Happy All-Hallow's Eve

A very scary-looking jack-o-lantern adorning our front door, courtesy of Sean.

You might know that I love Halloween.  No "Fall Festivals" over here-- we LOVE dressing up.  As a kid my mom and sister and I often worked on creating the perfect costume for weeks.  In my school days I proudly dressed as the Statue of Liberty, a full-sized teddy bear, Raggedy Anne and Andy, Pippi Longstockings, an Indian Maiden with full leather fringe and baby-carrying papoose, the Notre Dame Leprachaun....the list goes on. In college I once went to a party dressed as Mary Catherine Gallagher, but the real feat was staying in character the entire night.  For the last two or three years I have thought about and worked on the kids' costumes for about a good month before the big day.  I will say, we don't do gruesome or creepy, just good, creative costumes.  I love creating, I appreciate a good pun, and I love getting reactions to some good costumes (you'll remember last year Sean was the Pope... he is still known around town for that one)

This year, we are living it up--- today will be our third day wearing costumes, and I couldn't be happier with so much wear.  So, without further delay, enjoy Groeber Halloween 2011....

Can you guess?

Sean is "An Ingenious Scientist."  (He asked me if Papa wore his hair like this, I said, sort of, yeah.)

And Jamesie, his lab rat.  Poor taste?  We think its kind of funny.  We just hope Jamesie thinks so too in a few years.  We love you.  (pictured here enduring his own experiment....what will happen if I pull off my own tail?)

Eh, I don't know if you want to do that, Jamesie.

Sean showing off his "experiements" (olive oil and colored water), before we went downtown for a city-wide Halloween Party at Hampton Park on Friday.

A few hours later, here are my boys showing off their First Prize Pumpkin for "Cutest Costume(s)" !  The park officials actually added a "most creative" category at the last minute, and I thought we might have a shot at that one (given the judges weren't memers of PETA), but I was actually so much happier with "Cutest Costumes" because its a reflection of the boys, not just my handiwork. There were at least 150 kids at this thing.  Yes, Jamesie is holding an actual rat-feeder from my dad's lab, along with his milk.  

And the next day, this is what Sean wanted to turn his prize-pumpkin into.  He recently watched Fantasia for the first time (he is very into "classical music" and Mickey Mouse, so I thought he would like it, which he did....he LOVED it), so he requested a Mickey Mouse with stars and a moon, and a broom. 

Our other pumpkin.

And just for kicks, Mom and Daddy got to go to an adult Halloween Party for the first time...ever... Can you guess who we are?  Hint, a fashion dream come true for me :). Don't mind the HUGE scary zomby in the back.  Its not our house, i promise.

Thanks to my dad for the scientific inspiration, as well as a number of real-lab props like the lab coat, test tubes and rat feeder (but not the lab rat).

Tree Frog or Spider Monkey....

I can't tell which creature he reminds me of here....

Either way, he's looooong. 

Welcome Fall!

Thanks, Sean.

Twice in the last few weeks Sean has said the following statement to me, in a public place, while pointing at Jamesie:

"Mommy, don't forget your little buddy." 

Once at the doctor and once at pre-school--- as if I regularly forget "my little buddy" when I'm getting ready to leave a public place when we're out running errands!  Both times were in clear earshot of the doctor/teacher, whom,  I might add are under mandatory-reporting statutes if they suspect child abuse or neglect.

Dressing for Dinner

In Jane Austen novels the characters always have to "dress for dinner," as if the full-length gown they've been wearing all day isn't nice enough to sit and eat in and then sit and cross-stitch in the drawing room for an hour.  I always sort of chuckled at that, but then I started to notice, that a lot of times we do the same thing... we've been at the beach or on the boat all day on vacation, and even though we're only having pizza or burgers outside for dinner, I go put on cute shorts and a sweater or tank top.  Maybe throw on some earrings or a necklace. 

Two days ago it was pretty humid here, and I was cooking dinner with Sean in a plain cotton skirt and t-shirt.  Cody called to say he was on his way home.  After Sean and I tidied up the family room I told him I was going to run upstairs and put my jeans on "so I can look cute for Daddy."  I also put a little make up on and brushed my hair. 

Yesterday we had friends from the neighborhood over for dinner, who have two sweet daughter, MK (4) and Vivi (1.5).  Sean LOVES MK, and tried to have Meg name her baby after her.  The night before they came over as I was putting Sean to bed he told me, "I have to wear my jeans for dinner tomorrow when MK comes over."  Completely forgetting my earlier statements, I had no clue why he was talking about what he would wear for dinner the next night.  After he told me about 2 or 3 more times, it clicked, and I said, "Oh, you want to wear a special outfit for dinner so you can look cute for MK?"  he said, "yeah, yeah yeah.  Oh, I know, maybe my jeans and my Mickey Mouse tank top." Sure, I said, do you want me to lay out your outfit for you to put on after nap tomorrow?  "yeah yeah yeah." 

