Halloween Parade

This morning was Luke's Halloween Parade at school. It was quite a feeling to stand back and watch him interact with all his buddies, as they together took it all in... they were riveted and awe-inspired by the older kids and their costumes, the teachers who dressed up, and the number of goody bags they had waiting for them. They paraded around the blacktop in their costumes, proud as peacocks!

Afterwards, they all got together for this class picture. Luke is in the back row, third from the left... the "Metal Skull Biker" .

Halloween projects

We pride ourselves on being crafty, and this year we enjoyed several Halloween projects. We made a Haunted House out of an old box, some paper bags, and skeleton stickers given to us by Grandma Laurie. It was the hit of Luke's "share day" at school.

Our Bumpa made some wonderful lawn decorations for our front yard- we love our skeleton, mummy, bats, and Pirate Pete! Thanks Bumpa!

We also enjoyed carving our pumpkin, pictured here, so that it looks like it's eating the smaller pumpkins. Luke loved drawing on the faces!

More Pumpkin Patch

In the month of October we usually visit a pumpkin patch once a week, since they are always so much fun! We've visited three different pumpkin patches this season, and had all sorts of adventures! We've played with pumpkins, bounced in jumpers, walked through little haunted houses...

Posed with monsters and creatures of doom...

And gone on very fun pony rides!

We love Halloween!!

Tempers Flair

Luke and mommy are cut from the same mold. We have the same stubborn streak, the same ability to reason, and the same quick temper. Worse yet, lately I look at my oldest child and wonder when someone snuck in and replaced him with a thirteen year old girl. Take our battle last night:

Me, "Say goodnight to Daddy."

"I want Daddy to put me to bed."

"Mama's gonna do it tonight. Goodnight Daddy."

"NO! I want Daddy to do it!!!"

Me, "Let's start our prayers. Dear Jesus...."

"NOO! Daddy! Daddy's gonna do it!"

"Hey. How would you feel if I said I didn't want to put you to bed, I only wanted to put Nate to bed?"

He thinks for a minute... "Really really bad."

"Well that's how it makes me feel when you say you want Daddy to do it."

Whine whine whine "Well... I just want him."

"Luke, it's time to go to bed. You can pray now and we can have a song, or you can keep whining, and I'll leave and you can go to bed by yourself."

"No! Just get Daddy!"

"I'm leaving now. Goodnight." And as I exit the room....

"HUH! I WON'T GO TO SLEEP! HUH! I'M NOT CLOSING MY EYES. HUH! I'M GETTING OUT OF MY BED! HUH!"

So, I take the bait and charge back in furious and shrieking, "STOP IT RIGHT NOW! YOU ARE ACTING HORRIBLE!!! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN!!! GO TO SLEEP!!!!"

And I charge out to the kitchen, taking deep breaths and wondering why in the world I am so angry. Why?! WHY!?

So, I go back in, where he is quietly sobbing. Yes, I know. And I tell him I'm sorry I yelled and I give him a hug. I ask him how we could do it better next time, and he says, "I could not talk sassy at you and not do the whining and not kick my brother in the head." I tell him these are all good things and I ask him how I could do it better, and he says, "You could not scream at me." And so I made a promise to him to try much harder, which I fully intend to keep. And he promised me right back, which I know will take some work.

And I marvel at this little man, so like me. I am in awe at this responsibility, to teach him as many of my good parts as possible, and not allow the weaker parts of me to find a home in him.

Pumpkin patch Time!!!

Tractor Races!!!!!

Mommy, Nate, Luke and Jackson on a train ride.

Luke, Grace and Jackson hanging out after our picnic...

Engineer Nate welcomes you to Irvine Park Railroad!



In my humble opinion, the best Pumpkin Patch in Southern California is at the Irvine Park Railroad. This is our second year enjoying the festivities there, and it is definitely worth the drive. The Irvine Regional Park is so gorgeous, especially this time of year. The train and the pony rides are regular attractions, but the pumpkin patch boasts a haunted house that Luke and Nate explored over and over again, a hay ride, displays meant for sticking your face, a bouncer, and the biggest hit... tractor races! We went with our friends from Moms Club and finished with a delightful picnic :)

Love You Forever

When I was pregnant with Luke I remember buying the book "Love You Forever" and attempting to read it to Scott in our kitchen. I was crying and even his eyes were wet that day when we finished it.

