Halloween '08

This might be something I should keep to myself, but I LOVE costumes, costume parties, dress-up, the like. It's like a holdover from elementary school drama camp or college date parties or something. So, while I'm not a huge Halloween fan, this holiday is such fun for me, a cultural "OKAY" to indulge my little costume craving. I only wish my kids (namely, my 3-year-old son) liked dressing up as much. Our final costume for him was a neighbor's last-minute lend because the full costume (you might remember "Pablo") was just NOT HAPPENING. He's a little touchy about some things. So enough about me, we all know why you're here:

Our little Texas Aggie football player (the missing link in their team, obviously) I feel like he's saying "Put me in, Coach!":

Our super-cute bunny wabbit; eating grass, naturally:

Making their best bunny and mean football faces, respectively:

The whole family:

The baby girls on the block: Reese, Aubree and Elise:

After pictures with our neighbors, we headed to a fall festival with friends at the church where JP attends Mother's Day Out. They had bounce houses, games, food-- JP was in HEAVEN. Here's the very large slide he went down (that's me at the top!)

He had this grin plastered on his face the entire evening:

Elise's typical expression throughout the night. I believe the military calls it "shock and awe":

She really enjoyed chewing on this little party favor, which looks surprisingly like a carrot:

Pat keeping JP from "going 'gain!" for the one-hundred-trazillionth time on the bouncy-obstacle-course-thingy:

And, last but not least, the pumpkins we carved. Pat made an impressive redfish pumpkin, a "normal" one, and I did the cat. Sadly (*tear) someone destroyed them in the middle of the night, so they are no more. Good-bye pumpkins, we were so proud of you.

Pumpkin Patch

I'm really not sure how we managed to go to the pumpkin patch and walk away without ANY pictures of the kids IN the pumpkins, WITH the pumpkins, or even NEAR the pumpkins, but I was recovering from being sick, and the games and candy and costumes and hayride distracted us. (Part of it is also that Pat detests pumpkin patch pictures.) This remains a mystery to me; however, that being the case, I have only a few shots from the hayride. We (Pat and I) assumed because we were riding behind this:

that John Patrick would LOVE the idea of a hayride. Not so much... he needed lots of encouragment (like, say, a lollipop) to enjoy our ride, albeit with a permanent scowl:

Elise, on the other hand, loved the ride so much, she fell asleep-- hard! Even after the hayride, repositioned in her stroller (with a leg out!), she STILL managed to catch some Zzzzsss:

We saw lots of cute costumes and just had to send a shout-out to Cousin Noah... check out the Buzz Lightyear we saw!! I'm sure his mom was thrilled that a complete stranger took a picture of her child, but it was all for you, buddy:

Daddy, I'm Yours

I'm SEVEN Months!

Elise is just killing us lately with cuteness. I realize that I've been posting a lot, and {perhaps} it's overkill, but how can I choose? October has been a gangbuster month for good pics. Here's Elise at SEVEN months:

Hoosier Girl?

She speaks!

Proof that Daddy is ALREADY her favorite:

Pablo The Backyardigan

A friend brought JP an awesome "Backyardigans" costume, so we played dress up early this month to see how he'd take to the idea (he's not been a huge fan of costumes in years past). Isn't JP (ahem, Pablo) convincing? I especially like his hat and bow tie :)

He showed it off later that night to his good friend, Riley. I think wearing a costume made them feel even sillier (and more touchy) than normal. Aren't they cute?

So, we'll see how Halloween goes. He's not been too keen on the idea of putting it back on, despite all the fun you see documented above. More to come...

My Sweet Potato

Elise is trying out all kinds of fun new foods. Here's a partial list: rice cereal, barley, oatmeal, squash, green beans, peas, carrots, corn, peaches, pears, apple juice, chicken, turkey, and SWEET POTATOES!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Chris!

Life's a Beach

We spent a few days in Padre Island with my in-laws and had a fabulous time. There's nothing like seeing your child "discover" the ocean-- I'd rank it as one of the top thrills of parenting so far. (Watching them discover anything is actually pretty cool...)

