Walk, Mary, walk!

We finally have some footage to prove that Mary is walking . . . sort of!  Click here.

Snake 'n' lake

Saturday we saw a really big snake and a pretty big lake.

We drove down past Hillsboro to visit the Serpent Mound, which, oddly enough, we learned about in the travel section of the New York Times.  Here is what we read:

This effigy mound, an enormous earthen sculpture of a snake, is nothing short of astonishing. Walking the footpath that circumnavigates the undulating body or gazing down from the 35-foot platform, it’s hard to wrap your head around this ancient accomplishment. The serpent measures 1,348 feet long, 10 to 15 feet wide and roughly 3 feet high. It is the largest earthen effigy in North America, constructed around 1070. “It’s not an art project built by a bunch of bored people,” said Keith Bengtson, the site manager. “It has a very specific design and intent.” The serpent was documented by surveyors in the mid-19th century, but it was not until the late 1980s that scholars realized its astronomical purpose: its head and coils are aligned to mark the solstices and equinoxes. During the summer solstice, the setting sun descends in perfect alignment with the snake’s head. Hundreds of visitors now come from around the world each year to watch.

Seems interesting, doesn't it?  It was.  As with all things ancient, there is a certain amount of unsolvable mystery surrounding the effigy--like, is the oval at the mouth of the snake an egg, the sun, a frog, or merely the foundation of a platform?  And, what does it all mean?  (A local minister in the 19th-century suggested that it all had to do with the Garden of Eden, which I thought intriguing.)

Here's the snake, in all its glory:

Since David was restricted to walking on the path, he unleashed his boundless energy on his little sister:

This is what Ohio looks like:
Afterwards, we stopped by Rocky Fork State Park to go to "the beach" (please note the use of quotation marks).  David was thrilled at the prospect of going to "the beach," and, at 85 degrees, it seemed the perfect way to pass some time on this not-so-crisp fall day.
Mary enjoyed "the beach" even more than her brother did.  Nothing beats playing in the dirt (er, sand?).

The water was cold (and gross!)--the dirt was the best part.
This is Mary trying to put on her brother's Crocs.  (In other Independent Woman news, Mary also tried to apply her own sunscreen, put on her own diaper, and comb her own hair.)
Shoes are almost as fun as dirt.  Almost.



We were all exhausted by the time we got back.  Well, not David and Mary--they, of course, slept all the way home.

Hay, it's fun

Sometimes I feel like all we ever do in Ohio is go to the farm (like here, here, here, here and here).  

But, hey, it's fun!

This is David and friend Caleb on the farm at Possum Creek MetroPark.  

This is the Midwest, after all.  What else would we do?

Yes we were

Over the weekend enough people asked me--"Were you there?"--that I thought a post was warranted.  So, to those of you wondering, to those of you not wondering, and even to those of you who would rather not know:  Yes, we were at the Obama rally Thursday in Dayton.  ("We" is defined here as Greg, Alisa, and Mary.  David was at preschool.)

I do have pictures of Barack himself, but, especially if you are in CO, FL, IN, MI, MO, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, or WI, you probably see his face more than enough.  So how about some pictures of Mary instead, at her second (yes, second) Obama rally?

In our rush to get out the door in the morning, we forgot Mary's jacket, and, as it was a very crisp fall morning, we wrapped her up in a blanket David had left in the car.  Here she is, all toasty-roasty, waiting to go through security.  (And her hair?!  We were in a hurry.  I can't even blame it on her dad this time, darn it.) 

 

Here is Mary watching everyone arrive.  As you can see, we didn't get the best seats--but when you have a squirrelly one-year-old, you have to choose your seats carefully.  And they were great for Mary, and good enough for me and Greg.
Mary's clapping skills came in handy during the rally.  She also played with the little flags and sucked her pacifier (which you can see below), as well as attempting to escape from Mom and Dad with her speedy crawl.  (The little flag made it home, where David has claimed it as his own.  He asked where it came from, and I told him, a little concerned he would feel that he had missed out.  But he felt that going to preschool and playing with Joseph and Caleb afterwards was definitely preferable to seeing Obama.  He is happy that Obama gave us a flag though.)

