Still Growing

Do you remember the onion?

After a little while it did get kind of slimy on the bottom, start to grow things besides roots and shoots, and generally started to stink. Still, it seemed a shame to just throw our very first science experiment away, so we planted it in an abandoned pot outside the kitchen door. Do people plant onions in pots? Probably not, but it seems to be working just fine for now. I'm not really sure what our goal is, which is where our science experiment falls apart. If we're really scientists, we're supposed to have a goal in mind, right? I repeatedly asked Harper to formulate a hypothesis, but she refused.

The former first grade teacher in me really, really wants to get out a ruler and graph how tall the onion plant is growing. Sadly, if I did that, Harper and Rebound wouldn't appreciate it, and Matt would just end up with concrete evidence of how strange I am.

Harper loves to water her onion, so it is serving it's purpose, despite its uncharted growth. I will ask her, "Harper, do you want to water your onion?"

She jumps up and says, "'Mon* Mommy!" Then runs to the cabinet where we keep the watering can and tells me, "Wa-wer, wa-wer, wa-wer!" We tried watering the plant with a cup of water, but Harper mostly ended up watering her feet. She has achieved greater accuracy with the watering can.


After she waters the onion, she likes to dig in the wet soil. Then we go back inside and I spend the next fifteen minutes digging the dirt out from under her nails. This is not her favorite part of the proceedings.


Do you see how ridiculously big that is getting? It has a little bud-type thing on the top, which looks as though it may produce a flower. Are there onion flowers? I guess we'll find out.

* 'Mon is a new addition to Harper's vocabulary. It is her contraction for "come on," and, accompanied by a little waving arm, is one more tool in the arsenal of weapons she uses to rule her universe. It's so cute to hear her say, "'Mon Mommy, 'mon Daddy," that we almost always follow her. Unfortunately, Rebound, who never pays much attention when we say, "Come!" has not been one to jump up and follow when Harper says, "'Mon, Doggie." Harper, who knows she is above Rebound in the pecking order, is undaunted by his lack of obedience. She just walks over and pushes on his rear until he moves.