Pre-Halloween

The ad said that there would be treats for the kiddies and lots of Halloween activities. So I put the boy in the car without allowing him to see the extra cargo I brought. The dreaded Halloween costume.

As I huffed and grunted to extract Edmond from his car seat, he mimicked my sounds. "Uuuuah. Uuuuah. Hffff." He gave me a cute grin to show he was just teasing his pregnant Mamma.

Before I set him down, I pulled the costume from it's hiding place and tried to slip it over his head without him noticing. Alas, he saw the bright orange with white stripes and started screaming before it even touched his body. He hates it. Hates it. Hates it.




So I gave him a piece of gum to calm him down and divert his attention from his wardrobe. The tears stopped, but the damage was done and he wouldn't let go of my hand during our entire stay.


We met up with Dan, Paige and Sydney.

We went from shop to shop, collecting trick-or-treat candy. Edmond helped himself to a KitKat and made a huge mess of himself. Finally Daddy got off work and came to rescue me. I was certain that if I had to carry the boy and his trick-or-treat bag another inch that I would go into labor.

Ward Party

We arrived at our ward party and Edmond was immediately snatched by one of our young women. He was anti-costume, until I tricked him into putting it on later in the evening. B was in charge of giving kids hay rides on a trailer that was attached to the Rhino. He refused to use his headlights because he wanted it to be "spooky". Edmond assumed his position on Daddy's lap.

I could only get the boy to wear his costume hat for a little while.

Oh well. At least you could still tell that he was Nemo.

Bad Patient

I received the order from my doctor to go take the glucose test about seven weeks ago.

Today I went in for one of my two-week appointments and received my lecture for still not having it done. "You know," began the nurse practitioner, "if that test comes back positive, we may be able to prevent your baby from having diabetes by controlling your diet or giving you insulin. But if you wait too much longer, it will be too late for us to do anything about it."

I stifled a yawn and hoped that my previous yawns had made my eyes look extra watery. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm a bad patient. No, I'm a bad person. Most of all, I'm a bad Mother. Can I go now?"

There's really no excuse for my behavior. Well, I guess there are a few:

1. I forgot.
2. I hate those testing places. All the workers are super rude and act like they hate you.
3. The glucose test tastes bad and all my instincts tell me I should no be drinking it.
4. I forgot.

Well. Since I love my unborn child and I certainly don't want him to be a diabetic, I vow I will go get this test done tomorrow. There. I've written it down. It's as good as done.

Popular on the Soccer Sidelines

It must be fun to be popular, like Edmond. To have fans constantly vying for your attention. To have people making fools of themselves non-stop in hopes that they might make you smile. To be incessantly presented with new toys and tricks for your own enjoyment.

It's a shame his popularity won't last forever. For some reason it disappears with age, attitude, and additional siblings. He'll lose it before he even knew he had it.

As he ages he may have to rely on more than his cute phrases and adorableness to win friends. But as for B and I, we are die-hard Edmond fans. In fact, I think we're the Presidents of the club.

On our devotion he can always rely. That I can guarantee.

And Then it Rained Some Mo'

We had a river running across our front walkway. I was about ready to bust out the sandbags.




But then I got distracted by this cute face and I forgot all about protecting our house from the rain.



So we took some Halloween pumpkin shots instead.

I love the change in the seasons because it means I get to buy my kid some new clothes. And now that I know that we will soon have another son, my shopping is guilt-free because all the clothes I buy are to be worn by two boys.

Tut Tut, It Looks Like Rain

The weather man said we had a storm coming in. I couldn't believe my good fortune. After such a long, hot summer, I was finally going to get a good dose of RAIN. My favorite thing.

First item on the agenda that morning: Teach Edmond how to say "rain" and show him some. Check.



Second: Have my wonderful husband light a fire before he goes to work. Check.



Third: Allow Edmond to watch some TV. I was in such good spirits I felt he should be granted his one request, which was to watch his "So" (show). Check.



Fourth: Look at the rain some more. Check.

