Zoo Day

We had a long weekend with Thanksgiving, so took a trip out to the Richmond Zoo.  It was a good day trip, and we had a good time running around looking at all the animals.  The small monkeys sat right in the window and we were face to face.  Evan and I walked through the bird cage - you could buy "seeds on a stick" for $1 - and had so many little blue and yellow and green birds (parakeets?) land on our arms and head and shoes.  Evan wasn't at all a fan of the birds landing on him to eat off the stick, but he held it together, walking slowly and not crying, until we were through the cage.  The biggest adventure was at the tiger cage.  Four huge gorgeous tigers were in their enclosure, and we stood at the window, watching.  Either something about Drew or my red backpack caught the eye of a huge white tiger, who got up from resting, walked straight to the window, and began pawing gently at the window - right on our faces.  She licked the glass, stared right into our eyes, and pawed several times at the glass with her huge feet.  Incredible!  Another fun time was over at the giraffes - their enclosure is low so you are at eye level with them... and there's no barrier.  You can get (again, buy) a cup of zoo food and the giraffes stand there all day, eating the food out of your hand, or straight out of the cup.  We pet them and fed them, marveling at their long rough tongues.  Evan got brave and fed them a couple times, and Drew tolerated being near them, but wouldn't touch the huge animals.  He was much happier sitting on the merry go round. 

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat was great this year!  Evan was thrilled to be in costume and excited about showing Drew the Halloween ropes.

We went first to the UVA Lawn.  It's a huge long space in front of the Rotunda, lined with dorm-apartments.  Every student and teacher living on the Lawn has their door open and is costumed, at the ready to hand out massive amounts of candy.  The line is crazy long, but it's the most efficient trick-or-treat ever - you start at the first dorm room, and shuffle down the row, visiting a new door maybe every 15 feet.  Luckily mommy was prepared: we were only a quarter of the way through when both boys already needed to empty their (large) buckets into the overflow gallon ziplocs we brought!  Hundreds and hundreds of people were out from the community and university, with kids, friends, and even pets in tow.  Evan ran into several friends, and we all had a great time people/costume-watching.

 
Toward the end of our time at the Lawn, Drew decided he was no longer nervous about the throngs of monsters, superheroes, animals, princesses, witches, and more.  He began bravely walking up to the next person and holding out his hand (he'd dump the bucket if he held it), taking the offered candy, depositing it in his bag, and asking for more.  He even began bypassing the offered single piece of candy and instead reaching both hands directly into the bowl.  His cuteness and boldness tended to work in his favor, and he'd often come away with as many pieces as his little hands could carry; quickly Mike or I had to catch him and scoop him up before he walked off with the entire bowl.

Finally, Drew decided he'd had enough of just collecting candy; he wanted to eat some. He got his first real taste of a chocolate bar, and simply LOVED it.  Unfortunately, he sobbed the whole long walk back to the car because he wanted "Moah, moah, moah!"

We left the Lawn to head home and visit some of the houses in our neighborhood.  It was getting dark and cold, but it was perfect trick-or-treating.  We stopped by all our neighbors, and a teacher from daycare who lives down the street, and even at some houses with scary decorations.  Both boys did GREAT!  (Except for when one neighbor was slow in coming to the door so Drew decided to take his little decorative pumpkins off his porch instead of candy... that was a touch embarrassing.) Drew walked the whole way, and was perfectly happy to hold hands while we walked (the first time he's done the 'walking and not running away' thing). We came home cold and tired and happy, and with more candy than we could hold, where mommy and daddy "sorted for peanuts" (and other yummies, hehe).  There was still official trick or treating time left, and Evan thought it was the coolest to sit on our stairs and give candy to other kids who came to the door.

Now... what should we be for Halloween next year?

