Sarah and Jeff and Abe and Josie

Early October means more than just a change of season ’round here.  It means another giant leap into the unknown, for us, that is.  Having a second child isn’t uncharted territory, but it will be a sea change for this household.  I’m alternately reassured by parents who say that when their second was born, it seemed natural, like it had always been that way, then by friends who say two isn’t twice as hard, it’s exponentially harder.  Seems like there’s probably some middle ground where we’ll safely make landfall.

We’ve been doing what we can to prepare for number two, and Abraham has been enjoying denial so far.

Having a backhoe parked next to the house most days provides an easy distraction when necessary.

The weather has been fall-like to the point where we can make a few small piles, and as soon as we rake ’em up, Abe tears them apart.  You don’t have to explain to a kid what a pile of leaves is for.

By the way, when in this part of the country, remember that a tight-fitting winter hat is called a toboggan, or ‘boggan for short.  There’s no use in explaining.

The Highland county fair was an even bigger hit this year, mostly because of the easy access to heavy equipment.

Another hint of fall is the local corn maze.  Despite growing up in the middle of what is probably the world’s largest corn monoculture, it was my first.  Now I know what I missed.  Abraham did a great job of leading us through.

Sarah’s playgroup friends put on a great outdoor ed. and painting session out at the High Rocks camp.  Her days out with Abraham are always full of culture and education.

Whereas most of my days with him are slightly less dignified.

We’re trying to make sure Abe gets to spend a lot of time with mommy before baby shows up, both because of the last two pictures and because she’ll be pretty distracted in the coming weeks.  We’re trying to help him understand what to expect, too, and so far he seems to have bought in.

It may be a different story once little sibling is in the house, though.

For now, though, it’s mostly business as usual around here.

So while we’re anxious for fall, we’ve been enjoying the wait.

I grew up as a gardener’s helper and thought it was a lot of work.  While I always enjoyed the bounty growing up,  I did not enjoy the itchy arms from picking beans & squash, the scratches from raspberry bushes, or removing Japanese beetles from pretty much everything.  I always enjoyed, though probably did not fully appreciate, walking out the back door and eating of fresh berries, our own fresh frozen corn in January, having fresh flowers in almost every room in the house, and the joy and surprises of digging potatoes.

I did not realize as the gardener’s helper how much time it takes to not only grow a garden, but plan, pick, maintain, protect, weed, process, and preserve.  Abe helps water and weed, and squeals when he picks zucchini or cucumbers, smells the basil or sees how big the pumpkins have gotten.  After Abe is in bed, we find ourselves checking out the bounty, tying up the tomatoes, taming runaway pumpkins and butternut, weeding, tilling, and watering until dark.  Jeff & I have yet to work with headlamps, but as the days get shorter I can see that happening in the not so distant future.  After dark it is time for blanching, bagging, pureeing, and finding recipes for the seemingly endless supply of squash and planning uses for the upcoming bounty of corn, cantaloupe, and tomatoes. Cucumbers are not a problem, as I seem to be eating refrigerator pickles by the gallon, sometimes (OK a lot of times) I eat them before they make it to the refrigerator.

We’re already talking about where to plant next year’s rows of corn, how far to space them so they don’t burn on the fence, where to put to the pole beans so they don’t shade out other crops, locating the pumpkins so they don’t take over a quarter of the garden, and how much garlic to plant this fall.  Labor yes, love yes.

This year, late June and early July has been jam-packed with family visits and adventures. Mom came for a week to spend some time with Abe and to do the Hilly Billy Roubaix with me.  At least she got to spend some time with Abe, because the race didn’t go well for either of us.  That’s why there’s always next year. She did get in quite a bit of weeding while she was here, but you can’t visit WV this time of year without getting stuck doing some weeding.  And there was a Pretty Penny trip in there, too, and lots of blueberries.

The pool has been a staple this summer, but not because of the slides or fountains.  Mostly it’s because of this door.

We spent Fourth of July weekend in DC with the Massachusetts Hankens.  We had ambitious plans to visit the national zoo, a few museums, and the Folk Life Festival, but our suite had a full kitchen, two bedrooms, a living room, and easy access to grills, pool, and the Reston petting zoo, so once we got there we didn’t see any reason to be very ambitious.  Spending time with Kevin, Melissa, and Benjamin was much better than battling traffic, trains, and shuttle buses.

Ok, so Kev and I had to visit one specific museum.

After the drive back to the WV, we pulled into town to find Nana J waiting for us, or rather, waiting for Abraham.  She too got roped into weeding the garden.

While it hasn’t been as hot as everywhere else this summer, it has still been hot, but Abe and I still try to spend as much time as we can outside. So far my favorite way to keep him cool is just to hand him the hose.

Sarah’s due in early October, and so far Abe has been playing nice with his little in utero brother or sister.  Here’s hoping it stays that way.

So long for now!