Two

God, it's been FOREVER since I posted. Nothing big to report right now, just a little glimpse into Sam's world. He has definitely embraced being two, and I don't mean he's throwing tantrums left and right (although we do get those occasionally). Counting right now consists of "two, three, two, three" repeated over and over, all while holding up one finger. You might think that's an indication that he doesn't know what two means. Not so. I can't give him one of anything anymore. He asks for two, and knows when he's got it. A typical conversation goes something like this:
Sam: Peez.
Me: Please, what?
Sam: Dat (accompanied by imperious pointing)
Me: Oh, a spoon?
Sam nods, I hand him said object.
Sam: Two. Two. (much nodding and holding up of the counting finger)
Me: You need two spoons?
Sam: Da.
I hand him another spoon.
Sam: Dank oo!
And he's off.
Yesterday, he used his two spoons to play drums on his own kneecaps. I mentioned that it looked painful and he said "da" and nodded enthusiastically, but didn't stop.

Best gift ever

I felt really rotten on Sunday. I basically just laid around being pathetic while Sam and Jed enjoyed a gorgeous fall afternoon. They went grocery shopping late in the afternoon and Sam did the sweetest thing EVER! I was laying on the couch in the den when they got home. As the front door was opening, I heard Jed say "Gentle, Sam. Gentle." I couldn't figure out what on earth he'd given Sam to carry that he'd have to be gentle with. And the way the door swings open, I couldn't see anything. Then Sam ducks around the door into the den holding a bunch of tulips ... coral/orange with yellow tips (my favorites!). Jed swears it was Sam's idea, that Sam picked the color and okay'ed the bunch that Jed pulled out of the rack, then insisted on carrying them out of the store, all the way home and into the house to me. I almost cried!

Bck to the future

Sometimes I feel like I live in another century. For the past few days, I've been baking furiously to use up the last of this season's zucchinis ... there are already half a dozen loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer, and I'm thinking of trying to freeze the grated zucchini so I can stop baking. Then, today, I picked 25 pounds (!!!) of tomatoes at Coonamessett Farm. I've spent a good part of the afternoon and evening parboiling and skinning them for freezing and canning ... all so we can have tomatoes in the dead of winter without resorting to plastic-lined cans. Meanwhile, we had two cords of wood delivered to fuel the high-efficiency wood-burning fireplace we're installing. Are we taking self-sufficiency and eco-mindedness too far?