Pancakes for John

John can't drink milk, but these pancakes taste fine:

1. Sift together 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tbs. sugar, and 1/4 tsp. salt.

2. Beat together 1/4 plus 1/8 cup rice milk, 1/2 beaten egg, and 1 tbs. melted butter.

3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones until just combined and then cook like other pancakes.

You can scramble the remaining half-egg on the griddle when you're done cooking the pancakes. When I asked John if he wanted to try some of the scrambled eggs, he said, "Nooh,nooh, nooh, nooh, nooh, nooh, nooh, nooh."

How Hard Can You Stomp?

John and I went for a walk after dinner this evening. It rained a lot today, so everything was wet. First, John ran back and forth over the pitching mound and finally slipped and fell. When he got up, his hands and knees were covered with red dirt.

Then we went to the playground and he climbed up and down the stairs. For a while, he took my advice and didn't go down the slide because it was wet. But at some point he did get wet, so we started to head home.

When we got to the basketball courts, John saw some big puddles and decided it would be fun to step in them. Then he decided it would fun to stomp in them. Then he decided it would be fun to see how hard he could stomp and how high he could make the water fly. Once he finished with one puddle, he went on to another. After a while thoughts of pneumonia came to mind and I decided it was time to go home.

"He could have gone on for hours," one of the tennis players said as we were leaving.

"It's a good thing his mother wasn't here," said I.

Yes, it is true that John's socks and shoes and clothes got all covered with mud, but sometimes that is how good memories are made.

Bulldog Lanz Tractor

Bulldog Lanz Tractor

More Car-bus

While we were looking at pictures of trucks....

John: "I want something to drink."

Daddy: "What do you want to drink?"

John: "I want a cup of car-bus."

The Smell of Yeast

John woke up very early this morning, around 4:30 a.m. I went in and told him to go back to sleep, but he was crying again in a few minutes, so I took him back with me into the study and we lay down for another hour or so.

When we got up I felt a bit groggy, but after I got John some Cheerios and soy milk, I decided to start putting together some bread dough. I got out a big red bowl and put in the lukewarm water, measured out the yeast and honey, and stirred it up. John was sitting on the chair next to me and grabbed the little measuring spoons and before I knew it, he overturned the bowl and it spilled all of over him, me, Bee Bee, and just about everything else.

Not only that, but John fell off the chair and stared up at me for a moment with those imploring eyes before he started crying. I am ashamed to say that I got angry at him and snatched him up and took him to his room and changed his clothes and diaper, telling him all the while how angry I was at him.

It was wrong of me to care more about the mess than about John and I apologized to him later. I pray that God will help me to do better next time around.

"Please Don't Make Me Dance"

The other evening I was changing John before bedtime and I started humming a tune. It was strangely familiar to Kristi and me, but we couldn't quite place it. Then we remembered that it was a song that I used to sing to John, while I dangled his feet on the kitchen table (this was before he could walk.)

Please don't make me dance for my dinner
Please don't make me dance for my meal
Please don't make me dance for my dinner
You just cannot know how it feels

I always felt slightly cruel when I made John dance that way, but somehow it was so funny that I couldn't help myself.

Baaaah

Sometimes I make believe that I am a big monster and shout out "Baaah" and then chase John. He gets a big smile on his face and then runs away to his mother.

Or sometimes we play this game on the big bed in the study and he crawls away into the corner of the bed against the wall.

If John wants to get my attention and get me to chase him, he shouts out "Baaaah."