"A" is for...

Apple!

 Or

Augustine!

 We celebrated the two year anniversary of Augustine’s birth with a trip back out to Arrowhead Orchard in Lisbon, Ohio and a baseball themed birthday party.  We braved the cold weather to pick our own Red and Golden delicious apples.  Two years previous we explored the same orchard.  I’m sure a number of people humored me with accusations of smuggling goods from the pumpkin patch and I vividly recall an older man jumping three feet back when I was waiting in line to use the restroom and he found out that very day, September 30^th, was Augustine’s due date.  We passed on the corn maze this year but, as you can see, the boys enjoyed the other activities.  This was the first time we actually picked our own apples and the whole “lift and twist” technique is harder than it sounds.  We did a fair bit of preparation for the trip with apple and orchard themed books from the library but still I was surprised by the massive amounts of fruit clinging to the main branches of the trees a striking contrast to the  uniformly round, evenly spaced depiction in most children’s books.

Grandma Angie, Grandpa Steve and the Maione family joined us for the outdoor activities.  We learned that the entire crop of Ohio peaches was wiped out this year because of the harsh winter and that apple trees typically produce a good crop for 20-25 years.  After a chilly hayride to the pumpkin patch and some samplings of warm apple cider and various jams we enjoyed a picnic lunch with steamy turkey vegetable soup in our handy dandy thermos, P.B. and J sandwiches, Clancy’s snack mix, and crisp, freshly picked apples.

Hamster wheel

How  'bout them apples!

The cake

We followed the outdoor fun with a baseball themed party at home. Finishing this post some 8 months later still has Augustine enamored by baseball. He grabs any sweeper attachment as a substitute for a Louisville slugger and is ready to swing at balls real and imaginary. We "play" baseball everywhere- In the living room, in the basement, in the back yard, at the playground...The obsession is easily encouraged by Pete who readily busts out the baseball peanuts and the Schafer brew and commentates in the announcer voice for authenticity. I'm grateful to the warmer weather where they can lay out the bases, swing the bat more freely and leave the peanut shells outside. It's fun watching for the brief spurts of the game in the backyard but I'm not yet convinced that I would enjoy little league...too much waiting.

Special shout out to my friend Ellie that helped decorate the sugar cookies during her visit from Columbus-particularly under the strict direction of Luke to only get the white sprinkles to put on the American flags as stars.

Augustine's name and age are consistent topics of conversation and he patiently, manually moves his fingers to display the proper count when people inquire.  It's funny looking through the pictures at the orchard and seeing him wear the fuzzy lined boots which probably actually fit at that time.  I have attempted numerous times over the last six months to retire those boots to storage.  Augustine is able to put them on by himself and would often wake up, request to go outside, put on his boots, and, you guessed it, go play baseball.  I would ask, "don't those hurt your feet" noticing his bare feet extending beyond the measures of the boots when side by side.  After, discovering his boots anew when I did the last clothes swap for the warmer weather he insisted that they be returned to the shoe closet.  And so the activity following promptly after his opening breakfast request of "I'm hungry.  I want Apple Rounds and gummies." would include,  "Can I doe outside.  I will put on my boots. They do not hurt my feet."  before I could even respond.  Out he went at those early morning hours where I enjoyed watching him get out the baseball implements and begin his very own commentary.

More recent one liners from Augustine:

"Edamame. Edamame. Eda-daddy?"
" Are you a buck or a doe?"