Pumpkin time!

This year there was a lot less picture taking during pumpkin carving, because Mommy was a little stretched between removing seeds, carving pumpkins, and pulling Ella off the table. Rand wanted to paint his pumpkin first, so I said go for it. He declined to pull the seeds out of the pumpkin, but loved helping me carve it.

We ended up with a "grumpy pumpkin" for Rand and a kitty cat for Ella.

No explanation needed.

Question of the day

Rand: "Mom, how do chickens make chicken?"

Umm......

Spanish

I came out of my bedroom this morning and found Rand listening to the radio with a huge grin on his face. "Listen, Mommy! This person is singing in made-up words. Isn't that silly?"

I listened. Actually, love, that would be mariachi music.

Happy girl!

Challenger Space Center

A few weeks ago we visited the Challenger Space Center on free museum day. They didn't have a ton of activities for kids Rand's age, but the things they did were PERFECT for him. He got to be an astronaut....

A measuring station with unlimited beans and peas to pour and weigh.

This was a magnetic board where you used the wooden blocks to make a track for marbles. We spent about an hour here.

Buttons! switches! more buttons! lights! more switches!

Karate!

Karate ended last week. Rand did a wonderful job at staying in class and participating, so I will call the whole series a success. I was very proud of him (and only occasionally mortified). After class we walked across the street and played at the park with some of the other students. Rand had fun but I think we will try something else for a little while and come back to karate in the future.

Froot Loop Necklaces = Best Sunday School Class Ever!

15 months

Happy 15-month birthday, Miss Ella! You have changed from the world's most impossibly easy baby into a demanding, screetching, wiggly toddler. You have opinions about everything and let us know clearly when things are not meeting your expectations.

You say, "Dada!" whenever you heard the front gate close. You love to "roar" at Rand and try your best to play with his trains. You love food, but if we dare try to break up your cheese into tiny pieces, you toss it on the floor because you want the WHOLE piece of cheese.

You have twelve teeth and are getting four more. You are either a breeze to put down for a nap or you fight for an hour -- there is no in-between. You want to run everywhere and don't like riding in the shopping cart. Yesterday you figured out how to go down the slide at the park by yourself, and you were absolutely giddy.

You love wearing shoes and brushing your teeth. You love picking up rocks and pushing around your toy shopping cart. You love snuggling on my lap with Rand while we read stories. You love taking baths and playing in the hose outside. We love you, sweetie.

Where is Ella now?

Is she brushing her teeth?

Is she in the washing machine?

On the toy?

Nope, she's in the sink!

No babies pictured received any assistance whatsoever getting into these predicaments.

A Rand's-eye view of the world....

It's always easy to tell when Rand has taken our camera. I think it's fascinating to take a look at what he deems photographically important. There are LOTS of photos of his trains....

the inside of a bucket

his bed


under his bed

under his dresser

and, of course, some self portraits!

Birthday party!

As per Rand's request, we had all his friends, party hats, chocolate cake, and sang "happy birthday" to him. Gotta love how easy he is to please! The kids bounced, ate pizza and cake, and ran around like crazy for about 3 1/2 hours. Rand chose everything about his cake and was so tickled about how it turned out.

Happy Birthday, Rand!

It's a week late, but happy birthday, Rand! We had a wonderful day celebrating Rand turning four, starting with presents in the morning, followed by a fun bike ride with some friends. We had a picnic lunch, and spent the afternoon playing with Rand's new presents. After karate lessons, I took Rand to get some ice cream at Coldstone, where he chose chocolate ice cream with gummy bears. We had a really nice day -- the only problem was that it was hard for Rand to wait two more days for his party!

Rand wanted to wear a party hat because it was his birthday.

Biking at the Rio Solado Restoration Project. Rand was riding his trike so well -- it may be time to buy him a real bike!

Ella was worn out and got her first skinned knee.