Boo!

Well, it's a little late, but I figure if the candy hasn't disappeared, I can still write about Halloween.

We carved our pumpkins a few days before Halloween.  Marlo, not to be trusted with a knife or pen, got glue, stickers, and googly eyes.  She'll play with glue for hours, so she was thrilled.   Equally awesome was scooping out the pumpkin guts.  Hayden did some scooping under duress, but I ended up finishing.



On Halloween night, we had a Luke Skywalker and a cowgirl.  The weather cooperated by staying above freezing.

Marlo couldn't believe her luck.  Not only could she run around IN THE DARK and ring doorbells, but the people inside the houses would give her candy.

Interestingly, at 2, Hayden did not know that the colorfully wrapped items handed out at Halloween were edible.  He enjoyed sorting them and looking at them...it never occurred to him to eat them.  Marlo, under the tutelage of Hayden, has long ago discovered candy.

Why, yes, I have gained weight

This is me. 

 And the large lump is kiddo #3, due to be delivered in 7 weeks or so.  Marlo wants to know when the baby is coming out.  Hayden wonders how soon he can hug the baby.  Marlo isn't thrilled about the prospect of a new sibling, but Hayden is.

Ben and I---still a bit in shock!

But we're very excited to welcome this little person in mid-December.

Fall Fun

Fall is usually a pretty short season in Minnesota.  There's about a week of sweatshirts and then the parkas come out.  This year, though, we've enjoyed a summery and sunny October (last year it snowed in early October).  We've been trying to get outside when we can, and in October, that means leaf jumping.

Note Hayden's flip-flops and shorts.  Not usual leaf-jumping attire, but we don't mind.

Scouting

This year, Hayden is a cub scout.  Or is it Cub Scout?  I don't really know.  I'm confused enough by where I am supposed to sew all the patches, and the whole badge/bead/pin system is more complex than the literary theory books I slogged through in grad school.

In any case, he's a scout, and he's thrilled about it.  I took him to get his uniform at the Boy Scouts Store last weekend and it was as if the sky had opened up and showered him with gold.  We spent a lot of time ogling badges, camping gear, and uniforms.

So far he has had 2 "pack" meetings.  Although outing 2 ended badly (with the news he couldn't go on the first camping trip and the loss of his beloved "tie slide), he has rallied and is eagerly looking forward to more adventures...and the arrival of his new tie slide, ordered from the Boy Scouts' web site.

Back to School

Hayden is now officially a 1st grader.  He was beyond excited to go back to school, but a little disappointed not to be in the same class as some of his friends (there are SIX first grade classes!).

As we walked to the bus stop, he said that it felt just like going to kindergarten.

Things have settled into a groove, now, but the first week was a little dicey.  He missed his friends, and thought recess was too short.  He had homework for the first time and wasn't thrilled about the spelling words. 


But it seems he has adjusted, and now his days are "great" instead of just "ok!"

Michigan

Our family trip was to Harbert, Michigan this summer.  We survived a long car ride with the kids, including about an hour of Marlo crying "Mommy now!" from her car seat.  Still, it was a lot less stressful than flying.

We rented a house with Aunt Rachel, Uncle Jeff, Cousin Kinsey, and Grandma and Grandpa.  Plenty of space for kidlets to run around, and even better...a pool.  Hayden and Marlo were in the water pretty much any chance they got--the pool every day, and Lake Michigan on other days.

The private beach nearby also had a small little stream which was Marlo-sized.  Marlo gravitates toward all puddles and mud, so it was perfect entertainment.

Hayden was mostly interested in playing in the big lake.  He liked being tossed around by the waves.  Occasionally, he would get out long enough to find some rocks or mess around in the sand, but mostly he wanted to be in the water.

We also went to a Go Kart track one day.  Hayden loved it, and Marlo, always an adventurer, wanted to try as well.  Her enthusiasm waned a little bit once she was in the car, though.

The kids collapsed into bed every night, pretty much exhausted by fun.  I followed soon after...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Marlo!

Marlo's 2nd birthday was low key, but a lot of fun.  Cupcakes, presents, and outside time...about everything a new 2 year old could want.

She loved all of her presents, including the playhouse from me and Ben.  Hayden was a helpful gift assistant.

