Signs he's actually been listening to the catechism?

Carson, contemplating the eternal nature of the kitten: "Who are the three persons of Tess?"


I considered this for awhile... I think they are Cuddly, Ravenous and Insane, but unfortunately only Cuddly is easily captured with photos.


 Her Cuddly nature is not intimidated by babies either:

October's sad goodbye

We've put it off as long as we could, but tonight we've got a predicted 29 degree low and 100% chance of snow. So, the garden is done. It's been chilly for the past week or so, and even in the absence of a true frost, here's how the poor plants looked yesterday:



So I brought in our final harvest of zucchini, beans, and the three butternut squash we managed this year:

That's two smalls and an extra small. But I'm encouraged anyway--there's hope for next year!

And picked all the tomatoes, ripe or not. We'll see how many we can coax to ripen off the vine, but I also plan to make some green tomato salsa. Look for several posts to come on this year's garden labor and results! Here is the final haul for the season:

parent in training

Since Laramie's arrival, Carson has felt the need for a baby of his own to care for. Sometimes he is our kitten Tess's mother (mubder), which she appreciates when it involves his feeding her extra tidbits, but not so much when he wants to tote her around or wrap her in a blanket. A more compliant object of his ministrations has been the WubbaNub, a stuffed duck with attached pacifier, which he used as a baby and was recently unearthed for Laramie.


Stands to reason a duck would need frequent diaper changes...


This set off a persistent interest in baby wipes, and one day while my back was turned for a few minutes he emptied an entire 100-count package, applying them one-by-one to the duck's backside.


Also, he informed me that he nurses his duck "from his tummy" just as I nurse Laramie, and he drinks lots of milk and water so that there will be plenty available to feed the duck baby. I said, "What a lucky duck baby to have such a caring duck dad."

"No, I'm a duck CARSON."

New kid in town...

On September 24th we finally got to say hello to our baby girl, Laramie Rose.



Although it felt as if the waiting would be interminable, when she decided to arrive, she made quick work of it. Labor started about 5 a.m. and Laramie was born at 9:02. She was only a little bigger than her brother, at 7 lb 12oz and 20.5".





Our initial impression is that she resembles Carson quite a bit, but with more delicate versions of his features. Compare this newborn Carson to the photo above:



My mother was on hand to help usher her into the world, as were dad and big brother.





All went well and we were happy to be bringing our daughter back home that evening after a 12-hour hospital visit.


God has greatly blessed us!