In the years following, I’ve become better at preparing my children’s wardrobe for the changes in season. The switch from winter to spring is pretty easy. For Lydia, all she needs in a pile of cute sundresses and two pairs of sandals. All Luke needs is some T-shirts, knit shorts, and sandals. Fall, however, presents a challenge. My dress-loving daughter simply will not wear pants. I’m thankful that leggings are in style currently, because as long as we say she is wearing a dress with leggings (woe to the person who calls them pants), she’s pretty happy, although she is always wanting to take off the leggings.

Yesterday I was shopping at Kohls. I found a purple top for Lydia that I loved. But it was a top, not a dress. Hanging near it were some jean skirts that matched. Hmm, could I get away with it?

I brought it home with several other items. I let Lydia choose the order in which she tried on the clothes. She tried on the two pink nightgowns first. Then she tried on a dress with leggings. Then she tried on another “dress” with “leggings.” (More of tunic with pants - shhh) Last of all, she tried on the top with the jean skirt. I asked her several times, “If we keep this, will you wear it?” She said yes.

So this morning she did (by my suggestion). It made its debut at the library storytime.

And just to give you an idea of how difficult it was to get the picture above:

We were running late. Can you tell?

At rest time today, Lydia wanted to change into a summer knit dress. I can’t blame her. So, I’m not sure how much wear that wonderful purple shirt will get. I guess if I like that look so much I should wear it myself. Do you think OshKosh makes that top in adult sizes?

In the spring, Luke’s doctor mentioned we could change his preventative medication from Pulmicort to Flovent. Since he was doing so well (no asthma flare-ups) I was hesitant to change anything, but in July, we finally did. Now Luke gets two puffs of Flovent each evening. Since he is too young to use an inhaler like an adult, he uses a breathing chamber with a mask. During a video, a grown-up inserts the inhaler into the breathing chamber, puts the mask on Luke’s face, and does one puff on the inhaler. Luke breathes six times with the mask on his face. There is a valve on the chamber that moves every time he breathes. Then we do it again. That’s it.

After his breathing treatment, he gets Singulair, which is a flavorless powder, sprinkled onto his applesauce. Then he takes his bath. It’s all part of the evening routine.

Without this kind of preventative asthma medication, he is coughing constantly. With it, however, he is a very active, healthy little boy. We are very thankful to live in a time in history it is available.

The other day Lydia was deep in play mode with a princess doll and a book. A few feet away, her look-alike brother was lying in the same position, playing with a silver bracelet and a book. He even used the same squeaky little voice she uses when she does it. I’m fairly certain a one-year-old boy would not think of this type of play on his own.

Every time I took his picture he would smile and then run over to look at the picture on the back of the camera. Then he would run back over to the book and plop down on his belly.

Not sure what to comment about? How about just saying hi, or maybe you could tell me about a post from the past that you particularly enjoyed. I’ll get you started with some ideas. Here are my favorite blog posts from over the years. (I started with a list of 45 posts, but managed to narrow it down to 20.)

Butterfly Festival July 24, 2010
What would YOU call them? April 1, 2010
Kisses March 13, 2010
The Golden Hour September 12, 2009
No Paternity Test Needed July 8, 2009
Grace May 19, 2009
Bath Strike: Over March 6, 2009
Enjoy the Journey. January 15, 2009
Luke Wayne Tyndall November 13, 2008
Newsgirl Caps October 6, 2008
The Garden ‘08 July 14, 2008
Motherhood is messy. June 3, 2008
Easter Bunny March 18, 2008
Spices January 29, 2008
Best Girl October 30, 2007
Outside October 4, 2007
Branson May 23, 2007
Overacheiver January 9, 2007
Lydia Rose Tyndall September 30, 2006
The Pink Dress September 20, 2006

That should keep you busy for a while. And don’t forget to comment!

1. Snuggle Bud: Snuggle Bud has been Lydia’s security item for a very long time. (For Snuggle Bud’s full history, click here.) Lately she has taken to calling it “Cubbie.” Sometimes it’s a boy and sometimes it’s girl. She often makes up a story about Snuggle Bud based on what we are doing. Today I made some bread in the breadmaker. Lydia said, “A long long time ago, when my Snuggle Bud was four years old, she used to make bread, too.” There was also a story where Snuggle Bud had a grandma who died a long long time ago, and that was when the Mickey and Minnie videos started being in color instead of black and white. (See below.)

2. Minnie Mouse: I think this Minnie Mouse toy was a gift from Nana one Halloween. Recently, Minnie Mouse has risen to the top of the favorite toy list, almost knocking down Snuggle Bud from its number one spot, but not quite. She sleeps with Snuggle Bud and Minnie Mouse. She takes them both to Walmart. When she is feeling puny, however, it’s always Snuggle Bud she asks for.

I can’t remember what got us going on Mickey and Minnie, but for some reason Keith started finding vintage Mickey and Minnie videos on YouTube. Our extensive playlist is here. She will say, “I want to watch a video with a mouse.” These videos have been watched, studied, discussed, retold, and acted out at length.

