Snow, Halladay and the Monkey

It's not yet Halloween, but we've already had two "costume events" and have between two and four more to go. Here we have Snow White:



Roy Halladay (who moves a little fast for me to capture him in pictures!):



And one speedy little monkey:



Also, can I just say how much candy we ALREADY have at our house? And we haven't even officially been trick-or-treating yet! It is going to be one crazy year.

Little Pumpkins

We went to the pumpkin patch in Lawrence, Kansas, last weekend. We ran through a hay maze, saw ducks, chickens and cows, picked out four perfect pumpkins and the big kids launched pumpkins from slingshots. Awesome afternoon!

And this guy was our perfect pumpkin picker:

Blur of a Weekend

I am not recommending this. But someday, I am going to want to remember how it was that I packed so much into a measly two days. So I am going to write it down. This is how we spent our Saturday:

SATURDAY:
10 AM - Noodle, dance class (accompanied by Mom and Truck); Dad and Squash, basketball orientation.

11 AM - Noodle, birthday party (again, accompanied by Mom and the faithful Truck); Dad and Squash, grocery shopping.

12:30 - Birthday party over; Noodle's friend comes over for an hour (because friend's mom is out of the country and friend's brother has soccer game [and friend's dad can only be in one place!]).

1:30 - NAPS. Dad puts beef stew in Crock Pot. Mom drinks a Coke and a half. The rest of the day looms!

3:30 - Squash - soccer game (the rest of us attend and cheer him on). Dragons win, 1-0, still undefeated. Weather is spectacular. Truck sits happily in his stroller for 3/4 of the game while little sibs jockey to entertain him with toys. Noodle consumes snacks and holds court as the official big sister of the Truck.

5:30 - Dinner - beef stew and biscuits. Thank goodness for the Crock Pot.

8:00 - BEDTIME. Noodle and Squash have a sleepover in Squash's room. Party time! I plan to make enchilada casseroles for two friends who just had babies, plus one for us, but realize I don't have enough tortillas (list-maker's fault; not grocery-shopper's!).

9:00 - Unplanned trip to grocery store.

10:00 - Make enchilada casseroles (times three!).

11:00 - Read book for next weekend's book club -- Room by Emma Donoghue which is so good and wretched for making me stay up so late!

I was going to write out Sunday's schedule too, but it's too exhausting to think about. Suffice to say, it involved 10 loads of laundry, company for dinner, Sunday School, another soccer game (another win!), and the blessed moment when BOTH Noodle and Truck were asleep for approximately 30 minutes AT THE SAME TIME.

Thank goodness for Monday morning!

Sporty Spice + Her Brothers

We are in activity overload at our house. The Squash plays soccer, which means practice twice a week, plus games on the weekend (often two games on the weekend). Dad is the coach, so we can't miss anything.

But it's Noodle who is doing us in. I signed her up for a "sports class" which is soccer and baseball skills combined (throwing, catching, hitting, kicking), and then I signed her up for basketball. She loves them both -- but they have two weeks of overlap. Plus, I signed her up for a four-week dance class that also happened to start last weekend. So last week and this one, we have had sports on Wednesday; basketball on Thursday; and dance on Saturday! Sheesh! Luckily, it all ends in November -- and we're not signed up for anything then. Yet.

At least my little (huge) guy is happy to just tag along and watch:


He weighed in at 20 lbs., 10 oz. (90th percentile) and was 28 inches "tall" (also 90th percentile) at his 6-month check-up. He was a rock star for his shots, only crying when the injection went in, and being Mr. Happy Go Lucky Baby by the time we were back in the waiting room. We played a lot of peek-a-boo while waiting for the doctor, and also read his favorite book (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can YOU?), but the highlight BY FAR for Truck at the doctor was watching "The Price is Right" in the waiting room. He loved that wacky Drew Carey. Go figure!

6 Months Old

Tomorrow, the Truck will be six months old or -- as his brother puts it -- 0.5.

He drools constantly but has no teeth. He loves to sit in his high chair at the table with us and chow on baby food, finger food, and anything else we give him. To eat Cheerios, he'll try his "pincer grasp", but then give up, shove his wet fist into the pile of Cheerios, and then see what sticks to his fist.

He has started babbling with syllables, and we swear we've heard both "mamamamama!" and "dadadadada!" He laughs when his brother and sister laugh. He loves to watch soccer practice. He also likes watching football with Dad (hence, the shirt above!).

He scooches himself around, and has just started pushing his large belly off the ground. He also rolls all over the place. His favorite toys are his chewy Sophie the Giraffe and his box of blocks. He likes to bang the blocks.

He is a great napper at school -- usually takes at least 2 1.5ish hour naps a day, sometimes 3. He is a less great napper on the weekends! He goes to sleep around 8:30 PM and USUALLY sleeps until 6:30 AM. Occasionally he wakes up around 3:30 or 4 AM, and boy, is he starving! Truck must eat!

Incidentally, we DO call him Truck at home. I am a little curious if he will ever learn his real name...

We're off for our check-up and shots in a little bit. Stats to follow!

Fall is Here

We went for a family hike last weekend. It felt like fall was here. Only going to be in the 50s today, but sunny and relatively wind-free. Gorgeous!



Noodle liked gathering acorns. Squash was all about trying to jump up and hit branches. And Truck? He was just taking it all in.

Illin' and Chillin'

At 5.5 months old, Truck does not have any teeth. He does, however, have a favorite toy: Sophie the Giraffe. She is squeaky and tasty (apparently).

Truck woke up at 4 AM today with a fever. He has been fussy ever since. Poor guy. No other symptoms, not even a stuffy nose, knock on wood. I finally got the rest of the crew out the door to soccer, and within 10 minutes, he was fast asleep. That was an hour ago. I think he just needed some peace and quiet to rest. I won't mention to him that at 4 AM there was PLENTY of peace and quiet to be had.

Does anyone else's coffee maker automatically shut off after an hour or two? It is so irritating. I know I should drink it right away after brewing, but geez, Mr. Coffee, sometimes THINGS HAPPEN. I sure could go for a nice hot cup right now. But you are OFF. Maybe I will go make another pot.