For those of you worried that my children are being brainwashed, this is what Mary thought of Obama's speech:
I, however, liked it.  I admit that, with the increasingly negative nature of the presidential race, I was worried that the rally would have a negative tone.  It didn't.  Obama's speech, which focused almost entirely on the economy (not a surprise), was constructive and positive.  His overall message was much the same as it has always been:

Together, we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. Not when there are families who can’t afford to see a doctor, or send their child to college, or pay their bills at the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we had for ourselves.

We can do this. Americans have done this before. Some of us had grandparents or parents who said maybe I can’t go to college but my child can; maybe I can’t have my own business but my child can. I may have to rent, but maybe my children will have a home they can call their own. I may not have a lot of money but maybe my child will run for Senate. I might live in a small village but maybe someday my son can be president of the United States of America.

Now it falls to us. Together, we cannot fail.

It's not a bad message.

Needy

Yesterday evening Greg went for a run.  When David found out, he complained, "Daddy goes running too much!"  Then he found out that Greg had taken Mary with him.  David collapsed to the ground, "Oh, no!  Mary's gone!  Mary's gone!  But I need Mary!  Mommy, I need Mary!  I need Mary!"

I suspect he was looking for something, anything, to cry and complain about.  He just as easily could have cried about needing a banana or a new train track built.  But there he was, crying about needing his little sister.  It was funny/sweet, and I wish I had videotaped it, so I could really annoy him in a few years by pulling it out.

(I wonder:  For what did he need her so much?  Poking in the eye?  Wrestling to the ground?  Smothering with a blanket?  Pushing off the bed?  Banging with a hammer?  I think it's one of those questions I don't want to know the answer to.)

***

Earlier this week David found himself totally distraught and hysterical.  He came completely unglued emotionally and was desperate for comfort and immediate affection.  And who happened to be right at his side (as usual), but Mary of course.  Since she was convenient, he reached over and pulled her into an enormous hug, his tears wetting her hair.  This was not like his usual Mary-hugs, which, though affectionate, are excuses for wrestling and/or physical domination.  He was genuinely seeking comfort from his sister.  

For Mary, this was like any other hug from David (except for the big tear drops, which she found very interesting)--she really liked it at first but soon wanted the experience to end.  I quickly replaced her, and I cuddled with David.  (Although Mary remained nearby, a look of concern on her face.)

I suspect that David could have just as quickly reached for Elmo, a blanket, or a toy dump truck for comfort, had they been closer than Mary.  

But the fact is that Mary was closest.  

***

Maybe there is something reassuring about having a little sister always tagging along, within arm's reach.

Maybe David really does need Mary.  (And now I have the blog post to prove it.)

Cleaning service

Today I was cleaning an old dusty shelf, when David decided to come over and help.  We happily wiped off the shelf together.  But then Mary wanted part of the action.  She crawled over, muscled us both out, snagged David's rag, and spent the next ten minutes wiping the shelf!

Since when do little babies clean?

But I'll take all the help I can get.

Another after school conversation

Me:  Did you go to time out today?

D:  Yes.

Me:  Why?

D:  I was banging.

Me:  What were you banging?

D:  Other people.

Me:  What were you banging them with?

D:  A hammer.

(Oh boy.  On second thought, maybe I don't want to ask questions anymore.)

The last potty training post

We rolled out our handmade carpets this past weekend.  What does that mean?

Well, if you come to my house and take off your shoes and socks, you can run your bare feet over the super soft wool carpet in the living room.  Or, if you are David's friends Caleb and Joseph, you can roll up half of the Gebe carpet and jump monster trucks off of it.

And for the rest of you?  No more potty training posts.

(I had no idea how intense/all-encompassing potty-training would be--hence the undeniable psychological need to write about it occasionally, despite my best efforts to avoid dwelling on the subject in my blog.  You can see my therapy here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)   

10 more days

If Mary had been born on her due date, we would be pulling out the candle, cupcakes, and balloons today.  But we have to wait 10 more days.  

With David, as a first time mom, I thought babyness ended at birthday number one.  As a result, I saw David as such a big boy on his first birthday.  I thought his babyhood was over.  This made me sad and happy.  I had no idea how much more babyness there was to come.  

