Second's 2nd

He is too devious and too independent, constantly reminding us that our love for him is transcendent.
 

He copies others to the power of two and is expanding his world to more than a few.
 

He enjoys, too, playing with other kids, admiring some as if they are sibs.
 

He makes believe and builds towers, growing too quickly within hours.
 

He follows instructions, identifies things, and acquires the ability to accept what life brings.
 

He runs to gallop to hop and kick while holding on to rocks, mud, and a stick.
 

He draws, colors and paints too, often with the same color of his eyes, which are blue.
 

At 2, Zane is amazing, there is no doubt. Can't keep the gratefulness from pouring out.

Still Pickin'

Vanessa very much looks forward to apple picking. She was ecstatic this morning when she found out we were making another attempt to go. We've made several attempts to go this season, but various things have sabotaged our plans. We've gone to Lynd's for the last 5 years. Mommy has gone for the last 7 years. We've been looking for something a little closer and are anxiously awaiting the trees at an orchard not far from home to mature enough for picking, but in the meantime, we explored Cherry Hawk Farm in Marysville. Realizing we're well beyond the time we usually pick, we were determined to get there today. We loved it there -- it was so peaceful and it does not feel commercialized. Perfect.

We picked Mutsu, Golden Delicious, and Enterprise for various purposes. Thanks to Aunt Sally, a few weeks ago we scored some of our favorite, Honeycrisp. We were extremely grateful to be able to satisfy our craving. Honeycrisp in general were just plain weird this year. We're looking forward to next year being better . . . we hope.

Mutsu apples remind me of the only other times I would eat apples off of a tree. While living in Huntington, my best friend and I would walk by a house on our way to football games that had a tree full of them. The owner didn't mind that we would pick them and eat them. I'm sure sometimes it was dinner.

Zane was really cooperative and excited as well. Other than having to convince him that most apples already on the ground were yucky, he finally got the idea that the better ones were still on the tree. And he had several lessons in gently placing the apples in the basket -- practice makes perfect, I guess. Vanessa had a hard time stopping. We might consider a part-time job in an orchard when she's ready and if her love for being there continues. :)

Finding some really neat mushrooms made the kids want to go mushroom hunting. Maybe one day we can tag along with cousins and friends who know how and what we'd be hunting for, although I'd be extremely surprised if the kids would really eat them. :)

 

Some Previous Pickings:

September 2008

September 2009

September 2010

September 2011

Swivel Sweepers

They are linked but pivot freely from attached parts, sweeping up all kinds of love.

Land O'Mollohan

We were recently blessed by a visit with Mollohan fam. The time was too short, but, although rather windy, a pleasure indeed. At Slate Run Metro Park, the kids scored moments to be entomologists, hunters, playmates and athletes. It was incredibly awesome to harvest sweet fruit while ringing in the first day of fall, capturing blessings for the Mollohan chapter of your family book.

 

Several Monarchs flew by. But grasshoppers were the catch of the day.

Zane was able to prep for Monday's test on the order of Phasmatodea.
(I'll try and remember to share pictures at a future time.)

Uncle Phil was caught swingin'. I believe he went the highest.

This casual football game was less of a heartstopper than our Buckeyes'.

Contrary to this photo, I'm certain the little brother took notes from the bigger brother.

And we're grateful for moments where the biggest Mollohan cousin is mentoring the littlest.
(Crazy to think there is a 16-year difference!)

Playing the Game

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.
~Albert Einstein

But Einstein is no Grandpa . . .

Clowns

When I was a little girl, I was freaked out by many clowns -- ironically their sarcastic expressions didn't settle well. The two clowns above make me smile and laugh most of the time. Last Sunday afternoon we spent our time goofing off and laughing our heads off. Please ignore messy mouths, chins and teeth -- we like to multitask with snacking and playing.

Treasure Chest

Thankfully our cove is full of treasures. Love these mateys.

(Pictures taken August 2011.)

The Buckeye (Betz) Way Pt. 2

(Thanks to Uncle Andy for capturing Vanessa's team spirit!)

Vanessa wanted so badly to go to a Buckeye game. Aunt Sal made her one lucky gal! During 3rd quarter Vanessa decided she was ready to leave the stadium. On her way home, the game became a nailbiter. When Cal scored and intercepted, Vanessa didn't have the heart to tell Daddy when he returned to the room. "Oh shoot. Mommy, will you tell Daddy, please? I don't want to."

