and lean waaaay over to look at it down on the floor and pronounce, "uh oh" in a sing-song voice. 

He easily pulls himself to a standing position with support from furniture and enjoys cruising around the couch and kitchen chairs.  I expect some free standing sometime soon!  Perhaps he'll be so busy standing that I can videotape him.  :-D

Jazz Improvisation for 8 Hands

The kids discovered that Patrick loves to play the piano in his booster seat, so they pulled him up to join in a duet with Anna.  It gradually grew to a quartet.  You may want to view this with the sound turned to low, as it is very improvisational, indeed.

Rabbit Stew

Our friends, the Linders, raise rabbits for food, and they recently invited us to witness the butchering.  The kids watched the process from removal of bunny from cage to the creation of what look remarkably like skinless chicken parts.  Catherine asked for a pelt with the intention to tan it.  So for a few days this was my view as I opened the refrigerator.  Does this make me a cool mom?  :-)

Giant Pumpkins!

We checked out the Goffstown Pumpkin Regatta yesterday.  These pumpkins are over 500 pounds...so big you can hollow them out and float around the Piscataquog River inside them.  In costume, of course! 

Orange Week

I declared last week Orange Week.  As you can see, I was inspired by our surroundings.  During Orange Week we ate at least one orange food each day.  We enjoyed baked acorn squash, butternut squash soup, pumpkin bread, and carrots.  Anna has entered a picky eating stage and I thought eating orange food might open some culinary horizons for her. 

And, yes, those pumpkins came from our garden.  

My hair had a party last night!

First, a little mood music:  (click play)



And now, Anna emerged this morning from her room and stumbled into the living room looking like this:

Signs of Autumn?

It is August 17, entirely too early to look out of your bedroom window and see this:

Wow, that's OLD!

C:  There are a few things I have memorized so completely, I will remember them when I am ... thirty.

Patrick Loves to Crawl

Here he is crawling over to investigate the camera.  Love those bottom two teeth!

Going for a swing

Here is Patrick's new favorite game

A challenging game of I Spy.

Anna does not quite understand the concept.  At first, this would seem to make things easier, but ...

A: I spy a blue car!

Me: Is it that blue car?

A: NO!  It's the yellow house!