The M&M Story

M has been working on counting. The development has proceeded approximately in the following manner: 1. Doo, Fee, Door, Ive, Dix, Sebben (not always in this order) 2. Doo, Fee, Door, Dive, Dix, Sebben, Eight, Nen. (at this point, alphabet memorization and numbers converged) 3. Two, Fee, Door, Dive, Double-u, X, Y, Z 4. Two, Fee, Door, Dive, Dix, Double-Eight, Nine, Den. 5. Own, Two, Fee, Door, Dive, Dix, Double-Eight, Nine, Den. (Notice the addition of One here. His counting was one digit off up until this point because he would start with Two. So he would count six garden steps instead of five, for instance. We stuck with double-eight, nine, ten in various forms for a while, and it should be noted that there were times when he got all the way through 1-10 in the way generally accepted by the Arabic-numeral-using world). 6. Own Two, Dee, Door, Sebben, Eight, Nine, Den. (Here’s where we are most of the time now. Double-u and Double-eight have departed, but wit...

Apple Picking 3 Originally uploaded by Maynor . A true best buddy moment. I couldn't hear what C was explaining here, but M listened closely and I'm sure he was able to give some words of wisdom later. Except for the diapers, they're pretty much adults now.

Apple Picking 4 Originally uploaded by Maynor . For this and other photos of apple picking, click on the picture. It will take you to Flickr.com, a screamingly cool place to keep your online photos. It also softens your hands as you do the dishes.

M went to bed at 7:15 last night, as he usually does, having read books in his bed for half an hour or so. He and I have been hauling topsoil around our yard in our wheelbarrows, so before he went to sleep he asked the following: M: Daddy? Daddy: Hey, buddy. M: Jesus love dirt? D: He sure does. Bedtime had been hectic and painful because Susan and I had gotten our signals crossed and each thought the other had changed M's slightly poopy diaper before we went out to haul dirt. M has ultrasensitive cheeks and a couple hours with a little poop just destroys his skin. So bathtime turned into stand-in-the-tub-and-weep-in-pain time. But rash cream eased the soreness and we had crawled into his bed before I remembered toothbrushing. So we skipped it, and that was that. M went to sleep. Until 10:45 pm, when he stood inside his closed door crying for mommy and daddy. We both went in and sat on our knees with him as he explained: "teeth brushing." So we all went in to t...

Hat Originally uploaded by Maynor . M walks up just now: Take it off please take it off please take it off please take it off please *I already had the camera in my hand, so there was no cruel wait to take a snapshot, in case you were worried.

B read Pat the Bunny 9-26-04 Originally uploaded by Maynor . Sunday morning reading in bed. B is fascinated by the plot twist. Pic's a little dark, I know. Sorry. Speaking of which, please note that these pics look darker or lighter depending on your computer. If you can't see them, try adjusting the brightness of your screen.

B and Brian 9-26-04 Originally uploaded by Maynor . B says "Easy peasy." Let's go for something harder. Calculus?