Calm in the Storm

By which I don't  mean the hurricane, which was not all that "super" in our area.

The storm that rages in our house, however, knew a moment or so of peace, with the reappearance of an old favorite toy.  Peace, between toddler temper tantrums and baby runny nose.  Peace, when for a moment Asa forgot to dislike sharing something he thinks of as his. 

It didn't last the time it took me, to write this, but it sure was nice while it lasted.

When did he get so big?

I've been saying that about both boys recently, but this moment I caught and can share.  It's not a hard question in theory, but still: WOW.

Watch "October 14, 2012 7:15 PM" on YouTube

If You Don't Like the Weather

Fall in New England often mean starting out the day in jeans and fleeces, picking apples and pumpkins, and then going home by way of the beach, eating said fresh-picked apples. 

It is also why, even in cool weather, we keep a change of clothes in the car for each boy.  Because cold water is still water, and water is awesome.

Walking in the Woods on a Summer Evening

A walk that Asa and I had done with friends, that he was very interested in showing to Mommy.  

We walked for about a mile and a half, and our little trooper scampered along happily, carrying his treasure bag full of stones, acorns, pine cones and mica.

This rock, however, we left by the side of the trail.

The rocks by the waterfall proved a good place to balance the camera for a family picture.  Elias was much more interested in the water than the camera, though; this was one of just a couple of pictures that didn't show the back of his head.

Beautiful family, beautiful place.  Lucky me.

Elias definitely got the best seat in the house.  The only seat, for that matter.  (See, kid, crawling and walking are overrated.)

Our Littlest Swimmer

Neither of us was all that sure: that water was not particularly warm!  

But for the most part, he was okay.  I think he still prefers the bathtub, but splashing in a pool could eventually be okay.

Our "Baby Seal" (as the class is known), trying to make his escape.

We'll see what the rest of this class brings...

Gratuitous Cheerio Pics

Haven't gotten to our previous record of sticking something like 20 cheerios on Asa's face, but we'll get there.

But I COOK Armenian...

(Thank you to Kelly for the post title...)

Teaching Asa to make stuffed cabbage leaves.  He's going to be a really good cook, once we let him near knives and hot cooking surfaces.

 Take the leaf and spread it out...

Add the stuffing.

Press and roll.

Set in the pan and bake.

Which is great, until Mummy lets them burn a little.  It's probably just as well that we're training my replacement as chef.