Here we go again

Yesterday I resumed caring for e while her parents work.  We went out for a walk, with e pushing her stroller, but just a few feet from the door she heard a truck backing up or something and said, " Sit," indicating she wanted to ride in the stroller.  So I put her in it and away we went.  When we got back to the house, Sarah and Erik were up, and e interacted with them before they left for a walk.  They came up here hoping for cooler weather, and while it was cooler than San Diego, especially in the mornings under the marine layer, the sun appeared by noon each day and warmed things up.  After lunch I put e down for a nap, with the promise of "watch Elmo" after her nap, then took Sarah and Erik to the airport.  I appreciated Sarah's work of sorting through things she had left in her closet.  She took some items, left some for E to bring when they drive south at the end of September, and designated others for me to dispose of.  Thank you, Sarah!

We watched a video with Elmo and balls when e woke up about four, then took a short walk with her pushing and pulling her little plastic wagon.  I had a piano student at 5, after E finished work.  After supper we rearranged e's room so we could re-loft one of the beds.  The other twin is now lofted in my sewing room again.

This morning we spent quite a lot of time in her room playing with the toys she hadn't seen in a couple of weeks.  European Sleepworks delivered our new queen mattress, and I look forward to sleeping on it tonight.  Now we need to shop for a bed so we can get it up off the floor.

Full house!

We have a full house!  Sarah and Erik arrived Thursday night.  They visited a brewery Friday, then had lunch with friends yesterday, after Erik went running in the cool morning.  Last night E, e and K arrived after spending the day in the car, e's first do-it-in-one-day drive here from Phoenix.  They wanted some time with Sarah and time to rest up for work on Monday.  Last week was very busy for them as they cleaned house and gathered loan papers.  We plan to go out for lunch today.

Adapting to change

After a five-week absence (three with us, one at her house with me watching her, and one in the Midwest with her parents) e returns to day care today.  I hope she enjoys it.  This weekend she and her parents will drive up here and stay a while as their house goes on the market.  Though it may be a bit confusing for her to switch from one care situation to another, I wonder if it may not be better in the long run for her to be able to adapt.

Linda came over after Jazzercise yesterday, and we chatted about an hour about her upcoming move to Chicago and our transition to having EeK living with us.  I will miss her.

I've been working on the "Soul Searching" quilt and have finished four of the nine blocks.  I forgot I had planned to change the orientation and have some long strips with prints that may look funny if turned 90 degrees.  Oh, well.  Just have to wait and see when all the blocks are done.  I laid out the yellow strips yesterday and realized I need to change a couple because they are just too pale to register as yellow, so I may have to buy some new fabric if I can't find anything suitable in my scraps.  The picture on the right shows the placement the pattern uses; the one on the left is better suited for a rectangular or bed quilt.  After I finish all the blocks I'll try both layouts and decide which one to use.

Always working

The other day I was reading a book called Pinkalicious to e, about a little girl who made pink cupcakes with her mother on a rainy day.  One page showed the utensils and ingredients they used in baking; I didn't name these things, just read the text.  All at once e climbed off the couch and went into the kitchen, where I heard her open the one unlocked cabinet and take something out.  She brought me "her" whisk.  Sure enough, there was a black whisk on the page.  Her mind is always making connections.

Quiet

With e and her parents in Ohio this week, we have a quieter house.  James jumps up in a lap when one is available and seems happy enough until Randy shuts him in the green room at night.  Then he bumps against the door, as if to ask why we're punishing him.  But by morning he seems to have forgotten the indignity.  He sleeps a lot, looking dead to the world, then all at once sits up and runs up the stairs.  It's rather fun to watch!

Tinker Toys

One thing we saved from years past is a container of Tinker Toys, plastic not the original wooden rods I grew up with but still a lot of fun.  Following an illustration I built this Ferris wheel which e enjoys spinning.  It uses almost all of the pieces in the box.  I showed e that the blue rounds have a hole in the center that a rod can go through, so she played with that feature and we created some rolling things.  Then we made an axle with wheels and handles and called it a lawn mower, which e rolled back and forth while making a specific sound.  She often clings to me when we're outside and she hears the landscape crew cutting grass or blowing clippings off the walk, but she likes this quiet version of a mower.  Maybe I'll take it apart while she's in Ohio this week; when she returns we can build something else!

By the way, I've attached a picture of the water table to the post titled "water table, wagon" if you want to see it.  I also added a bit to the post about dust.

Ice!

This morning e and I again played outside at her water table.  The water left in the basin felt cool in spite of the high temperature, but there wasn't much remaining.  So together we used the hose to put more in, and it immediately felt like very warm bath water, OK but not what I wanted.  What to do...ahh, of course.  We went into the kitchen, took a mixing bowl from the cupboard and filled it with ice, which we dumped into the water table.  It melted pretty fast, so we repeated the process until the ice maker in the freezer was depleted.  By then the water felt quite cool and pleasant.  e seemed to enjoy playing with the melting ice, grabbing pieces and placing them in a cup or just holding them.

Seeing the empty bowl, she decided it should be filled and used a cup to transfer water from the table to the bowl.  After we poured it back in, she moved to the other side and did it all again.  Needless to say she got herself wet, but since I had removed her shirt and pants before we went out she probably enjoyed the sensation of the cool water on her tummy and legs.

I think the next time she's at our house, I will put out a tub of water and some cups, a sieve, maybe a bowl or two...if it's warm enough!