Happy Halloween!

Trick or treating was a success! No costume malfunctions, we had just enough candy and the weather cooperated - couldn't ask for anything more. It was pretty chilly so Taylor had to wear "normal" clothes under her princess dress. It was all pretty much covered by her unicorn costume (yes, a dual costume this year), so no big deal. She looked so cute and just kept saying, "This is the best Halloween EVER." Ever Taylor? "Yes, EVER." Precious.




Princess Taylor - the Unicorn rider.


Taylor and her preschool friend.

I was a little nervous when I first started getting the Pear ready. He was having a few **ahem** bowel issues and not happy about putting on his bat costume. Luckily, a little guano and few minutes later and the little guy was as happy as can be. He looked adorable, too.

"Let me get this right - I have to wear this stupid costume, but I don't get candy?"

The Pear, checking out the sights.

Champ donned the same costume he's worn the previous five years. Super Dog isn't quite as fit and trim as he was at 1 1/2, so we had to make some alterations.

2008

2003

We lasted about an hour before heading home. Taylor helped me hand out candy and Michael supervised. I bet we had over 300 kids this year! Our street is a giant horseshoe, so parents unload their kids at one end and pick them up at the other.


My cuties.

The family posing. Neither kid is looking at the camera.

Taylor also had her preschool party yesterday. It was a circus theme (it's a Christian preschool, so they do this to eliminate scary/gory costumes) so I had to find a second costume for Taylor. She chose to be a tiger and we just threw something together at the last minute. She loved it and looked great! I helped out at the party and had so much fun. Four is a great age - the kids are getting out of the shy stage, but haven't entered the "too-cool" stage. I had so much fun playing with Play-Doh, helping with games and doing silly dances. The kids couldn't believe that the moms all knew the Chicken Dance!

Taylor the Tiger.

The circus class.

Yesterday was a busy one! After the class party, we picked up Michael from the babysitter's house and headed to his GI specialist follow-up appointment. He's been going to a specialist since was about 8 weeks old because of milk sensitivities and reflux. The doctor was amazed and quite pleased with how big the Pear has gotten. He's 31" long (over 95th percentile) and 23 pounds (75th percentile). We're starting to wean him off the Prevacid (the doctor said the dose he's on is not very effective at his weight now anyway) and were given the okay to start trying cheese and foods that have milk as an ingredient. If all goes well, he can have regular ol' milk at 1! He also put him on a mild stool softener for a few weeks because of some straining. We'll leave it at that since the Pear and his future wife might be reading this some day. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

P.S. Updated to add a picture of my Halloween costume. My sign says "Charlotte" - I'm a web writer (my official title at work). :)

Cupcakes and Cuties

We're in full Halloween prep mode here. Taylor is so excited for her classroom party and trick-or-treating that she can barely contain herself. She's had her unicorn costume picked out for months and has been keeping track of the days with a homemade Halloween countdown hanging on the kitchen wall. Her school and the town do everything on the 30th, so tomorrow is the big day! I'm helping out in her class tomorrow; I can't wait to see Miss Chatterbox in action.

We carved our pumpkin a few days ago while the Pear napped. He's been so curious lately that I just knew we'd all be covered in pumpkin goo if I let him anywhere near it. Taylor's prerequisites were: 1) Happy and 2) Girlie. Since Mike has no part in the carving ceremonies, I obliged.


Taylor and our work of art.

Gotta love the eyelashes. Those suckers were hard to cut!

I got the kids to pose outside with our new jack o' lantern. You'll notice that Taylor's hair is longer here than in some of the later pictures. I shaped up the bob on Tuesday. It looks so cute!
The best I could do. Michael kept yanking the lid off the pumpkin.

Taylor working the bob and pink "Daphne" tights. (That's a Scooby-Doo reference.)

New 'do up close.

Michael scaling the stairs and drooling all the while.

Evidence that Michael actually does have hair. It's so blonde that it's hard to see in pictures.


We made Halloween cupcakes for the kids at the babysitter's house on Tuesday. I love having those extra days off each week because I get to do fun Mommy-type stuff with the kids. Taylor was such a big helper - she cracked the eggs, held the mixer (control-freak me only had a slight heart attack while she was doing it), poured the batter into the cups and handled the sprinkles.


Good job, Taylor! Breathe mom, breathe.


Our finished products!


The Pear and I get some quality mommy-son time each Tuesday and Thursday after I drop Taylor off at school. We usually play in the floor, have a snack and get some good giggles in! He disses me for a nap after about 45 minutes, but I love that time with my little man.


Woo-hoo! Just you and me, Mom!


Michael isn't as thrilled with his new winter coat and hat as I am. He looks like I've stripped him of all dignity.


Well, I think I'm going to hit the sack. Michael doesn't always sleep great when he's teething, so I know I might hear him around 3 a.m. Hope you all have a great Halloween! Can't wait to post some costume pictures.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Someone Louder than the Pear

We had a fun day yesterday - hung out at Grandpa's, took the kids for a ride in the wagon and played outside. But, the Pear is teething and by the end of the day, he's had it. He was screaming his big noggin off as I changed his diaper Sunday night. Well, we had the World Series on and Patti Labelle came on to sing the National Anthem. It was so loud and so awesome! The Pear, who stops screaming for nothing, got completely silent and just stared at the TV. I officially found someone louder than Michael. If the kid can learn to hit a note or two, he could have a promising career ahead of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Viqqn-iBicQ

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

On the Mend and Friends

Well, I think the Pear is finally getting back to normal. Turns out the poor guy had Roseola, a nasty virus that only kids like 4 and under get. Taylor had it at almost the same age, so I kind of suspected it when his fever got so high. Sure enough, the rash appeared Saturday afternoon. He's not eating much and is still a little whinier than usual, but I think we're headed in the right direction.

