pumpkin fest 2010

Not long after we moved here, we got a pass to the Discovery Museums, and are so happy we did. It has quickly paid for itself and also gives us lots of opportunities for creative fun. Take the pumpkin fest they held last weekend:

Anna is really into art these days and spends most of her play time coloring, painting, or playing with playdoh (when she's not reading). She was the very last kid to leave the pumpkin painting station and even then, she only stopped because we told the museum workers to go ahead and take the paints and glitter away. She was soon appeased by the face painting where she chose a black cat and a spider.





Once we went inside to warm up, Sam took Anna all around, but he said they spent most of their time in the play diner. Sam says Anna looks just like me when she cooks-- wearing an apron, opening the oven, moving around pots and pans, turning on the burners, and pushing away little hands that interfere :) (I do let Anna cook with me and try to give her something to do at dinner each day, but I'm still too particular to sacrifice my dinner for the sake of letting her experiment...) Meanwhile, Levi enjoyed himself thoroughly in front of the mirrors.




Next we played with some floating pumpkins and felt their gooey insides. And then we explored the science portion of the museum. Sam said, "Why do we always hang out in that other one? This one is way more interesting." So interesting, in fact, that he kept wandering off to the next exhibit without Anna :) Don't worry. We always found each other, and Anna nearly threw a fit when it was time to leave.

We snagged these pictures with all the big pumpkins first, though.


Happy Halloween from our little pumpkins!

Thank you Grandma Ruth for the super cute Halloween clothes! I could not stop admiring Levi's adorable chubby stripey legs.

Grandpa Roly

Can't say much today. I will in a few weeks. Thankfully, Karen's good at being eloquent at times like this.
I'll just echo her part about Grandpa loving unconditionally. I have never known a more loving or gentle person. When I saw him today, the memories that came flooding back were of his love for his wife, for me, my husband, and my children.

my college education in a nutshell

I always enjoy reading about psychology or sociology in the news. Makes me feel like maybe I didn't squander a free college education by getting a social science degree.

It also brings back wonderful memories of sitting in a pink classroom in London with a dozen or so other fantastic people discussing these issues with Renata Forste-- the most down-to-earth professor/mentor/friend I've ever had.

Excuse me while I continue day dreaming.

final installment

I'm almost done with my no sweets month! You can read how it went here at themotherrunner.com

Any suggestions as to what I should make on Sunday night for dessert? What would you eat if you hadn't had any (or many) sweets for a month?

i have been bested...

...by really good ice cream. Week 3 of my guest posting at themotherrunner.com is here. If you need motivation for anything this post is for you.

laughing levi, singing anna

Levi loves to laugh. He laughs for anyone, which makes them feel special, which makes me feel special for having such a wonderful baby. And Anna is just so stinkin' cute with those bouncy blonde curls and smart as a whistle. Between the two of them, strangers are always giving me benevolent smiles.*

Levi can sit really well now. and loves to sit and grab at toys, especially if Anna is around. Those two just love to giggle and gab with each other. Anna is pretty good about making sure Levi always has something to play with, even if she decides she wants the toy he currently has.

When Anna wakes up in the morning, she always wants to go say good morning to Levi. She's starting to want to pick him up and carry him, which scares me. I guess I have to be super diligent about keeping Levi on the floor and never sitting him on the couch or bed since I know she couldn't actually pick him up (he weighed in at 18 lbs 14 oz at his 6 month check up this week) but she could certainly drag him to the ground. Still, I love that they're so enamored with each other since I know it won't always be this way.

Levi is still just a joy to be around and is starting to babble all the time. He has these deliciously adorable squeals that make me laugh every time I hear them. He loves to jump in his exersaucer or doorway jumper and I can tell he's aching to crawl.

Anna sings all the time. We rotate through all the primary songbook CD's and when Anna hears a song she knows she sings along, no matter how many of the words she misses. I love it. And often, she wants to hear the same song over and over and over until she can get it all right while she sings along. I think we listed to Once There Was a Snowman about 150 times last week (which has a slide whistle at the end that sounds like a police siren...not good in the car). I can't get enough of her little voice.

I love my kiddos. Here's a video of Levi laughing for 3 1/2 minutes straight. Enjoy.



*Except, of course, when the kids are screaming...