Ahhh ....fall

Hiya Folks!

Since Will has started school this semester and I have assumed a more primary-caregiver role, I figure it’s my turn to write on the ol’ blog. We’ve been pretty busy this semester, but it has been fun. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down and Halloween is upon us. Hey, there is even a Hurricane to mark the season (Heeelllloooo Sandy!).

Claire is back in the same preschool she was in last year, but with mostly different kids, many of which are closer to her age. When I ask her about it she reports what they learned about that day, if “Mr. Monkey” (the teachers’ puppet) came to visit, and who she “hangs around with.” She is doing great and makes me laugh daily with her hilarious use of vocabulary.

This evening for instance, we were carving pumpkins and her remarks included the following:

“Eeeewwww! The guts are disgusting! I don’t think I want to get anymore guts out.”

“Mom, can I wash my hands yet?” (followed by more ews.)

And, when she was finished cleaning it out,

“Goodbye guts, hello carving!”

Later, when we let her carve her own face (she insisted), she would say things like

“Aren’t you impressive with me, Mom?”

“Aren’t you impressive with me, Dad?”

“I’m impressed with you, Mom.”

and

“I’m so very clever”

“Carving pumpkins is the best thing ever” (she seemed to forget the disgusting guts.)

Needless to say she was very pleased with her pumpkin and she actually worked very hard on it. She wanted help digging the guts out, but once it was carving time she insisted on being the only artist. I was impressed with how well it turned out, and how she stuck with it, she stayed at the table long after Will and I had finished.

 (Pictures of the adventure follow)

As for Avery, she is very adventurous and pretty mischievous. I remember Claire being curious at Avery’s age, but nothing like Avery. She is a pretty fast crawler these days and crawls around the house wreaking havoc in every room. Kitchen: she pulls things out of the dishwasher nearly as fast as I put them in there. Bathroom: I usually let her play in the bath toy cupboard when I am doing my hair, and she has gotten very good at emptying that cupboard in 2 seconds flat. This is particularly dangerous if we forget to pick up (for the hundredth time) before bed and someone inevitably stumbles or stubs their toe on an item. Bedroom: she is just tall enough to reach (on her tippy toes) the papers and books on her Dad’s bedside table. She seems to relish scattering them several times daily. She also likes to empty her sister’s child size craft table several times a day. She keeps us very busy chasing her around the house.

Also, I am a little unclear how it started, but I think somewhere along the line we have ended up rhyming “Baby” with “Waby”  and the “Waby” part stuck. As a result, we usually end up chasing her around the house, yelling “Waby!”, trying to pick up after her. I’m am sure the neighbors are wondering about us. But hey, they vacuum at 9 p.m., so who are they to judge?  

Avery has a sweet smile and she is very cute about her preferences. We are always greeted with a yelp and a speed crawl to the door when we return home. And, the other day before I went to school she teared up when she saw the babysitter because she realized that I was leaving.

The cutest thing she does right now is growl when I say or show her a lion. She also really enjoys clapping. We got family pictures taken last weekend and this is the only way the staff could get her to smile.

Well, I think that is all the news for now. Will and I are trying to juggle school and the kids this semester, and so far there have been no major disasters. We have been very blessed. We are getting ready to hunker down for exams, and looking forward to the holidays when we can visit all of our beloved friends and family.

Happy Halloween y’all!

Our little speed crawler

Claire on her first day of school this year

One of my favorite jammy pics of all time.

Subtle, right?

The finished product from tonight. Claire’s is the far right.