Is it Halloween Yet?

For weeks we've been counting down to Halloween with Julia. She is so excited and happily wears her spider costume whenever the opportunity presents itself. This morning she woke and we told her that it was finally Halloween and she was so happy she gasped! Then on the way to school she kept asking me if it was Halloween yet. She was confused because she thought Halloween was the trick or treating part only. So she kept saying that Halloween would be tonight, after school when it was dark.

I took Julia and Brendan out for trick or treating. She had such a great time and did a great job of saying "Trick or Treat!" and "Thank You!"

One funny thing, we went to our very nice next door neighbors first. She knocked on their door and before they could get there kept saying "Trick or Treat!" but when they opened the door she said "I want some candy." Agh! :-)

The Happiest Spider

The Spider and the Webb

What? There's Something on My Head?

Soapy Boy

Julia has so much fun dressing her brother up in soap suds.

Hello!

I Will Eat You!

Columbus Day at the Zoo

The weather was great, the animals cooperated. It was a good day. Check out the bottom left of the last photo. It's the baby panda.

Corolla 2006

Each year we go to the beach with the Parsons. I'm not sure when we started going together but it started before any of us had kids. So it's been a while. So, each year we go...except last year. AM and I were both too pregnant to go that far. It had been two years since we'd been away and we'll never go that long again without some sort of getaway.

This year we went with the Parsons and Adamsons, which meant that there were 6 adults, 1 toddler and 3 infants. Although the weather wasn't terribly cooperative, because of Hurricane Ernesto making trouble in Bermuda, we still had a really great time. As Andrew put it, "it was a great group to have cabin fever with." The baby boys all seemed to have a good time checking out each other's toys and although at this age they're only suppposed to engage in "parallel play" we did see some interaction amongst the little guys.

It seemed like most of the days were spent fitting in beach time between the many meals and naps but we enjoyed great company, tasty food, spending time at the "seaside" and breathing that ocean air. We all agreed that there's something about that air that made us all sleep better. Except when poor Grant got his ear infection.

That said, we did make several opportunities for each other to swim in the surf, the pool at the house and then hang in the hot tub with drinks when the babes were asleep. Very nice.

Julia loved the "big waves" and the "hot tub pool" where there was a green frog who would hang out underneath the cover. We named him "Frank Frog." Although she couldn't go in too far and always had to hold our hands, because of the rough surf, she is such a beach girl. She loves playing in the water and the sand and at night we would take a flashlight and have fun with the ghost crabs. Andy would pick one up occasionally and we would touch it. Very fun.

Since we have beaches at the lake in our neighborhood it gets confusing to talk to her about the beach and "the beach." One of her favorite books is "The Velveteen Rabbit." In it, the little boy gets sick and goes to "the seaside" to recover. Thus, Corolla to her is the "seaside" and "the beach" is down the street.

Busy Days - Sleepy Nights

Headed Down to the Surf

Beach Time with Daddy

The Three Boys

Here's a photo of the guys at the table. AM is marching in the back, I think with Julia, to a song about marching and dinosaurs. I bet in a few years the boys will be in the same position, playing cards.

Ocean Air - Ocean Hair

Beach Boy

Brendan always wants to move. It doesn't matter that the sand isn't soft and once in a while his knee would land on top of a sharp shell. He would crawl and then eat sand, then crawl more and eat more. I let him for a bit thinking that he'd realize that the sand doesn't taste good. He didn't.

A Nice Figure Eight

I love this photo. It shows his trail. Coming straight from the right, then he did a figure eight, then came towards me and then back to do the figure eight again. I'm not sure if he was following his tracks on purpose but I love how the sun highlights his path.

My Beach Babes

Labor Day Games

Each Labor Day our community hosts the Annual Labor Day Games. The first year that we were here Julia was sick. No games. Last year I'd just had Brendan. No games. This year we made it! The weather was great and everyone had a great time. Julia was able to participate in the "Penny Pile" which is simply a big pile of sand at the beach that the organizers had hidden numerous pennies in. They do it by age, so the youngest kids (4 and under) got the first chance at it. Everyone was supposed to look for the "lucky penny" which was flat, had "lucky penny" written on it and was worth $5. Julia didn't find it but found her first penny and proudly brought it back to us. Maybe thinking she was done because we had to urge her to go back for more if she wanted them.

Next was the 3-legged sack races, by age groups. Julia and I participated in the Adult with Child group. They specified that there was no carrying of the child to make it to the finish line first. Darn!

We had a really fun time. Julia is in the striped shirt and jeans skort in these photos.

Brendan Boy Turns ONE!

It's hard to believe that Brendan is one. Not because the year flew by. It took a long time to get here! I know everyone says it but it really is amazing how much they change in a year. From being a true newborn, and having meningitis and spending almost a week in the hospital to battling the reflux and the other digestive problems, he's truly a changed little guy. He is completely healthy, happy and always active. Always. He never stops.

I know that I shouldn't compare, but I'm going to. This is really more for me and keeping a record than me thinking anyone is really interested in the things I'm about to write. :-) Julia could always nap and for a long time, and she loved it. She still loves her naps and sleeping, which is great now. When she's a teenager I'm sure it won't be the treat that it is for me these days. It was between 2 and 3 that she gave up the morning nap. Brendan already has. Julia would often wake up, still tired and it would take a bit for her to get started again. Brendan wakes up ready to go. We walk into his room and he's in his crib, jumping up and down, squealing and ready to get OUT!

Julia has always been very verbal and all about communicating with us. Always happy to learn new words. Brendan is more focused on exploring and he just communicates differently. He's more coordinated than she was at this age and is happy playing independently or with us. Julia's never really been a fan of the independent play.

Julia's always had a big appetite. She still loves her food. Almost all food. Meals take a long time with her. It's like she's making each meal an experience. Very little was and has ever been lost to the floor. Brendan seems to be a little more particular about what he eats, but it's still early. He eats relatively quickly and is the messiest baby I've ever seen in a high chair. More than half the food, at least, ends up in his lap, stuck to his bib, in his hair, on his face, in between his fingers and once between his toes. I dont know how our sitter, the amazing Cristina, keeps him clean considering that almost each time he gets a meal at home it ends up in a change of clothes or a bath.

Both of them love to swing, back and forth, as long as we'll indulge. They both love to laugh and jump and interact with each other and us.

The Year of the Cicada

Julia was born in the year of the cicada. When she was almost a year I had put her in the car one nice summer day, with all the windows down and then put all of our bags in the back of the car. When I came back I found a cicada on her. She was just looking at it. No big deal. Can you see it on her leg in this photo?

This past Saturday we were cleaning up our perpetually messy yard. The storms that had come through from Hurricane Ernesto brought down a lot of leaves and limbs, so we were cleaning up. While picking up sticks we found a live cicada. Since Julia looooooooves bugs, we picked it up, took it to Daddy in the backyard and let it crawl on us. Here are photos from our latest cicada experience.