pretend play + pics

It seems like Sam's pretend play has taken a real leap lately. We were outside mowing and weeding the lawn this evening (it's little, but I really just can't keep up with it, nor with the garden in general-- but that's another story). Sam was entertaining himself, and me, with an elaborate series: "Who's at the door? There's the doorbell, do you hear it? Ding dong! it's Uncle D. and Aunt S.! They're here! It's their birthday! Here's a cake. Let's put some candles on it... here's (plucking from the grass) a red one, and an ojanj one... Wanna sing Happy Birthday!"

And then in the bath, the little animals he's been playing with for a year suddenly have relationships. Two weeks ago it was "two turtles! there's one turtle and a other turtle!" and then the turtles went under the tunnel ("a leg tunnel!") or went swimming, and one of them was called Cara (after a sea turtle in a favorite video). Now, though, the smaller turtle is the baby, and the bigger turtle is the mommy, and the baby turtle nurses at the mommy (nuzzling her undershell appropriately-- I figure the talk about which species are mammals and what that means can wait another year or so (-: ), and then following our bedtime routine, the baby turtle says "wanna snuggle", and the two turtles snuggle in the water, and then the mommy turtle says it's time to go in your bed, so the little turtle obediently rolls over. It's so fun to watch.

Potty update: after we got to about 80% trained at home, we decided to send Sam to daycare in underpants yesterday. He only had 4 accidents over the whole day (so it's not as though he was dribbling continuously), but he also didn't pee on the potty there, and his teachers both think it's too early for him-- and also that the upcoming (beginning of September) transition to the next room up will be too disruptive. So we're doing underpants (or nothing) at home and diapers at daycare for a while. No reason to be overly ambitious, I guess, and I have to think that the teachers have done this quite a few times by now, so have some idea what they're talking about.

And now for some pictures of Sam eating:

He likes to eat bagels cream cheese-side down:



Gnawing on a t-bone, having eaten a fair proportion himself of the steak on it: (Note new grill just barely visible in the background. We are now Grilling People, and have polished off the remainder of our 1/4 side of beef in gas-grilled yumminess.)


The joys of summer: first Fudgesicle:




Sam takes watering the garden very seriously.




He also insists on doing it "by yourself." Which is generally fine, though we've had to learn the hard way (i.e. the soaking wet way) not to get his attention by calling his name when he's holding the hose.