Babysoroos

Finger paints. Focus. Messy. Wash hands, touch paint, wash hands, touch paint. Repeat. Paint on the bathroom door. More paint! Touch each other’s work. Smoooooosh.

Our local library system is co-sponsoring a program where they will be framing pieces of local kids’ art and displaying them in local businesses for a month. We used a couple of pieces from this session, since it was recent, and they were both so very very into it for a while.

If we have the opportunity, we’ll try to get photos of their art when it’s framed and displayed!

We went into town this afternoon, primarily to drop off some pieces of the kids’ art at the library (they’re doing a project where they’ll frame them and display them in local businesses during May and June). It was such a gorgeous day that we walked around town for a little bit.

Then Ben asked to stop at the little playground we pass on the way home. Of course, it was the perfect day for it. They both love to climb and swing and climb and slide and climb.

Yesterday, Ben watched as Daddy got a haircut at the barber’s in town (who also happens to be the mayor).

Today, Ben got a haircut too. This was possibly the best haircut ever in terms of behaving and sitting fairly still and not freaking out.

Also possibly the best haircut I’ve ever given him — I watched the barber a bit too and maybe picked up a few tricks.

Pictures, however…. not the best, to start with at least.

Mr. Goofy Face:

Caught unawares:

And finally a happy smiley boy:

Tim gets to wear a helmet when he wants to ride the trike. He’s crashed it a few times.

We live in a dangerous neighborhood. things keep bursting into flame, and ben has to race around putting them out.

Racing to the fire.

Now the fire’s out.

We’ll make a photographer out of this one yet. (That is a real live working camera that we gave to Ben — originally Eric’s first digital camera. $600 in 2000, and now it’s a kids toy. And it still takes better pictures than the fisher price ones)

Last weekend the weather was glorious. In the 70s, sunny, perfect. Today it was snowing/hailing/raining and it’s supposed to freeze tonight. Our poor seedlings.

We really took advantage of the mini-heatwave, though. Spent all day Saturday outside, even ate lunch and dinner at the picnic table.

We worked in the yard….

Put up a hammock….

and had a wonderful time enjoying our outdoors. This is going to be a wonderful place in the summer. (If it ever gets here.)

“A very long time ago, people wanted volcanoes close by and there was only lots and lots of mountains. There were two men and one had a carving knife and the other had a lighter.

So, one nice spring morning, they set off and they walked and walked and walked and then they started running and they ran on concrete and on dirt and…. on grass and…. on roads. They ran through yards and through flowers. They ran as fast as they could.

At last they reached the mountains. The one who had the carving knife carved a hole in the top of the mountain and the person who had a lighter lit a fire inside. And they had made a volcano!

And then they made another one and another one and another one. And they had lots of volcanoes.

And these people died when the dinosaurs died.“

Pause…

“Mummy, I like dinosaurs.“

Story told by Ben tonight at the dinner table, after we a discussion about Mount St. Helen’s. Paraphrased somewhat because I didn’t write it down the first time he told it, and when I asked him to repeat it there were some variations. But most of the phrasing is really his, in one of his tellings.

Now that I hardle carry Timothy in the sling anymore, he’s decided it’s his turn to do the carrying…

He’ll walk up to me, wave the kids’ sling at me, and clearly demand, albeit non-verbally, that I install it on him. Then he’ll wander off, return a few minutes later waving a baby doll at me. Just as clearly wanting her to be tucked in so he can carry her.

It’s too sweet.

Ben has long shown an interest in my sewing machine. He’s wanted his own for probably a year now.

Well, finally, he has one.

I got a new one a couple months ago, but I kept my old one in case it came in useful someday. Yesterday he was in the playroom on his own, quiet for a while, and he opened the case, plugged it in, and was figuring it out. He showed me what he’d been doing, and I decided to go with his interest and set it up for him.

At first, we used paper and no thread. That way he could clearly see the machine feeding the paper through, the holes the needle made, and how it changed with different stitch sizes and patterns. And going backwards!

He’s very proud of himself and his ownership of this sewing machine. When he was done with the paper, he asked for some fabric so he could make Timothy a scarf. What a nice big brother, huh?