Thursday, November 17, 2011

Books for daily use in the kitchen.
Posted by ROME (can someone tell me how to switch that please?)

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Quote

Daddy was awakened late in the night by some awful groans. Arriving quickly to your bedside he asked:
"Luthien, what's the matter? Why are you sad?"
All he could make out were some grumbles.
"Luthien, why are you sad?" Daddy asked again.

"Because, I thought in my dreams, mommy ate all my chips."

Despite the drama, you fell quickly back to sleep.

Halloween

The few weeks leading up to Halloween, Luthien you requested to be a blue skeleton AND a red skeleton.  I kept asking things like, "So you mean a blue and red skeleton?  Blue and red bones?"  I don't know if I ever really understood what you initially were asking to be, but you were happy with the costume we came up with.  Bastian, you were given these adorable suspender jeans awhile back that fit you now, so it was only fitting that you would be a gnome.  You both wore your costumes to our church's "trunk or treat" activity that was held on Friday night, and for one reason or another you couldn't wear them again (not warm enough and/or refusing to wear part of the costume and/or the costumes were assembled so cheaply that they were destroyed after one wearing!)  So, on the actual day of Halloween, Luthien you were a dragon (thanks to your friend Sebastian, whom we went Trick-or-Treating with), and Bastian you wore a much too small giraffe costume handed down from Luthien.  We built up the fact that the "Switch Witch" would be coming to trade out your candy for a toy after you went to sleep.  You both talked about the witch all week long, and even got a phone call from her.  We also sang lots of Halloween songs and told lots of spooky stories, since Luthien, you love scary things.

I am so not crafty, just cut some bones out of felt and glued them on to your clothes...probably why they fell apart so easily :)  I also ran out of time so didn't cut out the ribs individually and the final result looked more like a shield.  You loved it though!


Luthien, you kept telling us this is what a skeleton would do

And this

Bastian you would not keep on your gnome hat for more than 10 seconds. Maybe it was all those staples Dad decided to add for reinforcement...

1) You were allowed as many candies as your age before surrendering the rest to the Switch Witch
2) Lessons learned: never put that much face paint on a 3 year old...don't put ANY on a 1 year old

Came home on Friday to discover cards and presents from grandparents!  





Bastian, mid-word- "airplane"  This is a face I see a lot, you really light up when you talk about balls, animals, and sometimes transportation items like in this instance

Did I mention this was the best, most festive Halloween ever?!  Not only are New Englanders really into decorating for the occasion, the weather and scenery were perfectly Halloween-ish


Luthien and your current BFF Sebastian, who was dressed up as a witch


I'm not kidding when I say people go all out for Halloween around here...the woman on the left was passing out candy in her front yard amidst these guys and many more (totally inappropriate for little ones but Luthien, you weren't scared a bit)
We are still pretending to Trick-or Treat around here these days, I think it made a big impression on you, even without actual consumption of much candy!
Love you,
Mama

More October

Luthien and Bastian,
October was a busy month with the aforementioned visitors, preschool, and gearing up for Halloween, which you, Luthien were VERY excited about this year.  Here are a few pictures to document...

Preschool: Learning about primary and secondary colors
Weighing and recording our various pumpkins and squash (that kitchen scale has become more useful than I ever imagined, thanks Dad!), lacing letter "P"
Shadow matching (then going outside and finding real matches for each leaf!)

Mama and her blondies...around these parts it is a rare thing to be blond.  People are constantly shocked by you two

We finally got to a local orchard: apples are both of your faves!


Pumpkin carving: you both have weird sensory issues (not from me) and will not go near the inside of the pumpkin 


-Mama

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Visit

Luthien and Bastian,
Nana and Grandad came for a visit in early October, and as usual the time felt too short.  Luthien, you fell in love all over again and basically didn't even notice me while they were here.  Bastian, while you loved the non-stop attention and intense tickling from Grandad, you became more clingy during that time and continue to be still.

We kicked off the visit with a trip to Mystic, Connecticut, where we met up with your cousins and Aunt Trisha/Uncle Beau at an outdoor Dinosaur Park.  The idea was to be outdoors, enjoying the fall weather and colors.  Much to our dismay it turned out to be 85 degrees with lots of green (the colors changed later this year and have generally not been as impressive, likely due to the storms we had).

Arriving at the park...
Bastian, I can't tell you how many people tell us you look just like your Dad.  We only sort of see it, and most of the time can't figure out who you look like.

     Uncle Beau, Luthien, Georges, and the one orange/red tree in the entire park

Cousins: sharing food and comparing belly buttons (Bastian you have a habit of fiddling with yours, especially as a calming mechanism when you are trying to fall asleep)





The many faces/moods of our Luthien Lee
"My best friend is Nana" said Luthien recently, while reading a favorite Frog and Toad story
Following our Mystic adventures we drove to Brooklyn, leaving Dad behind to study.  Our new(ish) camera has turned out to be a bit fickle and our pictures didn't turn out from that trip, so just know that you both ADORE your cousin Georges and it was difficult saying goodbye.  On to our last days with Nana/Grandad in New England...

More Nana
Grandad reads Frog and Toad best
We went to Plymouth and finally saw a bit of color whilst walking the trails of Miles Standish National Forest; we collected lots of interesting colored mushrooms and leaves




Rain came just as we were finishing our nature walk, and we ate dinner at an adorable little cafe on the ocean near our home in Fairhaven...a perfect end to a perfect visit


Love,
Mama