Woods, wearing one of Daddy's shortalls

Love the way his hair flips up around his ear. Gorgeous baby.

Baking with Blakeley

Blakeley and I had a wonderful time, and she flew solo through the entire recipe with two exceptions; the grating of 12 zucchini and the cracking of 6 eggs. Every cup was poured, every ingredient added and stirred (and stirred) by Blakeley. As she has just learned a bit about baseball ('spaceball') she questioned the term 'batter'. The oven light remained on during the hour plus time to cook her loaves, and she enjoyed riding her trike to the oven to peek through the glass and monitor the progress. I never expected her to maintain interest for the period of time it took to prepare the bread! Wait til we try to explain the phrase 'bon appétit'!

(Thank you for taking the pics, Steve.)

Woods day

Too bad I was not able to catch Woods in the engineer cap, pushing the engine and caboose. He was too quick to remove it, open the snaps and say, "Fix it."

He enjoyed playing with the barn and silo, set up with a few animals. The cow, pig and puppy were each fed "yogurt" from a cup, and he asked several times for moths.

Father's Day at the club

"Delicate princess"

Sitting on the 'throne'; playing with the 'castle'; fascinated by the reflection of her 'diamond' necklace.

Blakeley day

In 'surprise box' today was a small wood train whistle made by her Grandad. The lanyard will be used when she is supervised. She immediately fetched the hat, engine and caboose.

Because of a swim meet and summer camp at the club this morning, she swam on the deck here and had a great time. Her play was creative, as always, and she used tubes and toys as 'underwater instruments'.

She was amused by the holders on her corn at lunch and referred to the vegetable as 'rolling pin corn'. Funny.

Before settling down at rest time, she located a sun dress which was meant for next year, and put it on. When she woke up she decided she wanted jewelry, and transformed herself into a 'delicate princess'. I told her the

world has a lot of princesses, and that it is important to be a princess with smart ideas. She replied that her horse had eaten a balloon today. I stifled a smile and acknowledged that this was just the type of thing for

which she needed to be able to take charge and make important decisions in her kingdom. In the end, she declared herself to be a princess and engineer.

She asked for the human body puzzle, and quietly focused on taking the layers apart and re-assembling it.

Blakeley is endlessly fascinating, fun and so very bright! Despite the104 degree temperature, she held it together better than the adults today.

Woods and Steve

These photos show two guys laughing at bugs. One of them had fever and was still entertained by bug humor. Woods took a great, two hour nap.

Today with Blakeley

We headed to the pool this morning, only to realize camp and a swim meet were in full motion. She loved the cacophonous sounds and carnival atmosphere, and we watched the kids 'who had already learned to swim at

swimming lessons' compete in their lanes. I had mentioned earlier that Steve and her Mommy had already exercised; Steve at the Club and her Mommy on the asphalt, pushing the fully-loaded Bob. Steve took Blakeley upstairs to see the workout equipment, and she enjoyed it. Outside, she spotted lizards moving through the flower beds, and Steve showed her where 'Mommy Skunk' can be seen crack of dawn when he arrives to work out. Finally, pool traffic cleared a bit and she commenced outlining the activities (picture

her finger, pointed). How to hold her, when to let go, who would be a shark, stay away from the drain. The first photos show her afterwards, as she enjoyed the frozen grape juice; a perfect ice cold slush. She loves how her Mommy lifts up the wings on juice boxes.

It was time to eat when we got home and she was taken to the garden to harvest the first of her green beans. Thank goodness, there were plenty! She washed them, put them in a bowl and we cooked them for lunch.

In surprise box today was a multi-level puzzle of the human body. I expected a brief, interested reception, and that it would increase in appeal in a few years. I wonder if she has seen one before because she was able to comprehend it quickly, and well above the level of a 3 year old. She played with it again during rest and managed to take it apart and reassemble it on her own.

And, isn't that a creative tower she built? Imagine that she balanced the myriad shapes and weights.

"Yum-me!" (Woods)