This twelve-week-old baby has started to grab things. He learned it from his cousin, Selah.
See how intent he is?
Look at those peepers!
I have so much more to post! How will it happen? I will start at the beginning, a very good place to start, but you must be patient. These few shots will hopefully warm the cup for the potetnttate tea I'm a-brewin'!
And potent paulson-wentzell tea- I miss my little nieceling.
And I miss my sister.

We had an adventure the other day. Rather, the children had an adventure.

It began with my innocent comment that I planned to clean out the closet in the baby's room. Bowden and Lucy were playing happily in their room, and I heard my phone ring. I talked to...someone...with the phone plugged in, and then realized it was time for lunch.

The smell tipped me off, but I still wasn't sure until Bowden came down the stairs without Lucy...saying she was stuck in the baby's closet.

Oh no...and the closet was emptied. I have about thirty boxes with old letters in there, all the clothes that the kids have outgrown or are growing into, and one little plastic organizer box that proved to be the bane of my existence.

Someone gave it to me, full of little beads, and I added, in my teenage years, a vial of Tiffany perfume, some buttons and other things for which there is no use, unless you count pouring perfume in the box and then dumping the contents on the floor of the room.

They helped empty the closet...for me. It took over a week to clean it out and reorganize all the kid's clothing that had been piled in the center of the room, making a wall that Lucy could not escape. as I organized it, the chickens found some lovely outfits that they wore all day yesterday and wantd to wear again today.
Bowden's tennis outfit, with a dolphins jacket.
Lucy and her daddy.
The funniest thing about these pajamas is that I put them on over her clothes, thinking that she'd want them off soon.
She ended up in them all day, and at bathtime almost died of conniption fit until I told her that she could wear them to bed. This morning I declared them dirty and put them in the hamper.

11 weeks and he's better all the time. Except today. Today he's cranky. Normal baby cranky.
Not cranky baby cranky.
I may have eaten something, or it may be the weather. I look forward to the time when Jack can tell me what's wrong.
11 weeks! It's flown by.

King's Kamp was just in, and Friday was their carnival day. What was the delicious treat, you ask? Frozen Bananas. Covered in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles.
Enough to make you cough when you finished.
I woke Lucy up from her nap and said, "Lucy I have a treat for you!"
She said, "Tank Oo, Mama!" and ran downstairs with purpose.
She made a bit of a mess, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Oh, chocolate banana.

On Thursday we went to the beach. I heard that the Pecks had the day off, so I decided to take them on a California adventure. Nathanael decided to stay at Camp- I think he slept all day.
This is Bowden and Lucy being corralled by Jessica...I think it's Jessica. Jamin and Jessica made for a very pleasant time at Oceanside- I couldn't have gone without them. Jamin soaked up the sun.
...and I snuck pictures of her.
Then she caught me.
Bowden loved the seaweed.

Lucy loved to follow the seaweed.

Both of my children have lost their fear of the ocean. They didn't even mind when they fell in, and we had to watch them VERY CAREFULLY.

It was a nice, but tiring, day and we ended with a delicious meal at Joe's Crab Shack....although I had shrimp and calamari, no crab.

We took the staff down to LaVerne Saturday to hear Josh preach. We spen the night in the church, stayed up late playing games and visiting, and made a donut run in the morning.
After church, we took everyone to Ontario Mills, a huge mall in Ontario. Nanny and Bowden helped to build a giant Yoda, and I went to nurse Jack in the Baby Depot store.
I stared at the items for sale for about 25 minutes, "trying out" a lovely glider, and took two pictures of the whole weekend. The Peter Potty is a baby urinal, and the Wash Pod intrigued me...
The staff had fun. We got back just in time to make dinner for our next group.

Oh, ten week old baby Jack, how I love you.


He can see much further, and he'll move himself all in a circle, but really, he's ten weeks old and doesn't do much.
He's become a very good baby, though, and a pleasure to behold and be held.

Campers leave things.
Which is why we have a LOT of balls. I discovered a state park ranger throwing a ball over our fence the other week. "Here's your ball!" It wasn't our ball, but it is now.
I probably should have wondered more where the extra balls were coming from.
In the past three years I have gained, beyond the balls, at least two wading pools, many pool toys, three or four matchbox cars, and a lot of stuff I didn't really need, but I tend to hoard and scavenge, and I have a lot of stuff. The newest thing left behind is this gym mat. I know, I know, that there is some good use for this, and while I may just put it on the porch as padding for play-naps and tumbling, maybe someone out there has a better idea.
Let me know!

Baby Jack ate, and was then happy, so I let Bowden hold him. He stayed pretty happy. Lucy oohed and ahhed and wanted a turn, but it didn't materialize.

Bowden held him for a good 15 minutes while watching television. I kept askeing him if he was done yet, and he'd say, "No."

Baby Jack seemed pretty happy with it.

I went to a baby shower for my friend Teresa and was able to see my good friend Cassie and her son there. It was very fun. She held my baby.
I took pictures of her son.
Teresa was lovely...
and Cassie was still Cassie.
Cassie and Kylan.

Yesterday, Lisa once again accompanied me on a trip down to Hemet with all three chickens. They fell asleep on the way there, and we all crammed right next to each other- I liked having them all there.
They were already filthy-dirty, and it was a nice trip, but not exciting. why even post about it? I think I like to look at my children too much...