Pics and etc.

Easter, lilies.

A couple of days later.

The engineering genes are coming out (G). . .

And again (E). . .

And again (K). Note that S isn't digging. She did some, but spent most of the time running around, just like she did when she hit the sand for the first time at about 15 months old -- the little squirt chased a soccer ball, barefoot, kicking it around for most of an hour, attentively tailed by a doting daddy. Is the digging in the sand thing universal to all punkinheads? I did it when I was a kid. Shoot, I'd still be doing it if I weren't now the, you know, spotter of jellyfish, pusher/hauler of Q, wiper of sandy mouths, the resident managing Jill of all trades (not that I'd trade the mama gig, believe me). I loved to watch the kids on the beach with their daddy, digging like mad or cavorting in the waves. I'd inevitably fall asleep on the soft part of the beach while they played. 'Twas lovely to sit and just be. There's a unique belly-dwelling, up-welling, wave of satisfaction from watching one's beloved and babies, no? Maybe it's as deeply seated as digging in the sand.

_____________________

We're back in court tomorrow. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated, as always.

Good visuals

At the beach, I said: Q -- how do you like the big waves and water? (Big smiles)

And then, "Q -- how do you like the big wind?" Scowley face. Me too.

S writes the boy's name. She did write the whole thing, but this shot seemed to fit here.

And speaking of good visuals, head on over to better than normal and watch Daniel's picture and clips. Then cheer a little for the now famous boy (and his very articulate mama). When you get to the post with pics of his wish trip you can see his versions of the very happy/oh so scowley faces, much like Q's above.

Are these two guys not the cutest boys ever? (Just say yes.)

News

I'll just say this: not even a picture can explain how incredibly cool this was. We kept trying to get Q to pick up his head (the kids were his biggest cheering section, of course), but the Big Red Button (6") was just too interesting. The best part of this nifty Jeep is that when he punches the button, he goes.

For a boy destined to be as much of an adrenaline junkie as we can help him to be, achieving motion on his own is huge. Have I mentioned that his favorite word is "go" followed closely by "'gain" (for again, of course). Sure, his motor planning issues keep him from saying what he wants when he wants to say it, often from doing what he wants in a similarly timely fashion, but who cares, man? The Big Red Button is here. to. stay.

Now I have to sneak off to do some long overdue rewriting of stuff that went poof when the old computer died. (It's coming, Kate. I promise I'm not ignoring you!)

From the weekend

It was cold outside, but our hearts were warm.

Le fromage! Yes. But just because it's cheesy doesn't make it any less true. So there.

'night.

Mmmmm...

These are Mountain Ash berries on scrubby little bushes. I didn't know that they came in anything other than plain bright orange, like the big trees have. The brilliant cerise color just pops right out of the landscape, no? This reminds me of the time in Bible class when a couple of us got the non-stop giggles and were sent outside to pull ourselves together. Not that going outside helped. Why? Because we'd been watching the pretty little birds outside flitting about. (Disney music playing in the background.) Flitting and flying, lighting on the branches. Or missing the branch entirely. Or falling over while standing on the ground. Or nearly hitting the windows but veering off at the last second. Because they were drunk on rather old Mountain Ash berries.

The "destination" of the hike was worth it. The journey provided plenty of berries to spur us on. Slurp. I hauled Q on the way up, a friend hauled him down. A lucky thing since S, little trooper that she is, needed a piggy-back ride for a good half-mile at the end. My mom shot most of these--I'm so happy she has her camera.

Hiking rewards

Out front

Winter play

Somehow I doubt the solar cell got enough light to charge the battery that day.

I hope the bunnies are safely snuggled in while they await the return of the green grass (they mow the lawn). Frosty's guarding things while E and G play in the background on this. . .

My parents' Christmas present. I think they figured that if they amortize the expense over all the grandkids, present and future (#6 expected in May), the playset will more than pay for itself in time and gas saved by not having to drive to the park. Heh.

After the storm

This was the nearest four-way intersection on my return from Q's vision therapy appointment. The high that day was about 28.

