Halloween 2012

A dinosaur and a doll.

 

 

We took Oliver J. out for his first Trick or Treating experience.

 

His favorite treat was the "Happy Ghost"

(a sucker with a tissue and a smiley face)

 

 

Jesse and I imposed a candy tax and took all the good candy.

 

Don't judge.

 

Oliver isn't really old enough to know the difference...

 

YET.



The Hurricane...Oliver J.'s perspective:

The wind blew with all its might, the rain assaulted our windows, and Oliver J. was afraid to go to sleep...

"I hear monsters... and dinosaurs... and sharks outside."

For the record, Jesse and I are not ashamed to admit that we can hear them too.

Turducken

I learned a new word today...

Turducken

 

Straight from the mouth of my awesome friend Abby:

 

"It's a chicken... stuffed in a duck... stuffed in a turkey. Sometimes there is bacon. That's America for you"

 





I have got to try this...

Of Big Boys and Binkies

The other night, Jesse and I started the process of trying to convince Oliver J. to give up the binkie, which has only been used at bedtime and naptime since we lived in Idaho.

"Why don't you let us take your binkie tonight. I bet you could sleep without it."

We said.

"No,"

was the reply.

"But look, Oliver, you have all these bedtime friends in your bed. Mickey doesn't need a binkie. You don't either. Why don't you try a night without it?"

"No," again.

"Binkies are for babies. You are not a baby. You don't need a binkie."

"NO!"

Then Jesse, the genius that he is, suggested,

"Big boys don't need binkies. Why don't you try being a big boy tonight and sleep without your binkie."

"OK! I be a big boy!"

Oliver said as he plopped the binkie into Jesse's hand.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this...

Do we really have a "Big Boy?" I thought.

Ollie gave us each a squeeze and kiss, and snuggled into bed.

As I flipped Ollie's tape (yeah, we're cool like that), I looked over at my sweet boy, laying back on his pillow and rubbing his hair, something happened that I'm not proud of.

I had a moment of weakness.

I tried to suppress it, but the words just spilled out...

"Ollie, please ask Dad for your binkie back," I said. "I'm not ready to have a big boy. There are no big boys in our house. Only babies."

Jesse gave me a funny look and laughed as he surrendered the binkie back to Oliver.

Finally, all was right with the world and we left Oliver J. as Snugalove songs filled the room.

Since that night, I've done better.

I came up with other excuses for not having a binkie.

Excuses that have nothing to do with the fact that my son is no longer a baby, and hardly even seems like a toddler anymore.

Excuses like, "it's in the dishwasher," or "I can't find it."

But I'm not sure how serious I am about the business of giving up binkies as I have since found that there is a direct correlation between naptime and binkies....

When the binkie is available, Ollie will sleep for three hours. When there is no binkie, Ollie gets out of bed and plays for a half hour and then lets himself out of his room saying "I try to wake up, Mommy"

And I'm not about to give up naptime.

To Ollie, Love Grandpa Than

This photo of a block fort popped up in my email today. It's from the boys at home.

It is very intricate work...if you'll notice, there's even a courtyard.

Oliver loved it.

"OH I LIKE THAT CASTLE!" He said. "I LIKE THAT BIG CASTLE!"

Ollie sat with me for five minutes telling me about the colors, shapes, and letters he could see...

What's the first thing Ollie would do if he had the chance to see it live and in person?

I believe his exact words would be "OH NO" as he ran right into it and watched it tumble around his ankles.

Wanderlust

Right now...

As I type...

My mother is in Jamaica.

And my sister is in China.

And I am very very jealous.

But that's ok. Because I'm going to do something super fantastically awesome this weekend with Kristen to make up for it.

I'm not sure what that super fantastically awesome thing is just yet, but I do live in, what I consider to be, one of the coolest places in the world...so I'm sure we can figure something out.

"Let's Pretend I Worked Out Today"

Today I wore my "Let's Pretend I Worked Out Today" outfit.

Maybe you have one too...

Basically, it consists of athletic pants and a sweatshirt/t-shirt.

When you wear it in public, you're just hoping that people will think you worked out in the morning and were too busy to change,

rather than what actually happened...

Which was that you decided to wear 'laxin clothes all day and not get dressed.

And never,

no,

not even once,

did you consider actually working out.

Oh, you would never do that?

Ok, I guess it's just me.

A Fall Favorite...in Haiku.

Making our bed with

heavier blankets, as nights

grow long and chilly.