Poop-splosion

Matthew started eating baby cereal in earnest last Friday. Up until that point, he would have 3-4 messy diapers a day. After his first real bowl of mush, that all stopped. I kept feeding him more mush every day and lots of nursing to try and work it through. Oodles of wet diapers, but no poop. He's been fussy and sensitive, increasingly prone to fits of hysteria, producing a little streak of mess in his diaper once or twice, but nothing I would call a bowel movement. Until today. It's Thursday.

I turn around to look at him fussing in the baby bouncer and what do I see? His legs like windshield wipers in a pool of poop. I took the whole mess into the bathroom and proceeded to clean cups of poop from his legs, his clothes, and that poor, poor bouncy seat (sorry, Marie). After a bath and some fresh clothes, he's a much happier fellow:

My happy little dude!

Looking up to his brother, Robert.

James

I don't blog enough about James. I don't take enough pictures of James. He's at this very interesting age where each day is an adventure with boundaries and social skills and just plain silliness. I wish I could take it all in... he's growing up faster than I can keep up. I'm missing some important insights into his character.

Just the other day, he spent quiet time with a bucket of Duplo blocks and came out with this little treasure. He was beaming with pride! And he gave it to me.

I love my James-y. I look forward to more 1-on-1 time with him this fall.

Strawberry Picts

Memorial Day strawberry harvest!

The three eldest and I selecting our share of today's strawberry bounty. Bonus points if you can identify who belongs to each hand :) Clockwise from top: Alice, James, me, and Robert.

Bountiful Harvest

A few weeks ago, when the garden was sprouts and dirt, Alice looked it over with a faraway gaze and quietly breathed this sighing wish, "All I want is a bountiful harvest."

As if our very lives depended on it.

So far, so good, Girly :)

The flowers we planted are just blooming now: marigolds, violas, zinnia, petunia, and nasturtium. We've harvested a couple Easter baskets of strawberries and three whole cocktail cucumbers. The kids ate the cukes before we even left the garden, but Robert let me taste his. Mmmmmmm. Fresh baby cukes, right off the vine. They were sweeter than the strawberries!

Robert sneaks a bite or two of sugar snap pea leaves every time he's outside, and I just showed him how delicious his purple carrot tops can be (carrots are in the parsley family). I'm picking green onions and cilantro for our dinner tonight.

Anyone have a good recipe for rhubarb pie? No strawberries included.

The blueberries are done blooming, so now it's just a waiting game until they're ripe.

Blackberries are just starting to bloom. The corn and green bean plants are about 6 inches tall.

I love gardening with/for my kids!

Fun with Hose and Dirt

In Bobby's Sunday Summary, he mentioned that Robert has been having fun with the hose and dirt. Well, there's more to that story. Remember when I planted 3 new fruit trees for my orchard? And then remember that Robert got a shovel for his birthday? Well, Robert LOVED the big tree holes and wanted to dig one of his very own. I said "yes", of course!

We call it "Buddy's Birthday Hole."

Our neighbor John calls it a "Leg Breaker."

Buddy and Alice dug it out a few weeks ago, but only recently did Robert think to fill it with water. What a development!  He played all stinkin' day in it like this: