Happy Halloween!

We love Halloween. We love walking around to our neighbors' houses, showing off our cute kids, chit chatting one last time before the long cold winter shuts us all indoors. We love handing out candy to all the rap scallions that come to our door. We love sorting through the loot and finding our favorite treats. How can you not love Halloween?

Jim wanted me to stay back and hand out candy with Mia this year, but I just couldn't miss watching the boys' excitement as they partake in the festivities, so we all went. Mia was wrapped up, literally snug as a bug. She was so cozy, she fell asleep in my arms as we walked.

We started out at our neighbor, Linda's, house. Evan actually even said, "Trick or Treat." Owen was so excited he was always a door ahead of the rest of us.

Evan liked to build a relationship with his candy giver. He would tell the homeowner about his baby sister or what his costume was (as if you can't tell) and he'd even help them shut their door. The older gentleman that lives in this house got a huge kick out of Evan. I don't think either could understand the other, but Evan jabbered on until finally the guy shut the door.

After we hit all the best haunts in our neighborhood, we trick or treated over to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Mia was showing off her newest trick: SMILING! Not the best picture, but you can kind of tell what she's trying to do.

Jim and I were invited to a Halloween Party, so Connie and Neil were nice enough to watch the boys. The boys were thrilled to end their night building towers taller than them, watching movies, and having a popcorn picnic.

And then it was off to our favorite Halloween Party. Anna's old college buddy, Robert, has been having Halloween parties for years. This year, they said kids were welcome. Anna and Paul were taking Charlie, so we decided to bring Mia. B.K. (Before Kids) we loved to party at Robert's until the wee hours and then take a cab home because there would be no way we could drive. Now we love Robert's because we can chill out, talk to other adults, eat food we didn't make, and relax while other people entertain our kids... and we entertain theirs!

"Psst. I think they're serving pea soup."

Mia and Charlie had their own photo shoot tonight. They were the center of attention. Poor Adam, who recently had knee surgery, held Mia so long his leg got stiff! Adam was dressed as Death. I think he took off his mask for Mia's sake. And Gina? She didn't even know what she was, but she looked fabulous!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Costume Party

Since I've been a stay at home mom, I've always hosted a Halloween Party for my Moms' Group. I love making spooky snacks, decorating the house, planning games, and the general chaos that happens when you get 15 moms + kids in a small space. But this year, due to the cute little caterpillar seen here, I just could not manage to host a costume party. I made a plea to the group for another volunteer. Lucky for us, a mom accepted the challenge. Our friend Shannon has a smaller space, so the playdate was less chaotic and more cozy. Although, from her point of view, I bet it felt like total chaos.

There was a line up of babies at the playdate and all of them were little siblings. Deprived of baby playdates due to their older siblings, these neglected babes sat in their car seats and were passed from mom to mom or left to chill out on the floor while the rest of us chased, fed, and cleaned up after the more mobile children. Mia's little buddy here, is Issac. He is also the youngest of three with two older sisters, who my boys happen to love playing with. Issac was born two days before Mia. How is it that two 1 month olds can give you so much attitude? Look at those faces!

Shannon went all out for the party. There were decorations, creepy crafts...

She even had a haunted basement. Who is that under the covers!?!? I think it's her mother in law.*

We also played games. Evan helped me set up the bowling pins for Gourd Bowling.

Bowling on the Wild Frontier!

THANKS SHANNON, ELLA, & NOAH!!!

*Shannon's mother in law from India stayed with them most of the summer. That was actually her room.

A Better Bath

Well, it took several tries, but after almost a month, Mia has finally learned to enjoy her bath. She still didn't love it when Jim used the sprayer to hose down her head, but who would?

I can't believe she's already almost a month old. Just in the past two days, she starting to fill out and be more alert.

Here's a profile shot. As you can see, she does not have my nose. Unfortunately Jim and I both hate our noses.

This one is for Ya-ya and Bumpa who have only seen her once briefly since she was born. Just an FYI for those who aren't as smitten with Mia as we are, it's a full minute of her squirming around on her pack n play changing table. At the end she shows off her first skill: cooing! There's also a nice shot of her adorable dimples, coutesy of Grandma Connie.

Trick or Treating with the Seniors

Jim's mom comes to help me out on Tuesdays so that both boys can get a little more individual attention. Today I took Evan and Mia to a senior living complex in Highland Park. There, we met about 20 other moms from our Moms Group for trick or treating. This is an event I've done every year (minus one) since Owen was a baby.

