It's the most wonderful...

Time of the year!

Vote: Rocked.

Yeah. I rocked it. First time voting in the USA, first time voting ever. Finally!  I feel like a real grown up now.  

This patriotic young fellow turned 3 months old today.
17 years, 9 months to go until he can cast his first vote!

We had a nice visit with Granny Mac this weekend and enjoyed being able to introduce her to Gus! She has headed back to the fairer weather of Florida after a very chilly weekend here.  The weather has turned quite cold post-Sandy but we are grateful to have power, heat and no water damage from the storm.  We feel for our NY friends who have been affected and hope that the Nor'Easter heading their way tomorrow doesn't do more damage.  If you ask me, Mother Nature has been a real bitch lately.

Hank tries on Dad's cowboy boots...

If Gus was a girl....

Happy Halloween!

We survived Sandy with nothing more than a minor leak in our dining room ceiling, which gave Matt an excuse to go out in the storm and devise a fix for it. I secretly think he enjoys this sort of thing. We were very lucky to have missed the brunt of the storm, although we were relieved to hear that school was back on today after two days straight of cancellations. Hank has been climbing the walls, literally.

Unfortunately the Halloween parade at school was cancelled (it is traditionally held outdoors on the main road) as was the annual event at our friends the Roe's but we are making do. The kids had a party in their classroom today and we are going out to burbs to trick or treat anyway. I for one can't bear to be in this house for a minute more than I need to after having been cooped up for 3 days straight!

Hank as Rocky...

Gus as a handyman.

We had a great weekend with auntie Alice and Uncle Brian. Gus and I joined them on a tour of the Capitol building which my people burned down in the war of 1812. Felt a bit guilty about that for the first time in my life. Anywho....

Next up, Granny Mac!

Ring, ring! Ring, ring!

The Fab Fall

Ah, how I love the Autumn season, let me count the ways.

As I sit here, sipping on a delish pumpkin pie smoothie, having just returned from a lovely walk with my new beau Gus through Rock Creek Park, I reflect on my favorite season of the year.

The trees are at their peak right now and the weather is still lovely (we are expecting highs in the low 80's this week).  

Soups, roasted vegetables, apples and squash are in - I am going to break out my favorite kitchen toy, the slow cooker, later this week for some comfort food.  The first chili of the season was produced yesterday (black bean and acorn squash - quite tasty if I do say so myself).

It is cool enough for sweaters and boots during the day but not cold enough to have wear a coat.

All in all, life is good!

We have been keeping busy with various school activities, surviving our first weekend at home without dad (fishing in Jackson Hole, so jeal.  At least about the Jackson part), a doctors appointment for Gus and our first parent-teacher conference for Hank.  Gus is growing like a weed - at 2 months he weighs 10lbs 12oz and is 23.5 inches long.  The doctor himself was impressed with Gus' growth spurt - he has now caught up to where Hank was at this same age, despite having been born nearly 2 pounds lighter.  We see lots of smiles these days when Gus is awake and his neck strength is coming along nicely.

The toothless grin

I mean, really.  How cute can you be?

Not a care in the world...

Our meeting with Hank's teachers went well and we got nice feedback about him - nothing too surprising on either the positive or "room for improvement" areas.  His report card says things like  "Loves playing on the climber","Enjoys the sensory table" And who doesn't?  Then we have things like..."Increase ability to regulate behavior in the busy classroom", "Increase eye-contact and turn-taking", "Develop independence with potty training".  In other words, he could work on sharing, focusing and going pee-pee in a toilet.  The usual pre-school stuff.  We were relieved to hear that even though Hank has been saying "Don't push your friends" repeatedly at home ever since he started school, he is not the pusher.  Phew.  For lots of photos of Hank at school, click here:

Frog Class Pics

Dad attempts to make the big boy bed seem cool.  So far, no dice. 

Action shot! 

