Halloween 2012

Well in typical Northwest fashion, it rained this year for Halloween. It was on and off, and of course we hit the "on" period with a fierce accuracy that left us wet and ready to head home after three houses. Landon was quick to catch on to the whole trick or treat game and he dutifully said thank you (or "took yooo!" in Landonese) so it made this momma proud. Anders just chilled in his stroller and fell asleep despite the rain falling on his canopy (or perhaps because of it?).

We went through about 200 pieces of candy, gratuitously handing out multiples at a time as a nod to the trick or treaters willing to make the rounds despite the weather. I will undertake hiding the remainder and save it as "deployment candy" that will work its way into boxes over the next year. Now if I could just figure out how to hide it from myself...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! 

Landon's pumpkin. Anatomically correct with four big front teeth.

Helping Daddy for a hot second before he realizes the innards are kind of gross.

Anders on standby, playing with his firefly toy.

Pumpkin break to steal brother's hat and then give hugs.

This little dragon is ready to rock and roll!

This little cheeseburger isn't sure where to go and what is happening yet.

This could be a cute photo if Erik wasn't rocking another creepy boat 'stache. It's that time of year again, folks... carrier qualification time. Ugh. Please direct attention to the cute child instead.

This also marks the year that I saw someone intentionally grab the Almond Joys from the candy bucket. It was a cute little princess girl and I told her she could have as many as she could find. She squealed with delight as she ran back to her mommy, declaring "I got FIVE Almond Joys!" That little princess is an enigma as far as I'm concerned because I have never met anyone happy to receive a Mounds or an Almond Joy. You go, girl.

Four Months!

"I feel like he's a really big guy, right? Like, he's becoming pretty huge, huh?" 

This is what the doctor said as she washed her hands in preparation for Anders' appointment. To which I responded "Becoming?"

Actually the little big guy is starting to plateau a bit and is within the 75th percentiles for stuff. That's what they tell me, anyway. All I know is on my personal scale of squooshy wooshiness, he is a level cuddle wuddle. 

"Hah, hah, hah, hah, staying aliiiiiive! (at four months ooooold)..."

Let's see, what is he up to. We are in the drool bib every day phase (well, more like three bibs a day). Developmentally, he is rolling over from back to front, especially when on his jungle floor gym. Just like brother! The same day he did that, he also graced us with his first laugh. It is a great sound that booms from his belly. He is a tough crowd, though. He's pretty good for a single chuckle when you kiss his tummy but I've definitively pushed borderline ridiculous territory in songs and dances to hear his full belly laugh. But what a great sound when it happens! 

How many patterns and textures can we get in one photo?

Happier once he ripped the sticker off his shirt.

True form these days - hands in mouth. Always. Drooling. Always.

Hitting his limit with the photo session, Anders tries to make his escape via rolling.

Likes:
-Watching brother
-Chewing on hand
-Post bath massage
-Waking up a couple times a night to say hi to mom('s boobs)

Dislike
-Being poked by brother
-Stuffy noses (three colds and one sinus infection already)
-Will NOT touch a bottle. Bleck!

iPuh! iPuh!

As we suspected would happen, our iPad is becoming more crusty these days as little toddler fingers swipe their way across the screen. Landon loves his puzzle games and his animated books, and thus far we have not found any detrimental decline in his ability to play with "real" toys so we are letting it continue. 

The only "uh oh" moment we've had so far is when he was bored one day and started swiping to other pages. I heard a song coming from the iPad that wasn't associated with his regular apps. He selected YouTube (presumably because its icon looks like a TV) and found a video to watch. Thankfully, one of the most watched videos is a benign song; of all of the thumbnails on that home page, he selected that one because it was a cartoon duck. And it turns out it is a really cute and funny video! Erik and I enjoy it more than Landon, I think.

Although last night, Landon did the same thing and got onto YouTube and he was watching body building videos. Seriously. Body building.

Happy Birthday, Me!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I turned 32 a few days after Erik. It's true. We grow old together. We complain about sore joints and we aren't even in our 40s yet.

After I noticed his ever-so-slight embarrassment when seeing I posted an awkward photo of him on the blog, I pledged to post one of me, too. But this was a false promise, you see, because there are no awkward photos of myself in existence. They are all adorable.

Like this one, for example:

Faaaabulous!

[Sorry, James, but my best photos are also the ones you are in, too. Bringing you down with me, brother.]

Happy Birthday, Erik!

Someone is 32 today! And looks just as cute as when he was cracking beers at 18. He's mine, ladies... allllll mine.

Happy Birthday, Shnookum Wookums!

Proud to Recognize

My day started with a minor series of events that made me believe the world had it in for me. Oatmeal explosion in the microwave, fussy baby kept blurping* on me, oatmeal explosion on the high chair (fussy toddler), I kept dropping things, I had to wipe boogies from both kids for the bazillionth** time in one hour. The dishwasher is full, the sink is, too. I'm tired, really tired. The loads of laundry aren't tackling themselves. Plus, it's sweater season, so laundry now involves drying racks. Enter: Dramatic sigh.

Does all that complaining over minor stuff sound lame? Yep, it sure does. I realized it by the fourth time I was blurped upon. I got over it. A sink full of dishes means we are blessed with food to eat, a pile of laundry means we are blessed with clothes upon our backs. A blurping baby means he has been happily fed (perhaps overfed, even).

I'm proud of myself for taking a step back and recognizing this today. It doesn't mean I'm any less tired or my shirt is less stained, but it does seem to make the day go a little more dandy. Now onto those dishes...

*Blurp is a combination of a blowb (chunky spit up) and a burp. It is a sophisticated blend. I should trademark this term.

**Bazillionth may be an exaggeration. Maybe more like five, but still. How can man-sized boogers come from such tiny noses? And then repeatedly generate over and over in such a short time span?

Pumpkin Fun

What a nice weekend! It started off with a critical win for the Orioles on Friday night and then also a nice win for Penn State on Saturday. Do I care deeply about this? No. But it means my husband is happy and that makes a better weekend for all of us. The Redskins lost, but perhaps that stung a little less as we were out enjoying a fall day with the boys on Sunday.

I assume you don't want to see pictures of my hungover hubby watching college football, so I'll share the ones from our visit through the local festival of family farms.

Yay, all four of us in a photo!

Daddy and Landon hanging out on bales of hay by a truck - standard photo op, of course!

Landon enjoying the chickens.

This farm had a "yellow brick road" with Wizard of Oz characters. L really enjoyed the "Lion" for some reason.

Brushing up on chicken facts.

Landon holding Daddy's hand.

Assessing whether he wanted to go on the tractor/ barrel ride through the farm. (No. No, he did not.)

Picking baby pumpkins for baby brother.

As usual, Landon wandered off into non people territory and found a cool old barn with a truck and horrific spiders.

 Trying to get Landon to pose and smile today was not working. He did have fun, though!

Another farm. Another truck with hay and pumpkins.

And the cutest pumpkin of all? Anders and his pumpkin buns, of course!!! I swear he had fun, too. Really, our kids do smile.

Happy

I adore how Landon finds absolute happiness in laying upon grass, smiling at the sky.