Here's an attempt at updating... I have been spending a lot of time and energy over at Facebook and on my online mom's club. Sigh, so many web sites, so little time.
I was laughing at my last entry, where I stated that it would be a long time before Conrad was able to really appreciate and use the play structure. He loves the slide (though he goes down either with Dylan, or with me holding his hands), loves the sandbox, and can't get enough of the swing:


When we went in for his 18 month well child visit, the pediatrician (an overly thorough second year resident, who I really do like, but who has contributed to maybe a tad more worry than is strictly necessary) referred us for a language assessment. I'd been trying not to panic over Conrad's lack of words, and it's hard to compare him and Dylan at the same age because Dylan
had a ridiculous amount of words at the same age. The bottom line on the assessment was that he was a late talker, but still within the "normal" range. Since then he has added a bunch of words, of course. His first word was "car". Dog, duck, kitty, go go!, bubble, ball and others have developed over the last couple weeks.
Conrad's other major milestone was his first trip to the emergency room. He bonked into a bookcase at school and needed two stitches:

He got a blue fuzzy bear out of the deal, which is now his lovey and constant companion. I don't know if it's just my kids or if most kids are like this, but I seem to be the only parent dropping off FOUR people at daycare in the morning (Dylan and Babi, Conrad and Bear).
Dylan continues in his efforts to drive us insane. I can't believe how tall he is. He's finally getting enthused about learning his letters. Now that Conrad is getting bigger, they can play together. Predictably, their relations swing from one extreme to the other. He can be really sweet with Conrad, looking at books with him or going down the slide with him.

I've been interested in some of the differences between him and Conrad that I'm starting to notice. Dylan has never been that into drawing or coloring or writing and Conrad loooooooves to scribble. His mechanical skills are also better than Dylan's were at this age. I guess that's what he's doing with his brain power.


Probably the biggest event of the spring/summer was MomCon West, where eight of the moms in my online due date club converged on my house for a long weekend of coffee, food, and fun. I'd met two of the moms before, but just knew the rest from online. It was really fabulous to spend time with people who've become some of my best friends. Mamas and kids (and dads, in a few cases) traveled from Winnipeg, Edmonton, Alaska, Napa Valley, Phoenix and Portland. Good times. Here I am with Conrad and his bride to be, Lucy:

I went a little crazy with the garden this year and it is taking a lot more time than I thought it would. The zucchini is now threatening to take over the neighborhood. I'm growing basil, tomatoes, peppers, onions, chives, cilantro, zucchini, broccoli, chard, lettuce, radishes, pumpkins, arugula, carrots, beets, and fennel.
I continue to struggle with chicken containment. The chickens and I are in a battle of the wills and wits. They want to poop on the porch and I don't want them to. There has been a lot of fence building and construction. They figured out how to get over the 2 foot fence that constituted the chicken moat. After some experimentation with wing clipping, I decided I needed to upgrade to a 4 foot fence. PingPong could still hop over it (she is supposedly a heavy breed able to fly about 3 feet, AND her wings are clipped, but no one told her that, apparently) so I added a bunch of netting over the top. If she's really motivated, she can still find a break in the defenses, but she doesn't lay waste to the garden the way LuAnn and Daisy do, so I can live with it.
Tallulah went on walk-about for a week. She kept coming back and sort of mocking me and then taking off again. We decided she must have a boyfriend somewhere. She's contained again and seems okay with that.
In May, Frieda disappeared for 6 days. I was totally beside myself. I ran around putting up posters and calling neighbors and checking the animal shelters and thinking about coyotes. She had a name tag on, but it had our old phone number. I had SERIOUSLY given up and decided that I needed to get through the mourning process. She reappeared about an hour after Jonny put away the food and water dishes and litter box and cat tree. She was thinner and with a bladder infection, but no worse for the wear. Now she is tagged, chipped and licensed.
And if anyone knows a surefire way to keep an almost-five-year-old from wetting his pants frequently and with no shame, I'd love to know.