Birthday Wishes

Check out Gus singing 'Happy Birthday' to his good friend Brian.

Getting ready for Jack

I haven't done a whole lot in the nursery yet, but here's a glimpse into what I have done. Hard to believe Jack is coming in less than a month!

I ordered the wall decal off Etsy here. I absolutely love it! The crib set is Dwell and was purchased off craigslist. Gotta love craigslist!



I made these for a small little space next to the window. I was going to do more, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. They still look sweet though, just the three of them.

There's still a ways to go, but we're getting there...slowly.

And then there's Gus...

What to say about Gus? His sense of humor just keeps getting funnier & funnier (and much more sophisticated than you would expect from a 2-1/2 year old!) Lately he's been bringing me my camera and "posing" in all kinds of silly ways, telling me to take his picture. Here's just a small sampling of some of his many faces:

What a goofy guy!

Before and After

Last Friday Max had his first-ever sleepover at his buddy Mac's house. He was SO excited. I mean seriously, I'm not sure if I've ever seen him more excited. I was a bit worried that once he actually got there he would lose his enthusiasm and want to come home, but nope...he had a blast. In fact, he had so much fun that he spent nearly the entire next day recovering on the couch. He was exhausted! As you can see in the photos below, there's quite a difference between Max pre-sleepover and Max post-sleepover. What happened in between was a lot of candy-eating, videogame-playing, running-around-the-house fun that completely knocked him out the next day. But boy was it a good time.

Abrams playdate

It seems like the sun has been hard to spot the last couple weeks, so when it came out one afternoon we jumped on the opportunity to get outside & headed to the park with our good buddies, the Abrams. Max spent most of his time pushing Pearl in her swing.

I'm not sure who was happier:

Gus and Eva spent most of their time in the sandbox and boy did they get dirty. They took turns throwing sand in each other's faces. Not sure why that was fun, but then again, I'm not two.

You can see Gus' dirty face pretty well in this picture:

We sure are grateful for these few sunny fall days and for good friends with whom we can enjoy them.

Staying the Course

A timeline of events leading up to Halloween and Gus' "Big Decision"

Early September: Gus spies a Mickey Mouse costume at the Disney Store and says that's what he wants to be for Halloween. Mom tells him it's too early to decide. He doesn't seem to mind.

Mid-September: Mom: "Hey Gus, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
Gus: "Mickey Mouse."

Late September: Dad: "Hey Gus, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
Gus: "Mickey Mouse"

Early October: Auntie "Hey Gus, what are you going to be for Halloween?"
Gus: "Mickey Mouse"

Mid-October: Mom goes to purchase Mickey Mouse costume...SOLD OUT.

Two week before Halloween: Mom is in bidding war on eBay for Mickey Mouse costume. Had no idea how many people need these things. Finally purchases one.

Thursday before Halloween: On the way to the Nintendo party, dressed as Mickey Mouse, Gus says from the backseat, "I want to be Buzz Lightyear."
Mom panics.
"Just kidding," says Gus.

Halloween: A very happy Mickey Mouse goes trick-or-treating. Mom breathes a sigh of relief.

Decisions, Decisions

A timeline of events leading up to Halloween and "The Big Decision"

Early August: Max sees an Iron Man costume at Costco. He HAS to have it. Tears are shed. We go home sans costume.

Mid-August: While celebrating his birthday, Max is delighted to discover that Mom & Dad have purchased the Costco Iron Man costume. Vows of wearing it for Halloween are made.

Late August: Max is still wearing his Iron Man costume almost daily.

Early September: Target puts out their Halloween costumes. Max spies them, sees all the Star Wars characters and realizes he doesn't love Iron Man quite as much as he thought he did. Mom says it's too early to buy costumes because minds get changed too easily in our house. Tears are shed.

Late September: Mom is at Goodwill and spies a Power Ranger costume which she quickly buys, knowing that's what Max's cousin Blake wants to be. This makes Max really want a costume too. Mom breaks down and heads to Target for a Star Wars costume, where Max then decides on Wolverine instead. Vows are made not to change his mind. Promises are given that there will be no more requests for costumes.

Early October: Wolverine costume is being worn daily with the occasional hint of regret at his decision, mainly when he spies another costume in a shop.

Mid-October: Max rediscovers the astronaut costume he received last year for Christmas. He feels it needs some accessories, so he finds a pair of Mom's stretchy gloves, some white socks, a Mariners backpack and a clone trooper helmet, turning them into space gloves, space boots, a space pack and a space helmet. He's pretty pleased with his imaginative ways and decides it would be a good idea to Trick-or-Treat in this costume. He says he's going to wear his Wolverine costume to the Nintendo Halloween party that takes place a couple days before Halloween.

Week before Halloween: Astronaut is still the costume of choice. Wolverine seems to be losing steam.

Monday before Halloween: Wolverine is out. Iron Man is back in. Astronaut still on deck.

Thursday before Halloween: Iron Man goes to Nintendo. Sees a few boys dressed as ninjas. Astronaut may be in trouble.

Day before Halloween: Max and Mom work together to create a ninja costume using one of Dad's t-shirts for a mask, a pair of black pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, 2 scraps of black fabric for a belt and sword holder, a Batman sword, some black gloves, a ninja star cut out of black poster board and some black socks. Max thinks this is without a doubt the coolest costume he's ever seen.

Halloween: Ninja trick-or-treats. Astronaut and Wolverine go unworn.

Day after Halloween: Max has no regrets.