This time around I know better.  Consequently, as we approach Mary's first birthday, I see her as a little baby.  Maybe too little.  I think in my mind she is still six months old, eight at the most.  Which is why I was surprised when--

--She snatched the phone from me, put it to her ear, and started "talking."  Since when do little babies talk on the phone?

--She folded her arms and bowed her head to pray over our meal.  Since when do little babies pray?

--She searched for two matching shoes and then brought them over to me, insisting I put them on her.  Since when do little babies insist on wearing shoes?  And matching ones at that?

--She chose a book, brought it over to me, and plopped her bottom in my lap.  Since when do little babies decide when it's story time?

--She diligently tried to attach one Duplo Lego to another.  Since when do little babies build with Legos?

Mary amazes me every day, but I'm not sure if it's because she's especially brilliant, or because I'm stuck in a time warp.

Either way, I know that with the passing of her birthday, there is still more babyness to come.  Babyhood isn't over yet.  That makes me sad and happy.

A cautionary tale

Last week I was chatting for a few minutes with another preschool mom.  She has twins, a boy and a girl, in David's class.  Her daughter recently broke her wrist, and I mentioned that David had recently burnt his fingers on the lawnmower.

"Oh, that it explains it," she said.  Then she told me how for the last week or two her children have been playing with their toy lawnmowers a lot, and they always yell very dramatically to each other, "Be careful!  It's hot!  Don't touch it!  You'll burn your fingers!"

Go, David.  That was some effective communication on your part.  

A million little things

1. Mary loves, loves, LOVES green peas.  (Not pureed.  Ones she can pick up and put in her mouth herself.) Cheerios are so passe.
2. David has been so great about having ointment applied on his burnt fingers and the band aids changed regularly.
3. Mary has started to sign!  Her first sign ever was "finished," and she signs "more" sometimes too.  It's so cute!  (And I will admit that I'm surprised--I guess I didn't really believe little babies would do it!)
4. David has wide feet.  Last year we ignored it and just forced his feet into his shoes.  But, as sandal (Crocs) season comes to an end, I have dreams of David putting on his own shoes this winter.  So we have to accept the "wide" part, and find something he might be able to put on himself.  The search continues.
5. Mary had a big growth spurt in September.  She seemed to outgrow all of her clothes overnight.  I hate it when that happens, especially when I'm not prepared.
6. David insists on riding his bike in circles on the driveway before we go anywhere in the car.  It's really not a bad deal.  I simply get him out the door and on his bike, then I have a couple of minutes to get everyone/thing else loaded up.
7. Mary also loves corn, mandarin oranges, graham crackers, and cheese.  She also eats eggs every morning for breakfast, for which she can thank her father, who thoughtfully prepares them every day.
8. David still takes a nap.  I love it.  
9. Quite often, Mary will take two or three steps.  She doesn't quite have the requisite balance yet for real walking, and she knows it.  (But she's close!)
10. David was supremely well-behaved when I dragged him around visiting teaching earlier this week.  I was so impressed and grateful and had to smother him with kisses.  He was also incredibly patient when he ended up sitting around the campaign office with me for a long time.  Again, lots of hugs and kisses.
11. Mary's love of eating magazines has turned into a love of books.  She especially enjoys turning the pages, eager to see what will appear next.
12. Ever since he was a tiny baby (in fact, ever since the very first night we brought him home from the hospital), I have sung Primary songs to David at bedtime.  And now he can sing along.  
13. Mary is a clown.  She definitely has a sense of humor, and loves to get a laugh out of you.
14. Right now David likes to hear stories about when he was a baby--like when he was born, or when he flew on a big airplane a long, long way, or rode on a camel, or visited the fire station. 
15. Mary still has her cute high-pitched squeal of a giggle.
16. Especially for how active and intense he is, David has a relatively mild temperament.  He is basically compliant, and gets over things quickly.  He would rather find something to be happy about than maintain a defiant stance.
17. Mary has discovered how much fun it is to press buttons on the computer keyboard, and, happily for her, she is tall enough to reach them.
18. David is doing well with potty-training!  Bribing worked for #2 too.
19. Mary can entertain herself.  She likes to put small objects in boxes.  She spends much of her day "cleaning up" David's matchbox cars.
20. Now that David speaks so much more clearly, I can hear myself so much more clearly when he says, "I'm busy!" or "Be patient!"
21. Mary also entertains herself by taking things out--of drawers, of cupboards, of toy boxes, of laundry baskets, etc.
22. I think I hear "I do it all myself!" 700 times a day.  (Speaking of, David said his first prayer tonight, all by himself, with no prompting or help.)
23. The pictures I post on my blog do not reflect what a disheveled little girl Mary is most of the time.  She's usually a mess.  But still cute.
24. David's staple in life is peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  Sometimes I feel that if I have to make one more peanut butter and honey sandwich, I will lose my mind!
25. Mary's favorite time of day is when David is watching a DVD and she can climb all over him.
26. When Mary was first born, David called her "Mar-Mar" (pronounced like Mars), then after a few months it turned into "Mare" (like a horse), and lately it morphed into "Many," although just recently it seems a little closer to "Mary."
27. Mary likes games.  For example, she squawks, then you squawk, then she squawks again, and then you squawk again, and so on until you are both laughing too hard to continue.
28. Richard Scarry books are all the rage around here these days.  Heaven forbid we leave the house without a Busytown book.
29. Mary is losing interest in nursing--during the day, that is.  
30. David asks me about 12 thousand times a day, "Speech school tomorrow, Mom?"  (It gets really old really fast.)  Whether or not he does indeed have speech therapy the next day, he then expects me to tell him hour by hour what the schedule for the day will be.  
31. Mary can drink from a sippy cup.  David is so excited for her that he sings the "Go, Mary!" song when she does.  I introduced the sippy cup last spring...for a week.  Then I forgot about it until Wednesday.  
32. David sings a lot to himself.  Mostly "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."  Besides singing, he spends a lot of time banging objects together with much gusto to "make music," as he says.
33. Mary folds her arms when we bless the food at dinnertime.  We didn't teach her this.  She picked it up all on her own.  It's very cute.
34. A while ago, when David asked Greg what he did at work, Greg told him that he learns things.  The other day David kept asking me, "What is Daddy learning at work?"  Since I can't explain linear regression or six-sigma to myself, let alone to a three-year-old, I kept answering lamely that I didn't know.  But he kept asking, over and over, until finally I asked him what he thought Daddy was learning.  He considered the matter, then concluded, "Learning to play trains."

