Happy Halloween!

Our church does an outreach every Halloween called Trunk-or-Treat.  People decorate their cars and make little games and pass out candy from their trunks.  This year we had 25 cars and a ton of kids!   Of course we like to bring the Moose, who this year dressed as . . .

A Moose!

Fancy that! 

Oh, gee, look at me! 

Of course Moose's friend Charlie was there, dressed as a squirrel.  See the little acorn in his paws?  

They've grown up so much since last year!

Our small group did two trunks, one in the Star Trek theme.  Check out little Spock's eyebrows.

We drew some crowds . . . 

And guess who showed up!

That same little tiger! 

And his Peter Pan brother . . . 

And the rest of his brothers!

THEN we got a special treat.  Another family had just welcomed a bulldog puppy into their lives and they brought her!  We were so pumped.  Sweet little Lucy.  

Moose started to fade under all the stimulation.  

Aww, little buddy.

And a good time had by all.  

Tigers and Heros

Yesterday the little guys at the nursery school had their annual costume parade.  I was pumped, but maybe not as excited as Matt, who thinks kids in costumes are hilarious.  There were some very funny moments, as these kids are 2-5 years old and unpredictable and adorable.  

Plenty of Buzz, Woodies, and Jessies. . . 

 

This Oompa Loompa won first prize in my book.  Amazing. 

But I was there to watch the littlest class walk in a slow circle around the parking lot, clutching their rings and looking bewildered.  Specifically for the Tiger, who in this picture looks a little upset that they put him so close to Tigger.  

He was by far the most realistic of his costumed classmates.  (Although I must point out the rolly-polly Tigger, who is especially awesome because his twin rolly-polly sister was Pooh Bear.)

"I'm a Tiger!  Rarr!"

"I've got a TAIL!" It's back here somewhere . . . 

Found it!

It was a wonderful way to start my morning, full of adorableness.  And Matt caught the tail end of it and proclaimed that our kids will always wear costumes. No need for clothes, just funny costumes with a hole cut out for the head. 

Now I must relay this hilarious story, because although it isn't mine, it bares repeating.  Two nights ago I got a phone call from #2, the 7-yr-old, who was out with his mom and the afore mentioned Tiger child.  He had a terrifying tale.  His GREATEST FEAR, the thing that keeps him crawling into his parents' bed, the big bad monster of the night . . . is raccoons.  The kid HATES raccoons.  This is unfortunate, as their house backs up to a forest preserve and the critters have been seen around their house numerous times and left evidence of their visits.  So, keep this in mind as I proceed.

The kids' mom had strapped #2 and Tiger into the van and gone in to grab something before they took off.  Through the open van door crawled a . . . RACCOON.  Into the van with the kids!  According to the retelling of a 7 and 2-yr-old, they were scared, but they just sat there for a second.  Then Tiger, with all of his 2-yr-old strength and reasoning, KICKED the raccoon with his little foot clad in the corduroy slip-ons I'd put him in that morning.  Kicked it good, right in it's face!  And the raccoon hissed at the kids and then took off out of the van.  Tiger saved the day!

And then he got on the phone and told me in his little Elmo voice, "I kicked it in the FACE!"

this calls for apple cider

I know most of America has been experiencing some freakish weather this week.  We've had some odd weather, too - in the form of 70 degree days!  It has been unseasonably warm, which is puzzling to the senses when you walk outside and immediately shed your jacket.  It was inspiring, and I found Matt outside attacking trillions of leaves outside our house yesterday with the leaf blower.  I don't think I'll find him there today, as it has dropped 25 degrees overnight.  It's cloudy, blustery, and the type of day that necessitates a mug of apple cider.  Don't worry, I've got one.

Yesterday, however, was sunny and bright, and a certain proud kindergartner's fall party.  I decided to walk to the party and pushed a tired two-year-old in his stroller through the windy streets, passing the entire second grade on their walking field trip to the park.  Everyone was loving the day!  

This kindergarten party was quite adorable and well planned, unlike the chaos I was anticipating.  All the kids had made shirts to be either pumpkins or ghosties.  

There were crafts,

scary treats,

 

a mummy station, 

and plenty of exclamations on how adorably he treated his little brother.

By the time the party ended, the little guy was no longer tired, but raring to go!  We headed to the duck pond for some afternoon exploring.

"I want to hug a duck!" 

This picture actually points towards our house.  The white house on the left is our nearest neighbor.  We can't see the water from our house because a stand of trees blocks the view - those are our trees!  I love living close to this pond, and Moose loves it, too.  Everybody walks their dogs here.  

the little bay

My drive to work takes between 4 and 6 minutes, which I am thankful for every morning as I fly out the door.  The entire three miles are idyllic, but lately the stretch that takes me past Little Bay has been remarkably beautiful.  I've consistently hit it at both high tide and the moment that the sun turns the world to gold, and each time wished for a little extra time in my morning - and that I had my camera beside me.  

