Pumpkins and Poodles

Sometime in August Myka started asking about Halloween. She saw a pumpkin somewhere and asked if we could carve pumpkins and "do Halloween". We decided to explain the timeline of the rest of the year with certain seasonal landmarks, and before we carved pumpkins the leaves had to turn colors on the trees. And before Halloween the leaves would fall down. That discussion happened daily, and when she got a grasp of that she started asking about other holidays. I remember her asking me when it would snow, and I remember saying that it wouldn't happen until after Halloween. Then Christmas would be coming and so on and so forth...

So last night we had our annual Halloween party for my Mom's group. It is always a good time and the kids dress up in their costumes and we have a potluck and there are a few games and then it's over. Yesterday was freakishly windy and cold, and we were happy that this was just our party and not the real Halloween night. As we were leaving the party it was snowing. Really snowing. Probably not much more than flurries but with the wind it was really whipping around and cold and very pretty. As we were rushing from the party to the car in the snow Myka kept saying, "Was that Halloween? Was that Halloween?" I didn't get it at first. I know she remembers trick-or-treating last year and couldn't figure out why she thought that might have been it for this year. Then she kept saying, "but it snows after Halloween." Ohhhhhhhhh. So our clever little absorbs-everything-we-say-and-takes-it-to-heart remembered our timeline and decided that if it was snowing, Halloween must be over. I convinced her that we would still go trick-or-treating on Friday and it would be much warmer. I'm not sure what will happen Christmas morning if there isn't snow on the ground this year...

And here is our little poodle and pumpkin. Both costumes purchased the day after Halloween last year at 90% off in hopes of selling them, but they have come in handy and will be worn for this year at least. I'm thinking of using Eli's for his winter bunting...

Spitting Image

I'm convinced. My kids look alike.
Eli hit the 4 month milestone this week so we are officially putting away the swing (Thanks Emily!!) and getting out the exersaucer (Thanks Sarah!). Myka loved her exersaucer and some of her best pictures from months 4-8 were taken while she was playing in it. Some of my best naps were taken while she was playing in it, too, but that's another story.
So far he has hung out for a few minutes at a time and is so overwhelmed by all the baby fun-ness that he hasn't smiled for a picture, so here is what I have and one to compare with from Myka's early saucer adventures.


So if I had the guts to put the outfit on Eli that Myka was wearing (I still have it...) and could get the lighting the same, it would be pretty close. Somewhere in there, Eli kind of looks like a boy and Myka kind of looks like a girl, but really, they are babies. And they look alike. (By the way, the title was supposed to be "Out of the swing and into the saucer" but with the drool on each of their shirts {trust me!} I had to change it!)

What a difference a year makes!

We finally had a weekend full of only things we wanted to do (that's assuming Kurt wanted to preach on Sunday...) rather than things we had to do. The highlight was Saturday, as Grandma and Grandpa "Beads" came to visit and we had plenty of time to hang out with them while Eli was in a pleasant state. They enjoyed finding ways to make him smile and giggle and spit up all over. The following move incorporated all three techniques at once...

...but the smiles on every one's faces were priceless!

After naps we spent some time carving our Halloween pumpkins. Last year Myka was all about reaching in for the guts and then sorting the seeds so we could roast them later. This year she would only reach into the pumpkin with the little spoon, and I kept hearing "I need to wash my hands". She was much more dainty and aware this year. I guess that comes with being three. We'll have to work on that... She still managed to sort a lot of seeds and we are looking forward to enjoying them later in the week.

After the inside was clean Grandpa helped Myka carve out a face with "diamond eyes". Myka got to pull out the plugs as Grandpa finished each shape.

Our group picture doesn't do the final results justice, as Kurt spent a good hour creating his masterpiece and Sarah painstakingly took over creating the oblong pumpkin face since Grandpa was a little tied up. My simple smiley guy (the one on the left) was the result of my typical habit of spending too much time thinking and then just resorting to something I've done before when time is running out. (read: Eli was getting restless.) But the other three turned out great, and here they are in all their glory later in the evening.

Now we just hope they survive the next two weeks.

A boy, a crib, and a nap

We have finally entered the nap schedule zone. I'm very happy about that, as I had a great napper the first time around and was not ready to deal with a kid who wouldn't nap. He has been napping in a swing up until last week, when he suddenly started showing real signs of tiredness (rather than just falling asleep randomly) and seemed to be much more comfortable laying on his back to play on the floor (rather than reclining on our legs or a seat of some sort). So last week we got a few random naps in the crib, and Monday it was my mission to find a schedule. We are on day 4 of wake up/eat/play/sleep cycling about every 2.5 hours. We get 3 naps of about 45 minutes a time this way, except for the one time he slept for 3 and a half hours in the afternoon.

