Corduroy goes to school

My apologies to Don Freeman for lifting the title to his book...

And my apologies to anyone who doesn't care to see a TON of pictures... I just couldn't help it. It was Moses' first school party, and I was just a little camera crazed...

It really started last night, because I was in charge of the "treat bags" for Moses' class and needed to get them ready. A few things to keep in mind. Moses is my first child. I can't do anything half-heartedly. And I learned from my mom, the best "room mom" in the world... And it could have been worse. Under state law, everything had to be store-bought... otherwise they might have each had several brownies or something. :)

So, my "treat bags" were "treat buckets"...


Here is our little bear going off to school and his first holiday party:


I guess he wasn't real sure about this whole ordeal. K says he looks just like me when he scowls. I don't know what he is talking about...


He had school first, and then we came back for the party. Here is the way he looked by the time of the party:


And here he is praying for his snack with the class. Notice we have now completely lost the overalls...


And, in true Moses fashion, here is Moses flirting with one of the girls in the class. I must admit, he has good taste-- although all 4 of the girls are pretty darling. And notice here we are now down to the pajamas he was wearing beneath the costume...


We learned something today. Moses very much acts like a two-year-old, but only around US. Apparently, when we are in class, he doesn't obey. When we aren't there, he does everything his teacher says. SO, because we WERE there, he didn't want to sit at the table, do the special craft, etc. So, here I am, finishing his craft, with Moses' empty chair next to me...


BUT, he did get into "hot pumpkin" and the class songs/motions:




(By the way, this is a second little girl that Moses seemed to gravitate toward. I didn't see him pay any attention to the boys... So here is where I get back at K for his comment above. Moses is a flirt, just like his Daddy was! Or perhaps this just demonstrates Moses' early propensity for politics, taking after his Mommy-- she is, after all, the mayor's niece...)





And once again, the good part: going through all the goodies. A package from MaMa came while we were gone, so there were extra treasures to explore.


Can you say, "Yikes!"?!?!


Does it surprise anyone that he never fell asleep for his nap this afternoon??? :)

And the festivities begin...

We took Moses to the "Merchants' Trick-or-Treat" this afternoon-- and I am not sure he "got it" any more than he did last year. He didn't want to stop at any of the merchants, but just wanted to keep walking. We did snag a few treats for him, and by far his favorites were the suckers-- and the toothbrush from the dentist.

Moses went as Corduroy-- after Lisa sewed his button back on in Corduroy, and after she sewed on the purple pocket in Pocket for Corduroy-- and of course, he had his name in his name tucked inside.

And now some pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Sucker #1:

This is about the cutest shadow I have ever seen!

Sucker #2 (but am I talking about the candy, or am I talking about the Daddy?:) ):

And now the good part-- digging in!

Sucker #3:

Checkin' out his cool nose:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to MaMa for making the overalls for the Corduroy costume!

So here's short video just for you, MaMa:

By the way-- he's now on sucker #4. Which I think makes ME sucker #5...

Pumpkins!

I couldn't think of a creative title for this one, so there ya go...

We took Moses to a pumpkin patch at the end of last week-- we've gone somewhere every year since he's been born, but between the weather and him being sick, I didn't think we would make it this year. But we just went and grabbed some pumpkins, took a few pics, and left:








On Sunday night, we carved his pumpkin with shapes. Of course, when I pointed to the eyes and said, "what shape is that?", he just looked at me funny and said, "Eyes."


If you look closely here, you will see that he did pull out one seed on the spoon...


And here he is more interested in the ladybug that sneaked in on the pumpkin...






K just got home from a two-day pastors' retreat, and I am tired! I don't know how single parents do it.... We have a B-U-S-Y week from here on out. The "Merchants' Trick-or-Treat" is tomorrow afternoon, when the kids dress up and parade around downtown, getting treats from all of the businesses and churches. Thursday is his school party, and Friday is "Beggars' Night" (it's not called "Halloween" in our town, which I greatly admire).

Any guesses on what Moses will be? Here's a hint: Our rule is that our kids can dress as animals, storybook characters (from books we approve), or Bible characters-- nothing creepy or weird....

Don't worry, MaMa-- there will be lots of pics!

Living with Boys

Here is a sight that will make every mommy of a toddler nervous:


Moses was feeling very independent this morning. He wanted to eat his Cheerios in a bowl with a spoon, just like mommy. But he also decided to get more "Os," as he calls them, on his own. And here was the result (by the way, toward the end it sounds like I use a bad word, but I totally don't use that word! I was starting to say something else, and cut myself off at an unfortunate time; and not having any video editing skills, I have no idea how to remove that portion. Okay, now that my conscience is at ease, please enjoy the video :) ):


Then he decided to lie in them:


Note, these weren't just regular "Os"-- these were multigrain, which have a hint of sugar. I.e., sticky. So, why not eat them right off your clothing, right?



Here he is picking one from between his toes and eating it:



But then Daddy, being a boy, had to get in on the fun:

And then an all-out battle ensued:

But hey, as long as they are happy-- and Daddy is picking it up-- I'm happy.

I thought only cats did this...

This is where K found Moses this afternoon. He was supposed to be washing his hands for lunch.... Apparently he was thirsty.

Even after 4 days of a 102 temp, he still has a sense of humor

Yes, those are Mr. Potato Head's ears.

Re-living my childhood through my son

The other day in a post, I asked "I wonder how many times...?" I had done something when I was little that my son is repeating now in his life. And then going through my pictures from the weekend with my grandparents, that same thought kept coming to mind...

Like, I wonder how many times..

I rustled through Granddad's papers...


or walked this path to Black Hawk...


or climbed these stairs...


or ate fudge on that bench...


or had a bath in that tub...

or "helped" Granddad out in the yard...


or put my hands in the bird bath (okay, I don't recall that one ever happening; he IS a boy, after all)...


or typed on that typewriter...


or sat in that chair...


or wished so badly to go tromping around in those woods...

or walked through the apples (I can smell them even as I type!)...

or looked back remorsefully as my parents led me to the car to leave...

and then frantically waved good-bye?