Evan was thrilled to see his friend Teo (A.K.A. Elmo). There aren't a lot of boys in our group that are Evan's age and he usually ends up playing with Owen's friends. It is really nice to have this time with him so I can help him make his own friends.

Some of the seniors really get into the spirit and even dress up themselves! I think Evan was worried this baker was contemplating making a pumpkin pie!

Evan has really been interested in witches this year. This one was doubly neat since her witch hat was like a pumpkin. She was surrounded by pumpkin decorations and had a tray full of candy and pencils. Evan kept trying to give the pencil back to her, but he loved her decorations. He even tried to take some with us!

I just love the look on this grandfriend's face. She just adored the kids. This is why I love this event. The seniors are just happy to see the kids.

After we went to all the rooms on our list, the activities coordinator had juice and coloring sheets for us in the community room. Evan and I had such a nice time and Mia slept in the sling the whole visit.
When we got home, Connie had taken Owen to preschool, so Evan got some one on one Grandma time. They made a pile of leaves for him to hide in. After preschool, Owen went to Auntie Gina's for an overnight, so Evan got even more individual attention. He's never eaten such a good dinner! I so grateful to have some special time with him.

Silly Mia

Mia is 3 weeks old now. They change so fast when they are this little, I wanted to take her picture today. So, I propped her up on the couch and snapped away.

About 3 seconds later, she was slouched down and cross eyed. I love that newborn look where they can't quite focus their eyes on what's going on. It's so silly. Reminds me of a couple other babies I knew.

Like this one.
(Owen - about 3 weeks old)

And this one.
(Evan - 3 days old)

Luckily Evan can focus his eyes now because he has a very important role as a big brother. He needs to make his baby sister warm and cozy. Well, at least for the 20 seconds that he will hold her.

Last night we got to see Charlie again. He's not totally cross eyed here, but I just had to take a picture of him. He is one of the most alert little babies I've ever seen.

Halloween Spooktacular!

Saturday night we went to the Children's Museum with our friends the Yeagers and the Knights for a Halloween Spooktacular Party. We spent some time in the Carnival Games room. Evan caught a lot of magnetic fish, but kept refuses the candy prize. I guess he didn't feel like this little pink fish was prize-worthy.

Owen showed off his natural talent for gourd bowling.

Evan flirted severely with a princess in the art room.
Evan loves the art room. Tonight he was burying plastic scorpions in some orange flakey stuff. Owen and his friends were not impressed. They went off with the Dads to drive the bus in the "Our World" room.

Meanwhile, Mia the Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar practiced hibernating.

Alex was dressed up as a Policeman, Owen Y. was a Transformer, and our Owen was a Frontiersman, or as he calls himself, "a white settler." He really wanted to be a Native American, but we explained to him that Native American people may not like him to dress up like them. He has moved on from the Titanic and is currently obsessed with the Dakota Indians, buffalo hunts, and the impact of settlers on the Native Americans and the buffaloes.

Well, we saw two kids dressed up as Native Americans tonight. Owen just stared at them and I knew the wheels were turning. When we got home he said, "I think it was OK for them to dress up like Indians because there weren't any brown people there." It was a completely innocent comment, but I just cringed. Why couldn't he just be a transformer or a police officer?

We spent a lot of time in the "Out on a Limb" room. Nobody was in this room for most of the time, except us. The boys had the run of the tree house. Here Owen is telling his friends how the game is going to be played. I tried to interrupt because I thought he was being bossy, but the other two yelled, "Noooooo. He's trying to tell us what to do!" Uh, O.K. My mistake?

Recently, Owen has taken to talking a lot with his hands. He is fascinated, much as I am, with sign language and he gestures whenever he's explaining something. This gesturing is usually accompanied with a slightly condescending tone of voice. He likes to be the authority on a lot of different topics (such as Native American tribes and their traditions) and is completely serious about it.

Evan and I were entranced by this wind tunnel. First, you're suppose to rake up the leaves. Then, you put them in this tube and they are suppose to make a whirlwind up to the top, but Evan and mine kept spitting out the side. He had much more patience for it than I did and kept trying long after I went off to explore other stations in the room.

Jim got pretty involved trying to create a structure with branches and PVC plumbing. This was as big as it got before it came crashing down. We did learn, as if we didn't know already, that we are not a handy family.

Making music out of sounds in nature was much more Jim's speed.

Meanwhile the moms sat on the bench and chatted.