So 34 isn't quite one million.  But you get the point.

A real trip to the farm: Summer dreams come true in fall

All summer long we have been watching the corn grow in some nearby fields.  I love to watch the corn grow and ripen, as it's such a visible sign of the passing of summer.  (This started when we lived in Dover, and I clocked so many miles driving the rural country roads of Southern Delaware and Eastern Maryland.)  Without any prompting from me, last spring David became obsessed with watching corn, starting when we first saw the little green shoots pushing their way through the soil.  By June he was already talking about the harvest--in particular, combines.  Every time we drove past those fields, which was many times a week, he wanted to know if the corn was big enough to cut with a combine yet.  As I mentioned, this started back in June.  So it was a long, long summer of watching the corn grow, waiting and waiting for those combines to appear in the fields.  Alas, harvest season is finally upon us, and, after months of obsessing about combines, we are beginning to see them with frequency, and a dream came true--David got to ride on a combine!!

Some good friends, Dave and Rebekah, invited us up to their extended family's farm near Sidney, Ohio, with the intent to let the kids ride on the combine with Uncle Larry.  We were a few weeks early for corn, so David and his friend Clara got to help Uncle Larry harvest soy beans.  Needless to say, David was very excited, and jumped at the chance to climb up the combine and go for a ride.  (I have to admit that I jumped at the chance to go with him!  Luckily, Greg was under impressed with the combine.  But this city girl was giddy with excitement.  Farming is a mystery to me, and I couldn't wait to talk to Uncle Larry.  Among other things, I learned: soy beans have only been a crop for the past 40 years, which is really recent in the history of agriculture, and, as such, they have never been harvested by hand, only with heavy machinery; in the past soy beans were grown solely for animal feed, and it's only in the last few years that they've begun to be used in everything from plastics and beauty products to frying oil and diesel;  Proctor & Gamble is a big buyer of soy beans--for their health and beauty products; a farm is about 1000 acres per family, so if there are 3 siblings farming full-time, then the farm is probably about 3000 acres big; what you've heard on the news about the demand for corn and soy beans going way up is definitely true; the crop is sold at an "elevator"--this is where it leaves the farmer's possession--and there it is processed, sold to big buyers, and shipped out on trucks and trains.  So now you know too.  By the way, riding in a combine is really cool, sitting high up and watching those huge blades turn.)