3. My silver watch with a dead battery: This watch lives in a little jewelry box by the side of my bed. Lydia will ask, “May I please go get one phing out of your jewerly box?” (She says th with an f sound.) The one thing is always the silver watch. She is supposed to keep it in my bedroom, but lately she has gotten bolder about taking it other places in the house. She will play with it, and maybe one of her necklaces, along with a book. I think she is pretending the watch is a princess who is interacting with the pictures in the book. She can entertain herself with these items for up to a full hour.

4. Small princess dolls: When Nana and Poppy went to a garage sale about two months ago, they hit the princess jackpot. One thing they bought was a set of small princess dolls with rubbery dresses and hair that can be mixed and matched. These poor princesses usually walk around with no clothes or hair. She plays with the princess dolls the same way she plays with the watch. She always has a princess doll with her during her rest time, but not necessarily bedtime. It doesn’t seem to matter to her which princess doll she has, as long as she has one. They don’t have names, which is surprising considering how much she likes to name things.

Usually a combination of these toys comes with her to go potty. This can get complicated. The toys usually rest on the step stool near her feet and she leans over to play.

Have you noticed I’ve been blogging more lately? You can give credit to the fact that Lydia has “rest time” instead of nap time now. She goes in her room for an hour, starting at 1:00. Some days she goes to sleep, but usually not. As a result, her bedtime is now 8:00 on non-nap days. I was really dreading this change, but I really really like having my evenings back.

Speaking of blogging, there is a special day coming up August 4. Anyone care to guess what it is?

But there was one problem. Worms.

I’m not sure if that thing oozing from the pumpkin is pumpkin flesh or the worm itself. In any case, it was gross and I wasn’t about to consume the pumpkins. Into the compost bin they went. Such is the fate of a laissez faire gardener like myself.

Fast forward to this summer. We are living in our new house, which is sadly void of any garden yet. Our old house has not sold yet, and we go back there occasionally to check on it. Keith told me after one visit that there was some kind of squash growing. He said it looked like a giant cucumber.

I went back a few weeks later and discovered elongated, bumpy pumpkins that looked ripe. They were growing in the bed where I had dumped the last of my compost before moving the compost bin to the new house. I’m guessing the pumpkins I planted last year were a hybrid, and that is why the seeds (from the compost) did not produce the same fruit. We cut the ugly pumpkins off the vine and brought them home.

I was excited that we had so much free orange vegetable for my beta-carotene loving son. However, I was a bit nervous about cutting into them, because there were a few worm holes. I didn’t need to worry. They were hard as a rock. My knife couldn’t begin to cut through. Wow, those worms must have sharp teeth.

They sat in our sun room for about a week. This evening I noticed more worm holes on the pumpkins. I asked Keith if he would like to practice his pitching skills. He was happy to oblige. Maybe some deer or groundhogs can get some use out of them.

Just another fun evening at home with the Tyndalls.

For future gardens, I would love to grow heirloom vegetables, whose seeds always produce the same kind of fruit from which they came. A great local place I have yet to visit is a seed savers’ mecca. Maybe they even sell worm-free pumpkin seeds.

Then, we have Luke.

Ha! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Actually, he is making the sign for flower, which is to sniff. He always does it in dramatic form.

My hubby got some pretty good shots of some butterflies. Since we did not attend the butterfly identification class, I’m not sure what kinds they are. Anyone wish to chime in?

Update: Cindy W, the butterfly festival chair, left a comment with the names of the butterflies. I have updated them with captions. Thanks, Cindy!

Buckeye

Giant Swallowtail

Monarch

Zebra Swallowtail

Luna Moth

When we came out of the butterfly house, there were booths for vendors and kids’ activities. I asked Lydia if she would like to get her face painted, fully expecting her to say no. She has never wanted to have her face painted at carnival-type events in the past. However, she said yes. She carefully looked at the sample pictures on the poster and told me she wanted to get a flower. When it was her turn, the woman doing the face painting asked her what picture she wanted, what color, and if she wanted it on her face or hand. Lydia looked around at me once, but answered the questions herself. It may seem like a small thing, but she has come a long way, even in the last month or so, in being more self-confident.

She looked a little aprehensive while the artwork was being done, but she had a big smile for the mirror and the camera at the end.

There were some butterfly crafts to do, but the best part was the petting zoo. I wish we would have seen it sooner, because everyone was pretty hot and tired. There were a variety of caterpillars and cocoons for touching. (There was also caterpillar poop everwhere!)

A big thank you to the Friends of the Gardens for putting on a great event!

Perhaps these pictures will endear him to my heart once again. When we were in Harrisburg, Luke, my dad, and I took a walk in a nearby cemetery. It was a lovely evening.

Grandpa and Luke, ready to go.

Luke next to his great-grandpa’s grave.

Luke would pull up some grass and say, “Ah, ah, ah, ah….”

…then he would throw it up in the air and say, “Dooooohh!”

On the go.

Okay, Mr. Long Lashes, all is forgiven. <3

I’ve been going through old videos, and I found several from May and June of Luke saying no. As you can tell from the first clip in the video, he used to shake his head and say nothing, but we thought it was so cute we said “no” every time he did it. He caught on quickly.

Now it’s July and Luke says “no” so much that I can tell what he means by the inflection in his voice. I’ll say, “Luke, do you want more peaches?”

Luke will smile and say “No” with a lilt in his voice, and then I will give him the peaches. Poor boy thinks no means yes.