Bundle up and Play!

What's that, Dad? Too cold to go to the playground? I don't understand what that means. Now will you help me get this jacket on?

It's cold here this week... and it has sleeted on us twice... but that doesn't mean that Carter is inside 100% of the time. Pretty much anytime the rain stops and the sun comes out, the son comes out as well.

Training for a possible political career, Carter learns to sit on a fence.

Man! I can see my breath on this plastic bubble!

Carter is such a musical baby. It's incredible. I think it may be genes from my Mom's side of the family where everyone can play multiple instruments. I didn't think I got any of those musical genes, but perhaps I'm just a carrier.

No, Carter's not playing anything good yet, but he loves to strum the guitar's strings, and he demands music constantly. I've had to scold him a couple of times because our built-in radio in the kitchen sits near the oven, and he's so enthusiastic about asking for me to turn it on, I'm afraid he'll burn himself.

Carter's preparing for the arrival of his little sister by learning to push the stroller around.

Less than three months to go before I have a kid for each arm. That should be fun... and good for building muscle mass. Cierra's feeling a lot better than she once was, a whole lot less running for the bathroom going on around here, so that's good.

It just really doesn't seem like it's coming up so fast. Once the holidays are over, I'm sure it will get real very quickly. We're shifting stuff out of my old office which will be the new guest room. Carter will move to our old guest room and the new baby will get the existing nursery. We've made a lot of progress but there's plenty more to be done.

Carter playing in the dormant garden. It looks so empty in the winter months, save for the happy little garlic plants poking their way up through the mulch. I planted about a thousand of them this year, so there's a lot more out there growing then there were last winter.

I'd all but decided to not grow much more than onions and garlic this summer, but darn, Cierra got me started reading Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and I think I'll be going hogwild with the seed catalog again. Agggh. It's disgusting how much I can't help myself.

What's really amazing is how restorative the months of November and December are for gardeners. At least in my case, by October, I don't even want to look out there. What was edible has long since been enjoyed, the bugs and the weeds are having a field day and the remains of my long days of work all year are old, half dead geezer plants begging to be carted off to the compost heap. This fall it was so hot here most of my seedlings for the autumn season just fried right in the ground. But after a month and a half of rest, here I am thinking, oooh I should really grow that. It won't be much work. Yeah, right.

Don't worry, Daddy. I'll help you out! Got any plants that need stomping?

Cierra's happy to be off work today and starting an 8 day vacation. Carter will be happy to have so much uninterrupted time with Ma-ma!

Back with more next week!