Now that the Christmas season is upon us...

I thought it appropriate to post some pictures from Halloween.

Kai spent the end of trick-or-treating like this.


But perked up again once we started sorting all of the candy.


Jett was his usual cute self, in bear costume.


Halloween was really fun this year. Last year I had our nanny dress Jett in his costume as Charlie and I raced home from work in order to take him out trick-or-treating before it got dark, which we barely managed to do. This year was much more relaxed. We trick-or-treated with a slew of babies on a festive block. These houses were decked out. In fact, some were so scary that I was sure Jett wouldn't even walk by them, let alone walk up to their front door. But he did, and he didn't even bat an eye. I was so proud. Scary soundtracks, dry ice mists, and creepy costumed homeowners handing out candy seemed to be there only for his entertainment. I loved it.

I also loved the homeowners who were handing out beer and wine to the adults. We strolled along, talking to neighbors, exploring with Jett, and pushing Kai in the stroller, with a Red Stripe in the sippy cup holder. A perfectly lovely evening.

For those of you who think you've seen that frog costume before...here is Jett two Halloweens ago.

Happy Thanksgiving...

to you!

And to the best grandparents I could have asked for.

Love, Kai

P.S. Jett sends his love too.

Blue

Jett is learning his colors and whenever I ask him to find something blue, he finds Kai's eyes. Sometimes I'll hear Jett talking to himself, "Kai blue eyes. Dada blue eyes. Mama no blue eyes? Jett blue eyes? Jett no blue eyes?" (Jett's eyes are a mix of colors. Charlie calls them blue, but I call them brown, and obviously Jett doesn't know what to call them). Kai's eyes, however, are clearly

blue.

Our Own Little Goblin

slap slap slap slap
your bare flat feet on the floor
dancing and running
in the light from the kitchen windows
jumping (but no jumping after dark - we don't want to disturb the neighbors)

slap slap slap
Saturday night those flat little feet
slap slap slapped their way
into our bedroom
over the carpet
swish swish swish

we didn't know you were there.
swish swish swish

we didn't know you were there until Daddy turned his head to look at the clock and brushed his nose against another, smaller, colder nose.

Yikes!
he sucked in air and jumped out of bed!
I threw my arms around Kai and yelled What?! What?!
he picked you up in a big bear hug because thank god that nose was your nose and he was scared half to death

but he scared you half to death and you pulled yourself out of his arms and ran to my side of the bed (swish-swish-swish-swish!) and i tried to pull you up and into our bed, but no, you just wanted to stand there with your serious face.

Daddy, feeling guilty, got up at six-thirty to play trains.
slap slap slap slap

Again, the next night
we were exhausted with the expecting of it.
slap slap slap slap
swish swish swish swish

In the moonlight your hair blends in to the pale bookshelves along the wall
your skinny arms disappear
your eyes, brown-blue-gray orbs
float in the air like a ghost.
slap slap slap
swish swish swish.

Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams, Clara Sofia.
April 12, 1916 - November 5, 2008

We love you, Grandma Bee.
XXOO

Good Idea, Tio Chris!

Jett is vying for a position in Obama's white house. Maybe he could chair Obama's literacy council. He'd also take Secretary of Transportation.

Obama!

Main St. Update #2 or How Did I Get So Busy?

Things are looking up, sort of, over here on Main St. For starters, it looks like Charlie could maybe, possibly, perhaps, start bringing home the bacon again before the year is up. He has also been in a unique, but good situation, in that he has been able to go into the office and use his work computer to look for work. This is important because if he tried to use our computer at home, he would have to share his computer time with Jett, who believes that this is where Elmo lives. He would also have to share the computer with me, but I am up to my eyeballs in computer work, and have little time to share the screen. Yes, yes, I'm doing more than just feeding kids around here. You might think that my main use of the computer is to write this blog (except for this past week when I've posted nothing at all!). While that is mainly true, I'm also doing independent contract work for the organization that I left after Kai was born. I'm thrilled to be doing it, but have trouble finding time to do it. So, when I get a few minutes in front of the computer, I have to work instead of blog. Except for right now. Ahem.

I'll be caught up in my work in a couple of days and oh, the posts I will write then! We have pictures to gush over, milestones to admire, and accomplishments to ooh and ahh. I will be a frenzied posting machine.

Until then...it's back to Main Street. If you wondered how we were able to cut our grocery bill in half, don't give us too much credit. The only way we were able to cut our bill in half that first week was because we hadn't tried to before. It's amazing what you can save when you cut out the organic food and the beer. Pity.

And how are the diapers going, you ask? Well, Jett is back to disposables, and honestly, it's a relief. He kept soaking through the cloth ones; they weren't absorbent enough. I'm sure that I could find cloth diapers that worked for him, but I haven't put any effort in to it yet. I feel environmentally irresponsible with every diaper change, but on the bright side, I haven't gagged all week. As far as cost savings go, Jett wears about $1.80 worth of disposable diapers every day, which is safely within our budget.

And that is my mundane post for the week. Soon I'll be posting pictures of the cutest Halloween Frog and Bear you've ever seen. Get your oohs and ahhs ready.