Halloween

Haberdashery

Anachronism

Isaiah types a few letters.

Fall

 Bernadette and Sophia on pumpkin carving day.

Some of the pumpkins.

Green Chimneys

 Baa, baa ...

And with Grandma.

 Bernadette exudes cuteness during her trip to see Grandma last week.

"All these trucks are 2042." I asked Isaiah what that meant but he could not convey his meaning. It remains a mystery.

 Laden

Unladen

 The little pumpkin.

Bernadette This Week

She's officially a toddler. She wants everything--everything--one for each hand, please. She says "Hi" and "Uh-oh" a lot, and when she wants to say "No", she shakes her head firmly and grunts, "Nnn."

She can climb all by herself to the top of the playscape at the playground by our building, and she wriggles off my lap when I take her down the big twisty slide. Yesterday, with an enormous grin on her face, she walked fearlessly to the top of the little baby slide. Not pausing to sit down, she merely stepped off the edge of the world. Of course, she slipped, bumped her head on the slide, and make the trip down flat on her back. When she got to the bottom, the enormous grin was still in place.

Isaiah This Week

(Pulling his sister in a wagon.) Could you please take Bernadette out because she's rather heavy?

(After his father explained that we were not stopping at whatever store Isaiah wanted to visit at the moment.) Perhaps next time we will stop.

(Climbing onto his mother's lap.) I love your little heart.

(Lobbying to be the one his mother carried from the pool to the locker room at the Y.) Give Bernadette to Daddy because he is quite strong enough to carry something.

(As he and B, who were supposed to be falling asleep, giggled and swatted at each other in the dark across their mother's tired body.) We are playing a game called Get in the Night!

(After a tandem nursing session on the couch.) I love you, Bernadette.

Rambling

 Are there dragons in these woods?

Circus stars

 Bernadette and Uncle Paul practice their act.

Dancing with Dad

 Liz dances with her father.

Little dancer

She's not just walking, these days.

Tascios, Friedrichs and DiDonas

 Pete and Magda with Bernadette

Liz and Paul

Robby, Becky and Alice

Lori, Joey and Greg

Isaiah and the DiDona girls (Alice, left, Katherine and Maggie).

A family picture from Lauren's wedding.

Paul and Liz's house!

Walking in the back yard.

 Eating!

Farm equipment

 Bernadette rides the tractor.

Isaiah rides the combine.

Kansas critters

 Isaiah his hands on some insects in Kansas. The Caterpillar was "sticky" when he tried to shake it off.

More Kansas City

Napping with Grandpa Friedrichs.

The Gig Is Up

Isaiah heard me tell Papa and Grandma Friedrichs that Matt and I had enjoyed some delicious c-a-k-e at the Marysville High School reunion.

"What's c-a-k-e?" he wanted to know.

"What do you think it is?" his mother countered, oh so slyly.

"Is it cake?"

"Charlotte?"

That's the word Isaiah murmured in an awe-filled voice when he got up close to this web outside Paul and Liz's house.

A Bedtime Lesson

Isaiah explains, "When kids go to bed they need to hold their father's hand so that nothing can get them while they're sleeping."

A canoe on a truck in a barn

 Never a dull moment in Kansas for Isaiah and Bernadette