Fun with Friends

My childhood buddy, college roommate and dear friend Diana came to visit. I hardly stopped talking and smiling for 7 days straight. And we relived the college days by staying up until 2 am nearly every night. But it turns out we aren't as young as we used to be, and talking the night away isn't as fun when your babies wake up bright and early. (But still totally worth it.)

She is so much fun. And wouldn't you know it, her one year old son is about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Here is some proof:

Indy is 5 weeks older than Joseph. They stuck together all week and copied each others every move.

Feeding three hungry toddlers at once was tricky. So we perfected the trough technique. It was a big hit.

Especially for hollow-leg Joseph.

Ian adored Indy too. One afternoon he even said "I want that Indy. I want to hold him."

We miss you Diana and Indy! Come back soon!

Preschool Update

Ian's preschool has been going for several months now and he loves it. He is learning all about letters, the sounds they make, colors, sharing and sitting still for more than 3 seconds. He also became a much cleaner eater overnight -- he now is allowed to wear clothes when he eats! He can even say small snippets of the Pledge of Allegiance. Most of all he is becoming more comfortable interacting with his peers and seems to be feeling more independent. I think Joseph is also enjoying his claim on 2 hours with mom all to himself.

I just finished my 3 weeks of teaching. On the last day we took a field trip to a local pumpkin patch and petting zoo. The pumpkins didn't interest the kids at all, and the animals only kept Ian's attention for a moment. He definately did not want to feed the animals any hay.

But this farm had zeroed in on the fantasy of every preschool boy -- balls, trucks, tractors and boats. They had footballs scattered all over the 7 acres, as well as dozens of minature and full-sized tractors for the kids to climb on and ride. Notice the football stowed on the backseat.

 There was even an old speedboat the kids could steer.

Joseph had a great time chasing the chickens...

 ... touching pumpkins....

 ... crawling under fences...

... and riding on the back of the stroller ("like a garbage man" as Ian puts it) .
 

We will definately go back. I had a great time watching the kids -- they would be playing on something and then spot another tractor or ball or slide out of the corner of their eye, run over there and play with it for a split second before they spotted some other fun thing and run over to it instead. They were in heaven.