What Stands Out

As I think back over this day, what immediately comes to mind could be the fact that, for the first time, David used a real knife to cut something. I was making Roasted Sausage and Vegetable Pasta, and I let David use a small paring knife to cut the zucchini and red bell pepper into pieces after I had cut them into strips. He was happy and feeling proud of himself, I was happy and grateful for the help, and Tobin was happy as he picked pieces of raw onion out of the baking dish and ate them. He was happy, that is, until he took a little tumble off his chair; as he cried, I quickly scooped him up to hold him and kiss him and soothe him...and all I could think as his face was close to mine was how strong his onion breath was! :)

What jumps into my thoughts could also be how I felt like I was in a time warp this evening as I noticed David and Tobin on the couch and remembered when David was my little toddler wearing the outfit Tobin has on in these pictures, and Josiah was the big brother jumping around on the couch. Tobin rarely wears this outfit, or any other one-piece romper, because of the lack of access to his belly button; however, today I realized that if I simply left a snap or two undone, he would be able to stick his hand in, find his belly button, and be content (like in the first and last pictures below). When Josiah saw Tobin wearing this, he said, "I really like this outfit!" I didn't know Josiah had much of an opinion about anything Tobin wears!

Or I could remember how Josiah was helping me by feeding Shav some squash and rice cereal with applesauce tonight while I finished getting supper ready; and while he was scooping baby food into Shav's mouth, he asked me to tell him a story. "Real or imaginary?" I asked him. "Real," he responded, "something with adventure, like a car accident." So I told him about the time my brother David was driving in rainy rush hour traffic in Washington, D.C., and didn't stop in time to avoid a fender bender with the car in front of us...and the time I was visiting my college roommate Lisa in Florida because I was going to be a bridesmaid in her wedding; and the day before the wedding, we were in an accident coming out of the mall parking lot...and the time my dad got a speeding ticket on Dinkel Avenue, and I was in the car with him and thought it was so funny (especially when his excuse was that he was driving my sister's car and wasn't used to the way it accelerated)...and the time Jeff and I and Josiah were here visiting Mom and Dad for Christmas when Josiah was a baby; and I was speeding and got pulled over but was let off with just a warning; Josiah woke up and cried in the backseat at just the right time and maybe the officer let us go more quickly because of that :)...and the time I was in college and shared a car with my brother David and got pulled over because I didn't have a current registration sticker on my license plate, but the sticker was in an envelope in the glove compartment because we just hadn't put it on the license plate yet, so the officer didn't give me a ticket...and the time my brother Doug was driving shortly after it started raining one day and was in an accident in his Honda CRX and hurt his hand but was in a good place to do it because the wreck happened right outside the hospital...

But what really stands out to me as I think back over the events of the day is the moment when I was sitting in a rocking chair by the picture window in the living room, nursing Shav (who had drifted off to sleep in my arms), and helping Josiah with his violin practice. Suddenly from upstairs, I heard running water full blast; and upon further investigation, I discovered Tobin, fully clothed, standing in the bathtub, having figured out how to not only get in by himself, but also how to turn the water on. I'm sure he was surprised by how cold it was since he hadn't turned the knob around far enough to get warm water, but he didn't seem upset. On the contrary, he appeared mighty pleased with himself. The little stinker. :)