Fifth: Make chicken pot pie. Check.

Sixth: Go out in the rain and watch Edmond blink and wonder why he was getting wet. Then drop him off at his favorite place, "Babby's...hous" (Abby's house). Check.

Seventh: Go to the Doctor for my monthly appointment so I can wait in the waiting room for two hours and then meet with him for five minutes so that he can tell me that everything looks great and to come back in two weeks. Check.

Eighth: Listen to Tom Petty's "Here Comes My Girl" really loud and sing along as I drive to pick up my kid. Check.

Ninth: Enjoy every minute of the day. Check.

Pumpkin Patch

We'd been hearing rumors of a fabulous pumpkin patch near our home. We decided to go see for ourselves. After work one day we loaded up the boy and started driving.

Our son, the intellectual, found a way to entertain himself.


Upon our arrival, the first item on the agenda was to ride the "toot toot".

Once we had that out of the way, we entered the patch to take pictures of massive pumpkins.

After which Edmond was distracted by several butterflies and somehow found himself amongst the fake fruit and scarecrows in one of the Fall displays.

Oh, I love this picture. I can't believe that I have a child who is so absolutely adorable.

Next up: Corndogs and icecream. Yummay!!!

Followed by: a hayride!

Edmond's favorite part was throwing the hay on people. I don't think they liked it.

The petting zoo was awesome...although I think farm animals are gross in real life. The goats had yucky dried who-knows-what all down their rear. The pigs had millions of flies festering all over them. The cow was a scrappy, dirty little thing. Everything stunk. From here on out I have no scruples with limiting Edmond's exposure to farm animals to just books and TV.

Edmond stuck out his little hand to each goat and said "Hi.....hi...." over and over.

After sanitizing ourselves we jumped in the car to head home. We got a flat on the way. The first time B and I have ever had a flat. I was so proud of my big strong capable husband who had us back on the road five minutes later.

"Good job, baby." I congratulated him.

"Well, don't you know how to change a tire?" he asked in surprise.

"Uh...no. That's why I have AAA."

Duh.

Apple Hill 2009

Fall has arrived, which means it's time for us to make our annual visit to Apple Hill where we eat apple donuts, caramel apples and hot chocolate. We set out early in the morning and were able to beat the crowds. Dan and Paige met us there. Edmond was happy to see Sydney again.

We've decided that the only way to do Apple Hill is early in the morning. It was so peaceful to be there without the lines and people cramping my style and impeding my access to free samples of apple cider.

Edmond, Edmond what do you see?

I see a white duck looking at me.

The ducks were his favorite. He walked up to them and extended his hand and said "Hi....hi...." over and over again.

Soon it was time to come home and Edmond busied himself in the backyard playing with his "bubuck" (bucket).

Daddy sat nearby and watched, so I decided to find a seat too.

Funny thing about my boots, when I brought them home I modeled them for B and asked him how he liked them. "Hmmm," he said, "Well, if you want to look like Princess Leiah or something, I guess they look pretty good."

It's All About the Stamps

When I was a kid (in the 1980's, you know) my neighbor had a cute set of stamps. They were Care Bears. The kind of stamp where you pull off the lid and the ink is already on the stamp. I was always jealous.

The other day I found some stamps just like the ones I coveted as a child. Only instead of Care Bears, they were monsters. Perfect for my little Monster, thought I.

And so the stamps found there way into our home, and into the hands of said Monster. He squealed with delight as he yanked the lid off each one, reciting his colors as he went. "Bwoo! Ded! Wuwow! Deen! Purpur! Dowange!" He laughed as he stamped a collage of monsters all over his dog coloring book.

Inevitably, stamping the coloring book soon proved to be too mundane. The stamps soon made their way to my Monster's nose, where he sniffed each one, followed by a hearty "Mmmmmmm...." sound.

This went on for some time. When it was all over I took his picture.

I will show him these pictures in future years when he's complaining that I never let him have any fun.

**Speaking of monsters...isn't it so great that they made a movie of Where the Wild Things Are? I just love that book.