This morning Luke needed one more book to complete his reading log, and he picked "Love You Forever", which we hadn't read in eons. I got two pages in and literally started bawling. This fantastic book is about a mom who loves her growing child at all his ages, in the night singing to him, even in his terrible twos and horrifying teen years:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be.

Eventually the boy grows up and moves out, and when the mom is old and sick the boy comes home to her, holds her in his arms and gently says:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my mommy you'll be.

Then, as if this scene in the book isn't sweet enough, the man goes home to his family and newborn baby to repeat this loving refrain one more time.

Hopefully by now you see why I was bawling my eyes out. And Luke was so patient as I read on through my tears, stopping only to explain to him that I just loved this story so much that I was crying with happiness- I told Luke this is how I feel about him.

Later that day we were driving in the car past the school where I used to work. Without any other comment, Luke said, "You work at my school now, right mommy? And I work there too?" Since I have been volunteering twice a week at his school, I said, "Yes baby. We're both working hard at your school." And after a second he said, "Love You Forever Mommy."

I almost had to pull over.

A Great Age

How stinkin' cute is this kid?

When you have a child this age (20 months) it is very common for people to tell you how this age was their favorite age when rearing their own kids. And it's so easy to see why. Yesterday, Scott came home, and Nate, for the first time, ran to him and yelled, "Hi Daddy!" A few days ago we were driving in the car and from the back seat I hear, "Halloween tings!" as he spotted a house decorated with skeletons, spiders, and tombstones. What I hear most of all is "Dada car", and this is because for some reason the Toyota symbol on our 4runner has made an impression on Nate. Walking down the street, driving to school, or from his stroller perch, Nate can recognize the Toyota logo on any Toyota vehicle, be it Camry, pickup, or Sequoia. And when he sees it, he squeals with delight, "Dada car!!!" (did you know that many, many people drive Toyotas? I had no idea until these past few weeks). I have tried to get Nate to say "Luke", but when I ask him, he says, "No. BraBra." As if to say, "I recognize his name is Luke, but I am choosing to call him this instead." Nate is naming and recognizing and communicating more and more each day, and this word explosion is a joy to behold!

Something else that comes with this age, though, is the separation anxiety. Nate reminds me of one of those little koalas that we used to put on our pencils back in the day. You know the ones that you pinch and then they hang on? Well, Nate is that Koala, just hangin' on. Luke was always very confident and independent-minded, so this is new for me, and bittersweet. This should pass soon, I know.

Nate loves to jump. We are taking a Mommy and Me class that has tons of soft play equipment. Nate is the brute of the group, and the daredevil. He finds the highest point of the stacked climbing donuts, then leaps into the air, throwing himself into a sitting position as he lands on his bum in the center. At the park, he climbs the curb just to practice jumping down into the sand. He is still climbing as well, and pushing furniture around (with too much ease for my comfort) to enhance his climbing experience.

He throws massive tantrums where he says "No" and bites and pulls hair. But one of the most endearing things about Baby Nate is that he is sure he is five years old. There is no question in his mind that he and Luke are equals. Nate believes he can do the same art, play with the same toys, and have the same friends. In fact, today at the park, two of Luke's buddies had to go home, and Nate started screaming and wailing at the loss of these boys (who had made a great effort to include Natey in their adventures). Nate worships Luke, and there is no question that they both love each other immensely.

This is a great age, there's no question about it. But I am looking forward to all the ages of my boys. My aunt JoAnn recently sent her daughter off to college, and I asked how she was coping with that. She gave me an answer that has really stuck with me. She told me that she loves her daughter at this age- seeing her independent and courageous as she goes out into the world to become a true adult. And she loved her when she was little and learning, and she'll love the daughter that gets married and gives her grandchildren. She told me that she saw the joy that every age had to offer, so it made her feel that seeing her daughter off to college was not a loss or an end, but the beginning of something else really cool. Yep.

Face Painting

Last weekend Aunt Jamie came over to play, bringing gifts, as always. But she is not loved for the gifts. She is loved because she is always up for anything. She painted Luke's face like this freaky skeleton. Then, she let Luke paint her face. Brave, brave Auntie! We love you Jamie!