All in the Timing

Good news! Cubby has gotten over whatever sulkiness resulted in his refusal to go outside. Bad news! He wants to be outside CONSTANTLY. Come rain or snow or gloom of night.

I think he's in training to be a mailman.

ANYWAY.

So when Cubby (predictably) asked to go outside at 8:30 this morning, I was not surprised. I was, however, reluctant. To say the least. It was 29 degrees with a thirty-mile-an-hour wind. And snow. So I said we weren't going to play outside this morning. Maybe after his nap.

But I had a distraction planned! It was a sure thing! He would love it!

"Hey, Cubby! Want to help me plant pepper seeds?"

"Hot peppers?"

"No, bell peppers."

"Oh. No! MEOW."

That was him transforming into a hyper-aggressive cat that goes around "catching mice," which is really just a euphemism for "run around maniacally shrieking MEOW and scratching the floor." The cat also tried to catch  me--the Mommy Mouse--this morning, before I put a stop to that particular variation on this not very pleasant game.

ANYWAY AGAIN.

Fast-forward two (LOOONG) hours. By 10:45 a.m., Charlie was down for his second nap of the day and Cubby was almost ready for his nap. So he was calmer. And more agreeable to mundane gardening tasks that do not involve shrieking and menacing.

First he helped me moisten the soil:

Spray bottles are about the most popular small-person toy ever, FYI.

Followed by intense mixing:

Dirt of any kind is also a hit.

And carefully spooning the soil into the small cells:

It's like making filthy, inedible muffins or something!

He also helped me drop the seeds into the cells, but I don't have a picture of that because I was too busy down there with him making sure the tiny seeds actually made it to their intended destination. And then he spooned some more soil on top and we were done.

He asked to help plant tomato seeds after his nap. It's snowing again. I think that could be arranged.