Winnie on Watch

Every once in a while when the kids are upstairs and Stayc or I have to run downstairs, we will ask Lu to watch out for Phoenix and tell us if he tries to come down the stairs (don't worry Scott, he never attempts it on his own, he just sits at the top step and yells for one of us to come). So today I heard Stayc tell Lu to "watch out for Phoenix on the stairs" while he ran downstairs. Then I heard Lu downstairs. I went over to the stairs to see if Phoenix was still upstairs and saw Winnie (see below) sitting at the top of the stairs. When I asked Lu what she was doing there (I thought maybe a time-out), she responded that "Winnie was watching out for Phoenix on the stairs." She's good at delegating at least. I wonder if Winnie could do the dishes, clean the house and make the dinner for ME.

Winnie, "watching out."

Jammies

These are Phoenix's new jammies from Grandma & Grandpa DuBravac. As you can see, they are a bit big (which means that they will fit for TWO years!), but Phoenix shuffles around in them the best he can. Lutece, for her part, may look as though she's trying to bring back the 70s (if only she had some gold chains). She gets too hot with her own footed jammies, but refuses to wear anything else. This is her way of compromising.

Maus and Fledermaus

So maybe you're thinking . . . "A mouse? I thought he was supposed to be an elephant?" He was. But then I made the headpiece, and the ears looked more like mouse ears than elephant ears. And I didn't feel like spending the next 2 weeks explaining why a mouse had a trunk. So Phoenix was a mouse for our ward's Trunk or Treat last night, and a pretty cute one at that.

Lutece's costume turned out a little better, which is good, because I don't think she would have been happy going as a cat or a rat. Every year she enjoys Halloween more and more, and this year she ended up with a very full pumpkin . . . which she enjoys even MORE.

Fly Away Little Bat

"NO! I'm not a little bat, I'm a BIG bat!" And so it goes.

First Lollipop

Phoenix has already consumed more sweets in his first year than Lu did in both her first and second years combined. Ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I THINK this is still his first lollipop, a nice parallel, since Lu experienced her first lollipop at a Trunk or Treat too. Hey! Maybe I can find that photo too . . .

Yep! They are brother and sister.

Black and Gray

Here's a candid of our two critters. It's an odd photo, but somehow reminds me of one of Dad's paintings. It looks like something he would have painted anyway.

A Family Affair

As I sit here at the computer, posting pictures and eating Lu's candy (only the stuff she wouldn't like :), I can say that it was a good *first* Halloween event . . . there are many more to come. Lutece has three more parties to attend this next week and then, of course, the true Halloween. We even got a family photo this time around.

Siblings

We went to Salato Wildlife Preserve today with a group of friends from Lu's Home Preschool. I was too busy running after two very independent children to take any pictures outside. It has rained for the last few days here in KY, so it was cold and muddy . . . but fun. What I want to know is why mine were the only kids who got muddy? At least this photo was pre-mud.

Lutece's Newest Hat

Lu received an even newer hat in the mail today (along with some footed jammies . . . Thank you Grandma!) Stayc figured that the best way to get her to smile was to tickle her. It worked. Unfortunately, you can't see the pom-pom on top of the hat.

I thought this was a great Daddy-Daughter shot.

The Train Museum

The train museum was not as fun as the actual train ride; it took up all of one passenger car (shown behind Phoenix). Anyway, the kids loved the train carts up front.

Cute Lu.

The Historic Versailles Train

All Abooooooaaaaaard! This is the face we get when we say "smile." We took the historic Versailles (pronounced Ver sayls) train through scenic Kentucky countryside, past horse farms and farmland. We thought Lutece would really enjoy it, but it was Phoenix who got the biggest kick out the ride. He spent almost the entire one-hour train ride looking out the window searching for horses.

Why is it that the only pictures I've gotten of Phoenix over the last two weeks have him clothed in orange? It must be the halloween season. Boy, he had a fun time!