Columbus Day weekend we headed down to Luray, Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains with our friends Jay and Jamie and their two kiddos, Johnny and Devon. Only about 2 hours outside of DC, the Shenandoah area is all country - rolling fields with the aforementioned mountains in the background.   For the kids, we visited a fair that featured antique tractors, funnel cake and a nice mixture of amish and redneck types.  The next day we checked out Luray Caverns, these insane caves that go on for miles.  They have been lit up inside for better viewing of the stalagmites and stalactites within them. There is even a "natural" organ that has been created from these eerie stone columns.  For the grown ups, we sat in the hot tub drinking beer and wine, ate yummy dinners and ended our days around a fire pit.

Hank on a WW2 Jeep.

The perfectly still water in this cave acts as a mirror for the stone above it.   Trippy. 

I'm not sure why Matt looks scared in the this photo.  Maybe because the tour of the cave took 90 minutes!

Fall is only half-way through as far as I'm concerned, especially since it doesn't really get chilly here in the swamp until January so there's more fun to come. Auntie Alice and Uncle Brian are here visiting this weekend which will be grand, and then of course, the ultimate Fall activity: Halloween!

Hank enjoying our back yard fire pit. 

10 things you don't know about Hank

But first, the answers to last week's "guess which baby" contest:

Gus

Gus

Hank

Hank

1.  The Percy's are out.  NYC taxi was in for a while, but has been pretty destroyed.  Hank is very creative in his imaginative play and has kind put taxi through the wringer.  See below (sorry, I am the world's worst videographer.)

2. He LOVES doing the laundry. He literally can do it by himself. He separates the lights and darks, puts the clothes in the machine and knows which buttons to press to get it running. He concentrates hard saying "cold water, gentle spin, start". When the machine starts running he says "he's going, he's going!"

Considering this play set of washing machines as a Christmas gift....

3. He likes to be assured that what he is doing is "bootiful". For example, he'll play with a toy that involves making patterns and repeatedly ask, "Is it bootiful? Is it bootiful?"

4. He is both polite and honest. We are working hard on manners around here and practice our pleases and thank yous constantly. Additionally, we are trying to teach the appropriate behavior for certain bodily functions. When someone burps for instance, they say, "excuse me". The other day, Matt had fetched a toy for Hank and when he didn't say thank you, Matt said, "What do you say?" Hank responded with "Excuse me, I tooted."

5. His favorite color is green.

6. Hank has an incredible memory. We can read him a book twice and he will know the words by heart. Since he is constantly talking these days, we often overhear him reciting long passages from books we've read the night before, listing off all the food that the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate for example.

7. Hank is a songbird. He loves nothing more than listening to his music and singing songs. We think that there is probably some real talent hidden in there and can't wait to get him into some music lessons to explore his interests.

8. He says "booyah" when giving you a high five.

9. He slept in his big boy bed for the first time the other night. At least he did for about 30 minutes before rolling out of it and sitting on the floor in a sort of sleep walking stupor. It's a start!

10. He hates the happy birthday song and screams in terror when it is sung. This makes him an interesting party guest.  Click on the link below for an example of this at our friend Rush's bday party a few weeks ago....

Hank screaming at birthday party

Bon Anniversaire Matthieu!

So, I am a bit late on this front and owe mon mari an apology for not having sent him birthday wishes via le blog earlier.  Please forgive me!

As many of you know, Matt turned the big 4-0 on the 17th of September.  We celebrated with our friends this past Saturday by chartering a beautiful sailboat to take us on a sunset cruise around Annapolis.   This was followed by a drunken dinner at a Caribbean-themed restaurant (totally bizarre frankly but so perfect for Matt's party - I believe it was put there for this sole purpose).  It  seems as though everyone had a good time, most especially and importantly Matt.  

As those of us who know him best can attest, it is hard to believe that someone so silly, fun-loving and child-like is 40 years old, but alas, time ticks on for all of us.  I believe that you are only as old as you feel on the inside, which would make Matt's true age about 15.  

Which is what I love about him.  

Happy Birthday Matt - we love you!