I finally remembered to bring my camera, but it was cloudy this morning so I didn't hit it at sunrise, but later in the morning.  Not quite high tide either but there's still water in the bay.  At low tide it is completely empty, filled with pluff mud that masquerades as quicksand.  But at high tide, it's visited by swans.  The bus stop I frequent twice a day is along the same bay, and it is comforting to watch the changes in both tide and season.  I have been watching and waiting for the point in the fall when the trees on the opposite shore have turned. 

getting used to autumn

I still feel like I'm getting acclimated to Fall.  I didn't grow up with four changing seasons so the advent of crispy weather still takes me by surprise every year.  I find myself surveying the leaves with a twinge of anxiety - afraid I might miss THE moment when the world has reached its brightest hues.  Lately I've started to think that the moment is now!  I've been driving my errands in a daze, taking the longer routes just to stay on the streets lined in ancient maples a minute longer.

Today I saw a car slowing down and the driver pointing out the window and I certainly hope they were exclaiming about the trees across the bay and not the size of the homes.  It was the first time I'd seen anyone slow down at this particularly beautiful stretch and I wanted to tell them I had just finished taking some pictures of my own!  

These are from our house . . . the large hickory tree whose summer shade keeps us cool but ensures my garden is planted 100 yards from the house.  

The stand of trees at the end of the meadow. 

And we have a couple run-down sheds that look more charming if you focus on certain aspects of them.

I think Autumn never looks as stunning in pictures as it does in real life, but I felt compelled to try! 

not my bump

This past weekend my friends from church asked if I would take a few pictures of them before their baby arrives in November.  I was kind of nervous because I don't get many opportunities to take pictures of people, or at least adults.  Heather assured me that she wasn't looking for professional quality prints, just something to give the grandparents.  Despite our lack of planning, the timing worked out perfectly with ideal evening lighting and I was happy to try out all the spots around our house I'd cataloged as good little backdrops, should the need ever arise.  :) Looking back over them, I would've cropped a little more here or a little less there, but in general I'm pleased with the results!   Here's a few of the keepers:  

Sorry, no pictures of this girl yet - we just haven't taken any!  I would categorize myself as "showing" but more in the ate-two-much-dinner way than the pregnant-belly way.  So I'm sure that gets you all excited for the photos to come. :)  Happy Friday! 

1+1=3

It's true.  We have some news.  Our little family is growing.    

There's the baby!

Can you believe it?  Here's all the important information:

We are 14 weeks along!  Yesterday I got to hear the baby's heartbeat at my appointment.  The ultrasound above was taken at 10 weeks, the day before we left for Seattle.  It's very cute because its little arms are up by its face.  They say I'm due April 18th. 

I'm feeling good now, besides needing naps, which I've suddenly become very good at.  I was nauseous for a few weeks but only sick a couple times.  Nothing like my mother's 4 months of throwing up every day.  Phew.

We wanted to wait and tell my family in person when they come out for Thanksgiving.  However, a couple weeks ago I reached my limit of waiting and informed Matt we had to act faster than that!  We really wanted to make it special, regardless, since this is the first grandkid on my side and we didn't think either of our parents would see it coming.  I framed the ultrasound picture and sent them off in the mail.  

 For Matt's parents, I scrawled something on the back of the box that said the package was from Seattle, I hadn't put a card in and they needed to call us before opening it.  Matt somehow talked them into Skyping, which was of course our plan all along, and they were appropriately surprised!

 Hmm, what's this?

It's a baby!

Martha cried and hugged the picture like it was the actual baby.  Since they'd just welcomed baby Evan a week ago, we told them we didn't want them to experience any kind of slump in the grandchild department.  Matt has two brothers and his older brother had two boys, so I guess the family is due for a girl sometime soon!  We'll see!  

It was hard to hang up but I was anxious to tell my side.  I had the advantage of my dad's birthday as an excuse to send a package.  We tried to get my brother on but had to settle for two computers sort of facing each other.  

The whole family, virtually together!

Of course my dad had to open all his other presents before he got to the baby box, but when he did, it didn't take them long to put it all together! 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaattt?!?

Poor Ryan was off in Houston on the other computer trying to figure out why everyone was squealing, until Matt showed him the ultrasound shot.  

It's nice that everyone was so excited! 

This is my mom saying SHE KNEW because she saw it in my eyes in my pictures from Seattle.  Mother's intuition, she said.

So that was super fun, and I was so relieved after telling them after keeping it inside for three months that I slept like a rock for the first time in weeks.  Of course we had a lot of people to tell during the weekend.  Adam was visiting from DC so we told him over breakfast, and he had to put up with me calling everyone for the next two days, what a sport.  

Now, I know what you're all thinking.  How did Moose take the news?  

He's doing pretty well.  Going from an only child to the oldest won't be easy, but he's so good with babies.  He will make a great Nana.