So, sure enough the next day (yesterday), Sean didn't ask to wear his jeans and mickey mouse cank-top when he woke up, but he did ask to lay it out before nap so he could "change into it."  I was laughing to myself the whole time.  I actually had to run downtown to the office before he woke up from nap, and when I came home, he was decked out "looking cute" for MK. 

MK and Sean then enjoyed a romantic (LED) candle-lit (per sean's request) dinner at the picnic table in the family room.  We can consider it their first date, so I'm very glad Sean changed into his dinner clothes to "look cute" for it.

How Was Your Day?

Sean spends a lot of time listening to us, even when we don't know it.  Recently, he's starting asking at dinner, "Cody, how was your day?"  Cody will answer, then Sean will say something like, "ask me how my day was," or he'll just wait for the return question.  He usually says "good," but here are some of the other answers we've heard over the last few weeks: 

Cody: "Sean, how was your day?"
Sean: "Crazy."

Cody: "Sean, how was your day?"
Sean: "Long."

Cody: "Sean, how was your day?"
Sean: "Busy." 

I can't help but laugh when I hear this.  Its been a long, crazy, busy day of naps, puzzles, books, mickey mouse and watching mom vacuum.  Oh, we did go to the grocery store, so maybe that's what put the day over the edge. 

Sean has also been asking a lot about babies in the belly recently.  Today he said,

"Mommy, are you and Daddy going to have another baby?"
"Hopefully we will one day, but not now."
"Why not?"
"Well, we have to wait for God to put another baby in my belly."
"But, when will you and Daddy get married again for that to happen?"

I guess he's gotten the message that you get married then have a baby.  I just failed to explain that doesn't happen every time.  At least he's got the order down. 

These pictures have nothing to do with this post, but I thought they were funny.  Above, Jamesie trying to read a book on Sean's bed.

Maybe it will go better if I wear Sean's glasses.

Forget it, I'll just snuggle with Sean in his bed! (This scene happens most morning and after naps in the afternoon.  Next, Jamesie will get off the bed, toddle into his room, get Frogger out of his crib, toddle back into Sean's room, climb back on the bed and lay down and suck his thumb with Frogger while Sean sucks his thumb with Oli.)

Far-Away Friends

Charleston is a wonderful place to live, but unfortunately it's often a transient place to live (with a medical school and a law school) and a professional soccer team :)), which means we have met, and said goodbye to, a number of wonderful friends down here. Combine this with my family living hundreds of miles away, I thought a good way to introduce these facts of life to sean would be through talking about "far-away friends."   This summer he met a number of far-away friends at Denise's wedding (e.g., Baby Mckenna, his second cousin) and at the cottage, not to mention first cousins and uncle who live in Michigan.  We now have a huge map of the U.S. in our dining room with pictures of far-away friends dotting the landscape.

We were so lucky to have a number of far-away friends come back to Charleston to visit us last weekend.  Two of the featured map-friends actually came and saw Sean's map which was so fun.  Our very first friends we made in Charleston, Luke and Andrea, and Paul and Gretchen were here with their respective progeny, along with Jenny and Roman who have since moved to Orlando, and their two muffin-pies.  I did not take enough pictures.  At brunch on Sunday there were 14 children here, plus their parents, and Sean was the oldest.  In fact, sean was the only 3 year old!  Sean is a hospitable, social child and he loved having all of his friends at his house at once.  It was a lot of fun.  Here are some of the few shots from the weekend:

Yes, other friends came to visit last weekend, but Greta (and those related to her) hold a special spot in Sean's heart, therefore, they got a sign.

I mentioned in a previous post that at times while they were playing Sean would just stop, hug Greta, close his eyes and drink in her Greta-ness.  I am lucky enough to actually have found a picture of this event.  Greta was kind enough to tolerate it!

Just catching up.

As I said, Sean was the oldest of the crew all weekend-- a role he very much enjoyed.  "Guys, this is how you unlock the door to let yourself out onto the balcony."

Sean and Greta with their old Nanny, Valerie, who was also in town for the weekend, sort of, during her world travels.  Val kept these two when they were itty-bitty---it is wonderful that she gets to see them grow every so often like this!

Not even all of the ladies and babies-- just a random shot of who was around at the moment.  there were many more babies and ladies.

Practicing driving his lady on the handle bars.