And Mia slept through it all!

Pumpkin Painting & Apple Orchard

This morning I took Evan to a playdate where the kids could paint their own pumpkin. It was great having some one on one time with Evan. He is my little artist. He loves to color, paint, and create. He had paint on all sides of this pumpkin, made big white, sharp teeth, and then added embellishments.

Evan has always had to tag along to whatever we did with Owen. There haven't been many kids his age in the moms group. Today was a nice chance for him to play with other kids around his age.
After the playdate, I rushed home, picked up Owen and Mia and headed over to Dodge for their Apple Orchard trip. We took a wagon ride across the property to the orchard. Owen was moody because there was so much goose poop in the orchard. Plus, he doesn't eat fruit, so this annual trip was, well, less than "fruitful" for him. He did take notes about how to make cider, though, in his new notebook (just like Jack & Annie.) I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh squeezed cider.

I had several pictures of them making the cider and picking the apples (none of which Owen would help with) but somehow they were lost on my camera.

After the apples, we headed back past the old Dodge House to the wagon. In front of the house is the biggest cottonwood I have ever seen. The kids tried to wrap their arms around it, but couldn't.
The ride back was beautiful. Mia slept in the sling the whole time.

When we got back to the playground area, the class made their daily list outside. Each child contributes one thing that they did each day. Today Owen's was, "Saw the geese take off." Now, it was pretty cool. About 20 geese less than 20 feet away, suddenly taking flight, their wings beating loudly against the air. However, I think he contributed this part of the day because he thought it would put an end to the poop he was carefully maneuvering around like he was walking through a land mine.

Whoa. Wait. Who is this child wedged between two girls? Is he flirting? The little girl on the right's name is Erin. She is 4 1/2 and about as tall as Owen. I thought he had a little crush on her. But this other little girl has a big brother in their same class. Owie better watch out.

Mia's First Bottle

Evan never took a bottle. I nursed for 15 months. I think we tried to late. It was busy after he was born. There was Thanksgiving and Christmas and two funerals before the New Year. I was determined that Mia would take a bottle, so we gave it a go tonight. She's awesome. She loved the bottle, she takes a Nuk, she is a great baby!

Evan had been having a bit of a hard time adjusting. It may have been the change in routine with Daddy giving all the care instead of Mommy. It may have been the fact that he is almost three and that's how three year olds are. It may have been confusion about whether he's the big brother or the little brother, when in fact he now is both. Whatever it is or was, he is starting to find his groove. He wants to help more and more and when we go places now, he tells people, "That's my new baby sister!"

That is one very supported bottle and one very loved little girl.

Polly's Pumkin Parade

This week we received a flyer in our door inviting us to the 2nd annual Polly's Pumpkin Parade and Fall Festival at Polly's Coffee Cove which was only two blocks from our house. Kids were invited to come give their costumes a trial run.

It was Mia's first stint outside. The weather has been rainy, snowy and cold since she was born. We took the kids in their wagon. Well, Mia spent most of the time in the sling.

The "parade" was just around the block, but it was fun to see all the kids in their costumes. There were several pumpkins and princesses, a Dracula girl with major fangs, a witch who won Evan's heart, and an army soldier with a pop gun that had every boy's envy.

When we got done with the parade, there was a costume contest. Each kid was given a unique award for various costume categories. Owen got the Roadrunner Award for Fastest Costume... apparently frontiermen are very fast. Mia , who was a caterpillar, got MacGyver Award for Most Ingenious costume... just the fact that she's 2 weeks old and in a costume makes her ingenious I guess. And Evan received the EastSide Idol Award for Most Talented Costume. I'm not sure if his costume is talented, but he would be my child that would end up on American Idol.

Our neighboring grid, Grid 34, is organized by a 3M retiree gone community organizer: Larry Simpson. He purchases this old police vehicle and received permission to put lights on top and paint Community Watch on the side. He patrols the neighborhood late at night, trying to keep gangs and vandalizers out of our alleys.

Back to the party, even adults dressed up. This bird head is the front end of an inflatable ostrich, which was meant to look like a guy was riding it. The kids kept punching the bird. Sort of sad, but they thought it was hilarious. Evan was enamoured with both the kids and the costume.

Robin Hood and Maid Marion, AKA Lori and Brian, live across the street from us and are responsible for organizing the parade. They made the awards, bought the treats, and took photos of each child, which they printed out on the spot and gave them to each kid.

A group shot before we all said goodbye.