Ten on Tuesday.

1. The best way to jazz up a can of soup (I've been relying on Campbell's Select Harvest - various chicken varieties) is to add half a diced chipotle pepper (I keep them in the freezer). Add a can of garbanzos, an extra can of broth, some peas, and, really, whatever else you have on hand - delish. Then I pop two corn tortillas into the toaster for a few minutes, eat those up with salsa and avocado (because I share an avocado with Fisher for lunch), and that's lunch!

2. Fisher's regular living room routine: crawl over to the [play] kitchen, pull out the sink and throw it on the floor, throw blender on floor. Dump all kitchen play food onto floor (this is like a hundred pieces of food). Eat that stuff for awhile. Crawl over to [kiddie] table and knock both chairs down. Toss onto floor whatever items were on said table. Go back to play food and continue eating.

3. Alla does her paintings and then says, "Gorgeous!" Indeed, my love.

4. She knows all the words to the song "Sister Suffragette" from Mary Poppins, and I must really get this on tape because not only does she change to her British accent for this, but she of course makes up her own words, which is just delightful.

5. Fisher must throw his lovey out of his crib at least three times per nap (and I must retrieve it) before he just lays down already and goes to sleep.

6. He signs "light" and "all done."

7. We had 40+ temperatures this weekend. We were practically sweating. We went out for a nice family walk to the stream, where Alla and Daddy "hiked" down the stream a ways, while Mama and Fish meandered up the hill quietly spying on little birdies. He was later entranced by an airplane.

8. The poor baby is so sheltered, I don't think he'd every really seen (or at least noticed) a bird before. Now that he's to the stage where he can and wants to notice and learn everything, it's freaking winter and we're trapped inside. A lot. His whole world consists of our house, the post office, the library, and drop-off/pick-up at Alla's preschool. There will be a lot to see in 2-3 months when we thaw out.

9. Fisher has a new hole in his gums this morning, so I'm guessing tooth number EIGHT will be arriving shortly. Boy wonder.

10. Alla is "recovering" from a bad case of impetigo, which, incidentally, she had in the same spot when she was 5 months old. Last week she curled up in her favorite spot, my rocking chair, with some baby blankets (hers from Gramma and Fisher's from Megan), and I asked her to show me her beautiful eyes. She's not hiding her "ouchie" here, she's just doing her best not to smile. Lucky for me, her eyes give her away. Mama always knows when you're smiling. And because today has already been draining and kind of exhausting already, I think it will be great fun if I go and find that 5 month picture.

Ah, yes. Here it is.