Los Flemings

Sam is big into string and knots these days. He already had his own clothesline up in the back yard and lately has taken to attaching other bits of string , rope or ribbon to it. Particularly entertaining has been attaching balloons brought home from the grocery store and watching them bob in the wind.

Saturday morning at breakfast we noticed a robin near the clothesline. Suddenly she started tugging on one of the leftover balloon ribbons. Then she tried to fly away with it in her beak. After a little discussion Sam was coaxed into going outside with his scissors to cut her off a piece for her nest. He did and a little while later it was gone. The funny part is that the whole incident was repeated this morning. The (same?) robin was back for the remaining ribbon and Sam trotted out in his p.j.s with his scissors and cut another little piece off. We'll be on the lookout for her tomorrow.

It has been an eventful few weeks for the Flemings. Two weeks ago Mame got a break (two days for spring break) and we headed south. On the way to Mt. Pleasant we connected with some folks from the Lumber River Canoe Club for a day trip on the Lumber. It was a beautiful but blustery early spring day. We enjoyed the company and they tolerated a 4.5 year old companion fairly well.

Sam then spent the rest of the week in Mt. Pleasant with Grandma Maxine and Grandpa Glenn so that I could teach and Mame could get back to work on her studies. I returned to Mt. Pleasant on Thursday in time to head to the airport to collect the Durango Gals - GiGi (Sam's greatgrandmother) and Aunt Reba. We had a nice visit and returned to Cary on Sunday evening to try and get back into our routine.

Monday morning's return to Heartwood Montessori was fun. Sam was greeted like a rock star by his classmates. On Wednesday we returned to Crowder District Park for another nature class, this time on soil. When the ranger asked if anyone had a compost pile, Sam was the only one to raise his hand. But the highlight for him was getting to eat 'soil' (chocolate pudding soil, covered with graham cracker sand and topped with gummy worms). This weekend we stayed close to home and enjoyed some St. Patrick Day gatherings and time around the house.

Tuesday Sam celebrated his half birthday with his class at Heartwood. To mark the occasion his teacher laid out the months of the year around a candle representing the sun. Sam started at August with a globe and walked around the sun one time for his first year. In between stops his teacher talked about what he was doing as each year passed. After four and half trips around the class all sang happy birthday and enjoyed cupcakes and fruit snacks.