Thanksgiving

Buddy's grandmother, aunt, and uncle were supposed to stop by for a few hours Monday while they are traveling around in their motor home. We were lucky enough to have them stay through Thanksgiving. Bohdin and Nyla had a ton of fun with our guests and are asking when they will come back. Nana and Papa also showed up Monday night so there was a lot of excitement.

Tuesday morning the kids still had soccer. Daddy, Nana, Papa, and GreatNana all came to watch. It's generally quite dull but it was a tad more exciting today since they scrimmaged. Bohdin, being the oldest by years, was way better. I felt sorry for the other kids. Nyla wanted to score a goal at one point and the coach set one up for her. The ball was waiting in front of her and Nyla was taking her time getting ready to kick the ball. Bohdin came up from behind and kicked it into the goal. Nyla was very sad and rightfully so. I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon so I was gone most of the day.

Wednesday we stayed around the house. The kids played with the visitors. Bohdin was able to play lots of board games which he had really been looking forward to. I don't get as much time as I would like to play games with him. Cora tends to be destructive around games right now so it is difficult.










Wednesday night Buddy and I were thinking that we ought to take them somewhere to see the area. Buddy's grandmother, aunt, and uncle had never been to Kentucky before. Thanksgiving day is not a big day for sight seeing and most attractions were closed. I checked the website for Falls of the Ohio and they indicated they were open. We saw that the river was a good 20 feet below flood stage so it seemed like we would do okay. Thursday was a cold, windy, and gray day but we headed out anyway. The website was incorrect and the museum section was actually closed. The river was a lot fuller than we expected so we were unable to walk down and see the fossil beds. Thirty feet is too much water to see anything. As we were there we were able to see the water level rise which was pretty cool. It's still a nice area and we spent a little time there.






Since that was a bust we went with our back up plan which was Cave Hill Cemetery. Buddy attended a funeral there several weeks ago and said it was really nice. I had a hard time imagining a cemetery that would be pretty enough to picnic in but now that I've been there I can see the appeal. The area was absolutely stunning. The landscaping was incredible. They had more tree varieties there than an arboretum and many were labeled. I didn't take the camera out of the car when we walked around but I should have. We will definitely go back and I'll take the camera with me.

A few weeks ago we planted some fruit trees and bushes in our yard. One of them was a dragon fruit citrus which is the only citrus that will grow this far north. Buddy spotted a mature one there and we picked some of the fruits. I ended up using it in the cranberry sauce the next day which was lot of fun. The flavor is unlike anything else. It has an earthy floral aroma and lots of seeds. I zested one and squeezed some juice into the sauce. The cranberry sauce was my only contribution to the meal. Buddy and his mom put together the rest. We had an enjoyable turkey dinner thanks to them.






Friday was spent tearing out the old kitchen. It's completely gone now and the work will begin to put a half bath in its place.



Here are the highlights of the week according to Bohdin and Nyla:

Bohdin - I played Bohnanza with Nana and Daddy and I won. I played Ingenious with Great Nana and Y- and we all tied. I played catch with Papa. I had a balloon fight with S-. I played Forbidden Island.

Nyla - Throwing sticks in the flood. Peas Porridge Hot (with Great Nana). Balloons.

One evening the kids had a balloon war with Buddy's uncle and they had a blast. The each held a balloon and used it to try to knock the other person's balloon away. Nyla slept with Nana for most of the nights she was here. Great Nana taught both kids Peas Porridge Hot along with the hand clapping. We can't get the hand clapping part quite right but we do know the verses. I guess she'll need to come visit again. The kids also put up the Christmas tree up this week and some other Christmas decorations around the house. It was a nice Thanksgiving. We are thankful that we had the pleasure of being with everybody. Cora is thankful she didn't have to drive anywhere.

Way Behind

I'm way behind.  I don't even know what I've been so busy with the past week.  Cora had her 15 month appointment today.  The pediatrician was a little concerned that she isn't speaking yet but I'm not.  She's super close.  She says "hhh" for hot which is 1/3 of the way there.  She also started saying mama this week but more as a sound than an actual word.  Sometimes it sounds like she says that which I could have counted but I forgot until this afternoon when she said it.  Cora does a pretty good job of communicating without words.  She signs a little bit.  The two most frequent signs are to nurse and book.  Other times she manages to get her point across.  If she is in her chair and wants more water she'll hold out her cup and babble something.  If she's not in her chair, she'll grab a cup and take it over to the fridge.  It's working pretty well for her.  Neither Nyla nor Bohdin really talked at this age either so I'm not concerned.

