Sometimes things are moving so fast, I forget to stop and catch up with it all. So, here is a little update on 'the boys'. Callum is a factory of imagination these days and everything he plays has a name of some kind. The most common question I hear is "Mama, want to play RACE, RACE, RACE with me?" There is also the 'traffic safety game', the 'mommy, daddy' game, the 'baby, daddy' game, and the 'bus driver Paul' game. His imaginative spirit extends to health status as well. The two most memorable were the time he coughed up a bit of phlegm and said, "Oh! Who put this coconut in my mouth?" and just the other day he described a stomach ache by saying "A dog pooped in my stomach. Oooh! That dog just bit me!" Needless to say, I got a call from school later that morning that he was indeed sick. Next time I will know how to translate this particular ailment.
He lives inside of the many books he loves to read. If we go up an escalator he is suddenly 'cordoruy' and if he sees a tree stump he has to sit on it like the boy in 'the giving tree'. He does the same with music.
"He's also getting really interested in numbers and letters and does lots of counting of things...number of kids versus grown-ups in a room, etc. (he must get this from his dad!) but numbers get a little elusive after 13 and tend to bounce around before landing on 17!
He likes to direct conversation along a specific path by saying "You say 'why are you doing that?'" and I respond "Why are you doing that?" He says, "Becaaauuusssee, I'm just working on something." This is how most of our conversations go unless he substitutes the Becauusssee with an 'Actually'.
And, Jude, this rascal. He is in constant motion. Tumbling, crawling, walking, flopping, climbing right up until the moment he is sleeping. He is especially good at climbing out of his high chair and the grocery cart.
He's got a smile for everyone and a wave as well. Friendly as ever, he will walk right up to animals and pet them and is eager to meet new people. He is saying lots of words including digger, nush, car, milk, more, baby, and has lots of distinctive sounds to boot. He has just started saying BOBO, with great gusto, which is the nickname his papa has for him.
He seems to be afraid of nothing until the moment just before his act of bravery, whether it is jumping into the bathtub or meeting a new friend. Right before it's about to actually happen he reaches for Mama or Papa and hides his head.
And, they both love raspberries, which is why their faces are covered in raspberry juice from the berries bought at the farmer's market, that never actually made it all the way home.
To celebrate Mama's birthday we visited an outdoor sculpture garden this weekend. It was fantastic, full of kid adventures including mist-spraying artwork and a sculpture designed to make music when banged on. The whole grounds are inhabited by peacocks that just wander willy-nilly and especially love the cafe. 
The best part was discovering a small hill just the right size for learning how to roll down a hill.
The boys had a great time in the field, on the play and real tractors and we made out really well in the farm store, which happens to have exceptional apple cider doughnuts.
(I couldn't resist including this picture of my favorite renegade.)
It was one of those doughnuts, held in Callum's hand, that attracted the extremely domesticated rooster living on the grounds. While Mama was chatting away about who knows what, the old rooster just walked right up to Callum and grabbed the doughnut out of his hand. And, not only that, he proceeding to hang around and terrorize the kids who were all crying. The adults were all trying not to laugh. We ended up waiting to eat the remaining doughnuts in the car on the way home because it was the only place Callum felt safe! For a kid afraid to pet dogs, this was pretty scary. We've been playing 'Callum is the rooster' and 'Papa is holding a doughnut' all weekend since it happened, so he's clearly trying to figure it all out. Darn rooster.
Like swing pushing and joke telling. 