(Click on the picture above to really see the look on JP's face! Sheer excitement!) Elise loved it too-- she actually could sit up for the first time on her own in the sand. And there was infinite amounts of stuff to dig your fingers into:


We arrived the first afternoon and met up with Pat's parents and his sister's family. We headed to the beach straightaway, so I don't have any pictures (the camera was still packed) but after a few timid moments, John Patrick was down to his skivvies (literally) and having a ball.

JP called our condo "the little house" and was very pleased with having Grandma and Grandpa next door. He kept asking me where his "friends" were... it took him awhile to understand the "cousin" concept.

The next few days, we spent endless hours at the beach. We (Grandma) buried Emma:

Jumped waves with Clara:

Watched Audrey and Clara boogie board:

Played in the water/pool/ sink:

Cuddled with Grandma:

And Grandpa:

Played with Uncle Pat:

Watched Elise work the room:

And were even allowed to jump on the bed:

We slept pretty hard too:

All in all, very good times. The entire slideshow is accessible by clicking the title "Life's a Beach"-- no, this isn't every picture we took!

Can I Get a Woof-Woof?

Both my children find barking hilarious. I can't believe I've caught them both on tape... here is Elise CRACKING up while her big bro barks at her:

And here is JP laughing at the SAME thing (at the SAME age) two and a half years before:

California- Part 4 (PML with the Wiechers)

The last part of our stay, our dear friends, the Wiechers, came up to the mountains to join us, bringing with them more good eats, stunning photography skills (see slideshow below), and lots of laughs. Liese and John Patrick were soulmates from the get-go, and they had a blast hiking the trail, swimming at the beach, exploring the "secret garden" together, and, of course, watching a few Hermie movies "Neecie" lent us. I'm not sure if they were more excited to see the stars late at night or eat ice cream cones outside after dinner. Luhan and Elise just watched... strapped to their chairs, and having the best time with all the excitement.

(You can see these pictures in a full-screen slideshow by clicking the title "California- Part 4" above)

California- Part 3 (Pine Mountain Lake)

After our trip to Modesto, we settled in at Pine Mountain Lake with Pat's grandparents and the Parvis fam. I don't know how many hours Rachel, Denise and Glory did PlayDoh with JP, but the Bob and Larry (VeggieTales) Rachel made him were legendary-- masterpieces of the Doh. He cried when he had to put them away, even as they were hardening to solid form. And *busy* Timmy finally got Elise to warm up to him with HIS legendary "Bucky the Beever" act.

California- Part 2 (Parvis' Place)

After Pat arrived in San Jose, we drove up to Pine Mountain Lake and then to Modesto for JP's THIRD birthday! Steve and Denise made sure the day was perfect-- not only did they have about twenty Hermie movies for JP, piles of presents, and a swimming pool, they also fed the rest of us filets and homemade ice cream cake. We marveled at their incredible new kitchen, checked out Rachel and (busy) Timmy's beautiful pad, and watched Elise practice her new favorite human trick: making raspberry noises.

California- Part 1 (Sherman Casa)

Our journey to California began with me, myself and I flying with the two kids to San Jose (via LAX). That's right... all by myself, with a plane change. Luckily for me, everyone I knew was praying it'd be manageable, and indeed, God provided two great flights with my little crew. I was so anxious the night before, I hardly slept. :) My grandmother used to have to move by herself cross country with two children... I hardly know how she did it. (And I think there was a dog involved too!) What the below picture DOESN'T show is the mommy with the enormous carry-on and three suitcases, or her pregnant friend (herself with a 3-year-old), helping her.

We journeyed ahead of Daddy to have some QT with the Sherman clan, who received us with open arms. Our time there was so jam-packed, I hardly have any pictures to document it, but here are a few. Thanks, Shermans, for a great visit! JP is still a proud owner of the "man card" the boys gave him: