Apples and stuff

I have been meaning to blog like everyday.  But then I do something else.  Like bake something with apples in it because we picked 15 or 20 pounds of apples and then bought 10 more pounds of apples (honey crisp!!) in the adorable apple orchard barn.

You would think that since I have given up naps in the second trimester, I would have more time to do things like blog, but that really hasn't been the case at all, surprisingly.  I have also stopped watching HGTV almost completely.  WHERE HAS MY TIME GONE?

Work, I think, but not everyday, and this is the eleventy billionth time in a row that I have taught my criticism class, so I am not that busy yet.  I have decided to do this crazy thing where I grade all of my daily response papers and discussion question before I leave my office for the day-- it's terribly efficient.  I am also slated to work on a public speaking talk for museum docents, a scholarly talk that looks like a slightly bigger deal than I thought when I accepted (oops), a conference submission or 2 for next year that's due right before the baby, and of course the fiction book and the nonfiction book I have been theoretically working on for years, but I am still procrastinating the shit out of that list, so I can't blame any of that.  

Ben and I have been a little worried about how easy Harry's beginning of the year work is, so we have been working with him a lot at home. (The first few weeks of the year are spent doing assessments, which makes sense because the teacher has to know where everyone is starting in terms of math and reading level so she can plan accordingly, but the stuff they do in the meantime is all review).  His teacher sent home flash cards of 100 high frequency words, and we were delighted to find that he knew them all cold already.  So, we made flashcards with 150 harder high frequency words, and we have been having so much fun with them!  We mostly do one of two activities:  we set the timer for 5 minutes and he sees how many he can speed through in that time.  he has a chart where he keeps track of how many he gets each time, and he loves to try to beat his total.  He's a little hung up on "ight" words and "ough" words, but we're working on it.  If we're not doing a word race, we pick 3 or 4 cards at random from the deck, and Harry has to write a silly sentence that uses all of the words.  Then he draws a picture to accompany his sentence.  He loves this, and I think it is helping him add more details to his writing-- he is forced to add details in order to connect the disconnected words.  This game has also made him love reading the Sunday comics-- he reads them to Jack all week, and it cracks us up!

Saturday, we took advantage of lovely weather and unexpectedly early naps for Cooper (the 2 naps make it hard to plan activities on the weekend) and picked apples.  Only one of our 2 favorite orchards is open for picking this year because of the drought, but we found delicious apples that even Harry could reach.

He was so happy to finally reach a couple

Anti-fruit Jack amended his stance and will eat fruit he picks with his own hands.  I need to start a grape arbor or something.

Cooper hung out bemused and barefoot in the wagon eating bunny crackers.

You might think that bag of apples was full, but we kept going.  And got 2 pints of raspberries.

Harry is demanding we carve him a pumpkin this size.

Pretty sure Cooper ate that cup

I joined the kids for a shot just to prove that I was there too!

These are all honey crisps!

I love that the bag says uffda because, um, yeah

In addition to the apple he ate in the grove, Jack also chugged cider and a caramel apple-- the most fruit he has ever consumed not in leather form.

The other day at breakfast, Cooper insisted upon feeding himself yogurt.  Here's a progression:

He sure does make a huge mess.  But he is also happy to help clean up.  Just try to stop him, actually.

The three stooges.  We ran to the mall for mascara and ended up finding the most adorable kid clothes at H&M.  So many skinny jeans and cardigans.

I am entering the fat or pregnant stage which is especially awkward this time around because I am hanging onto at least 8 Cooper pounds. And 8 pounds on someone my height is a lot.

Cooper can walk, although he is still faster when he crawls.  But we can set him on his feet, and he is off!  He is even more dangerous upright, so we are getting the upstairs TV hung on the wall on Monday-- and not a moment too soon!

He has been going through a bit of a screamy phase, but I think we have turned a corner (thank God), and we stopped going to restaurants for the time being which has helped (except Chipotle.  he loves that white rice and cilantro so much that he will spend at least 15 minutes cramming it in his mouth with both hands).  He also has more words all of the sudden, which has eased his frustration.  Today, I got him out of bed (he sleeps through the night!  finally!) and took him to the kitchen to grab his milk, which he likes to drink first thing.  When I opened the fridge, he said "Eat.  Yeah.  Eat that." and grabbed the bagels.  Thanks to my recent baking binges, he says cookie.  He says nigh nigh a lot, but I have no idea what it means-- not night night (learned that the hard way).  He says hi, hair, get, this, that, kiss, dada, done, all done, and a few more that I am not thinking of right now because he is baby number 3 after all.  Tomorrow, he has his 12 month well-visit and lots of vaccines, including the flu shot.  I feel bad for him already.