Gramma's Pantry

Nathan is now tall enough to open the front door.  No problem; we can lock the front door.  Andrew, not to be outdone, has learned to open all of the doors.  He can now admit himself to the pantry, where all of Gramma's good snacks hide.  There's crackers, cereal and pretzels; all within reach.  We're going to have to rearrange those shelves shortly.  At least before they discover the beer is in there, too. 

Nathan told Rebecca that he wanted to eat. He also signs it.  She asked if he wanted a snack and he agreed vigorously.  When she opened the pantry door, she found Andrew already inside the pantry in the dark.  He can't reach the light switch, but I guess he has no fear of the dark, since he didn't call for help.  "I see you had the same idea," Rebecca told Andrew.

 Ryan Joseph and the boys stayed for dinner.  Gramma had made homemade bread that Nathan tasted as we were getting dinner together.  As dinner was served, Nathan explained he wanted the bread.  Of course being health conscious adults, we all tried to explain he had to eat something else first.  He looked at us as if we had lost our hearing and very clearly said, "bread."  The adults went on with their ludicrous explanation.  Nathan looked at us as if we had all lost our minds, pointed to the bread and repeated, "bread."  By this time Gramma had him on her lap, but it obviously didn't improve her hearing. 

It makes you wonder what they think we're thinking. We've told him time and again to use his words. Nathan didn't get the message that words are powerful, but instead thinks we all have a hearing problem. Adults will tell you, "one bite" and then panic if you make it a big one. They save dessert for last, which makes no sense. They have a pantry of good food and won't let you in it. The outside is just waiting for you and they won't let you go there. They put you down for a nap, when you're clearly not tired. They put their most treasured items up high where you can't reach them.  The cat can eat whenever it wants, but they make us sit at the table and then put everything out of our reach.

Andrew taste tests Gramma's chocolate lava cakes.  It passed the test.

I often try to play or sing for them.  No matter what I want to play I must begin with "The Wheels of the Bus" if we're at the piano, "Yankee Doodle" for horseback riding and "Rock-a-Bye Baby" for the rocking chair.  It's a short repertoire list for someone in my profession.