Our New Toy

Dillon, Jennilyn, Ruth & Irene

One of our neighbor's was selling this wagon which is in great shape!  The kids have loved it!  Right now it is full with all the horses and ponies and barbies!

Slice of Life # 29 ~ Toys

This apple is going to be 40 years old in just a couple of years.  My husband has had this apple since he was a baby (he will be 38 in March).  I didn't take a picture of the back of this apple but it is warped a little there.  But the thing still works great!  There is a story behind this.  When Dan was 2 his dad was away with the Air Force and his mom was staying with Grandma Rene (her mom) and she was about ready to give birth to his little brother Brian.  His parents had a really bright light for their camera, and Dan found it and plugged it in.  He started the bedroom on fire.  This was the only toy of his that survived.  Everything else in the room was gone.  They went and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Burke until after Brian was born.  When Brain and Sarah had their first child Nathan, Mom Burke gave this to them and told them when Dan finally gets married and starts having kids, it belongs to him.  Brian and Sarah passed it on to Marsha when she had John and gave her the same instructions.  When we went out to Minnesota for Grandpa Burke's funereal, I was only 7 weeks pregnant with Dillon, but Marsha brought it with her and gave it to us.  The kids have had a ball with it.  Mom Burke even found another one for at her house too!  Thanks Mom for saving it for Dan to pass on to his kids!


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Here's a picture of Dillon with a toy apple from his father's youth. I was given this toy as part of my inheritance from my mom. This particular apple survived a fire when I was but a little boy. A fire that I started by plugging in the lamp for my parents' movie camera. The lamp got real hot and started the bed it was lying upon on fire.... but, that's not a story of Dillon's youth. That is the story of the toy apple. It is a little warped in the back, the only visible damage. The toy still wobbles upright and rings like it should.

Having been through all my brothers and sisters, and two cousins before him, the apple is now Dillon's to play with. At four months old, Dillon is starting to take a greater interest in the world around him. He did seem to enjoy pushing the apple around when this picture was taken.

Yesterday, he was thrilled to get a walk outside in the rain. I used a front carrier to free up some hands for the umbrella.... It was a good walk.

What I find interesting is his interest in mom and dad's food. While he doesn't seem to like baby cereal, he does frequently make grabs after any food that mom is eating and stares at either of us when we are eating. Yesterday, Netty let him "gum" her sandwich in between her bites. He got upset when she would take the sandwich away from him to take her next bite. And last night, he stared at us as we ate spaghetti. He even pulled Netty's plate closer to himself. She pulled it back away and we told him that this is a food that doesn't quite work with "gumming." I don't think he understood us. Then again, he is only four months old.

We do love Dillon. We just have to wonder what we are going to do for introducing him to solid foods over the next year. He doesn't even have teeth yet, and he's already after our food and not showing interest in baby cereal.