Halloween fun

The day finally arrived, and the preparations were all made. Guests of our Halloween party this year discovered a pumpkin murder mystery and pumpkin C.S.I. lab. Much hilarity ensued, and happily enough, the crime was solved.

Costumes were fabulous, as always, and though I admit partiality to Dennis' so adorable red dragon costume, white Dave dressed and made up as a black woman clearly won the costume prize. His mannerisms even changed to reflect his new race and gender. I don't know when I've ever laughed so hard at a time when Hadden wasn't around...

Since this is Dennis' website, I'll talk more about his evening. He went trick-or-treating for the first time tonight, in downtown Clanton. Several public buildings (fire dept, city hall, police, church parking lot...) had set up trick-or-treat places for kids, and we walked around to let him visit them all. Once he learned that candy was involved, it didn't take him long to figure out how to hold up his pumpkin and say "treat" and then "thank you". He loved his costume and took pride in running all over in it, knowing he was personifying the entire concept of cute and working it for all he was worth. We got comments from everyone who saw him. At ACE hardware, he visited his fan club in costume, and they took his picture. He loved everything about Halloween, from the costume wearing to the trick-or-treating to seeing other kids and adults dressed up to the delicious meal we had at the party, and finally, to getting to play with his best friend Chloe (also adorable in her black cat costume). He didn't help much in the 'crime lab' except to occasionally run in and touch computer buttons or to mess with 'evidence', or to point to the fireplace and say "hot". He went to bed halfway through the party, happily exhausted and dressed in his bone pajamas. Chloe went to bed immediately after, and the rest of us stayed up too late having fun. No, he has not eaten any candy as of yet. There's 1/3 of a pumpkin full in the kitchen, but I am pretending it isn't there, even though I know there are miniature Snickers and Twix and various Hershey bars in there...

I can't imagine a more fun evening than this one. Happy Halloween to all!

enter the dragon

We took Dennis to Wal-Mart on a whim this afternoon because they were advertising a $4.99 picture package for many prints of one pose, and he looks awful cute in his Halloween costume. And yes, we managed to get out of there and only spend $4.99, but we probably won't do that again. They HAVE to take at least 7 poses. The photographer knew we wanted one picture, one of him in the dragon Halloween costume, but she insisted he also pose in his t-shirt and jeans. Yes, they were fairly cute pictures. But we had to sit there while she manipulated all the poses and added weird little cutesy details to them before she'd even let us look at the costume shots. Eventually we got there, and we chose the one we wanted, though I really wish she'd taken more shots of what we wanted. Guess I should have gone to Portrait Innovations, but I would have had to drive an hour each way, and there would have been at least 7 poses that I really wanted... So we'll go there around Christmas time.

We were offered a number of packages for exorbitant amounts of money, and we chose only the cheapo package, because hey, it was just for Halloween! Only, we won't get our pictures (developed there IN Wal-Mart, mind you) until November 18. So, on November 18, look for a very cute picture of a very cute dragon. And just imagine the cuteness until then. Or wait until tomorrow, when I snap dozens and dozens of pictures of Dennis in costume and Chloe in costume... and everyone else in costume...

party in my playroom

We spent the afternoon at Gran & Pop's place, starting preparations for the big Halloween party coming up. Dennis spent his day playing and dancing in his playroom there at their house. He had a great time.

The first thing he did when we got there was to climb over Gran and into their Honda del Sol (small car--very small) driver's seat and take the wheel. Gran was cleaning and defogging the windows of the car, and Dennis thought it was a prime opportunity to climb into that fun looking car and practice his driving. He also practiced his 'turn up the radio', 'turn on the windshield wipers', and 'push random driving buttons' skills while he had the chance. Pop might get a few surprises when he cranks up the car to go to work in the morning!

After the car play, Dennis and Pop went into the garden and chased the kitten around. Well, to be totally correct, Dennis chased the kitten and Pop chased Dennis, but I think fun was had by all. Dennis toted the plastic owl around a few places, hooting at it and trying to choose the prime spot for it to roost today. He got his fill of running wildly, and though I had a few nervous moments watching him through the window, he did a wonderful job of being careful around the pond. He did walk right up onto the rocks at the very edge at one point, but he looked up at his Pop, pointed to the fish and said "fu" (which is his current pronunciation of fish) and then backed away carefully, thank goodness! He now applauds himself for correctly identifying all the things he points to and names.

We played more with his Audubon birds today, and he brought me the hawk this time. He said 'hawk' and then made a screeching call noise. He sounded remarkably like the hawk's call, and I squeezed the tummy of the hawk then so he could hear it. He repeated his noise in delight that he'd remembered and gotten the call right. He was so proud of himself (and I'll admit to being impressed as well).