The original 3 Amigos.  These guys just picked up where they left off. 

For some reason, our group is really boy-heavy right now.  Here's Greta surrounded by her subjects. 

My how we've grown (2007 below, 2011 above--note that both of these pictures were taken with a timer and I recall much laughing and several attempts at getting everyone in a shot both times.  Note also that I'm glad having two kids has taught Paul how to smile :).)

we LOVED having our far-away and our in-town friends all so close last weekend!  Lets do it again soon!

October 2011-- What are we up to?

What are we....

Eating: Tonight, mozz and tomato pizza and salad.  Jamesie's been eating a lot of yogurt, applesauce and oatmeal, given his swallowing hazards lately, and Sean holds strong to his PB/banana sandwiches, for about the last year or so.

Reading: Cody: Cormac McCarthy's border trilogy, although I honestly can't say which one he's on right now.  Denise's hubby Michael is writing his dissertation on McCarthy, so Cody's diving in so he can add to the conversation at Christmas.
Erin:  I just finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskins, and I give it an A+.  I just got the 2004 BBC miniseries from the library and I am so excited to watch it. I was sad to finish the book--its similar to an Austen novel in time and romance, but a little more complex in the social and economic issues of the day. Since finishing that last week I am reading Under the Banner of Heaven for fun (fascinating), Parenting with Love and Logic for bookclub, and Montessori from the Start for our educational reading.  I really like these last two books so far as well, and we are making a lot of changes around the house for Jamesie that are more in line with the Montessori philosophy Sean is experiencing at pre-school.  So far they have both responded really well.
Sean: Berenstain Bears anything.  They are the "it" guys right now, and you will usually find him at home or out in public with BB book in hand.  Like when he brought "Too Much Birthday" to lunch today.
Jamesie: the Brown Brown Brown Bear What Do You See phase has hit J hard.  He signs "book" after every nap and insists on sitting in his rocking chair for a turn of Brown Bear upon waking.  He's also really enjoying Baby Come to Church lately as well.

Talking About:
Cody and Erin: Mormons, Montessori, and the Detroit Tigers. Plus some Republican primary hooplah-- Are our choices really coming down to Rick Perry and Herman Cain? 
Sean: Greta's visit, Mickey Mouse, books.  Aubrey Anne has been staying with us the last few days and this morning as she was bringing him downstairs I hear him say "Aub, my voice is better than your voice in the morning."  He also told us "Tim is a Mormon," and the other day he told me out of the blue, "sometimes DaDa comes here by himself, and sometimes he brings a girl."  When asked later who the girl is that DaDa sometimes brings he said "G.G."  He also likes starting sentences these days with "Don't you know...," so yesterday he said, "Mommy, don't you know that Aub sleeps in her clothes sometimes?"  He's spilling all the family secrets. 
Jamesie: "br-be" (Brown Bear), '"ba" (Banana), "baaa" (ball).  He's also (finally) signing "Please" which is adorable, plus he's picked up the signs for a few other animals and requests. Previously his universal sign was "help," which in his version was putting both hands on top of his head.  Unfortunately he used this sign mostly at meals when his hands were covered in food.  We've been having baths much more frequently lately.

Praying For:
Cody and Erin: Guidance on our next moves in family, career and life.  Also for some special babies in the belly (not my belly).
Sean: "Ms. Martha" at the exclusion of anyone else he usally prays for. (he finishes his prayers with "and that's all, and no one else."
Jamesie: He is now praying with his hands at dinner (more like clapping), and still sees and talks to Jesus all day long. 

Grateful For:
Erin: A responsible, good looking husband who makes me coffee every morning and lets me sleep in until 7 every morning.  Jamesie's recovery from choking, which included a normal swallow-test.  My new soccer team in the Charleston rec-league--its really fun.
Cody: Cooler weather, two boys who can walk and breathe, family members who like to hang out with us and come visit us. 
Sean:  Vanilla Wafers and Cheeze-its at snack time at pre school (these are both usually a treat at our house, so when he is freely given them at school he thinks he's hit the jackpot).
Jamesie: One on one time with Mommy while Seannie is at school, and snuggle time with Seannie when he gets home. 