Bohdin's speech on the other hand is a bit concerning.  He stuttered a bit when he was four and continued on and off since then but in the past few months it has become much much worse.  At first Buddy didn't believe and he still is a little unsure but I am completely positive that Bohdin's stuttering is pretty bad right now.  He has trouble getting out his thoughts at time and it is frustrating for all of us although maybe the most for me because I have to wait patiently for him to say what he is saying when I have 300 other things to do.  I've talked to him about it and it usually doesn't bother him so we'll just wait and see for now. 

The other day I asked the kids to help clean the basement for a few minutes.  Nyla refused which is not unusual so Bohdin and I did it ourselves.  Bohdin discovered that we owned The Little Mermaid movie and wanted to watch it when we were done.  I agreed.  While he was cleaning and Nyla was sitting in a chair watching him, he commented that it was unfair that Nyla wasn't helping.  I agreed and said she wouldn't be able to watch the movie since she didn't help.  After cleaning we went upstairs for lunch and then I gave Nyla another opportunity to clean before Bohdin started the movie.  We went up to the bedrooms but once again it was just Bohdin and I cleaning.  Nyla hid in a bedroom because she didn't want to help.  Bohdin started the movie without her but she joined him eventually.  It turns out that she was feeling guilty about this decision and every night before bed, every morning when waking up and some times during the day she would say "Mommy, you don't love me."  Nyla is never one to be swayed by logic so there was no talking her out of her belief.  After several days and some help from others I was able to discover that she felt bad about not helping that day.  I have no idea why she felt guilty about that day and not any of the other days she chooses not to help. 

One last thing.  Cora has two new teeth.  She skipped a few and went for the molars on top.  She is up to 10 teeth.  Since I'll have forgotten this by tomorrow she weighs 23 pounds and some today.  I missed her length because she hates being measured and pretty much everything else that happens at the doctor. 

Time Change

The time change has been especially tough on Cora. She is taking her second nap of the day at 4:30. She already had a morning nap before 10 because she was tired from waking up so early. She also had troubled sleep yesterday because she woke up when we came home from soccer and didn't fall back asleep.



We've been taking advantage of the last few sunny and warm days by doing some hiking in the Jefferson Forest. Saturday we did a short hike around the "lake" (it's really just a large pond). The kids then played at the playground. Cora enjoys the slides just as Nyla did at this age. Usually she goes down on her belly but sometimes she allows us to help and then we send her down on her butt. On Saturday there was an odd eight year old girl there that played with Bohdin. She was nice enough to Bohdin but yelled at her older sister who wanted to join in the playing. We went back on Sunday with Buddy this time and did a longer hike. We ended up at the same playground and the kids played again. This time the other kids were Nyla's age so she had a companion.








Bohdin's interesting find


We've been really busy with outings. In addition to the hiking on Saturday afternoon we went to the library toddler dance party in the morning. Nyla asked one of the girls if she would like to be her friend. I didn't hear the response. Monday afternoon we went to the zoo where Nyla waved and said hello to every single small child we passed. Not one responded. I can understand that since Bohdin would not have responded at that age either. Yesterday morning was soccer practice and in the afternoon we visited a farm for Lego League. Bohdin milked a goat and a cow and did a decent job. He had a great time there. Nyla hated it. She is not a farm girl. Paul was confused what this had to do with Lego League. Every year there is a theme which every single Lego League across the country uses. They need to create a Lego project with at least one moving piece related to the theme and present it along with a poster. This year's theme is snacks and the kids chose cheese. They built a Lego farm with a cow on a turntable that enters a barn to be milked. They made cheese twice and they've all researched how cheese is made. The visit to the dairy farm was part of that research. The poster is put together and now they are just rehearsing the presentation. It all needs to be done from memory and every member of the team needs to be able to answer questions about any part of it. They will give their presentation in December at the regional competition. At their age they don't actually compete but the older kids with the robots and stuff will be competing. Bohdin likes Lego League for the League part of it instead of the Lego part. He's still not into Legos.