Michael's sickness meant we had to cancel a few plans. We had to miss Taylor's field trip to the pumpkin patch Thursday and the surprise birthday party for our friend Tony Saturday night. We have snuck in a few fun times in between. I ended up taking the kids to the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning because I thought Michael was all healed up (the rash hadn't appeared yet and the fever was gone). Taylor had a blast on the hayride and I now realize how much of a trooper Michael was!

Posing for a fall picture before we left for the pumpkin patch.

Getting ready for the hayride.

That was one bumpy hayride! I had to put Michael on my lap because the poor guy about flipped over when we hit the first bump. (And yes, he's teething again. Imagine that.)

Checking out some of the farm animals.

Sunday was a day I had looked forward to for a long time! Lauri, Scott and baby Tony were in town and we had plans to meet up. I was afraid of passing the Pear's germs to Tbone, so Michael stayed home and watched football with Daddy. Taylor and I met the gang at a park in Cincinnati and hung out for a couple of hours. I sure do miss my friend! Tony is just adorable and I'm so happy that I finally got to meet the little dude. Lauri and Scott are doing a great job and I'm very happy for them. Ho-pefully we can get together again around Thanksgiving.

Taylor was so excited about our Mommy/daughter time.

The oh-so-adorable Tbone. What a cutie!

Lauri, Scott and Tony. Scott, Taylor wants to say sorry for kicking you. :)

The girls and Tbone. Lauri pointed out that both she and I were wearing lace camis and lace was about the last thing you'd see us wearing back in our crazy OSU days. I'm not sure why Taylor is snarling in this picture. I love how focused Tony is on the paci that had just popped out.
Taylor loves Lauri. :)

I was off yesterday and was happy to see the Pear back to mischief. I pulled him out of Champ's water dish about a zillion times and had to go back to wresting him down to change his clothes. We took a little trip to the park and flew Taylor's kite. The weather was a little chilly, but perfect for kite flying!
Back to ripping stuff apart. His diaper is all jacked up because he won't lay still long enough for me to get it on perfectly.

One of the Pear's favorite pasttimes - ripping the doors off of Taylor's Dora van.

Taylor does a great job of flying the kite!

I love this picture.

Michael crawled all over the play equipment!

Feeding the ducks.

Mommy, get that goose away from my head.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

P.S. You have until Friday at noon to vote for Brandon. See post below.

Quick request

I plan on posting a new entry tonight, but have a quick request now. One of Mike's basketball players is also the quarterback on Wilmington's football team. He's a great kid and is up for Player of the Week in the entire Greater Cincinnati area. Brandon is just a junior, but passed for 390 yards and FIVE touchdowns last Friday night. His offensive line is young and smallish, so this kid has to do a lot of work. Vote for him at http://tristatefootball.com/player.asp. His name is Brandon Arehart. It's easy to vote - no need to register.

Thanks!

Little Sicky

My poor little man is sick. :( I don't think there's anything worse for a parent than seeing your kids sick.

The fever started on Tuesday afternoon and got as high as 103.5 (under the arm, so add a degree) on Wednesday night. I was so worried about the Pear! He was lethargic, wouldn't eat and just wanted me to hold him. I had taken him to the doctor on Wednesday morning and they ruled out an ear infection and said his lungs sounded clear. They guessed it was a virus. Thursday was better and the fever seemed to pass by the afternoon. He was still pretty grumpy (he also has four teeth coming in) and did eat a little. I'm hoping it all passes soon!

My poor baby! He laid like this on the couch for about an hour Thursday morning and watched TV. The kid ordinarily never sits still, so I knew just how crappy he must have felt.

Taylor and I stayed amused during nap time by playing Memory and Go Fish.
The perfect place to sit while watching TV.
A 3-hour nap does wonders! Here Michael is trying to give Champy a drink of my ba-ba, while Taylor relaxes. What a great dog.
My trio, watching Little Bill.

The Worm and I.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Beware the Pear!

Dear friends, be on alert. There's a force of nature out there more powerful than a hurricane, more destructive than a tornado and more fierce than the fiercest of typhoons. Michael Man, aka the Pear, aka Piece of Work (we mean that lovingly), is on the loose.

Michael went from stationary to a mobile machine in about two weeks. He's everywhere. He's taken a particular liking to the stairs (which he easily scales), Champ's water dish (pretty ironic that a child that SCREAMED during every bath in the first six months of his life loves to play with water) and any toy that Taylor happens to be playing with at the moment. He pulls up on everything and likes to cruise along hard furniture, then fall and whack his teeth, chin, nose, etc. It's such a fun and exhausting stage! I can only imagine what adventures walking will bring.

Get back, Daddy. I don't need a spotter on these steps.

Oh, I can't wait to jump off of there!

All wet after attacking Champy's dish. Notice how apprehensive Champ looks.

Taylor found a safe haven from the Pear. Uh-oh Worm, I see little hands approaching.

Michael likes to pull up on the side of this chair and scream in Taylor's ear.

Higher Daddy!

20 minutes for Taylor and I to setup - 5 seconds for the Pear to gleefully destroy.

We're having fun here! I'm going to have to get a video of Taylor and Michael playing together. She can get him laughing so hard. It's adorable!

I'm excited for this week. Taylor has her field trip to a pumpkin patch Thursday, we have a birthday party to go to Saturday and the beloved Lauri and her men are in town Sunday. Yay!

I'll end with a few random shots. Enjoy!

At the homecoming parade.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel