It's been a good time together

It's been a hectic day. Do you know how long it takes to brown 10 pounds of hamburger? Longer than you'd think or at least longer than I thought. Two pans and four batches later, I was done with the greasy, vile mess. J slept through the whole thing, thankfully. He must be his father's son, so the smell of cooking meat is somehow soothing. He also slept while I chopped pounds of tomatoes and onions, which made me smell vaguely catlike, for some reason. Or I'm having a hormonal moment. Could be either!

Meanwhile, back on the ranch...

J is a napping fiend today. It helps when he wakes up at 5 am. It doesn't help me much but it helps him to be super sleepy! He's also learned how to pull himself up on the sides of his crib. I put him down for one nap and he didn't even whimper, but I heard suspicious rustling, so I went in to check on him, only to find him pulled up on his knees in the corner of the crib. He turned and laughed at me over his shoulder when he saw me, so he was quite proud of himself. So we moved his crib down to its lowest level last night. We're safe until he learns to stand, at which point he will be much taller than the crib sides and there's nothing we can do about it except hope that he doesn't hurt himself on the way down.

The oatmeal bars were a hit. I was forced to share the "recipe," but only after much coercion and only after I made them promise that knowing what went into the dish wouldn't make them unhappy.

The weather here has officially changed. It's cool and lovely and fabulous, and we're very happy to see the oppressive humidity go. J and I like waiting on the porch for the husband to come home in the evening, as long as the mosquitos stay away, which now can be for as long as a half an hour. Glorious!

Our neighbors across the street had a baby last week, Gracie, 8 pounds 11 ounces. They brought her over to see us and I can't believe J was ever that small. He feels like he's always been as big and boisterous as he is now, but of course once upon a very short time ago, he was just that small. I can barely imagine it, even just this far away.