Trick or Treat

Things I either learned or things that I reaffirmed my existing beliefs in while trick or treating with the family tonight:

1. Angus LOVES skeletons. He kept asking random folks in skeleton/ grim reaper costumes for "big hugs."


2. Large crowds continue to piss me off.


3. That while some people will always suck, (that means you minivan tire screeching speeder man who nearly hit a bevy of children because you NEEDED that particular parking space lickety spilt) others will continue to rule (another huge thank you to the Tinman and his possee for the Loot Bag you gave us after we forgot the kids' pumpkin buckets and also for the fantastic Danceoff. It will be what I remember most about Halloween 2007).


4. Teaching manners and gratitude and graciousness by example creates not only a good student, but a good teacher as well. Parents who shoved other people's children out of their way---this lesson is for you.


5. Trick or treating is way more fun a year after a C-section than it is a week after one.


6. Angus likes Reeses Peanut Butter cups.


7. Strangers see a Noah that is calm and silent. Those who know him well know that there is a Beast within.


8. Tony makes me feel safe.
9. Halloween = Good Times

Halloweentime

Saturday

I took my biggest big kid on an all day fun-filled adventure date today to try to shake free of the cabin fever that had begun to eat away at our souls. Noah and Tony still don't have clean bills of health, so we left them at home and headed out for a little one-on-one bonding time. It was lovely. We hit the toy store for some hands-on window shopping for over an hour, then walked to the library making sure to stomp in every puddle we encountered along the way. After checking out some new reads, we strolled back through town to our car and changed out of our rain boots and into dry shoes and headed off for MM's Spooky Saturday Fall Festival. Angus played hard on the playground and at some of the little game booths and won a few prizes. Once we tapped that shindig for all it was worth, I asked him what he wanted to do next, since it was his day and he had been calling the shots and doing a swell job of it thus far. "Toy store!" was his response. So back we went, making sure to park far from the store to guarantee a good walk together and enough time to eat the cookie we stopped for at the bakery. Back at the toy store, we hit the fun house mirror and laughed ourselves silly. And to top it all off, Angus had his caricature drawn by a street artist on our walk back to our car. I had more fun than I have had in ages. He is an almost perfect date. (A perfect date wouldn't make you help him go potty or make you pay for everything or force you to do all the driving or insist on calling all of the shots. But he is damn cute and clever and charming, so he scores a 9 out of 10.)

The Baby Turns One

I started this blog a year ago in anticipation of the birth of our little man Noah. I figured it would be interesting to chronicle our family's shifting dynamic and the craziness that was about to unfold. A way to chart his growth and development while charting ours as a family, too. I just went back and reread all of my previous entries. So much has happened in the past year. It simply sped by. Everyone tells you the years will pass quickly when you have kids, but I never fully understood how quickly until this week.


My baby is a year old. He can run, feed himself, climb just about anything, and calls me momma. He claps his hands, dances to music, is a very forceful mouth-kisser, loves to wrestle with his brother, and is a born biter. Noah is determined and clever and so smart that you all had better watch out. He is a force to be reckoned with and he is our big kid now.

Another thing that occurred to me this week as I was sorting through Angy's old clothes that I had saved for the sibling we might one day create for him. Angus was a year and a half old when Tony and I made up our minds that it was time to add another little person to the family. Three weeks later, I was pregnant. As I grabbed tiny overalls and sweatshirts and teeny weenie socks out of the bags of Angy's old things and began to wash them for Noah to wear it really hit me. Childhood is so short, and i had better work even harder on making their memories of this time the very best they can be.

yesterday, i was told the saddest story imaginable. what makes it most horrible is that it is true. p2, the world will miss you.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

The New Uniform

One silly green suit created the happiest boy in the world.

Before and After

Ready for Puddle Stomping

Now, all he needs is a pair of pants.

Little Devil

Noah's getting some extra mileage out of the Halloween costume Angus wore when he was 1. It is somehow more befitting the Deuce.

Our Sentinel

A little shout out to Flowers Whiskers. Rest in peace, little lady.

Fun Fun Fun

The only thing better than putting costumes on a dog is putting them on your kid. Here is Noah in his camouflage bunting dressed as a pile of leaves. And Angus in his half-finished Dipsy Halloween costume that my mom is making. I thought his head was going to pop right off of his over-excited body when my mom put it on him. He bounced around the house all giddy and then zipped off upstairs to admire himself in the full length mirror. Guess I'll need to procure a dress-up box soon.

Another Reason to Love Craigslist

I am hopelessly addicted to scanning the FOR SALE and FOR FREE ads on Craigslist. I love a delicious deal. Today I struck gold when a woman advertised a used bike trailer for free. Free! For a month I have been scouring the ads to find one for sale and missing the opportunity by minutes and then this free one came along. I jumped on it right away and we got lucky. We are now the proud owners of a bike trailer that fits both kids in snugly and safely and attaches to my bike without weighing it down very much. And the kids (and their momma) loved it.

New Life on Three

While we were holed up on the 6th Floor, Janey was hard at work bringing new life into existence down on the 3rd. Matt and Janey welcomed little Argent William Christopher Conner to Planet Earth on Monday. The little man is the spitting image of his daddy and sounds like his momma. I heard some of his first cries, and he will fit right into the family band seamlessly. Congratulations, Matt and Janey. Three is a magic number.

Home Again Home Again, Jiggety Jig

It took us 5 days to get here, but we are finally home. Little NRB was so worn out by the end of our stay that he passed out sitting up while waiting for our discharge transport to arrive. A very big THANK YOU to all of our wonderful doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, and housekeepers who worked so hard to get Noah well again. Here's to never needing to see you again.