School pictures

I was very much unsure of sending in any money for school pictures at preschool earlier this fall.  I mean, those pictures are famously awful, and the backgrounds are atrocious.  Well, the background *is* atrocious, but have you ever seen a better shot of Owen?  (Actually, the scanning messed it up a bit...colors are better in the print.)  Glad I bought a few after all!  Anyone who can get such a good shot of a 4 year old (and a class of 4 year olds...not a bad shot either!) must be a pro.  Why are they in the school picture business?

Halloween Eve

Footage from Halloween Eve (as Owen named the evening when he figured out trick or treating was to follow the next day).  Actually, we went trick or treating on Friday, as the town was 70% out of electricity on Monday.  In this clip, Asher and Owen ate a bunch of the freshly toasted pumpkin seeds, then proceeded to turn them into tiddlywinks and fodder for pouring in and out of stacks of cups they found in the cabinet (I wouldn't have oiled and salted them if I knew that was their destiny!).  http://vimeo.com/31937371

Halloween for us involves carving a pumpkin, putting on costumes and going trick or treating.  It's nice to meet the neighbors and have a momentary sense of community in a not-overly-social neighborhood.  It would be nice to have things to bring everyone out of their house more often...should think on that.  Anyway, Owen was in high gear to get on the road and trick or treat, and Asher figured it all out pretty fast.  They were an adorable pair with their yelled THANK YOU!!! at each house, and social little Asher happy to give smiles and giggles and say, "Happy How-een!" each time a door opened.  He just LOVES PEOPLE.  It's extraordinary.  Of course, this does not mean he would actually *wear* the Halloween costume I made him.  He was supposed to be a school bus (his favorite thing of all, excepting sugar in all forms).  He would not, no way, no how, put the bus on to trick or treat, but the next day of course wore it around proudly.  2 year olds!!  Owen wanted to be a pumpkin, so it was a pretty simple $10 costume for him!

Asher, Dancer

Asher still loves to dance.  His moves have become increasingly refined and vary to match the music style quite a bit.  I'm not saying he's a pro dancer, but he definitely has a sense of the music and moves to try to match it...fun to watch! Owen also carving the pumpkin at the end.

http://vimeo.com/31936882

Snow!

We are now almost recovered from a 4-day power outage following a freak snowstorm in October.  We only got a few inches, but wet, heavy snow combined with still-leafy trees makes for a ton of broken branches and downed utility lines.  My magnificent husband rigged a system by which the boiler could be run for short periods of time off of the idling car engine.  As long as I could get a hot shower, we made it just fine :)  Lots of people left town.  The worst of it was losing our fridge contents, but between you and me, the fridge needed a good cleaning anyway ;)  All that's left is to get rid of a ton of branch debris from the 4 trees that mostly came down in our yard and across our driveways.  Reuel chainsawed up the logs, but we're trying to hire someone with a chipper for a non-exorbitant price to do the rest of the job.

Here's the boys enjoying the start of the snow!  http://vimeo.com/31936527

You know Dad's been babysitting when...

...this kind of stuff is happening.  Reuel:  "Amy, you're going to want to do the next load of laundry with items that you want to be thoroughly Oxi-Cleaned."

http://vimeo.com/31936405

Open mouth, insert words

Regarding nighttime potty training:  "I'll make sure to post that I've had to eat these words if we have a big setback, in the interest of our case study."

Well, he certainly is still doing mighty well, and accidents aren't very frequent (less than a handful of incidents total).  In fact, he may have relapsed because of grandparent visiting and excitement; haven't had an accident since then.  BUT, the solid 2-week alarm-free spell did not last perfectly.  FYI.  :)

Grandparents!

Today ended a lovely multi-day visit with Mommo and Daddo, in which we played a-plenty, picked a-plenty apples, did a few projects, and mostly just enjoyed each other's company (and ate a lot...whew, salad for a week for me).  The kids really savored the time, and little Asher was in all kinds of tears this morning to say goodbye.  Of course, they acted like hooligans much of the time, but their Mommo and Daddo were very tolerant (you'd think they'd done this six times before, or something!).

I didn't snap too many pictures because we were too busy living, but here's a few...

Daddo brought toy trucks and bulldozers...with multiple electronic sounds!!!  Doesn't get more fun than that.  Many a moment occupied with living room driving and construction.  Getting the toys out of the box is a project unto itself...

If you give a mouse a cookie...
If you take a Daddo to an apple orchard where there are more than 16 apple varieties...you come home with a lot of apples, and each one labeled, for flavor comparisons!  'Spencer' apples were a newly-discovered and yummy variety, which pair excellently with Mommo's pie crust.  Also came home with Jonagold, Suncrisp, Macoun, Early and Late Fuji, Shizuka, Cameo, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Empire, Cortland, Empire, Creston, Topaz, and more I just can't remember off the top of my head.

Asher discovered the horsie.  The horsie took a beating when Asher threw himself on for rides, but held up phenomenally well!

Owen and I worked on a post-visit feast of butternut squash soup, homemade bread, salad and Jonagold apple cake this afternoon to occupy the sudden feeling of empty space around the house!  Thanks for a really nice week.