16 months old

Leo is now 16 months old, and any new photos this month will be put in the Flickr set 17th Month.

Link to Leo photos

Don't need to add anything about Leo since the last post, but click here for more photos and videos.

2 stairs done

We also started pouring the steps going from the dining room to the kids' rooms.

We had thought about doing them all together, but the formwork would have been complicated. Instead, we figured we would do one step a day, keeping our formwork to little more than board and a backfill of sand.

We used fibers in the mix, and added metal to both the horizontal and vertical part of the step. At the end of the pour, we added dry cement, which we trowelled in to soak up excess water, and we then floated them once the concrete had hardened a little. They have come out super smooth and nice.

Each step (other than the first) will be 7.5 inches tall and 11 inches deep..

2 down, 6 to go. We're moving up.

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Posts getting done

Our progress on the kids' rooms has moved in three directions.

Firstly, we made a dry-stacked retaining wall north and uphill from the building site. At its base we dug a drainage ditch, in which we placed a 4 inch drainage pipe. We then filled the ditch in with rocks; gravel will be put on top of the rocks next week. More Photos

Secondly, we have begun to put an 8 inch layer of sand over the whole area. This will be compacted to 6 inches right before we pour the foundations for the walls. We will then fill in the rooms with more sand, up to the top of the foundations. Most of the rooms are covered, other than close to the northern posts, as we have been working on those, and sand would have gotten in the way.

Thirdly, we begun pouring the posts that will support the roof, which we are building before the walls. We have poured 3 of the 4 northern posts, and halfway up on 3 of the 4 southern posts – these must be done in two stages. We did these posts using black plastic stapled to wooden posts. They come out round, and one of them in particular came out super funky, as we didn't put enough staples in and the plastic started to separate from the boards. Oh well, funky kinda fits here! More photos

New Water Tank

This week we set up our new 1000 gallon tank. That totals 2400 gallons, and will be more than sufficient to last us until next year's rains, by which time we will hopefully have built our 7000 gallon ferro-cement tank.

We made it on 1400 gallons from the rains of last summer until this June (we do usually get a little rain in winter, but not this past year), but only just. We were two days away from having to haul water. Admittedly we weren't using our own water for construction, which we brought in from the village.

This is more storage than we have ever had before, and we love it. The only drawback is that we had a ton of rain this weekend, which all overflowed onto the ground. And since we installed the tank on Tuesday, we have had little more than a drizzle!! Oh well, it'll come.

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Gardens/chickens/worms

This year has mainly been dedicated to building, so we have not had as much time as we would have liked to work on the food systems. Next year we plan to mainly focus on this, with the additions of fish ponds, rabbit tractors, and planting trees, as well as increasing our gardens.

However, we did still plant our garden once the rains started. The soil is so much richer than when we first started – it has grown from clumpy clay to a rich, dark, crumbly soil, all through the addition of compost and mulch. So far we have been eating squash, green beans, collards, cabbage, herbs. We have turnips, beans, corn, beets and various other things growing. (more photos)

We have also started a worm bin. At the moment we are feeding them and letting their population increase. Once we have a lot more, we will start adding them to the garden, the humanure pile and feeding them to the chickens.

We did have some chicks this year, but disaster struck. The mama hen had made her nest outside of the coop, so we did not put her up at night with the other chickens. She hatched her eggs, but was then killed by a predator. We saved two of the chicks. Abe built them a chicken tractor. This is a movable pen, so that they get to graze one area, and then before they do any damage we move the pen. They seem very happy in there and we hope to buy some more chicks to keep them company. (more photos)

16th Month

Leo is now 15 ½ months and a handful! For the most part, he is a happy, adventurous, curious, funny child. However his teeth are popping out left, right and center and he really suffers from them. We can tell when a new tooth is pushing through, as it is preceded by a swollen, blood-blistered gum. Poor little guy.

He prefers to spend most of his time outside, running barefoot all over our rocky, muddy hill. He is also delighted to be taken for walks in his sling. He'll let you know when he wants a walk (not always when you might want one!!!) by getting his hat, your hat and the sling, and then waiting impatiently for you to get your shit together.

He loves all animals. He makes noises for cows, dogs, chickens and bugs, and start trotting up and down when he sees a horse. And he'll often bend down on all fours (but without the knees touching the ground) and walk around like that saying “booooooo” - his word for moooo! He loves to play with bugs, but he will come and get your hand and make you touch one before he will.

He also loves water. He drinks more water than any child on the planet. He will shout “wa wa” as soon as he sees a bucket, a puddle, a river, and now even when the clouds look fit to bursting, and then he runs over to it and puts as much of his body in it as possible. He has been in the river, but not very deep. If we get some free time soon, we want to take him swimming in the river. He has never been swimming before, as this is the only time of the year when the water is warm enough for him, and we just haven't had much time.

Music is another one of his favorites. He will dance at any sound of music, and he has even started to sing!!!

His dexterity is getting much better. He can spend a long time screwing on and unscrewing bottle tops, and lids of all kinds. He can put all the shapes in the holes, though often needs you to point out which one to try. He can put the different size rings on their post. Anything that he feels is beyond him (like opening a door), he will not hesitate to grab your hand and lead you to the obstacle for you to try.

Food has always been a strong point for Leo. He now eats pretty much what we eat, even loving chile colorado! He can eat fruit all day long, as well as yogurt.

As far as language skills go, he doesn't yet say that many words. He does however understand English and Spanish equally, and we are curious as to how that will affect him as he adds new words to his vocabulary.

He loves his playtime rough. The higher you throw him and the faster you spin him, the louder he laughs. This does not bode well for the future peace of mind of his mother!!!

The thing that always amazes us is his sense of humor. He loves to laugh and make you laugh, which is normal with babies. What seems to be unusual is the quality of his jokes. He is genuinely funny, even at an adult's standards, and he seems to know when a joke has been thrashed.

On the downside, he is starting to throw little tantrums, especially when he is tired. He'll stomp his feet and scream, when he can't have something he wants. Abe says we should lock him up in the chicken coop when he behaves like that, and perhaps he has a point!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, it's the age for it, I guess. As he communication improves, we hope the tantrums will too, but we fear we are only just getting a taste of what is to come. Small price to pay I guess for this beautiful, little boy.

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