I don't have a picture of him napping to share, as I know better than to take a flash picture of a sleeping baby. (It only took Kurt once to learn that lesson with Myka...) But our other new event for the week is rubbing his head with olive oil before the bath to loosen up the cradle cap. His hair is still thin so the picture doesn't quite show the effect, but it's fun to style while we let the oil work its magic before shampooing.

This ain't your mother's hopscotch anymore...

Inspired by Curious George. I bet you can't tell who colored the even numbers and who colored the odds.

While we were out there, I was playing with the camera and trying to bring out the orange leaves in a tree near our house. The pictures of the tree didn't work out, but I did get this fun shot of Myka on her trike. I picked a great day to put her in a pink shirt and shoes!

You're a rock star!

Today was the annual UNI alumni swim meet. Last year there were at least 30 of us and it was a great time, albeit VERY short. This year there were 7 of us and it lasted twice as long. I guess the mailing got screwed up so only a handful of people got the info, but in my personal opinion, not a lot of effort went into this and the current team could care less if it happened. Since I live right here, I of course knew about it and was excited to see who could make it. It turns out the only guy I knew I kind of keep in touch with anyway, so it really wasn't that fun. BUT - it was Eli's first swim meet, and Myka's first swim meet where she kind of paid attention, so that made it all worth it.

Myka started cheering for me from the moment I helped Kurt get settled in the bleachers and started walking toward the pool. Since the crowd was quite slim, it was not hard to hear her. I could even pick out her little voice shouting "Go Mommy!" while I was underwater during warm ups. As we were getting on the blocks for our first race I heard, "You're a rock star!" and realized Kurt was now prompting her on what to say. I was a little worried at that point, but they kept it clean. Just being allowed to shout while indoors was excitement enough for her.

Eli, along with everyone else there, didn't share quite the same enthusiasm as his sister.

He hung out for a little while, then took a nap.

Hail to the Cheese

Chuck E Cheese is a special treat for Myka. We have been there a handful of times and tried to make it tie in to something extra-ordinary so she doesn't think we can go there all the time. Right now we have a little cup that she is trying to fill up with marbles (for things like putting her shoes on when asked, spitting the toothpaste out, saying polite words, not whining, etc.) so she can go to Chuck E Cheese again. The point of the marbles was to have something to take away for what I like to call "The Three S's". Spitting. Screaming. Swearing. (Words like "poopy" and "butt" are swear words at age three...) So anyway, we still have not filled up the marble cup, and last night getting ready for bed was particularly hard so we lost quite a few marbles. Then comes today. Our mom's group has a new thing going called "Preschool Lunch Bunch" for preschoolers to get together once a month. Today, of course, was at Chuck E Cheese. I was obligated to go for a number of reasons of which I won't go into, but imagine Myka's surprise when she gets in the car after preschool and I tell her were going to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. She of course says, "because I was such a good girl?" Hmmmm. No. But we went, and luckily for me, it has turned into new motivation to get the cup filled so we can go back. She went down for her nap without a hitch!
I wasn't able to snap any photos- with coins in one hand, tickets in the other, Eli strapped to the front of me and Myka pulling on my leg to get to the next machine there wasn't much room for the camera. But we do have our traditional photo from the sketch booth that Chuck E drew for us. I don't mind the extra big smile; the fact that we both were in the shot when the camera went was a miracle in itself.


Also, I thought I would see how it goes to post a video, so here is Eli and a few giggles. This was actually a couple of weeks ago right after I found out he was ticklish. Enjoy.

So Big!

These kids are growing fast. Myka has a 4T coat that we got two weeks ago at a garage sale and it already doesn't fit. (Stupid Target small sized clothes...) Eli has some 3-6 month clothes we just hung up in his closet that make him look like we dress our boy in capri's. So I decided it's time to set this thing up so we can share with those who care about all of the things happening in our lives before we are shopping in the men's and women's departments.

Overall, things are well. Myka is in preschool and loving it. Today she even walked in by herself (from the car), which is quite a turn around from 3 weeks ago when we had to take her all the way into the classroom and she cried as we left. Here she was on her first day.

Eli is getting to be pretty fun. He giggles and talks and still cries a lot but is much more content for long periods of time. Even though he is cranky in the evenings, he always finds getting ready for bathtime hysterical, so I look forward to that every night.

Kurt and I are fine, but this site isn't really about us. :) We want to have a place for those who are wondering to check in on our little cherubs once in awhile. I'll do my best to keep up with it. Thanks for checking!