Lutece had fun, it was just a different kind of fun. She squirmed all over the seat, occasionally looking out the window at a passing horse or donkey, and then continued her squirming.

And then she squirmed all over Phoenix to break up the monotony. At least he enjoys it.


Phoenix gets the last word on this train. As a side note, he has a new-found fetish for flesh. He loves to pull up our shirts so he can give wet open-mouthed kisses on our tummies. The other day I bent down to pick up something and I felt his little hands come from behind, pull up my shirt, and plant a wet kiss on my back. Delicious.

Mt Sterling Flea Market

It's amazing how much enjoyment a child can get from a $1 squishy toy. This one, purchased by Grandma and Grandpa DuBravac, along with a musical guitar (not pictured), kept Lu busy for the 5 hours we walked around Mt. Sterling in the biggest flea market ANY of us had ever seen.

Lu and Grandma DuBravac stopping for some refreshment (note the flashing red sign in the background). We had funnel cake, pork chops, curly fries, fried apple pie, lemonade, chicken kabobs, and even some soup and corn bread. Yum!

Stayc's Birthday

Lu puts the last candle into Stayc's birthday cake so he can blow out the candles. She's a good little helper (although she would vehemently deny the "little" part of that statement . . . "NO, I'm a BIG girl!").

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch was an overall success. No melt-downs. No new bruises. Lots of excitement. Lots of farm animals. Minimal nose-wiping (both kids have nasty colds). Phoenix thought the birds were the greatest thing since, well, all the other things he had just seen.

Phoenix ran around free just loving life. If you look closely at his hand, you can see he's doing the sign for bird. Dang, he's smart!

Both kids loved the hayride, although Phoenix kept trying to jump off the moving wagon. Dolly, as you can see, came with us. Lutece informed me that she (Dolly) liked it too, but she got scared in the Spooky House since, "she thought the ghosts were real. But I knew they were pretend."

When we heard we would each get a pumpkin from the Pumpkin patch I thought we would just pick one up from a big stack at the end. Who knew we would actually have to go out to the muddy field and literally PICK our own pumpkins. Phoenix thought this was the greatest thing in the world . . . he must have picked up every rotten pumpkin in the patch, sqeezing the rotted pumpkin flesh between his fingers like it was playdough.

Phoenix was not afraid of the animals. He fed the goats, made friends with the chickens, and got close enough to be coughed on by a llama. He was fearless.

We're in Kentucky. You have to have at least one photo of your child on a horse. Even if it's only a wooden one.

Lutece is getting excited for the cool weather. I don't know what it is about these hats from Grandma DuBravac, but Lutece wants to wear hers EVERY DAY. It's been in the high 70s here the last couple of days, but she still starts out the day wearing her hat. "It's for girls because it's pink." How very logical of her.

Yesterday we went to the Newport Aquarium in Cinncinatti as a belated joint birthday treat. The kids had a blast. The whole aquarium was fairly dark, so good pictures were hard to get. I experimented on settings and finally got a couple of good pictures INSIDE the aquarium. This is one of several viewing tunnels.

This was my best picture of Lutece for the day . . . unfortunately it's blurry. I fiddled with it in Photoshop and this is the best I could do. Not having used Photoshop much, I'm open to suggestions.

We are weighing in at the "shark weighing station" here. The three of us together were still under 200 lbs. (Thank goodness!)

"Hey! There's a penguin!" Phoenix enjoyed the penguins, but he was much more of a fish lover. You may notice that his face is covered with scabs and bruises. As soon as one bruise fades, three more pop up. We don't quite know what to do besides wait this very rough stage out.

Lu was the one who REALLY loved the penguins (which you can see at the top of the photo). Her shirt is still wet from petting the sharks.

Petting the sharks with Dad. There were a couple of them (including the one pictured here) that would swim around the edge with their head outside the tank, spitting water at people (I kid you not). Lutece got splashed by one.