Hello Fall

I can hardly believe it’s now fall again. What happened to summer? The worst of it is that it’s dark when you leave for work/school and it’s dark when you get home again. I don’t know about you, but that makes the days seem to fly by even more quickly. They also blend one into another.

Then it’s Sunday evening and you’re packing lunches, setting out school clothes, getting baths taken, reading books, saying goodnight…saying goodnight again…sure, you can have a little sip of water…goodnight. Okay, I’ll rub your back for just a minute. Yep, one more hug, then goodnight. I know, I love you too. Goodnight.

In the month of October we were invited to the 2nd birthday party for Violet. It was an afternoon party, set at the Portland Children’s Museum. What a COOL place. We hadn’t been in the building before…although it shares a parking lot with the Zoo. Inside the Museum is an entire floor-to-ceiling Legoland castle. There’s also a claymaking studio, a just-for-babies section – perfect for gentle tumble and play. You’ll also find a grocery store (with faux items kids can “purchase”), a theatre production (complete with various costumes), a pet hospital, a treehouse, a do-it-yourself face painting area and a waterworks. Hunter was in heaven!

That same day (before the party) we met up with the same photographer who did our family photos back when Hunter was Maddox’s age. We spent 3+ hours taking photos. It was eXHAusTInG! Getting Eric, Hunter, Maddox and Sadie to focus and look at the camera, smile, sit down, not pick their nose, or cry was nuts. (Yes, most of the crying was coming from Eric! ) Why oh why did it have to be the same day as the party?!

Luckily, we just got the photo CD in the mail and there’s a bunch of really good ones. (I was convinced we didn’t have but one or two.) I’ve included some here. Pretty happy with the results.

A couple of weeks ago we did a Dinner & Movie event at Wellspring. It was a kids day…showing Hocus Pocus. And, we invited all kids (and parents) to come dressed in their Halloween costumes. It was VERY fun, and all the kids had a great time. Hunter got to wear his “space man” astronaut suit and Maddox tried out his “monkey sidekick” suit. More photos to come from “real” Halloween, but thought you’d enjoy the cute shot of the boys with the daughter of a friend. Jaqueline is the cute firegirl. She attends the boys’ daycare. Hunter and she are in the same classroom.

Other news? Maddox got a really bad cough…sounding like a barking seal…which turned into bronchilitis (the baby version of bronchitis). We took him to see the doctor, who prescribed nebulizer treatments on him every four hours for four days. Wow! Those 2a.m. treatments were a killer for mommy. Luckily he’s such a happy little guy. He didn’t seem to mind it too much. A week later, he’s definitely better, and now down to only two treatments per day. His little cough remains, but he’s sleeping much better. Thank goodness!

Hope you enjoy the photos. Happy Halloween to you all!