Halloween Preview

We ordered our costumes about a week ago. Osten has been adamant about a Batman costume (with gloves!) for weeks, so we decided to seal the deal. We ordered online and began the wait for the package to arrive. Of course, only the Batman gloves and princess costume were enclosed. And so we waited some more . . . until Batman finally arrived on our doorstep on Friday. Osten has hardly worn anything else ever since!

Uh-oh. Batman needs a potty break!

Marci took one step in her princess costume and tumbled to the ground. (It's just a wee bit big.) Luckily, she got a Tinkerbell costume for her birthday. Check out her wings!

They both have been running around the house in their costumes and rain boots all weekend toting around various costume accessories. I think they're just a wee bit excited about Halloween this year!

Family Fun

This afternoon, we went to see Playhouse Disney. The kids were entralled. They sat through both acts of the show and only got restless during intermission!

We had great seats! Daddy sat with Osten.

And Marci and I sat right in front of them so the kids could both have easy access to the aisle.

Afterwards, we walked over to Mellow Mushroom and took advantage of a gift certificate from Daddy's recent birthday. (Thank you, Kris and Rick!) Mommy was a little slow on the trigger and wasn't able to catch the straw wrapper before Osten blew it across the table. And check out his condiment tower! Guess who went home with parmesan cheese all over his shirt??!!

Birthday Behavior

My friend, Ann, has made the comment more than once that she's noticed with her older son that changes in age are difficult. It's not so much the time between birthdays as it is the weeks and months surrounding the date itself, she says. I've given a lot of thought to this theory and hadn't been able to determine with any certainty if our children experience this phenomenon. Until last night.

I've had a hunch for the past few weeks that Marci has been in a bit of a state. Classic terrible two's kinds of stuff. Lots of frustration and miscommunication. Try as she might, sometimes she just can't get her point across to me. Despite both of our best efforts, she has frequently wound up wailing on the floor. Sigh . . .

I'm nothing if not a little slow to catch on to changes in our children's behavior. Perhaps it's because I'm too involved in just staying afloat between juggling the demands of work, family, friends, church, volunteering and some occasional "me" time. Or perhaps I'm too enthralled in the details to appreciate the big picture. Maybe I'm just too tired.

After bathing the kids, I took Marci into her room to put on her jammies last night while Daddy helped Osten make a birthday card for his sister. We were no sooner in her room, when Marci began insisting that we return to the bathroom for some reason or another. I tried calmly to explain the necessity of putting on a diaper to no avail. Finally, I dug in my heels and wrestled her into her pajamas. After zipping her into her footed pajamas (which, by the way, are my all-time favorite), even she had forgotten what all of the fuss was about.

Seizing my moment, I scooped her up and into her bed. Osten came in and kissed her goodnight, and I curled up next to her to start our nighttime routine. Marci had other things in mind. She made a big production of rearranging the pillows at the end of her bed and refused to lay down. I finally convinced her to situate herself at the head of her bed. We read books and said her prayers. She opted to pass on the songs (go figure!) and I tucked her in for the night.

I kissed her forehead, turned on my heel to head for the door, and the wailing began. Crying is nothing new in our house, but this was near hysterics. And on the eve of her birthday no less. She was breaking my heart with her incessant sobbing. After nearly thirty minutes, I went into her room to find her in a heap near the end of her bed and nearly hyperventilating having worked herself into such a swivet. I settled her onto my hip, and the tears stopped. Like magic. That Marci, she knows what she wants, and she ain't afraid to cry until she gets it!

I cuddled and rocked her for a few minutes and tucked her back into her bed. Her head touched her pillow, and the full-on hysterical screaming and crying returned. I could see that it was going to be a battle of wills. I headed towards the kitchen to see about the boys' progress on Marci's birthday card and to pour myself a drink. A tall, cold drink . . .

Marci eventually tired and went to sleep. She awoke this morning to Osten parading into her room to announce her birthday, and she seemed rested and rationale. We all sang to her and shared a tiny cake for breakfast. Osten had gotten up especially early this morning, and he had already pulled out the Play-doh and cookie cutters. The two of them were having a ball, and it was especially enjoyable to watch them play together after the bedtime antics of the night before.

Back-to-back birthdays are rough on a mommy, and I took the day off today. Since we weren't in our usual rush against the clock, I let them play leisurely at the table. We gave Daddy an enthusiastic send off, and then we took turns getting dressed. The kids helped me sort the mountain of recycling that has been threatening to take over our garage, and we loaded the trunk of my car. They rode their bikes in the driveway as I gathered a few final things. When I called them, they both came running, and we put away their bikes. Osten climbed into his car seat and started to fasten his seatbelt. Marci has suddenly tired of the backseat and decided the driver's seat is where she wants to be. This is one of our most recent and persistent struggles. She is relentless! After two failed attempts, I literally had to pin her into her seat with one hand while fastening her seatbelt with the other. She is quite the worthy opponent, and I nearly needed a shower afterwards. And of course, she was screaming hysterically . . .

All of this crying in the past twelve hours got me thinking in earnest about Ann's theory concerning birthdays and behavior. When she says that it's hard going into and out of a new age, I wonder what kind of time frame we're talking about here. She's with her family at Disney right now, but you better believe that I'm going to ask as soon as she gets back! Of course, with any luck we'll slide out of this latest phase before her return early next week. However, something tells me that this terrible two's business is going to linger a little longer than the weekend.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Marci-girl! We love you . . . so much!! (Terrible two's and all!)

Sweet Sorrow

Parting is such sweet (and cute) sorrow . . .

Recycled Revelry

We celebrated FaFa's birthday on Sunday morning with some recycled birthday cake. There was quite a bit of cake from Daddy's party that it just seemed silly to buy another one, and Daddy and FaFa both said that they didn't mind. FaFa had lots of help blowing out the candles, which were such a hit that he got to make not one, but two, wishes!

Grammi served up cake and Skittles to the littlest revelers.

Piper followed Osten's lead and took her cake with Skittles on top. Her mommy and I had a good laugh after she insisted on having Skittles and then said, "Mommy, I don't know what Skittles are!" Too cute . . .

YUM!

Patience

Patience. It sure didn't acquire its status as a virtue because it's easy. Nonetheless, it is truly a virtue, and one that we hope to instill in our children . . . if we have the, er, patience to stick to it!

As the older child, Osten is usually very patient with his younger sister, who is still grappling with the concept of yielding anything that she gets her hands on that interests her brother in the least.

For whatever reason, our wedding album is the hot ticket these days in our house, and one that typically entails an exercise in patience.

And understandably, patience sometimes runs out!

Buzzin' with the Cuzzins

What a weekend! Between a boys' weekend and a birthday party for Daddy, we squeezed in some quality time with the cuzzins and Grammi and FaFa.

It's hard to believe that this little guy will celebrate his first birthday on Halloween this year.

What a little ham!

The apple don't fall from the tree!