Trick or Treating

I'll post the pictures of the kids in costumes when I get a chance.  We went trick or treating with M- and family again this year.  Nyla's monkey costume was wet so she changed into her fairy princess costume instead.  The only problem was that her underclothes were suited for the much warmer monkey costume.  She quickly became cold but luckily Bohdin's jacket was in the car so I bundled her up in a sweater, the jacket and some gloves.  That kept her warm enough to continue on.  Bohdin and Nyla came home with a lot of candy and I think Nyla may be responsible for that.  She seemed to get a lot more candy than the other kids.  At one house Nyla received a giant handful on candy and then came to empty her bag into my bag.  We hung around the driveway while K-spoke with the family.  The lady came over and gave Nyla several more giant handfuls of candy.  Nyla had only one bag of m&ms.  I don't think she has had any candy since.  Bohdin on the other hand is more of a candy fiend and has had more especially after Cora showed him where it was hidden. 

Buddy and I dipped into the stash one night and each had one piece of chocolate.  Nyla came into the room about five minutes later and immediately said she smelled chocolate.  She may be part bloodhound. 

At Lego League today Bohdin brought a few boardgames.  We were scheduled to make cheese for pizza again and I thought we may have some down time.  We arrived quite a bit earlier than the M- family so Bohdin had a chance to play Castle Panic with the three D- boys.  It was loud and they had a lot of fun.  I'm not sure Bohdin enjoyed it as much since he was a little lost in the crowd.  With adult supervision and some fudging they barely won the game.  They played again with the M- girls later and won easily.  I checked in at times and they were not quite following the rules correctly.  They had an awesome time though so it doesn't matter.  They also played Incan Gold and had a lot of fun with that.  They all preferred the idea of a cooperative game but there wasn't enough time for another game.  It would be neat if they can do it again some time.  Bohdin is going to be really sad when Lego League is over in a few weeks.  I think Nyla will be sad also since she has come to really enjoy the company of R- whom she disliked in the past. 

Leaves

Tuesday we had our last warm day for many months. It was in the mid70s so I made the kids go outside and enjoy it. Bohdin and Nyla made a leaf pile and buried things in there.







By Friday it was much cooler and our first frost was predicted. We bundled up and went outside to harvest the last of the tomatoes and basil.





Friday evening I took Nyla to the neighborhood Halloween event. Bohdin stayed home because he was feeling sick and I left Cora home so I wouldn't have to carry her. Nyla dressed as a monkey but I forgot to take a picture. Saturday we went to the library book sale and found lots of great books. The kids books were only 50 cents each so we bought 51 hard back books. Some of the books I had checked out in the past year. I didn't do enough to save them. Afterward we went to a Halloween festival in another part of town. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun for the kids and thousands of people had the same thought. The line for trick or treating was crazy long so I convinced the kids to skip it. Later I found out that it is best to arrive one hour early to get a spot. That's not going to happen. There were other things there like an animal petting area and bouncy things. Cora gets excited by animals so I wanted to get her in there. She mostly just wanted to see the animals and point at them instead of touching them. She was too little to do any of the bouncy things but Bohdin and Nyla had fun on them. The lines for everything besides the trick or treating weren't too bad. They did come away with a little bit of candy after doing some games. I don't think we'll go back again next year.



Yesterday the library book sale reduced prices to $10 per box. After Cora fell asleep I thought I would sneak out myself and go but Bohdin and Nyla wanted to come. It was great that they came because they were both extremely useful. While I was looking at the adult books Bohdin went through the kid books. Nyla guarded our box. I went over Bohdin's choices and was surprised. He picked only nonfiction books which he preferred on a range of topics. There was a lot of history which I expected but then there were some odd choices like the book on colon cancer. Since there was room in the box I let him keep that but I vetoed the guide to writing essays for high schoolers. I don't know where we can store all of these books yet.

