A Dancing Sweater and Other Various Goings On

• This morning, Jane has eaten a Nutri Grain bar, a cheese stick, 3/4 of a mango, and a bowl of oatmeal, and it's only 9:30. Obviously, there is some growing going on!
• A conversation from the other day: Noah: "What you doing, Mom?" Me: "I'm crocheting a new sweater for Jane to wear this winter." With delight and awe: "Oh!" "Do you like it?" "Yeah!" "Would you like me to make you a sweater sometime?" "Yeah! A dancing sweater!" "What?" "A dancing sweater!" "You want a sweater for you to dance in?" "Yeah!" Well, okay then. A dancing sweater it is. I'm going to have to get some more details about this dancing sweater; for example, what color should a dancing sweater be? Is a dancing sweater a pullover, or is it a cardigan (for easy removal once the dancing is done)?
  
• Jane is learning to make animal sounds. So far, she says "Hoo" for owls and "Moo" for cows. They both come out "Ooo." At this point, I think she may actually believe that every animal says "Ooo."
• Jane is a very sweet girl, but she is becoming the typical toddler. She can throw herself on the floor tantrum-style when too many discomforts have mounted, and lately she has been taking a lot of toys from Noah. She wants to do whatever he is doing, and she wants to play with whatever he is playing with. [Insert mommy sigh.]
• Ken and Meredith (my bro and sis-in-law) were in town briefly this weekend, and I forgot to get a picture. Dangit!
  
• I just cut my hand with a flying santoku knife. It isn't bad, but that'll teach me not to be so cavalier with my knives! (For those of you with wild imaginations, I wasn't juggling or anything--I just didn't have a good grip and it slipped in mid-air.)
• I planted some yellow squash plants, zucchini seeds, and watermelon seeds in my garden today.
  
• Because of the drought, our grass is getting pitifully brown. In some spots, it's starting to feel like straw under your feet. So I finally went out and bought a sprinkler, which is long overdue, and Noah has now discovered the delight of running through it--jumping over it, standing in one place and waiting for the water to wash him down, and running through the "tunnel" the water makes under its arch.
• We are having a LOT of success with potty training--FINALLY! More on that later! Hip hip hooray!
• Upon a passionate recommendation from some of my old book club peeps in Boston, I have started reading One Thousand Gifts. The task of summing this book up in a few words is daunting. My best attempt is this: A woman--farmer's wife, mother of six--began studying biblical gratitude, and its nuances, implications, and implementation changed her life and has the ability to change anyone's. It is poetically written and quite profound, which is a pleasure to read in and of itself, but the power of the Word of God to change lives makes it robust, as well. The title refers to a friend's suggestion that she write down 1000 things for which she is thankful, a discipline that reinforces what she is learning and translates it from head knowledge to reality in her life. I'm about halfway through, and it is quite wonderful. Like Amy, the friend who initially recommended it to me, I keep thinking of people who I'd love to pass the book on to--I have a mental list about a dozen people long. It'd be worth the read, dear readers!