Goodbye to Ohio- Henry.

Last week, papa had to head back to South Carolina to work (and try to salvage what was left of mama's garden under a blanket of weeds). We decided to stay in Ohio where the humidity wasn't as "thick as gravy," to use a southern parlance.

As usual, we all ganged up on Aunt Girl.

June started her own tickle war.
Sadie came up and we had a good time running around. This is a blurry shot, but Sadie looks so happy in it.

It wouldn't be a Cooper party without costumes. Aunt Kate stood behind mama to crack us up and we got maybe the best shots that has every been taken of the Turner kids.

We can't decide which is better.

Henry and Sadie showed their own unique brand of love, which involves hugging until you choke. June learned her lesson and hot far away when the hugging started. Sadie learned quickly the best way to upset June was with constant hugging. But I think she meant well.

After supper, Grams promised a campfire. I asked about 85,000 times if it was time, then waited in my chair by the fire ring when mama threatened to send me to bed.

Aunt Girl rounded up the girls and we were ready for some fire!

As usual, June was mad when boundaries were enforced to keep the kids from getting burned. Nobody puts Junie in a lawn chair.

The sight of marshmallows helped calm her down.

The s'mores were delicious (or "da-wish-us" as June says).

I'm surprised mine was melted at all because I declared it finished 10 seconds after I put it on the stick.

Somebody gave Sadie an extra gooey marshmallow and she ate the whole thing with her fingers.

Get away from the s'more thief, June!

On Thursday, we were going to go to the park, but rain kept us indoors. Luckily, the Marion Mall has a great indoor playground. It kept us entertained for a while. June liked hugging the foam flowers and running in circles. I practiced my climbing skills and made it all the way around this big tree. We had lunch at our favorite Marion Mexican restaurant- El Campesino- and loaded up the car to head to Indiana and Aunt Jenni's house.

All about Junie- Mama.

I feel like I should take some time out and talk about June for a post. There's some debate about whether it is possible to get any cuter thank she is right now.

June is either incredibly, ecstatically happy or inconsolably sad. When she's happy, she's running in place and giggling (like when she sees another person for the first time in over two minutes). When she's sad, she's collapsed on the floor shedding big sad tears (like tonight when mama told her she couldn't have any more ham until she ate her peas).

Everyone is June's best friend. As Grams Cracker says, June wouldn't just go somewhere with a stranger, she'd leave holding their hand. Everyone is greeted with June running in place (like she's working up speed), a big hug, and a a loud welcome. She calls all women "Mommy," all men "Papa," all little girls "Sadie," and all boys "Bubba." It makes it pretty easy for her this way. Except she does get a little confused by Mister Anthony's enormous hair and has called him "Mommy" a few times.

Though it seems odd, I'd rather leave the house with both June and Henry instead of just June. You can guarantee that June will refuse to sit in a shopping cart and will always run away as soon as she gets a chance. Henry is always very helpful and willing to run after her and hold her hand. June also has to wear her pink squeaky shoes at all times so when she does run away, we can figure out which direction she went. (Henry is quick to tell the story of how she got away from me in the Walmart, only to be found 50 feet away trying to climb a shopping cart to see a baby in a car seat. Hence, the squeaky shoes became mandatory.)

The first night we got to Marion, we lost track of June. Turns out she had wandered into the bathroom, closed the door, and opened all of the drawers in front of the door. We couldn't get the door open, but could crack it open enough to see in the mirror that she wasn't drowning in the toilet or playing with razor blades. We sat there for 15 minutes trying to get her to close the drawers. We were only successful when Brandon came in and told June it was supper time. At the mention of food, she immediately closed all the drawers and opened the door. Stinker.

Since we came to Ohio, June has developed a love of horsies. It's all she thinks about. Annalise was very kind to let her play with some of her horsies when we were in Carmel. Grandma Seibert still has all of my old My Little Ponies from when I was a kid. Plus, Natalie composed a song called "Horsie Girl" to sing to June to keep her happy. What else could a girl need?

Despite the fact that she refused to talk for so long, June's language has really blossomed. It's like the joke Great Grandpa Parsons tells about the kid who never talks, but suddenly says "The meat is dry and the potatoes are lumpy." She didn't say anything because up until now things have been going well for her. She still babbles quite a lot, but can string many words together when she wants something (and can really let you know when you've done something wrong). She can name almost every animal (I didn't even knew she knew her animals), name body parts, and can count to 26. (Do we have another child with "The Knack?") And because she's lucky enough to hang out with older kids has picked up quite a few catch phrases: "Hey guys!" "That's mine!" "Oh no!" "Give it back!" She also has developed a very cute habit of apologizing for everything. If she trips and falls: "Sorry." If she drops a toy: "Sorry." She'll apologize for almost anything- except if she's in time-out and actually does need to apologize. Then she goes completely mute for hours on end.