It's been an eventful year.  She has progressed from saying a handful of words, mostly about the dog (Dextoor!), to long, rambling sentences.  She still has her own personal grammar, but she's quite the conversationalist.  A year ago, she toddled around confidently...now she runs, jumps, and climbs a lot of things she shouldn't be climbing.  She can sort of dress herself, although her fashion sense is, well, creative.  She's a character through and through--happy, funny, active, curious and very sweet. 

Front Yard Nature

Sitting in my office on a drizzly afternoon, I noticed 2 large woodpeckers hopping around the front yard.  I've certainly heard them a lot recently, but haven't seen any hanging around.  They let me watch for a few minutes before they flew away, looking for more bugs I suppose.

Word Explosion, Part 2

I don't know exactly when Marlo started combining words.  A couple months ago, I think.  In any case, she is trying very hard to contribute to real conversations in our house.  Her parts take a little decoding:

Marlo: "Chair nose floor."
Translation: "I fell off of my chair a few weeks ago and hurt my nose on the floor.  I'm kind of obsessed about it."

Marlo: "Deddy bus."
Translation: "It's time to get Hayden at the bus stop!"

Marlo: "Babybug outside bye-bye."
Translation: "Do you remember that ladybug I found in the house?  You put it outside and it went bye-bye."

Marlo (in tears):  "Milk pockpock!"
Translation: "Damn it!  Why won't my sippy cup of milk fit in my pocket!"

Marlo: "DRAW! KIDS!"
Translation: "I really love going to that toddler art class, and now every time we leave the house I think we are going to go draw with kids."

Marlo: "Ucky milk.  BLEH."
Translation: "I found a sippy cup of curdled milk and I tried some."

Happy Easter!

This Easter was the first Easter in our new house.  And, for the second year in a row, it was warm enough to hunt for eggs outside.  This is pretty amazing for Minnesota.  We even have buds on the trees, flowers coming up, and water (instead of ice) in our lakes.  It's actually spring.

The kids had a great Easter.  Festivities commenced with dyeing eggs.  Marlo--she of the ever-busy hands--pulled a cup of blue dye down on her head.  It was all over the floor, the cabinets, etc.  She's busy to say the least, and messes of this kind are practically a daily occurrence.  The dye incident was the latest of a string of events which included jumping off of her toddler slide set.  Repeatedly.  Sliding, apparently, is not nearly as thrilling.  In any case, we had her in bed by 7pm.

Easter baskets greeted the kids.  Marlo liked her gardening tools.  Hayden liked everything.  We hunted for the real eggs inside the house (the Easter bunny wasn't sure they'd survive the wildlife overnight outside).  Hayden graciously let his sister find a few, but ultimately she was more interested in peeling off the shells.

After breakfast, we searched for plastic eggs outside, and then hung out for a while to enjoy the unseasonably warm morning.  Dinner was at my parents, and the whole crew was there.  More Easter goodies, lots of good food, and a good time.

Spring Fever

Yesterday it hit 64 degrees. The average is 39. Needless to say, we got outside! The kids have been cooped up too long!

We still have some snow in the yard, although it's disappearing fast. It's weird to see the kids in short sleeves with piles of snow all around them.

Marlo especially loved jumping in the puddles and picking up chunks of dirty ice and snow. Needless to say, she needed a bath after playing outside!

Hayden got to dust off the scooter and bike and ride around the cul-de-sac.

Even Dexter got into it, jumping for snowballs.
We know winter's not over, but we'll take what we can get.

Dress Up

Marlo is big into dress-up. Here are a few photos taken in the last month. Needless to say, we laugh a lot in this house!

Late Blogging....Christmas in February

We've been so busy that I have been neglecting the blog. I have a huge backlog of stuff! It's February already and I haven't even talked about Christmas.

One of the most amazing things about Christmas this year was the 3 day snowstorm we got. It was warm (for winter), Ben was off of work, and we all got to play outside and enjoy it. It was up to Hayden's thighs! We went sledding on our little hill in the back and that was a huge hit, but tiring for me to carry Marlo back UP the hill each time. The snow was too deep for her to walk in!

Christmas Eve featured a quick trip to church for me and Hayden, followed by appetizers and make-your-own pizzas for the kids. And, once again...matching pjs for Hayden and Marlo.

On Christmas Day there was more snow removal, and more playing in the snow, and of course...presents from Santa. Marlo knew what to do, but was so interested in the unwrapped toys left by Santa that we had to help open the wrapped ones.


Lots of happiness, all around!