Halloween 2013

Holly has immersed herself in the identity of Sonic the Hedgehog for about 6 months now, after transitioning away from Swampy.  She's known for a while that she wanted to be Sonic for Halloween, and I had hoped she would change her mind...but she didn't.  So I got started making her Sonic costume the first week of October (all but the hat, which we ordered from Amazon).  It turned out to be pretty cute.

Adam was Tails the Fox, Sonic's sidekick, just as he has been for the last 6 months.  Only one tail is visible here, but he does have two.

Ben was adorable in a borrowed Ewok costume:

Ben was in truly sweet spirits with the discovery of one sucker after another

We first had our ward Halloween party, and I put my hair in two sides buns to look the part of Leia with Ben as an Ewok.  The next day was Holly's preschool Halloween party, and then on the 31st we went up to Microsoft for some Halloween activities on campus.  It took so long to drive up there and back, and the festivities were nothing special, so we will probably skip that next year.  We didn't have time for a fun Halloween dinner, so we got KFC before heading out for some trick-or-treating.  We took the kids to the assisted living home nearby and then to some neighborhood houses.  Holly loved giving candy out just as much as getting it.  When the doorbell would ring, she would gasp and say, "A walk-up!!"  before running to the door. 

A face painter at Microsoft painted a Sonic on Holly's cheek

Pumpkin Carving 2013

This year I didn't actually have any involvement in pumpkin carving, but Adam outdid himself, creatively speaking. Holly assisted, and I was washing dishes and hanging out with Ben.

 Here are his three creations this year:

The first two designs were Holly's choices.  For his pick, Adam recreated the Ring of Power from the Lord of the Rings, in script straight out of Mordor.

The one Pumpkin to rule them all

My own...my precious

For pictures of the last 5 years of pumpkin carving, see the post entitled "Pumpkin Carving: A History."  From his paintings at age 8 to this pumpkin forged in the fires of Mount Doom, I am continually impressed with Adam's talents.

Holly's First Day of Preschool

Holly started Preschool at Mrs. Cloud's house in September.  She goes Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30-2:30 and she is excited every time.  Here she was on her first day.

 

Holly always has artwork and worksheets to bring home, and it was really piling up around the house.  She didn't want me to throw any of it away, so I started sticking all her papers in a 3-ring binder.  That turned out to be a brilliant idea, because now she has a book of her artwork that she can pull out and flip through, which she loves to do, especially when someone comes over.

Here are a picture and video I took of Holly's class when the parents were invited to come in for the teddy bear picnic last month.

Family Campout

In mid-September we went camping down by Mt. Rainier for one night.  The kids both had a blast and it went pretty well.  We found a campsite near the runway of the Mt. Rainier airport.  We set up our tent and explored the area around the campsite, which was not far from a river and had soft,  mossy little and Adam built a fire when it got dark.  For dinner, we roasted hot dogs and Pillsbury biscuits and cracked open peanuts.  Instead of the backpacking mattresses that Adam and I have always slept on in the past, we brought a regular queen sized air mattress for us all to sleep on.  The kids thought it was so much fun to play on our bed in the tent, and after we came home Holly said it was her favorite part of the whole trip. 

We got Ben and Holly each a mini lantern of their own, and they each had a little camping chair to sit in.  Holly has her own Kindercone sleeping bag that we bought last year, and we borrowed another kid-sized sleeping bag from friends.  The only hard part of the campout was getting the kids to sleep, because they were so wound up and distracted by the tent. Once we all got to sleep, we all slept well.  I slept on the big mattress with the kids and Adam slept on his thin mattress.

For breakfast we had another campfire, and we ate cereal with milk and strawberries and muffins from home.  I have always liked making yummy campfire meals, but this time we thought it was best to keep the food as simple as possible, and that was a good choice. 

Our campsite was in an area where the ground was made of soft, mossy mounds.  There was a tiny hill (actually a giant tree root with soft moss growing over it) right next to our tent that made for a good stage. 

Once we packed up the tent, we had planned to do one of our favorite hikes at Rainier, but as soon as the tent was out of site, Holly wanted nothing more to do with the wilderness.  She kept insisting on going home, but we took a short walk around a pretty lake and had a picnic lunch before heading back.

It was a lot of stuff to pack up for being gone less than 24 hours, but we had a pretty fun time.  Holly slept on her floor in her play tent for the next 3 weeks. 

Benny - 16 months (I wrote this back when he was actually 16 months)

 Ben is an adorable little chubber these days.  He's really coming into his personality, which includes a sweet, snuggly side along with a seriously bad temper.  He's also having his first explosion of new words.  Here are all the words he says:

Mama or Mommy
Dada or Daddy
Holly
Ball
Uh-oh
Baa (Bath)
Doddy (Doggy)
Duh (Duck)
Buh (Book)
Boh (Balloon)
Hi
Bye
Meow
Eat
Puh (Cup)
Apple
Pretzel
Dee-key (Stinky)
Poo-poo
Boo (Spoon)
Bo (Bowl)
Sigh (Outside)
Up
Baby
Cookie
Sishy (Fishy)
Nak (Snack)
Shoe
Sock
Chip
Di (Drink)
Nana (Banana)
All done
Day-doo (Thank you)
More
Pee (Please)
Tzee (Teeth)
Cheese
Show
Box (Xbox)

It feels like he comprehends most of what I say to him, so we are able to communicate back and forth quite well.  He is famous for his scowl, where he furrows his eyebrows low and glares at people.  All summer long people have commented on his beautiful skin color and asked where it comes from.  He is pretty good at feeding himself with a spoon, and it is messy but he takes great pride in it.  He demands a spoon for everything I give him.  He eats a lot and at the sight of any food, he goes nuts and acts like he is starving.  He also asks for a drink many times throughout the day and drinks a lot, mostly water.  He loves his shoes and socks and is happy to have me put them on any time.  He often runs from one place to another in the house and he is drawn to the pantry like a magnet.  He loves to throw things, and that is one of his first reactions when becoming angry.  His favorite foods are Cheerios, yogurt, bananas, cheese, and any kind of crackers or crunchy snacks.  But he will eat whatever I make for dinner most nights, unless he is angry about something, and then he will just throw it. 

Camera Roll Recap

We were so busy having fun this summer that I forgot to take pictures.  The following are all I took the whole summer, aside from our trip to Montana.  This is the best of the camera roll on my phone from the last 4 months.

At our favorite park this summer, Les Gove park in Auburn.

Park day

Benny's fat lip

Mom's new haircut

Remlinger Farms

One-on-one time with Mollydog in Indiana

Little bums and tan lines

Holly's first sunburn

Lunch with Charlotte

Waiting patiently while Dad changes our flat tire on the way to California

Hanging out at Les Schwab on our way to California

Going swimming at the community center with Em & Noah

Holly out riding her new balance bike

Dad, Holly and Ben riding the little trolley at the Fishing Derby

Ben hanging out in the Elmo chair

Ben playing in his new water table on his 1st birthday

With Grandma Johnson on her trip here for Ben's birthday

Ben with a water-soaked front after proudly making it to the top of the stairs