I used to always prune and trellis toms but it is a lot of work and I'm tired of it. For the last few years I have been letting them ramble unpruned in large cages. I get the 10'x5' concrete slab mesh (I guess that is what they are calling CRW) from the lumberyard. All one has to do is roll the two ends together and hook the wire and you have a large cage of six-inch mesh heavy wire 5'high. The diameter is big enough that I just set the cage on the ground and that's it. If it will be exposed to possible high wind with a big plant on it then I put a couple stakes at the bottom to prevent flipping over. They cost about $7 apiece around here (probably cheaper most places) and will last a long time. It also comes in 100' rolls, which may be cheaper and in my experience is a heavier gauge and is a bit difficult to deal with. You need heavy bolt-cutters to cut it and the snap-back can be dangerous. Unroll it a bit at a time on a large flat area and pin down one end with heavy weight and stand on the other end while cutting.

To see if there is time, check the days to maturity and compare them to your last frost date. For most varieties there is probably time in your zone -- I just planted my winter squash here in zone 7. The true, Dills Atlantic Giant, as raised by giant pumpkin hobbiests, takes an intimidating 10-12feet square though they can be planted in smaller spaces and get smaller pumpkins. More normal pumpkins can be planted in the center of a 3x3 foot square though you can expect the vines to run out further than that. I don't know about other places, but around here it seems fashionable for the professional landscapers to plant a long-vined pumpkin or winter squash in the flower beds to use the large leaves as a dramatic accent and a background for the colorful flowers. If there isn't time for the giant variety this year there is probably still plenty of time for a smaller choice and the giant seeds should still be good next year. :-) Pumpkins are very easy to grow, but they're heavy feeders so you'll want to work plenty of compost into the planting hill and to feed it a couple times during the growing season.

Lyfia, at the age of 3, children generally do not have more than one friend at once. It is normal. Sometimes they do not even have one friend-- they still do a lot of parallel play where they are not necessarily interacting with each other. The advice of others to focus on polite behavior is the best. I have found that some children truly are born more empathetic tendencies than others. However, even children who are more attuned to the feelings of others will NOT always translate this into behavior at certain ages. I would focus on giving specific suggestions-- wave at your friend, greet her by saying "Hello," etc. Not too many, though! Then, you can roleplay with her dolls or stuffed animals. If she follows through on your suggestions, avoid telling her you're proud, or "good job" or other comments that focus on your judgment. Instead, you can say things like, "Your friend looks so happy that you said 'hello'!" or just, "You waved at your friend!" Regarding following and not leading-- I have found that this is something you can't really change. People tend to be born leaders or born followers. In certain situations, however, people do change . . .the child who may be "slow to warm" may shine during a solo on stage and run the show, but let others make decisions during play. What I do is (selectively) ask the other child (who is not leading) what they would like to do/offer the child a few choices. Then, I am modeling for the "leader" children what it's like to listen. One note-- I used to think of my DD as bossy until I read an article saying that people generally only refer to as girls this way. Boys are assertive, and girls are bossy. Changed my perspective!

I have read this whole thread as my son is also having similar problems. He didn't crawl till after 1, he didn't walk till later, he always made gibberish sounds with little words. He didn't start putting words in sentences till he was almost 4 and its still only a few words. He has a small attention span unless its something hes really interested in. To get him to cease doing an activity usually results in him getting very upset over it and us having difficulty calming him down. He can get rather loud and hysterical. He will keep doing behaviours he has been told specifically not to. Of a morning before we are up he will just screech & make bird noises out the window, he makes beeping noises like his grandfathers van that backs out and throws things & just general bad behaviour until we get up. If you ask him a question he will just repeat a couple words back of the question at times, if its one he knows hell answer. He had trouble making choices he will decide one and then when given that he will want the other and get upset over not getting it. He will say hello to people, look at them and us and smile and laughs, sometimes he just gets the giggles. I don't know how to toilet train him, he goes to school next year and he just doesn't know when he needs to go, he will pee if put on the toilet but that's it, there's no regularity to when he goes. He loves to sing & do action songs like clapping etc, loves TV, he knows and recognises both numbers and the alphabet, knows shapes, colours, knows his name and can spell it as well as his Nan's and pops and dads. He cannot write it, doesn't take an interest in drawing can draw a circle and a line and the letter L but that's about it. He has been attending daycare since before he was 1 as he is an only child and we have no friends with children and don't go out a lot. They referred us to a speech, physio and OT therapist who he has seen a few times a year. He is progressing but very slowly, he is way behind other children. They also put him into an early intervention group to try and get him ready for school, he loved the activities, he loves being around other kids he just doesn't interact with them. They find him strange. He has now been referred to a team to see if he is on the spectrum, they have done a part evaluation of him and are referring him to a developmental psychologist in January before deciding their diagnosis. He also has trouble with toe walking and W sitting. He refused to feed himself off and on for awhile until i took to counting to 5 and if he hadnt taken a mouthfull I put him straight to bed without finishing, he now eats his food thank godness for now especially if mummy starts counting. This is all new to me, I am a first time mum, I was an only child and also used to toe walk so did my mother. I have little experience in knowing what's normal for kids at what age so this has been tough. Its been tough realising that a lot of parents are having conversations with their kids by now and telling them things and are able to teach them things about the world etc and I have never had that communication with my son. Yes I am afraid of what putting a label on my son will do but I don't feel qualified to help him alone. I am worried about his future and am hoping he will continue to develop. He is a happy little boy mostly he loves to smile and laugh and sing. He loves cars and trains and anything electronic, going out anywhere is a great time for him. He has no problem with strangers or new environments, he loves to explore and learn how things work. Just don't leave him with a book or a picture as he will rip it up in tiny pieces even though he's been told repetitively not to. When he was younger he used to like opening and closing doors.