Since our last post, I am sure we must have done something noteworthy. It's been two months, for goodness sake!
Let's see. I could write about Isaiah's lip stitches (a freak shower injury), or our trip to Upper Michigan to see my parents (not sure what the kids did up there, but I slept a lot--very nice!), or Jamey's work schedule (Isaiah keeps asking if we can go to "Daddy's house". Not so nice.), or Jude's suave new dance moves. Not that is worth writing about, because I have rarely seen anything so funny. Jude possesses a surprising amount of gravitas for a 16 month old. He contemplates life with a cool detachment, surveying the passing scene like a lord on his manor. This is not to say that he is always stern, but his smiles must be earned and he is not given to frivolity.
But when the music starts, watch out! It starts with a little bounce of the knees, a little swaying of the diaper. Then his arms wing up and out, his tummy waves back and forth, and he is carried away--all but his head.
That's the funny part.
He maintains a completely straight face throughout. Sometimes he even looks vaguely alarmed. I am not sure if he is trying to impress us with his coolness. ("Stand back while I bust this move, Mom") Or if his body just breaks out in mutiny against his cool Swedish reserve when the music starts. Whatever it is, I have it on video so I can play it at his wedding:)
Lest anyone think that we are blasting some sort of vile hip hop music at our son, I want to be clear that Jude dances to any beat. The rhythmic swishing of the dishwasher can set him off. Tonight he was swept away when the kids started singing "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" after dinner. He's a musical animal.
What else is new...Rebekah is now playing the harp (as of two weeks ago). She is taking lessons from Sister Mary Margaret, a Franciscan nun who lives up the road, and already the music sounds beautiful! I am of the opinion that you could drop a harp down the stairs and it would sound beautiful, but that is not to take any credit away from Rebekah. Already, she can play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and Yankee Doodle.
Christina is embarking on violin lessons and playing with a little ensemble made up of some friends from church and Bible Study. They hope to be good enough to play at some local nursing homes by Christmas, and at church. When I was a child, I used to scoff at the adults who would leave our piano recitals with tears on their cheeks. I have now joined their ranks. In fact, I get choked up when I hear a perfect C-scale coming from a little violin. What is it about watching a child perform? They just couldn't be any more precious!
The rest of our summer was filled with pleasant normalcy--Bible studies, days spent with friends and family, babysitting, gardening, church picnics, good hard work (thank you Jamey) and slow, pleasant evenings. I will end today's entry with one typical example. It is simply called, "A Day in the Life of Elijah and Isaiah: Tireless Explorers, Best Friends, Small but Manly Men."
Today was one of those steely grey September days--cold, wet, and dreary. So of course the boys were outside as soon as the sun came over the trees. It wasn't long before they noticed that they could see their breath out there, which (they insisted) meant that snow was sure to follow within mere moments. Oh, the shrieks of excitement from both of them! "Mom! Snow! Get the sleds! Where are my boots! Can we throw snowballs?"
Twenty minutes later, they were geared up for a blizzard, wearing hats, scarves, mismatched mittens, coats and boots--and shorts. (They didn't see the logic in changing their pants for some reason. Perhaps because that would have required going all the way upstairs.)
The girls and I got minute by minute updates on the latest "snowflake" sightings from both boys. At one point, Elijah became very concerned about the fate of all the cold bugs lying around the foundation of the house, so he began bringing them in one by one, and putting them on the kitchen table. He found a beautiful praying mantis and a somewhat dessicated grasshopper, several crickets, some beetle-type things, a caterpillar, several spiders, and a pile of mayflies--all of which appeared dead.
Unfortunately, the toasty kitchen revived a large number of Elijah's little friends before I noticed them crawling, falling, and flying off the table. At this point, I heartlessly insisted that they be corralled and thrust back out into the wild, much to Elijah's dismay. We did keep the praying mantis since he made no effort to escape, nor is he ever likely to.
And alas! No snow:)
