And now for someone completely different

Both Hannah and Naomi were petrified of the vacuum cleaner for a long time. So much so that when I went to get a new one, I specifically researched quieter vacuum cleaners so they wouldn't have to run screaming when they saw me get out the vacuum. They're still not that fond of it, and both remind me when I'm vacuuming that I shouldn't vacuum them up. The physics of that maneuver still elude me, so I can safely promise not to do so.

Simeon, on the other hand, is fascinated by the vacuum, and not in a bad way -- he loves it. He follows me around (with his little combat crawl) while I vacuum, and when I set the thing down, he sees his chance and moves in. He LOVES it when I vacuum. And he likes the noise, too.



I've been having to vacuum more often now that he's combat crawling everywhere, both because that way he doesn't sweep quite so much dust up with his outfits, and because he's discovered that his sisters drop food on the rug under the table, so that's his first stop on his daily combat crawling rounds of the house. Aargh. Despite efforts to keep it cleaner, he seems to find something tasty to put in his mouth...sometimes just a piece of paper, but HEY! it's fun to eat paper.



Maybe the reason he loves the vacuum so much is that it quickly and efficiently gets all of that stuff that he wants and I either clean up first or take away from him.



He wants to know its secret.