May the Fall Be With You

I love fall: the cool afternoons, the crunchy leaves, the fabulous food and the pending holidays. So here and the really fall-y things we have been up to:

We picked apples when my parents came to town over Conference weekend. The above picture can really only be titled "The Precious." It is well to remember how much I love His Preciousness when I hear him in the other room trying very hard NOT to nap. The last couple of weeks have brought major changes in our house. My gorgeous doll-baby toddles all over the house trying desperately to communicate, "talking" in his own fashion, and in general acting much more like a little person than a baby. It is funny and tender. It is liberating and heartbreaking. It is happy and sad. In light of his growing up, and his uncanny understanding of how to use a light saber, he will get a new blognym: YOUNGLING.

My nearly four year old is having a rough fall. His tantrums, which had once seemed to be subsiding are back in full force. We are trying to work our way through this one. On the upside, he loves school and is acting like he wants to try and read. I'm not really surprised: I think he is going to be my odd-man-out in some ways. His older and younger brothers so far look a lot, and even act a lot the same. He does not. He spoke and walked earlier, he is stockier. He has my fair skin and exactly my eye color. When he isn't tantrum-ing (mostly age-related) he is easily the mellowest of the three. Though all of my kids are amazing to me in their own ways, this is the one I watch with fascination over the way his mind works. His new blognym is PADAWAN. If you aren't a Star Wars fan that will mean very little, so I'll explain. In Star Wars terms, a Padawan Learner is someone who is an apprentice Jedi. This is very apt for my #2 at this phase in his life. He is anxiously soaking up everything around him. He also thinks that he must follow older brother in every particular.

Here is the "baby" with Grandma J. The best shot of these two was actually on her camera. If I could somhow teach Grandma how to send me a picture I may actually get a copy of it one day.

Plantboy got a chance to go fishing on the Alsea River the weekend before my parents came up. His parents are visiting later this week. He has been given strict instructions not to take off on my again just before company comes. I was cleaning my house until about 30 seconds before my parents' arrival. The spotlessnes lasted about 10 minutes. I will say, however, that Plantboy's 15 pound salmon was delicious.

This is kind of a lame-o soccer picture. The rest is all video footage. I will spare you. Imagine a school of hungry piranha and you get a sense of Scallywag's swarm soccer team. Or not so hungry piranha--they run after the ball, but swarming would indicate some kind of sincere interest.

Youngling hasn't been able to stay out of the apples since they were picked. Plantboy tried this particular picture about 8 times. He kept running away. I've never seen an 18 month old with such a highly developed sense of teasing. I'm sure it comes from being the youngest of three rowdy-ish boys.

This is Plantboy during a backpacking trip with the young men. The boys griped for two days solid. I think this greatly diminished hubby's own pleasure in the excursion. He came home, sank down on the couch and said, "Do all 14 year old boys complain so much? I just don't remember being such a whiner. If I'd heard one more word about how much they wanted to be home playing video games, I would have probably strangled one of them." Take home message? Don't send your boys to Scout camp with a deranged leader.

In addition to this, we did another 20 pints of applesauce and another 10 of salsa. The salsa is Plantboy's pride and joy. He is torn between hording it and generously giving it to everyone he talks to so that that can share his success. I think that hoarding will probably win the day.

The last three, however, have to be the best. Scallywag's new blognym can be non-other than JEDI MASTER. The Star Wars thing is definitely our latest kick that seems it will last for a while. I'm taping the Clone Wars every Friday night, having a special order Darth Vader pinata made for his birthday (beating it sill with their light sabers is the compromise to the full-on war he wanted all of his buddies to be a part of for the party), and wanting all the paraphernalia he can get his hands out.

I found a costume on-line and nearly ordered it, but decided at the last minute to check The Goodwill instead. Jackpot! I found a "tunic" and leggings in nearly the right size (the top a size too small and the bottom a size too large though both pieces are to the same costume), but mostly I found the Jedi master robe. He wore if for a solid 24 hours, until I warned that it might tear before he had a chance to wear it at his birthday party or on Halloween. He folded it very carefully then and is waiting patiently for a few repairs and modifications.


I imagine this is who he is fighting. Life size of course.

When I asked him why he kept holding up his hand he said, "I'm just using the Force, mom." Right, duh.