friday was the last known day we did anything; because friday was the day we meet some friends at wildlife images and in the process, caught their cold. since then we've been hanging low, blowing noses, making hot tea, reading "Bear Feels Sick", and sneaking cow colustrum in applesauce. i was really looking forward to the opening day at the ashland pool, and to getting all my t's crossed and i's dotted before our leaving for vacation friday, but alas. stinken germs. we're back to being backlogged. here is no exception.


pictures from friday:

truman looking the part.

conrad and zion running like wild animals at summer jo's.

conrad, probably being scolded by our nazi-like tour guide.

lavender lemonade, summer jo's. worth the trip.

conrad's photographic skills. not bad for an almost three year old.

Hanley Farm

if you go down hanley road, past a few vineyards and strawberry fields, before you get to the counrty store that sells "spaghetti on tuesdays", you'll find a still operating historic farm from the mid 1800's. i've known about Hanley Farm since i moved to medford four years ago, you see, once upon a baby free life, i met up with the volunteer coordinator of the jacksonville historic society about, well, volunteering. my duties would have included hoeing and egg collecting at hanley farm, that is if i hadn't got pregnant and a month later devoted myself to a toilet. four years, two children later i made it to hanley farm. this time, for a picnic under an old maple tree with my two boys, and the hanley farm dog, daisy.

we didn't bring all the fixins, but we had the essentials: a quilt, strawberries, blackberry-chocolate covered hazelnuts, hummus, pita chips, and water. the first order of business when we arrived was checking out the chickens, conrad informed me they weren't clucking, indeed not, they were laughing. which, i believe him. he seems to have a six sense about these things; many a times i have caught him talking to birds, snails, dogs, and his goldfish. whose to say he didn't hear those chickens laughing...not me.

after chicken watching and strawberry consuming, we made our way through the grounds, vigilantly inspecting every old tractor, petting every dog that came our way, chatted with every volunteer we saw, and read a few interpretive signs about when the giant willow tree was planted, and the such.

it was as pleasant of a thursday as thursday's get, and i can't wait to do it again.

this is wednesday, june 17th.

we missed story time this morning, but it had to be. truman woke up at 4:30am, a hour before his usual rise n' shine time, and couple that with a 45min. nap, i knew there would no way in hell he would graciously make it through both story time at the library and our wednesday picnic in the park tradition. here is what our day looked liked instead:

conrad requested cookies for breakfast, i compromised with blueberry bran muffins. i adore this age: their just as happy with nestle chocolate chips, sugar, and flour as they are with apple-sauce, honey, milk, and bran. i was surprised he wanted to help- i offered "bob the builder" dvd while i made breakfast. i trump bob!

truman was tuckered out after a lively crawl through the j'ville spray park; organic fruit mash ups on a blanket in the shade are the only way to unwind. ask any ten month old.

Thus Far:

our field trip of the day: the observation desk at the bustling medford airport.

conrad was determined to not look at me for this picture, obviously i won, all it took was a claim by me that i had sausages hanging from my nose ("The Three Wishes", for all of you who wonder how i came up with that one).

picked blueberries from our yard; in my defense, they looked alot more blue on the bush. i'm sure they'll taste fine in a pie with loads of sugar and topped with vanilla ice cream.

not featured: a cute little ten month old in an avitor shirt in a red stroller.

wish i could have caught on video: truman snuggling his sleeping daddy at 5:30am.

like all first kisses, there was eye lock, a hush in the air in fierce competition with the buzzing of an electrical appliance, a lunge, and then, alas, a big ol' wet slobber kiss that misses the mark and lands on the nose. except, it wasn't truman and mines first kiss, and as my memory did a little jogging back to recall this, i realized, i MUST START BLOGGING again.

truman is ten months, and to be quite honest, that's only a guess. i really don't know-i mean, i'm pretty sure, but stab me in the foot, because it's all a daze, from the first kiss months ago to the first time he sat up unassisted to the first time his thrusting on hands and knees actually propelled him forward on the floor. a dreamy like, give me caffeine and an extra two hours of sleep in the morning, daze.

conrad too. my word that little baby is a little boy now. almost three years old and toe to toe with three year old sort of behavior. he has kept that vigor for life and that gentle spirit displayed during infancy, the only difference now is, he knows how to speak his mind with great intensity. we've had a lot more challenging days than i ever would have anticipated 4 months ago, but i can't completely blame him for this-my patience has been at an all time low since jon started working 7 days a week two months ago, and i just haven't had the unction to tackle disciplinary situations the right way. ie, spankings done while still frustrated and lack of praise for good behavior. but despite this detour, he is, the most enjoyable child to be around-full of sweetness, silliness, curiosity, creativity, and farts. lord bless those farts of his, especially when wrestling and i get one right in the schnoozer.

one of my favorite parts of the time in our life right now is the interaction between the two brothers. i often let conrad feed truman in the highchair, he makes the airplane noises as the spoon full of mashed up mango dips and dives around trumans mouth, and truman acts as if it's the most wonderful thing in the world for his big brother to be feeding him. i've started to leave the room while there playing togather too because i've noticed this dialogue that happens when conrad thinks it's just the two of them; it's very sweet, full of great instruction and advice and encouragement for truman. truman just seems to be delighted his big brother pays attention to him, even if it comes in the form of being tackled to the ground.

and while today's blog was terribly vague, at least i'll have it documented, today was not our first kiss. some other day, i don't really remember, was.