As fun as riding in the combine was, David had even more fun watching Clara in the combine.  Then he could see the combine in action.  He was especially excited when the combine came back to empty its tank into the big trucks.  He was so happy that he was shouting for joy and dancing a jig (which you can see in the third picture down).


After our big combine adventure, we headed to downtown Sidney to eat at the famous spot, The Spot, for hamburgers.  Even the current President Bush has eaten there.  (In fact, I ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and onions, and was informed that what I had ordered was termed the "George W. Bush Burger."  You can imagine the momentary horror on my face.  At least he and I can agree on what should go on a hamburger!)  As out-of-towners with two hyper kids and two babies in tow, we were quite the spectacle for the locals, who gawked with open mouths at our bouncing, laughing children.  By the time we left, our side of the restaurant had completely cleared out.  I can't blame them!  But we enjoyed our burgers and, even more, the pie.  Yum!

We spent the night at Dave's parents' big, old, beautiful farm house.  (Come on, don't we all dream about owning a big, beautiful, unique, old--but conveniently updated--house?)  It was a fabulous house.  We built a fire in the backyard and made s'mores while the kids ran around like crazy chickens.  I'm sad this is the only picture of Clara and David that I managed to get because they were playing so well together.  They were adorable.

Not to be outdone by her brother, Mary joined in the fun too.  

Mostly Mary was on a mission to eat the rotten (really rotten!) apples that had fallen to the ground.  It never ceases to amaze me the gross stuff she sticks in her mouth.  But she sure is cute!
After harvesting (which is dusty business) and wrestling in the backyard, David and Clara were filthy, so into the bath they went, together (sorry, Future David, for humiliating you with this fact), where the fun continued.  Then off to bed, and despite David's pleas otherwise, this is where the friends parted ways until morning.

I think the best part was after the kids went to bed, and Greg and I sat outside in the chilly fall night, huddled around a warm fire, talking with friends.  We had a marvelous time, and we are grateful to Dave and Rebekah for inviting us, and for Dave's parents' warmly welcoming us into their home.  Dave's mom even sent us on our way with a jar of homemade raspberry-peach jam!  This was a trip to the farm that will not soon be forgotten!

Floofy!

The best part?  The bloomers:

A lesson learned

Greg and I have been trying to make a concerted effort to give David more moments of undivided attention.  So today after preschool, I asked him how it was, if he played inside or outside, and if they talked about the letter C.  He was his usual happy self, and the school day seemed to have gone well.  Thinking my duty was done, I immediately turned on the radio.  But then I thought better of it, switched it off, and again began talking to him about school.  I tried to be more thoughtful in my questions and responses.  Lo and behold, this is what I learned, or at least what I was able to piece together:

They played with castles today.  David wanted to play with the pink and white castle, and a conflict ensued.  David was "really mad" and hit a boy.  He had to sit on the time out chair, and he had a hard time staying on the time out chair.  The time out chair is orange.  

Had I not taken the time to have a real conversation I never would have known what happened.  The teacher has told me that the adjustment to preschool can be tough for these little three-year-olds (i.e. there is a lot of "misbehaving" as the children learn how things work), so his teachers probably didn't think a whole lot of the incident.  It wasn't an unusual behavior for a three-year-old.  But for David it was!  He may not sit still or follow directions, but he very, very rarely hits.  I'm so glad he told me what happened so we could talk about it!  And I'm so glad I took the time to dig beneath his superficial responses to my cursory questions.

I think I will need to remember this in the future.

Now I have to be a really good driver