Picnics and Stranger Danger

The last few days we've had fabulous weather. In fact yesterday the kids were complaining that it was too hot. We enjoyed eating outside on the grass at the school and the kids got to run around a little too. Some of the other kids from the preschool started coming a little early just so they could play outside with us for a few minutes.



Eating our old staple – [natural] peanut butter & [fruit only] jelly on whole wheat.

Kathryn loved running around with the big kids. She wants to do everything that her older siblings do.

Even little David got some sun, but he didn't like it shining in his eyes. The fresh air was good for him though.

His eyes are starting to look more blue and more like Joseph's. He does smile, but I can't seem to catch it on camera.

Here are all FOUR of my silly little kids.

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Sadly, today the weather was much cooler, windy, and cloudy. That meant that we didn't get to have a picnic outside for lunch. We went to the home of some kids from the preschool who live near the school. (They have two boys, ages 3 and 5). Sarah immediately ran upstairs to explore the house. Joseph eventually followed her so he wouldn't miss any of the action. A few minutes later, Sarah came downstairs. Soon I heard Joseph crying, or rather screaming. He was frozen with fear at the top of the stairs with his back in a corner. He wouldn't move when the friends' mom tried to help him come down – he just screamed at her (it reminded me of the kind of reaction a truly terrified animal would have). I had to go up there and walk down with him. He said that he was scared because Sarah left him "alone" up there. He doesn't know these friends very well – we've never done anything with them outside of school before today. Joseph is very wary of strangers and always cautious in new or unfamiliar situations.

Sarah is the opposite: she will talk to ANYONE and has no fear of new places or situations. I think she is somewhat clueless about how dangerous her careless wanderings can be. We have talked to her about not talking to strangers, staying close to Mom or Dad when we're out, etc. etc. but it hasn't had much effect. Last week she tried to leave her school in the middle of class time. The teacher heard her go and caught her just a few steps out the door in the parking lot. Sarah said that she wanted to go home, so she "just decided to leave".

The jury is still out on Kathryn. I think that she is going to be more like Joseph than Sarah, though she does have a more outgoing personality when she's in her element; she still gets shy around strangers and doesn't ever venture far from her mama. From the day the Sarah learned to walk, she's been hard to keep in check. She'll run toward anything that looks exciting or interesting without any thought of danger or other consequences.