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.

Redeye Horribilis

So it turns out we still have Halloween pictures on our camera, which means probably that much time has elapsed since anything was posted. We'll have to rectify that in the near future...

But first a random vignette. The back story is that my mother put together a wonderful scrapbook/album of me growing up for Christmas (back when I was cute). Anaïs has been fascinated to see daddy as a little boy and this led to her albums being brought out. The above picture shows her with her cousin Hailey. The picture is nice, but Anaïs is quite alarmed by Hailey's red eyes. We tried to explain that sometimes a camera makes that happen, but she is not satisfied. She comes up to us now for reassurance that her eyes are not red (not that there would be anything wrong with that).

This Just In

For a limited time, we're offering this collection of the world's favorite songs for the price of less than three mouse clicks....

Twinkle Twinkle

ABCS

All cinematography done by Mommy.

These remind me that I wasn't consciously aware that Twinkle, Twinkle and the ABCs both share the same tune. Janice had to prove it to me before I'd believe it - hopefully I'm not the only oblivious one (but I suspect I might be).

Hallloween, Part I

We've been getting ready for Halloween this month, with the house being decorated festively with jack-o-lanterns, cobwebs, a "witch forest", and a pair affectionately known as the Grampire and the Winch (vampire and witch). Last week we went to the pumpkin patch for our annual trek through the corn maze - there are a few pictures that may be posted for Halloween, Part II.

This week we carved one of the two pumpkins Anaïs planted at the Spring Fair and grew in our new raised beds. Anaïs drew the features on with a pen, and Mommy dutifully carved them out. I gave her a new phobia by startling her when she tentatively reached her hand out to touch the inside of the pumpkin (hmmm... I wonder why Tucker has so many neurosis). The result is a rather dapper looking pumpkin needing some serious dental work.

The pinnacle of the week was the Halloween party put on at the Community Center. Resembling the holiday carnivals I can remember at elementary school - I suppose they don't do them anymore - it was full of friendly older kids who manned various activities that often resulted in receiving a piece of candy to place in the loot-bag. Anaïs got to do the dry run on her cat costume, and couldn't have been happier (it went well, with the exception of her black cat nose migrating to her forehead).

Click on the picture for the full gallery.

Ana singing

From My Videos

This is Anais' favorite song. Her daddy taught her how to sing it.

Grandpa and the EMP

We had a nice visit from Grandpa all the way from Alabama. We all went to EMP. Grandpa liked the Hendrix, Mommy liked the Sci-fi museum, Ana liked playing music. I'm not sure what Daddy's favorite was, but I know he had fun.

Doin' the Puyallup

As is traditional in September, we made our annual pilgrimage down to the Fair. Because they've moved back from the Great Southern Wilds, we were able to meet the Parkers and let the Cousin Pack run wild.

For the first time, Anaïs was able to ride the kiddie rides. Her first one, the balloons, she wasn't sure of. If Auntie Sandra hadn't been in to stop her I think she might have bailed out off of the side. After a couple of rotations she picked up on the fun factor and had a blast the rest of the time.

My favorite picture is the one of Hailey riding by herself in the fire truck at top. She was not thrilled with the ride (it rotated up and down in the air rapidly). I think the picture captures her concern, peering up over the edge waiting for it to stop.

Finally, on our way out we stopped at the Jiggle Foot (or Jiggle Butt if you're sitting on the vibrating plate) for some refreshment. Click the picture at top for the full set.

Baby's First Joke

Ana made up her first joke today: It is a rewritten and much funnier version of "Humpty Dumpty"

Here it is--"Hunky Gunky had a great poopy."

Repeat several times and laugh hysterically, and you have a good idea of what our evening was like tonight.

Toy Parade

Ana has taken to making great toy "paths." As seen above, the window ledge is one of her favorite places to line up her toys in parade fashion.

In addition, she is very pleased to see her grandpa from Mississippi this week. As are we all.

Up, Up, and Away

She's finally done it! Anais has learned the fine art of climbing up a slide. She has been working on the important skill for about 6 months and is quite excited to have achieved her goal of defying gravity and avoiding pesky stairs. Congratulations Ana!

Treasure Hunting

We went out on Friday morning to "treasure hunt" - or for our non-2 year old readers geocache - in Point Defiance park.Anaïs had a blast exploring all the places we stopped along the 5 Mile Drive. For lunch we went to the Antique Sandwich Company (in the nick of time to top up the peanut butter and jelly reservoir before a meltdown occurred). Pictures are here.

Sniffles and Snuggles

Wee Annie Sniffler was on the sick side earlier this week, and was struggling to get to sleep when I arrived home at about 9:00. Offering to give Mommy a break gave rise to the following exchange:

Do you want Daddy to hold you?

Doesn't Daddy give good snuggles?

(Now feeling slightly hurt) Mommy has to use the bathroom, do you want Daddy or to lay on the couch?
Couch!
(Now really hurt) Fine, have the couch.

She ended up with me and fell asleep within a couple of minutes. I almost woke her up to ask how she could sleep with such inferior snuggling going on (but didn't want to face the wrath of Mommy)

Bye Bye Shoes

Well, she has finally outgrown her very favorite pink shoes. These sparkly gems were the first (and only) non-food item she has ever asked for. She has already moved on to mommy's heels. She has outgrown 2T sizes but is a bit small for a 3T. They really do grow a little too fast.

A Day in the Life

Inspired by Click (the camera) from Go, Diego, Go, Anais decided to document life from her view. You can find the results here. She may have a real talent...