After the book sale we headed to the science museum. We originally planned to pick up Cora and bring her but we spent too much time at the book sale and had to leave her at home. The science museum had some special Halloween stuff the kids wanted to see. Bohdin's favorite was making bubbles with carbon dioxide. It was really neat and I wished I had the camera for that. Nyla liked it when they electrocuted a pickle. There were several other fun things to do and it was really nice not to have to deal with Cora during that time. Nyla was sad that Cora wasn't with us because she wanted to play with her. We'll take her back again another time soon.

The other night I asked Nyla what she wanted to be when she grew up. She responded "A fairy. No. A doctor ... on a bicycle."

Pumpkins

Friday morning after breakfast Nyla told me that her stomach wasn't feeling well. I told her to go lay on the couch for a few minutes while I finished my breakfast. Nyla thought that was a terrible idea and exictedly suggested the science museum instead.

Buddy had a work gathering on Saturday at an orchard about an hour away. It seemed like it would be a fun time for the kids because there was also a corn maze, pumpkin patch, and playground. The kids did have a lot of fun. Bohdin and Nyla each picked out a pumpkin and I bought some apples. After loading the car I went back into the store and asked if they would give me a deal if I bought all of their tomatoes. The tomatoes were looking pretty rough and I don't think anybody was buying them. After some negotiation we settled on half price. We came home with over 50 pounds of tomatoes. The past few days have been devoted to making salsa. We should not run out until next summer. I still have one more box to do tomorrow but that will be sofrito and enchilada sauce.







Bohdin and Nyla started soccer practice today. I emailed the coach to ask if Bohdin could join the younger kids so I wouldn't have to drive across town twice per week. She was cool with that so Bohdin joined several four year olds today and learned basic soccer skills. He loved it. I don't think he likes the confrontational aspect of actually playing the game. Maybe he will eventually but right now a skills class is fine for him. Nyla was excited despite the fact that she has a bit of a cold. She has matured a lot and really is ready for soccer now. She also loved it. Cora kept trying to run out and join them so I did not love practice. I don't know what I'm going to do with her. She was not interested at all in the many things I tried to divert her attention. At one point she picked out a book for me to read. After reading the first sentence she shoved it aside, grabbed a few more books to throw on the ground, and then ran away.

Cable Found

The cable was inside a book. I think it may have been Bohdin who snatched the cable instead of Cora. That was lucky because if it had been Cora I could have been looking for weeks. I found a diaper in the neighbor's yard yesterday along with Cora. She has a big range for moving things.

The countertop is a sort of greenish brownish color with gold flecks. From a distance it just looks dark which is the look we were shooting for.


Cora looks very much like Cora in the next few pictures. Her expressions and personality were captured perfectly.





We have had a huge deer problem this year. Sunday morning there were two bucks and a doe in the yard. That day they practically killed our mulberry tree. In the past they have munched on pepper plants, tomato plants, and almost everything except the basil. We were unable to grow green beans at all because the deer wouldn't let them grow. We lost perhaps half of our tomato plants to them as well. We need to come up with a good plan before next year because this gardening year was too disappointing to repeat.




Buddy cut down the weeping cherry tree that blocked our view out of the the new kitchen. It wasn't the right plant for the location. The kids were really sad. They both said it was their favorite tree and cried for quite some time. I told them they could each choose a plant to put in its place but only Nyla was satisfied with that. She wants a pink tree with pink bark and a pink nest. Bohdin wanted the exact same tree. Even now days later he is still really sad. Nyla felt better soon after it was cut down. I said we could have a funeral for the tree but Nyla thought it needed a name first. She named it Sarah and said her goodbyes. The tree is actually still in the front yard and we haven't had the funeral yet but Nyla feels better. She waves hello to it sometimes.





The plumber came today to hook up the plumbing. We weren't ready for the dishwasher so it is still in the old kitchen. For the next little while I'll be straddling the two kitchen. This afternoon I made banana bread and cookies on the new counter and it was fabulous. I had room to spread out. The new kitchen is bigger than my last two kitchens combined. I need to enjoy it while I can because there is no telling how big the next kitchen will be. Cora likes the counter space as much as I do.  She finds it to be a perfect spot for being tall and dancing.  She gets mad when I don't lift her up there so she has just been climbing on top of the table and benches instead.  This morning I walked into the new kitchen to find Cora dancing on the table while Bohdin ate breakfast. 




Cora was grinding her teeth tonight which was unbearably annoying. I caught her in the act.