Thankfully the Buckeyes recovered and our excited Buckeye spirit returned.

Riddle me this:

 

Zane gave love to his "best friend" Brutus in hope for a win.

(Thanks to Grandma for capturing this set of twins.)

The Buckeye (Betz) Way Pt. 1

A neat thing about Vanessa's school experience so far is the number of ah-ha moments she's had, building on the things she's been practicing and learning for some time now. She admires her teacher and is very concerned about what Mrs. Stolly thinks of her. Just like many 5-year-old girls begin to seek the approval from other adults in their lives, she works hard to make Mrs. Stolly proud. (The moment she realized Mrs. Stolly was "grading" her papers was absolutely precious -- she thought Mom had been grading her work and was returning it to school.) Through these moments I've come to realize Vanessa is secure in her relationship with me, like her mom will love her no matter, which is absolutely true. And I'm so thankful she gets it so young. "I'll always be your daughter, Mom!", "I know you love me.", and  "When I go to college Mom, you can come spend the night with me."  

Vanessa has written some words pretty well for a while, although she didn't truly have a strong motivation to understand use of words and language until she started K. She has started journaling thoughts "I like my bed." She adds pictures for her thoughts. Just this morning she explained to me that she was excited about learning to read big books and that it will take practice to learn really big words so she can read anything she wants. We talked about how exciting it will be to independently escape into an imaginary world while also learning about things that interest her.

Last week, after a day of celebrating our Buckeyes and while talking with Grandma and Grandpa about writing things, we saw a light turn on through her eyes: Vanessa realized she has known how to spell "OHIO" for years now. :) Once home, she wrote "OHIO" several times . . . you know, for football. :)

And it's good to know that football is not all about the party and winning -- there IS learning taking place as well.  I know she and Zane are learning they are loved and that sometimes the love is incased in Buckeye colors and spirit.

Peephole

This blog serves as a peephole in our lives.  Various peepholes through our computer have made and maintained connections in life . .  . and, of course, the abundant resources have made things easier for this stay-at-home mom. A lone, simple and narrow peephole in the front door 30 years ago is nothing like what we can have now. For that, I feel relieved and blessed. 

Scrapping

Some might view Mommy and Daddy as packrats. They have a lot of scrap from house and craft projects. They're not fans of throwing out things (especially if money was spent) in case they might find a creative use. But Mommy CAN bring herself to do it. Before purging, though, Mommy has to consider one last time how something might be used.

On this particular day, Mommy, Vanessa and Zane had a lot of fun creating tunnels and ramps with leftover pipe. They learned about inclines and declines and diameter. They practiced ordering things from smallest to largest. They explored time and speed. They tested cause and effect by positioning pipe along and above other forms of ramps and planes.

The spontaneous learning was enjoyable, even with Zane and Vanessa scrapping over the implementation of ideas.

Picnic

As much as one might hope, not everything is a picnic. But let's try and make it one when we can.

Holy acquisition, Batman!

 

Pictures from early July. To the Batmobile, Caped Spidergirl! 

Zane likes to dress up a lot. We roll up the legs and sleeves of costumes. He's also especially fond of capes and Bumblebee.

We noted last weekend Zane's recent explosion of words and phrases. Our noting was sparked by his use of our friend's name over and over: "Deez. Deez. Deez? Deez?" ("Deez" for Diaz.)

When seeing the logo or related images, Zane sings "Botbon" for Batman. When the Joker of the house allows him a moment (disguised here as Caped Spidergirl), you can easily hear his frequency.

He asks "Edy ow?" for Ready now?

He replies "Uh on't owe." for I don't know. 

He demands "Ole on . . ." for Hold on.

He begs "Iiizza?" for Pizza?

He tells "Ate uh inute." for Wait a minute.

He throws out batarangs to many single words. And he seems to skip perfecting sensible single words to gain mastery for the use of phrases. I assume another demonstration of his lovable stubbornness.

Speaking of stubbornness . . . I love his grumbled disappointment to declines: "Aaarrhhuu . . ."

A to Z

 A                   to                    Z

It's a fact that Zane is much like his daddy. It's a fact that Daddy goes above and beyond for Zane. It's a fact that Daddy and Zane love to cuddle.  It's a fact that there is a lot of love from A to Z.