The last new skill I observed today? He learned to play with a walkie-talkie/two-way radio. Gran was trying to see if he could reach an object on a high table, so she put one of the handsets up there. After a big stretching reach and an accidental knocking down of the handset onto his head, Dennis found himself in possession of a neat new toy. A few minutes later we heard static followed by a cute little voice saying "hi". He repeated this a few times, and because there was an absence of static while he was talking, we can only presume that he A) figured out how to turn it on and B) learned to push the button while talking. Fortunately, no one responded today (the last time we did this, some trucker came through on the radio!), and we took it away from him after that.

Dennis and his Daddy enjoyed some guy time tonight while Gran & I ran errands and went to the gym, and I came home to see them snuggled up in the La-Z-Boy recliner watching a movie together. Dennis waved at me and said "bye bye", so I retreated and gave them their space. I was welcomed back in for the diaper change and goodnight kiss, and I happily tucked him into bed, trying to cover those toes with the afghan but knowing they'd be sticking out of the crib slats later no matter what I did.

18 month checkup

We missed the 18 month checkup due to Dennis being sick, and we were rescheduled for today. It went surprisingly well, with only one scheduled vaccine (Hepatitis A) and his flu shot. He didn't get all that upset today except when the doctor checked his ears. He always HATES that. We thought we were all prepared since we brought his Fisher Price medical bag with us, and he was wearing only his stethoscope and diaper when the doctor came into the exam room. I handed him his otoscope when she started to use hers, but it still didn't stop the big tears and cries. He got over it very quickly, and cried minimally for the shots.

He's apparently right where he needs to be on milestones, with a bigger vocabulary than many his age. We are not surprised. He names everything constantly and picks up new words every day. He can name his body parts and obeyed the two-step command the doctor gave him during the checkup, and he can eat with a utensil. All went well, and he was pleasant and chatty on the drive home.

Tonight we spent lots of time in his room, playing on the new toddler bed and looking at the photos from our camping trip on the computer. We also colored a picture and put the crayons in the box (and dumped them out) several times. He played with his farm animals, making their sounds for them, and he flew his airplane around just above the floor with several unscheduled rough landings and takeoffs for the Little People inside. The picture shows the last nightly ritual before bedtime--brushing his teeth!

not so extreme makeover

It's time to get serious about getting the house ready for the company coming for Thanksgiving. Step 1: Remove the toddler bed from the middle of the living room. I am happy to report that I have accomplished Step 1 now. The toddler bed has now moved into Dennis' room. I thought that this would have to wait until we had enclosed the garage so that we could move the playhouse out of his room, and then we'd have room to put the bed in there, but his room has a larger capacity than I first anticipated. I spent the day rearranging it. He was pretty excited about it, and we actually like the flow of things much better now.

The crib has moved to a spot in front of the window, the only drawback to the new furniture arrangement (as he likes to reach through the crib bars and smack the faux wood blinds because it makes such a satisfying noise). The toddler bed occupies the corner where his crib was, and the end of the crib is pushed against the end of the toddler bed so that it provides a barrier to prevent him from falling off the end while he's getting used to the bed. The toybox used to be in front of the window and is now in the nook at the end of his room, where his chest of drawers used to be. The chest has now moved to a spot beside his changing table, so now all of his clothes are located in the same corner of his room--much easier for changing him! Everything fits just fine and he still has the same amount of open floor play space in the center of the room.

He is very excited about the new bed. He climbed in and out of it, and I kept having to remove him from the bed frame so that I could put the mattress on it. Then I had to remove him from the mattress so I could put on the sheet and quilt. He climbed on and off and on and off lots of times. We practiced tucking Froggy in under the quilt. He climbed up and jumped on the bed. He did everything but sleep in it, but I don't expect that to happen for a while. We just wanted it in there for him to get familiar with it. We're so glad he loves it! This is another hallmark of the rapidity of the growing up process, but we are looking forward to his being able to get out of bed in the morning by himself to play instead of yelling "moo" and "car" from the crib until we get in there and set him free to play with his toys.

He is so thrilled with the new arrangement of his room that he kept his toys put away this evening. He put things back after he played with them, for the most part. Let's hope that's a trend that continues. He picked up another new word today: "cake", as it is his Grandma's birthday and we baked one for her. He knew what that yummy smelling rectangle of aluminum foil contained, and David tells me he followed his Grandma and her cake into the kitchen, repeating his new word several times. And he has the cutest new habit (as do most toddlers his age) of picking up his shirt and pointing to his belly button when you ask him where it is. He does this with great enthusiasm, stabbing himself excitedly in the stomach near the region of his navel and then applauding his brilliance. He also knows the name of that boy appendage in his diaper, and likes to point and name it whenever we're undergoing a diaper change. He's very interested in learning the names and purposes of everything around him. It's an exciting time in his life, and so fun to watch. I can't wait to see what he learns tomorrow, when we are due for a doctor checkup and flu shot. He may spend tomorrow learning how to cry at excessively loud volume, but I can always be optimistic that he won't.

