Hard up for entertainment

Keeping Juniper occupied is more than just a pastime, it is the pastime. Juniper is getting old enough to want to always explore, interact, engage--but environmental limitations like short legs, limited coordination, and (mostly) this endless winter do put a damper on her adventures. When last summer ended, Juniper was still only crawling. Now that she's walking and climbing, she feels her birthright to play outside, and asks to go out all the time. She lacks a working knowledge of http://www.weather.com and, by extension, the knowledge that the temperature is still in the negative double digits at times. Outside exploration is limited.

Enter Mom and Dad. We're often amazed both at what does and does not interest her. Interest her: Walking. Not interest her: Being carried, even when it's well below freezing outside and Dad really wants to go in. Interest her: Books. Not interest her: The same books (when in church). Interest her: crackers in a box. Not interest her: nearly identical homemade crackers. Interest her: Washing the dishes. Interest her: Blowing a piece of fuzz. Interest her: a ten minute long video of an orchestra performing Rossini's William Tell Overture. Interest her: Touching the on/off light on the computer. Interest her: A screwdriver. Interest her: A battery. Interest her: A pen. Not interest her: Going to bed.


Junie with a feather (look closely), Dad's hand (lower right) and Mom (not pictured). She will watch us blow a feather around for ten or fifteen minutes at a time.
Our second worst enemy (after winter) is diaper rash. See if you can figure out what this jovial young lady is wearing before continuing.

Jennie created a diaper contraption that would both save Junie from diaper rash and save our carpets from Junie. It consists of two diapers, a handful of safety pins, a pair of suspenders, and a small piece of yarn.

Moms and Dads need wintertime entertainment too.