Red Snappers

Evan has been in swimming class for the last 8 weeks, working on swimming with his face in the water, getting comfortable swimming on his back, and potentially swimming on his own.  He's done a GREAT job!  The timing of him spending most of the summer in the pool then another set of lessons made for a good experience, as we worked hard on doing the basics over the summer, and even got him jumping off the diving board.  To make things even more fun, Evan was in class with his best buddy, Connor.  Miss Caleigh was their teacher, and both boys absolutely loved her.  Evan passed the level with flying colors, so we'll be signing up for the next class in the fall!

 

 

 

Halloween 2012

It's nearly Halloween!  We got ready this weekend by carving our pumpkins (and laughing hysterically at the guts) and trying on our costumes.  Tomorrow is full of school parties and trick-or-treating on the UVA Lawn and around the neighborhood.  These two little superheroes are definitely ready! 

Another game day

Go Orioles!

Drew is so desperate to get out and play with the big kids! The only thing that will keep him somewhat content (emphasis: somewhat) is food. And being firmly strapped into the stroller. This morning I gave him a stack of graham crackers, then kept talking to other parents. While we were talking, one of the other moms suddenly started laughing, as Drew had decided he wanted ALL the crackers, and put the entire stack in his mouth. I tried to help him separate them, but he wouldn't have it - he wanted a cracker sandwich!

The past couple games we've found school friends on the opposing teams! The one in the light blue is Jack, in the dark blue is Ty.

Evan was pumped and ready for a BIG game day... Orioles tball first, then UVA football. Definitely appropriate to put on the eyeblack before both games! (Unfortunately he got a touch of sun, so for the next day or so he was sporting reverse-eyeblack on his cheeks... ha!)

Spoon it in

At dinner tonight, Drew shocked us both by first asking for a big spoon, then properly (and mostly cleanly) eating slippery mac and cheese with it.  We've been giving him baby utensils for a while, but haven't seen him be so coordinated and accurate, let alone with big silverware.  Clearly, he's been practicing when we weren't looking!

Apple Picking

We travelled up to Carter's Mountain this morning to go apple picking.  It's one of the most popular apple orchards in the area, and is always crushed with people... so we have learned to go EARLY!  If we get on the road by 9 and are there by 10 (they open at 9), we're golden.  The morning is filled with hours of running through the trees and devouring all the apples we can eat while saving a couple for purchasing, then some football playing, followed by picking out our pumpkins (30 lbs each this year - and they were the smallest ones we could find!), and a delicious lunch of fresh made burgers and fries, apple cider, and of course the required hot apple cider donuts... We're back in the car by 1, silently gloating while we pass what seems like hundreds of cars lined up, idling, on the long windy mountain path as we head home with our shiny apple and hot donut treasures.  A trip up the mountain never fails to disappoint.

Fireman Drew

Decked out in a costume. And the requisite baseball glove that he seems to have glued to his little hand lately.

Yo-Yuck

Despite what he has named yogurt, this kid LOVES it. Adores it. Would eat it 24-7. And he has to have it out of the container - definitely not a bowl! I adore how he pulls the container close and peers inside, barely able to see down to the bottom. I sure hope his accuracy improves - he has a tendency to over load the spoon and wear most of it on his bib. It's good to have lots and lots of napkins handy...

Space men

After 5 minutes too long of Evan being silent, I checked over his shoulder and found this.

He had been looking through his toys, and pulled out some very specific guys, then arranged them in a perfect semi-circle around the spaceship.  He got embarrassed when I asked about it, so I'm left to wonder what was going through his head! I do count the smurf as a space-man, so maybe the guys were on the moon? Everyone who flys? A Mars adventure?

We've been webbed!

We woke this morning to a yard that is simply filed with spider webs! All shapes and sizes, on the grass and flowers, covering entire bushes.  The morning dew and light fog made each one stand out-there must be at least a hundred in our yard alone.  (Oddly the neighbors didn't have nearly as many... Not sure I want to think about what's living in my grass!) Evan wondered why all these webs were in the yard, and together we came up with the realization that Spiderman must have visited last night!