Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Drums, puddles, and radishes

Even though we were able to spend a lot of time outside all winter because it was so mild, we have really had a lot of fun since it has warmed up so much. We love having our yard and plenty of room to plant new things, and I have been wanting to freshen up our front flower beds for a while now. I finally bought some shrubs and the boys helped me plant them - they are sure good at digging holes, AND filling them back in, sometimes before I'm ready! - and as soon as I emptied a pot, Caedmon grabbed it and added it to his collection of "drums." He had an assortment of sizes, and combined with my dustpan and a stainless steel bowl - his "cymbals," - he had quite an elaborate set-up. He had been busily drumming away when I snapped this picture, and although he was kind enough to pause to look up and smile at my camera, his foot is still keeping the beat!


We were blessed with a nice rain one night, and the boys were not deterred by the very cool morning but were determined to go splashing in the puddles outside. They were a little timid at first, Caedmon was even very careful to keep his pants dry.


But then he started really enjoying himself and the opportunity to be outside...


...and neither one of the boys was worried about getting a little wet.


I let them get thoroughly soaked and have their fun for a few minutes, but since I was perfectly dry and still feeling chilly, I had to put an early end to their fun and take them in to dry them off and warm them up.

After demonstrating much patience over the last few weeks, the boys were finally rewarded with the opportunity to harvest our first little radishes. They were so excited! We've had a couple of additional harvests sneaked in since then, of radishes that were not really ready to be pulled up, but I can't blame them for wanting to see what's at the bottom of those little green leaves under the soil. I still think it's exciting too!


We have had more demonstrations of how the wheels inside Isaac's little head have been turning, too. One Sunday we were having a lunch of tuna salad and crackers and ran out of Ritz crackers, his very favorite. A little perplexed, he looked at me and said, "Mama go Target?" (Target is indeed the store where we typically buy them.) I told him that I wasn't going right at that moment but that he could have bread or something else to eat with his tuna. Not to be deterred, he said, "Be right back?"

A week or so later I was sitting in a chair beside the sandbox while the boys played, thankful for a relaxing afternoon without worrying about making a meal since we were going out to eat that night. Isaac approached me and said, "Mama, up!" I wasn't sure what he had in mind but got up to see what he wanted to do. Pointing to the middle of the yard, he said, "In the grass." I thought perhaps he wanted to play with something in the yard, so I let him lead me by the hand. He then motioned for me to pick him up, pointed to the back door, and said, "In the house." Still a little unsure of his goal, I carried him inside to the kitchen, then asked him what he needed. He pointed at the stove and said, "Mama, cook food!" His little tummy must have told him that suppertime was quickly approaching and I was falling down on the job!

He has rascally little spells too, or perhaps a dry sense of humor that I wouldn't expect from such a young kiddo. For example, we'll be looking at pictures in a book, identifying farm or wild animals, or anything really. He'll play along for a while and give correct answers, then all of a sudden will call every single animal a pig, or a hippo, or something else. If I correct him, he'll insist that it is so, and will avoid calling the correct animal by that name, pointing to everything else on the page instead. He doesn't laugh or even smile when he's doing it, but I know it's intentional...such a surprising thing to me!

And sweet Caedmon continues to bless me with our conversations. This afternoon after lunch, he said, "Thank you, Mama, for the yummy food. You cooked it real good." What a sweetie! Especially considering we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, leftover tuna on crackers, and baby carrots for lunch. I'm glad he thinks I "cooked it real good" and hope that bright attitude continues as he gets older!