Mystery

Folks, we have a genuine mystery on our hands. I've looked at the pictures of "dragonshead" flowers online and they are something completely different from what's growing in the yard. These guys work just like snapdragons--the flowers "snap" open. But they are tall and skinny, the foliage lighter and slightly grayish green. The pink ones have some slight variation in their pinkness within the flower itself. The actual flower is approximately 1/4" across. In the pictures the stalks have grown so tall that they are sort of laying over. The plant will send up new shoots from the ground. They begin to bloom at about 2' tall, but reach 5' easily. The foliage is smooth, sleek, even. No fuzz at all as on snapdragons. The leaves are flat, not curling at the edges. The lavendar self-sows freely, but the pink seems to be recessive--we started five years ago with three pink plants and a lavendar and now only lavendar remain. The nursery where they were purchased didn't know what they were called, but did say that the pink does not produce seeds. They are perennial.

So. That's what I know about the "mini-snaps." Not much, eh? Any ideas? (Do you like the bee? We became friends, but he's shy.)

Lately, in pictures

From our hike a week ago.

See the little green huckleberries? We'll have to go back next week and see if the bears have left us any ripe ones. Yum.

Another shot of the lake from the trail.

Flowers in the yard. We don't know exactly what this is, but we call it a mini snapdragon because it functions with the same little "snapping" flower idea but the flowers themselves are teeny, though the stems can reach over five feet. It's also gorgeous in pink. Any ideas what it really is?

This would be the severely top-heavy clematis. It decided to bloom almost all at once this year.

The Butterfly bush (buddleia). It's very tall, the bees and butterflies love it but I can never snap one near it. Or if I do, they're always in a blur.

Pretties

See the little butterfly on the Pearly Everlasting? I took this just before dinner the other night. I love the hydrangeas in the background. The whole shot just breathes "meadow," doesn't it?

A rose by any other name is still hard to shoot when holding a wiggly baby. Do the petals not just beg to be stroked? Red velvet came to mind.

Latin on the lawn...

...or, the first day of school.


"Well, how did you get along?" Marilla wanted to know.

"Ask me that a month later and I may be able to tell you. I can't now. . . I don't know myself. . . I'm too near it. My thoughts feel as if they had been all stirred up until they were thick and muddy. The only thing I feel really sure of having accomplished today is that I taught Cliffie Wright that A is A. He never knew it before. Isn't it someting to have started a soul along a path that may end in Shakespeare and Paradise Lost?"

--Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Self titled

Tell me this isn't the sweetest picture you ever saw. C'mon. Can't do it, can you?

The monkey was a gift from his daddy. It hung over the isolette in NICU and is that super soft plush fabric. Earlier, Q had been sucking on the cloth banana the monkey is holding in it's tail--good variable textural stimuli.

Yes, that really does say "angel" on his crib bumper. Actually, it says "angel baby," (thanks to the luverly friend who sent the whole crib set) but his chubby self is hiding that second part. His hands were in fists (not usual when he's sleeping, intermittent when awake, something we're working on in therapy) because I'd been messing with him, so he wasn't all puddingy and relaxed. The pillow is for reflux issues--he doesn't use it all the time. It has gingham stars appliqued on it and says "angel baby" too.

Couldn't you just eat him up? With a spoon? And nibble those cheeks? You should just see his little smile. Or hear him crow and laugh when he gets excited to see or hear one of his favorite people. Aren't they the most precious when they're like this? Sighing with awe...

I won't be posting pictures of my kids' faces, for a wide variety of reasons, but this one was too good to keep. When one figures out how to do such lofty things as post pictures to one's blog, how better to celebrate than with the sweetest picture you ever did see? I'm so excited that I can do this--I want to be just like Ree (wink) over at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, but I have a feeling that first I have to learn some code. That will really stretch my brain.

This is great--this is the kind of thing that prevents Alzheimer's, you know! Off I go to learn some more stuff. Perhaps this time it will be how to put links in the text? No, too lofty for the lateness of the hour. How about the sidebar thingy for showing other blogs, etc.? Okay, then, here I go skipping away. Wheeeeeee!!!!! :o)