An Assortment of Lists

 Five New Things at the Twomey Househould

• It is definitely fall here in Michigan.  The trees are turning (we need a rake!), the cider is being pressed (sadly at a high price, because of the apple shortage here in the midwest), pumpkins are showing up everywhere (especially in my baking), and warm clothes are appearing (I love babies in hoodies).
• Littlest One is BUMPING!  I can feel him/her moving like crazy now! Also, I officially look preggo.
• I have discovered how easy it is to roast your own red peppers. Why did no one tell me before? I want to put them in everything.
• We have officially switched over to cloth diapers. Finn is the cloth diaper guinea pig, so that I can be prepared for cloth diapering TWO BABIES when littlest one arrives. So far we have had a good experience, but it's only been 4 days.  Anything could happen. (I have a bit too much excitement about cloth diapers. Jf never wants to hear another thing about it again.) 
• We attended a pontifical high mass at our church, Assumption Grotto.(For pictures and the homily check out Te Deum Laudamus)  It was very beautiful and it gave me great hope to hear the bishop of Marquette talk about the importance of returning to reverence in the liturgy and regaining what was once thought lost in the Tridentine Mass.

 Five Finn Things I Wish I Could Catch on Video Camera

•  Yelling "Ahahaha!" and burying his face in the fresh laundry.
• Brushing his hair with a (clean!) toothbrush
• Talking to me when he gets up from his nap.  He puts both his hands out and just starts chattering away "Ajahbuhjadahduhdah" or some such important update.  His hair is also finally long enough for bedhead. So cute.
•  Pointing at a school bus and demanding the "Wheels on the Bus" song, followed by his attempts at the motions.  He loves music and dancing.
• Folding his Hands when the church bells toll the Angelus (all bells actually make him fold his hands now) and whenever he sees a statue or icon.

Five Children's Book Reccomendations from a Fifteen Month Old

We have at least a hundred children's books stashed around our house, but somehow Finn always wants to hear the same ones over and over again.   Here are five of his favorites you might want to share with your little buddy:

Doggies by Sandra Boynton.

I love all of these books (My favorites are Pajama Time and But Not the Hippopotamus.) They are simple, funny for kids and parents, and the illustrations are adorable.  This is Finn's favorite, because he is obsessed with dogs.  If you say the word dog, he looks around for a good five minutes calling, "Dog Dog?"

Trains Go by Steve Light

A  brightly-colored compendium of train noises for the young train enthusiast.  My favorite? The mountain train: trip trap fuff puff, trip trap fuff puff

The Spot Books by Eric Hill

What little boy can resist dogs AND lift the flaps? 

The "How Do Dinosaurs. . . "books by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

 I think the illustrations of dinosaurs as little kids are charming.  Current favorites include: the one pictured above, How Does a Dinosaur Clean His Room?, and How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?.  The last two are board books, great for little hands.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Tomie DePaola

This favorite illustrator has a few different Mother Goose books which are wonderful.  Check out his other books (Strega Nona, The Clown of God, and many other classics) for older kids too!  Finn loves this one especially, because he loves to sing.  He can say "yes" and "baa," which is a significant amount of the words. 

I fail at buying fancy batteries for the camera.

Today is: The Feast of St. Teresa of Avila
Finn is: Fifteen Months Old
Mama finished reading: Nebraska by Ron Hansen
Littlest One is: 22 weeks along