I Feel The Need . . . The Need For Speed.

I *love* October.  Everything about it.  The cool air, the leaves, the hooded sweatshirts, the pumpkins . . . okay, so really the only thing Las Vegas has in that list is the pumpkins.  And since it's the only real piece of October we get, we do it BIG.  We visit almost every pumpkin patch in the Valley and really get into the totally cheesy "fall" festivals.

And, of course, after visiting all these pumpkin patches, we can't slack on the decorating.  We learned out first year here that carving + 90 degree temps = disgusting mess so we've embraced the painted pumpkins.  I'd say we are really starting to get the hang of it too. :)

Matty got two gourds and a small pumpkin this year.  And Daddy ROCKED the paint job.

Jonathan and I each did our own, but we couldn't leave Oskar out, so he graciously allowed Jonathan to paint his for him. Lack of opposable thumbs really puts a damper on his painting skills.

Our community does a "Trunk-or-Treat" event at the park a few days before Halloween, which is perfect for us because Matty is still too small to really get into trick-or-treating and (to be honest) neither he (nor I) need all that candy in the house.  This year, he decided he wanted to be Daddy for Halloween.  We already had the flight suit; a little spiked hair and a tiny pair of aviators brought the whole thing together.

"That's right, Mommy.  I am . . . dangerous."

And it just wouldn't be Halloween without me dressing Oskar in a ridiculous costume and making him hide from me for about two weeks afterwards.  I found this one at PetSmart for 75% off, and I caught him mid-yawn, making it appear he was REALLY getting into character.  If I was good with Photoshop, I'd draw some flames coming out of his mouth. :)

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Fall Fun

Fall is my absolute favorite season.  The temperatures drop, the leaves change color, and the stores are filled with pumpkins and carmel apples.

Unless you live in Vegas.  We're still sweating in our shorts and t-shirts here, cacti stay the same shade of green, and the pumpkins and carmel apples will literally melt in the heat if you're not careful.

*Sigh*

I miss the Midwest.

But I was NOT going to let living in Las Vegas take away from MJ's fall experience.  So we've spent the last few weeks doing "fall" things, even while we sweated.  First things first was a trip to 'The Farm.' (Growing up the country, I'd say it was a pretty sorry excuse for a farm, but it was better than nothing.)  There were pumpkins to pick, tractors to ride, and a hay maze to explore.  But, as usual, I couldn't get MJ away from anything that had wheels on it.

Wasn't too sure about the scratchy hay . . . 

RUN, CHICKEN, RUN!!!

And so began my son's obsession with pumpkins.  He would NOT let go of it, even while he sat, completely exhausted, in the car.

I'm all about fostering independence, but I thought that it might be a BIT too early to introduce MJ to knives . . . so we settled for painting the pumpkin instead.

"Please, no pictures.  The artist is working."

Uggggggggggh.  Messiness is one of the hardest parts of being a mom.

"Yep, I think that just about does it."

MJ's finished pumpkin.  If you ask him what it's supposed to be, he says "Mom."  I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

A few days later, we visited ANOTHER pumpkin patch.  This one had carnival games and such, but I'm a little leery of carnies.  So we stuck to picking out pumpkins for Mommy and Daddy.

Straining to pick up Daddy's pumpkin.

These were a little bit more his size . . . 

. . . so I told him we could take one home for Oskar.

We took the pumpkins home and painted them.  Here are the finished products!

And, of course, you can't JUST have pumpkins at my house.  I decorated the house for fall in 90 degree heat.  Not kidding.  But, at least it LOOKS like fall-ish!

Fall also means football.  And, according to Daddy, it's never too early to teach the fundamentals.

"Brown-54-Razor!  Hike! Hike!"

Fumble recovery!

We don't really let MJ have candy, but we didn't want him to miss out on his first trick-or-treating experience.  Our community has a sort of "trunk-or-treat" even at the park, where local businesses come out and pass out candy.  There are also games and a DJ.  We thought it would be a perfect time for MJ to get dressed up and experience Halloween without all the door-to-door fuss.

The Incredible Hulk, ready to trick-or-treat!

Our candy snatcher getting corralled by Daddy.

Even the Incredible Hulk needs a lift sometimes.

Trust me . . . you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Happy Fall, everyone!

Happy Halloween: The Real Story

I'm starting to realize that, now that I have a child, it's harder to be away from home for the holidays. . . and we've only had one holiday!  I hate that Matthew is growing up so far away from family, who can't share in all the joy of a new nephew or grandson.  So, I made a vow that I would pull the "mom" thing and take pictures of MJ in his costume so I could send it in time for Halloween.  That way they can at least have a pretend "trick-or-treat" with him (even though I'm not really taking him trick-or-treating.  He won't have a clue what's going on, and God knows I don't need that candy in my house!)  

So anyway, a few weeks ago, I pulled out MJ's costume and prepared for a photo shoot with him.  IT. TOOK. ALL. DAY.  My normally happy, smiling baby decided he did NOT like his candy corn costume and did NOT want to smile for a picture.  I ended up getting a pretty cute one, but not before all of these. . . 

When I first put it on, he thought it was kind of silly. . . 

After multiple attempts to get a good smile, however, he started to get annoyed.  "Really, Mom?  Really?"

So we took a break, took a little nap, had another bottle, and geared up for round two.  This time, I got really into it.  I took some Halloween fabric I had gotten at Happy Quilt back in Korea and spread it out on the bed.  I was going for a more "professional" look.

MJ decided he looked so tasty he might as well try eating himself.  I have about 20 pictures of this pose, each one accompanied by me saying, "Get your hands out of your mouth.  Get your hands out of your mouth."

Then, of course, Oskar got in on the action and just HAD to know what was going on.  "No, Oskar, he's not a REAL candy corn."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT A REAL CANDY CORN?!"

And, just like last time, a meltdown.

After yet ANOTHER nap and ANOTHER bottle, we tried one last time.  As quick as I could, I zipped up the costume, plopped him down in his vibrating chair, and snapped a picture.  Luckily, it turned out like this:

Good enough!  I yanked off the costume before he could have another break-down and told him that we were D-O-N-E with Halloween for the day.  He couldn't have been happier. :)

Happy Halloween, everyone! :)

Happy Halloween!

It's been a heck of an October. Jonathan's been TDY, Oskar's been extremely sick, and I've been battling the never-ending head cold. I promise to up-date soon. In the meantime, Happy Halloween! :)