Milestones and Accomplishments:
Cody: Shaving his beard and looking hot.
Erin: I scored in each of our last two soccer games, and I have been baking real bread with yeast and everything!
Sean: Going potty by himself (i.e., taking himself without our help in the bathroom); taking naps in underpants, sounding out more and more words in books.  Also, thanks to his Montessori training at school, Sean is now setting his and Jamesie's places at the table himself, washing his dishes, using a cup (not a Bop), and in general is SO much more independent and willing to help do things himself!  Sean also taught himself to whistle about 2 weeks ago.
Jamesie: WALKING!  ALL THE TIME!  Plus, he turned 1 1/2 yesterday, and had his Barium swallow-study yesterday which appeared normal at first glance. (The doctors said he was the best 18mo old they had ever had.  smile.) Since deciding to walk he has exploded in ability and understanding it seems.  He follows directions amazingly, and has started imitating Sean setting the table and climbing up on his stool at the kitchen sink.  The Montessori book is making me realize how much more he is capable of than we thought.  I am slowing incorporating new "work" and activities for him so he can challenge himself in tasks rather than mindlessly play with toys that don't challenge him at all.  So far he loves pushing poker chips through a small slit in a shoe box and then dumping them out again, he loves carrying things to and from across the family room, and climbing in and out of the armchairs.  He LOVES getting out sean's cups and plates and bowls and stacking them and going up and down the stairs. 

Challenges?
Cody: The next step in life.
Erin: I think the Love and Logic principles seem really great, but I'm a little overwhelmed at all the things I'm not supposed to or supposed to say to Sean to keep his fragile self-esteem in tact, so not to produce a teenager scouring the streets for drugs after disrespecting his teachers and failiing out school--drunk.  I'm just a little overwhelmed.  I'm sure I'll "get" the system soon, but even now I can hear myself telling him things all day long I know I'm not supposed to.  Also, I really really want to go to Ireland for the Notre Dame/Navy game next september, or to teach college there for a year, and I'm trying to figure out how to do either of those things.  Its not looking hopeful.
Sean:  For all his newly-gained independence, he can't stand the thought of having to get undressed by himself at the end of the day and will usually resort to crying before trying to take his own shirt off.
Jamesie: Instructions at meals.  His favorite thing to do is to wear his empty bowl or plate as a hat.  He gets really mad when we instruct him not to. 

Getting ready for their first day of college.

Post-nap brother snuggling time.

Mundane Trauma

It seems like everytime I get on a roll posting on a semi-regular basis life catches up with me and throws me off pace.  Yes, we had the trauma with Jamesie's choking 2 weeks ago, and I sincerely thank everyone who has thought about us and/or dropped me a note or a nice word about the incident.  His choking incident(s) have resulted in a battery of doctor's appointments since the first E.R. trip, including a barium-swallow-study to be performed in the next few days. But, aside from that trauma, our life has been pretty mundane the last two weeks, and its just been the normalcy of pre-school--dishes--laundry--dinner--bedtimes--work that has caught up with me.  A few quick takes of the more interesting moments in the last couple of weeks will have to suffice:

-I am reading Jon Krackaur's Under the Banner of Heaven, which is about Mormon fundamentalists.  It is a fascinating book.  I guess Cody and I are talking about it a lot, because last night at dinner Sean told us "Tim is a Mormon."  Tim who?  "Meg's Tim."  (not true).

-Jamesie is now preferring to walk (WOW!).  Just before his 18 month birthday (this Thursday, he'll celebrate it with a taste of Barium) he has actually decided to get around via foot instead of knees and hands.  Its so cute it is unbelievable.  He rarely sits down when awake now, which has led to some super-long naps in the morning and afternoon.  Sweet boy.

-Sean has been really into calling people on the phone "to say hey."  My dad seems to be the lucky winner right now and gets a few of these calls per week.  If you haven't received one yet, just wait, I'm sure you will soon.

- I am playing in a rec soccer league and it is really fun.  Most of the women have played at a high-ish level before, but clearly don't have the same skills (or fitness) they did in their glory days.  I fit right in.  Last Thursday I did two flip throws, after about a 5 year hiatus from that skill.  I am happy to report both were on target, but it was one of the more foolish, and unnecessary, things I've ever done. 

-Sean's BFF Greta visted from Minnesota this week.  I'll get some pictures up soon, but most of the cuteness was too awesome to capture on camera.  Several times while playing he would hug her and put his head on her and close his eyes as if he were just soaking up her Greta-ness.  Unfortunately, when they left yesterday Sean pinched his finger in his ga-noculars at the same time, so their parting adieau was less than memorable, and included lots of crying and finger-holding. 

-Jamesie has been on a roll with his sign language and is even using a (select) few real words.  He signs book, all done, airplane, food (sometimes), milk, help, please, bath, and a few animals (bear, dog, cat).  He says Mama (yea!), and answers "Yeah," to just about everything.  He tries to say "Brown Bear" ("ba-ba").  He understands almost everything we say now and can respond to directions really well. 

All for now, I promise to get out of the mundane-funk and get some good material up soon.