The Giraffe's Big Night On The Town

Today we went to see Dad at the office. Usually there's a Halloween party in the office for kids, but this year the office is in a big remodel, so no party. However, Colin did some reverse trick-or-treating and handed out candy to Dad's co-workers.

I also finally got around to painting the big 32 lb. pumpkin that we got at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. His pumpkin is a giraffe, just like he is.

Halloween Spooktacular

Our local children's museum had a Halloween "Spooktacular" last night. And though Colin is much too young to enjoy a cake walk or decorating his trick-or-treat bag, he enjoyed running around in full costume and enjoying all of his usual favorites. The water sensory area has a water fall, which was thematically filled with a bit of foggy dry ice, and even the rubber duckies in the water were in costume (dressed as mummies, witches, vampires, pirates, etc...)

Colin was a giraffe this year. It is such a comfy looking velour jump suit. Costumes have come a long way from the plastic costumes I wore as a child. I remember swishing as I wore a plastic pink panther costume as I walked from door to door, and breathing heavy through an uncomfortable plastic mask. Now costumes look like life-sized stuffed animals, with the kid being the stuffing for the outer shell. Very cute!

Broken System

Warning: Cynicism to follow; if you read the last post, you know that today is "slump day hump day..."

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Every new mother looks at those little coupons in her new Parenting magazine and thinks, "Sure, I'll just head over to JC Penney or Sears and get a cute little picture of baby." At this point you are trying to figure out when to schedule an appointment based upon the complicating factors such as feedings, naps, and generally happy versus cranky times of the day.

When you do schedule the appointment for this perfect time, the photo studio seems to be behind schedule, and your once perfect time is now forty minutes later and your once happy baby is....not so happy. No amount of waving tattered Elmo in front of baby's face or feigning a huge "ahhhchooo!" sneeze will make baby happy.

Somehow the photographer, who forgets to ask baby's name until half-way through the session, manages to get a few half smiley pictures because you the mom step in to save the day with a few big tricks to perk baby up.

Then here's the real torture -- they make you wait (up to 30 minutes at Penneys) to then view your pictures, which they enhance with all kinds of crazy finishes. And did I mention I'd just be happy with a great smile? No sepia tone needed for my lil' guy!

So you finally view the pics and you already know the ones you don't like without even having to do much looking, and somehow, a few pictures seem to be the contenders for a purchase. At this point baby is bored and screaming, and your nerves are so fried you wonder if they are going to pay YOU for this whole experience. And then you blindly select a pose in a moment of desperation to get outta dodge.

And wait! Your not done yet! At Penneys, they want you to schedule an appointment to pick up the pictures. Yes, an appointment to come by and pick up an envelope. As if I'm even going to remember at that appointment what I selected in a frenzied moment of post picture horror. And they recommend the best time for coming, which is guaranteed to be during baby's nap time, so you tell them you'll only come at "x" time -- I am the customer, right? So was an appointment REALLY needed? They want me to come back in so they can sell me on the "extras" the lab printed "just for me."

And somehow, like people say about childbirth, you forget how bad the experience was and you do it all over again for baby's next biggest milestone. Crazy what we will do for those $3.99 portrait sheets!

Their system is broken, just broken. Please let me just go home and view them online with my spouse and at about 10 pm later that night I'll place the order from the comfort of my home and you could even ship them to my house. Guess that'd be too easy.

Slump on Hump Day

Wednesday is school day, unless you are a cranky lil munchkin that wakes up with a fever! Our lil guy slept through the night fabulously, though he woke at 7 am with a whimpering cry that indicated our plans for school were to be tossed out the window today. Yes, it's a slump on hump day!

It's rare to get a cuddly moment with an energetic, energizer bunny of a 1 1/2 year old, so when he wanted Mom to hold him all morning, I knew he felt bad. And I feel bad that he feels bad. Time to put on my nursing "hat" today!

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Fortunately, though, we had some great weather these past few days (I actually got to wear capris -- woohoo!) and had some fun playtime outside. He's just now getting big enough for his tricycle, making for some cute fall pics that you will enjoy.

Pumpkin Patch

Two pumpkins!
So many choices!
I like that one, Dad.
I can pick this one up!
Going on a hayride!

We slogged out into the Pumpkin Patch today. It's been really rainy this past week, so it was definitely mud boot weather. Colin enjoyed his hayride out to select his pumpkins - and one of them ended up weighing more than he does!

Fall At School

Colin enjoyed playing with the new play stations at school this week. His teachers so creatively created a sensory room filled with fall items -- big plastic spiders and fall leaves in the water table, orange lentils in the sand pail, and squirrels and other fun fall critters in the wooden cubbies. Definitely a fun day to have the camera at school.

Bob, Larry, and Colin

Veggie Tales. If you don't have kids and are over the age of 25, you probably know nothing about these lovable veggies and their silly songs and videos. When we were DINKS vacationing in Vegas a few years ago, I recall seeing a Veggie Tales shopping display near the Aladdin and thinking, "What's that and why are parents lined up to purchase such random videos for their munchkins back home?"

Fast forward a little less than three years, and here is my response: "Oh, now I get it!" Today I was "that" parent. Let me explain.

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Matt is off in the forest on his annual guys hunting and camping trip, so I decided to take Colin for a visit to see how vendors from across the area suggest we enhance the great indoors -- The Annual Home Show.

The show resulted in several brochures and lots of ideas about things I have pondered for our home "someday": a new deck (can you say GORGEOUS Tiffany-style solar powered post caps, stone masonry for the columns of the house, house painters, vanishing screen doors, entertainment center cabinetry, etc. I also registered to win a house full of new windows (real exciting stuff, right -- I never knew there were so many window manufacturers.)

I also left with a cool kids apron from Home Depot (very cute - just like the ones they wear in the store), a recommendation on why my current solar yard lights are no longer working (they apparently use rechargeable batteries -- duh!), ideas about what not to do when working at a booth (talking on the phone or sounding bored when I describe what I am thinking about), and fear that I was leaving the event center across from Quest Field just hours before the Seahawks kickoff (can you say hairy traffic!)

But what I didn't realize we would discover at the show was the one thing that made Colin just LOVE the car ride home, even right at nap time. One of the vendors was selling Veggie Tales CDs that are personalized with your child's name inserted into key portions of the song. Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato spent hours in the studio recording over 1,000 names for various parts of the sing along music CD. So the theme song starts out, "If Colin likes to talk to tomatoes, blah, blah, blah..."

Later on in the CD Junior Asparagus sings to Colin, using his name and singing songs like, "God is so good. He's so good to Colin...", and "Colin's happy heart is a thankful heart..." (Thankfulness Song.) The CD closes with Bob and Larry's typical show closing, "And remember Colin, God made you special, and he loves you very much!"

HUGE smiles, and much happiness. Colin and me. Bob, Larry, and Junior Asparagus made Colin's day by singing him his very own songs as we drove home. And can you believe he cried when I took him out of his car seat? Now that was a first.

Want Larry, Bob, and Junior Asparagus to sing to your munchkin? Check it out online at Just Me! Music.