Halloween 2010

From 2010-10-31 Halloween

A set of Halloween pictures (now that it's Thanksgiving and the candy has almost run out). Anais chose to be a zombie this year. Initially it was to be this much scary (arms wide apart) and this much pretty (thumb and pointer finger held about 1" apart). As it got closer, the scary/pretty ratios skewed back the other way. She claimed to be concerned about scaring the other kids away, but it wasn't a convincing argument.

She also had an alternative costume that didn't threaten to shed glitter and spiderwebs over peoples floors. With the help of the play clothes, she was economically turned into a fairy (it was a specific sort of fairy, but it escapes me now).

Jack was pressed into the lobster costume (I've included pictures of Anais in it from 2006 as well) for all outdoor events. Indoors he went as a punk rocker, be it a gentle sort of sleepy punk rocker.

11 pictures here.

Trolley of the Dolls

Now that Janice has been put on bed rest (formerly strict, now reduced to modified), we've had to adjust our schedules and the workings of the household. I've been pleased to discover that I can still do a reasonable job cooking, but humbled by trips to the supermarket. I'd swear that I used to do all of my own shopping. I don't seem to remember how to do it, but surely I would have starved otherwise (and I'm clearly not, nor have ever been starving). Now each trip seems like an adventure into another world, one where I don't speak the language or understand how anything works.

To counteract my ineptitude, Janice (bless her heart) has taken to re-writing the grocery list by location so that I can use it like a map:


This makes the entire trip much simpler and less likely for me to screw up. Unfortunately it doesn't prevent minutes being wasted while trying to select the appropriate item. This morning, I stood in front the array of sizes, flavors and types of jam while my internal monologue ran:

Let's see, I think it's usually Jam. No, maybe preserves. Or at least not jelly. And she mentioned once that she tried to get jam without high fructose corn syrup. Or was it with the corn syrup and no preservatives. I probably should have been paying more attention. Ok, we'll go non-HFCS. Now, what type of fruit does Anaïs prefer. We've got strawberry now, but I should change it up. Boysenberry... I can't remember if she likes fruit with 'y' in the middle and not on the end. Of course I could just stick with strawberry. I wonder if Apple Butter counts as jam...

Just repeat this while randomly picking up the various jars. I finally settled on Blackberry jam, sweetened with fruit juice and no preservatives. But I hedged my bet by getting the smallest possible jar.

Oh, and hello blog, long time no see.

Self-Portrait

 

Anais loves to take photos with the camera her Grandpa C. got her for Christmas. This is my new favorite. She took it of herself a few weeks ago.

Friend

 

 

Ana is starting to enjoying playing with other kids. These photos show her with Wilder, a boy about a year younger than she is. They have quite a lot of fun shrieking and running around. They also hold hands quite a bit, which is very cute.

First Play

 

 

These are a few shots of Anais at her very first play. It was based on the book "Where is the Green Sheep." We had quite a lot of fun.

Last October

 

 

 

As we are quite behind on blog posts, I now present you with Pumpkin Patch '08. Anais took a brave trip through the corn maze, then went to chose her favorite pumpkins. We were a bit surprised to see she chose two green and yellow gourds that she named "the ice cream cones." And yes, she did lick them and say how tasty they were when we got home.

Visiting Cousins

 

 

 

We had a nice visit with Owen and Hailey last November. Here are a few of our favorite pictures of the happy kids.