Sweet Home Alabama

This morning we had a nice breakfast at the campsites and then broke camp to head home. On the way out of the park, we stopped at the Treetop Nature Trail and let the kids run mad on the boardwalk. Dennis was so fascinated by the owls! He stared and pointed and even hooted at them! They loved the trail because we could let them run free--it's a boardwalk with high rails on the sides and a few benches to climb on. They were also delighted to lunch at McDonald's before heading home, and Dennis fell asleep in the car almost before we'd left the McDonald's parking lot. He was exhausted!

Once we arrived home, we put him in his crib and he stretched out to sleep another hour. We got everything unloaded and put away while he slept, and we woke him up to go to the church's Fall Festival this evening. There he waved at everyone, fell in love with Cheese Curls, and picked the floating ducks up out of the pool for 20 minutes, saying "duck" each time. There was a beanbag toss game, and I showed him how to toss the beanbag through the nose of the Jack-o-lantern. He picked up a beanbag, walked up to the board, and stuffed it through the same hole. The prizes were candy, so we skipped prizes. He never knew the difference.

On the way home from the church, Sweet Home Alabama came on the radio and Dennis suddenly started humming/singing along with it. It was so cute! He doesn't often sing along to radio songs. Once we got home, we spent an hour and a half playing in his room and putting all his things away. He had a new load of pajamas from his cousin that we added to his clothing supply, and he seems to like them very much. While we were playing in his room, he brought over one of his Audubon birds to me so that I could make it 'chirp' for him. He chose the Yellowhammer (his second favorite, the Great Horned Owl being number one). The Yellowhammer is a type of woodpecker, so when you squeeze his tummy for the call, you get tweets followed by pecking sounds. Both David and I make the bird 'peck' Dennis along with the pecking sounds, and he giggles in delight at the tickling of its soft beak. Incidentally, the Yellowhammer happens to be the state bird of Alabama, and David noted that today's post should reflect Dennis' interest in the things pertaining to his heritage, both bird and song.

Our trip is over and we're all grateful to be stretched out in our comfy beds tonight, but we had a wonderful time. We're already planning our next trip.

toddlers love the great outdoors

It could not have been a more beautiful day. Sunny, cool, breezy, leaves starting to turn colors--ahh, perfection! We spent the entire day outdoors. We had breakfast outdoors (biscuits from scratch, sausage gravy, scrambled eggs--all the luxuries of home!) together, after which the babies enjoyed a wagon ride around the campground. They had their first little tiff of the trip then because Chloe thought that Dennis' shoulder would make the absolute perfect footrest for her wagon ride and he disagreed. They halfheartedly slapped at each other and he got pretty offended (he's the more sensitive one of the two, while Chloe's been mostly successful at defending her turf all year at daycare). But they were over it quickly and none the worse for the experience.

We set up the baby containment unit (umm... large screen house!) and turned them loose with balls. Every one of us spent time in there playing and wrestling with them, and they had the best time! We liked the fact that they couldn't just run off but could be turned loose to play. We were especially glad that we could let them play in there while we set up the campfire for tonight, and we wouldn't have to worry about any fire accidents. We congratulated ourselves on our brilliance for most of the day until Dennis figured out how to unzip the door and free himself and Chloe a couple of times. Oh, well. We could have tied the zippers down, but instead just held them on our laps around the campfire. It worked.

We were delighted that Gran and Pop came up and joined us for a beautiful hike by the lake and a chili supper, followed by some campfire conversation. Shortly after they left, we put the babies to bed and then toasted marshmallows. I wouldn't have minded toasting a marshmallow for Dennis, but it seemed so much safer to keep both my hands on him at all times, so we waited until after bedtime. Didn't want them to see us putting stuff in the fire, either!

The kids seemed to really like the campfire. Chloe wanted to go to it. Dennis stared at it, mesmerized like his Mommy always is. He said "hot" often while pointing to it. And once when he said "hot", he pulled his arm out of the sleeve of his sweatshirt and poked it up through the neck hole, so he had one arm completely free (the better to cool himself with, I guess...). While staring into the fire, Dennis pointed and said "dog". Honey wasn't by the fire at the time, so I corrected him once and said "campfire", and he insisted "dog". And when we looked where he was pointing, there was a log shaped exactly like a dog head, complete with grinning mouth (with glowing coals making an orange 'smile'). He was right. There was a dog in the fire. How creative he was to spot it!

We all had such a perfect outdoor day. The chili supper was messy, of course, but Dennis learned how to master his spoon tonight. He ate an entire bowlful. The babies took long afternoon naps and got tired early tonight. It got pretty cold out, so we didn't mind putting them to bed in the nice warm campers while we all huddled around the fire to stay warm. If I'd had the energy, I could have sat by the fire all night! There's just something so calming about watching a (safe, controlled) fire. I love camping! And I think Dennis does, too.