The Rest of our week, pre Halloween

I had a birthday! It was such a nice day. It was fun to hear from people and I was very well cared for. I went to the farmers' market and came home to decorations and breakfast and presents with my two favorite dudes.

While we were eating, Mike was reminding Jens not to tell about birthday secrets and Jens looked at Mike and stage whispered "Yeah, like the train ride!"

Mike had no idea what Jens was talking about, but as we rode the train at the city park for Jens's birthday, he evidently decided that was THE birthday thing to do. So after breakfast we went and rode the train.

Then some of my delightful friends, Jennifer, Laura, and Michelle, picked me up and we went out for lunch. It was a very leisurely lunch followed by some quiet browsing and shopping. We all enjoyed how easy it was to walk around stores full of breakables! Then we convened at Jennifer's house and had cake, which she made. It was chocolaty and delicious.

When we got home, Mike started cooking up a storm! He made me a delicious and fancy meal--steak, herbed roasted potatoes, green beans, and HOMEMADE french onion soup. Jennifer helped him with his menu and gave him cooking instruction and he carried it all out. It was really nice and really good.

I felt very spoiled and loved all day long!

Sunday was Mike's race. He has decided on his next challenge, by the way--a marathon, which he is signed up to run the first weekend in December.

Sylvie got a new tooth last week and seems to be working on the next one right now. She is drooly and stuffy and warm all of the time. She is enjoying books these days, and really looks at the pictures. I love this picture. Do you think she got her hair from her daddy?

She also like poking her fingers into my mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. It isn't very fun. For all her squishiness, her fingers are very pointy and sharp!

I also like this picture, although I have to say that I don't normally but flowers on Sylvie, but I thought this looked awfully cute.

Also this week I went to Jens's school for the first parent-teacher conference. Mike and I both love his school--his teachers are so wonderful. She had so many positive things to say about him, and it is so interesting to hear about your child from the perspective of someone else. At school he is very focused and good at following directions. He started out as an observer and is slowly becoming more comfortable with participating in activities like singing. She says he especially loves story time and is always completely absorbed in the story--he can answer any question you ask about the story and can make predictions about what will happen next. He is very interested in art and spend a lot of his time doing the art jobs. He has great number/ratio skills, understands size graduation, and for all intents and purposes, he can read. He doesn't like to do it, though, and you have to kind of push him. He understands and knows how to do the jobs after being told just once, and on Friday he learned how to use the computer, which he was really looking forward to.

That was probably more than any of you wanted to know, but like I said, it was really interesting to hear Shirin's observations. I am glad he is doing so well.

The rest of our news is Halloween related and is put in the following posts.

Have a happy week, everyone.

Some Jens art from last week

For those of you who enjoy a little Jens artwork, the artist has been very busy this week. He is getting especially good at writing and sounding out words.
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1. A zoo--I love these animals! A lion, seal, elephant, duck (with four legs--very unique), giraffe, and maybe a penguin (we aren't sure) with some very cute little flowers.
2. A random assortment of things including a "Jack O' Lantren" as Jens says, a cat, and lots of stamping work.
3. A caterpillar done at art class at a friend's house--she plans fun art projects and helps the kids make them.
4. Some very good Halloween writing!
5. A thank you note to Ethan, who gave Jens some "control trains" (remote control, that is) for which Jens is very grateful. We are, too--he has played with them every day since. The message he wanted to write was "Ethan, thank you for the control trains."

Happy Halloween!

Here we are, all dressed up and looking fine. Mike, by the way, is a "crab," according to Jens who picked his costume, so he should know.

Sylvie had to try out my hat. It looked pretty darn cute on her.

We had a fun day today even though last night was a little traumatic. Jens threw up a couple of times, but slept well. We took it easy in the morning--Jens watched tv and laid down for most of the morning, but after that he was cheerful and energetic.

He did not want to be a ghost, though. He was sure that if he dressed up as a ghost he would fall down and get hurt. We were a little sad by that--he never got to wear his whole costume, which he had been looking forward to for so long. Instead he wore his monkey costume from last year.

I apologize in advance for putting up a ridiculous number of pictures, but I can't help it.

Ready to go:

Out trick-or-treating.

Moms and kids--what a cute bunch.

The kids were very quiet.

The boy with his haul. I didn't think we went to that many houses, but it sure looks like we did.

Sylvie kindly pre-chewed a few of Jens's candies.

Carving Pumpkins

It has become a tradition to carve pumpkins each year with the Nielsens. Year number 5 was every bit as fun as the other four. JP is always very creative, and this year we got a Linus pumpkin!

Jens was thrilled and especially enjoyed poking holes in his pumpkin after it was carved.

The finished products:

Jens's pumpkin was also very cool because the whole things glows.

Halloween Eve

'Twas the night before Halloween and all through the house
A dastardly accident was waiting to pounce

The costumes were chosen with the utmost care
In hopes of delivering the biggest, best scare.

But a trip to the emergency room lay ahead
to address a cute ghost's big bonk on the head.

Sorry. That's all I've got. Tonight was the long awaited trunk or treat, the first chance for Jens to don all of his ghostly apparel including the white spray for the hair, the white and black makeup for his face, and his ghost sheet. But even before that, we visited a few costumes of Halloween past. Just to be clear, these were all taken today, they aren't from the archive. We had fun playing dress up.
2007: the dancing chicken (I am not sure how he still fits into a 2-3T costume, but he does)

2008 he was a cute monkey (still fits so well he should have just worn it again this year . . .)

Then the be-ghosting began. We took pictures chronicling the event:
First, we sprayed his hair white. He checked it in the mirror and was so excited that he had to run around for a few minutes.

Second, we did the white paste for his face (homemade, by the way: cornstarch, flour, crisco, and a tiny drop of vegetable oil--that is why it looks so, well, homemade).

Third, the scary eyes. He was so thrilled with the eyes that he had to check his reflection in the bathroom mirror repeatedly. (yeah, yeah, I am not a professional. I fully realize that his eyes are crooked. It is not easy to put make up on a four year old, I tell you.)

We decided to wait on the lips until after we ate dinner. I ran up stairs to get ready to go and Jens followed a few minutes later to shout "Boo!" and give me a scare. I gave him a pretty good reaction. So good, in fact, that even though I asked him to stay downstairs with his painty face, he ran upstairs one more time to surprise me. "Boo!" he shouted with glee, as he tripped over his feet and crashed headlong into the corner of my dresser. Boo boo indeed.

3 internal stitches and 7 external stitches later, here is our little Halloween ghost. And yes, the blood is real and all his. How gross is that?

Mike took him straight from the hospital to the trunk or treat because he was such a trouper and wanted to go so badly. He wanted to put his costume on, but seeing as how he and Mike ran out of the door so fast that he didn't have shoes, he obviously didn't get to wear his costume.

I have to say that Mike and I both feel very sad about this incident. Of course accidents happen, and having a boy means that an ER trip was inevitable (please no more?), but why tonight? Jens has been so excited about Halloween. We have pretty much been counting down since October 1st. We have been crossing off the days, we drew special little pictures for the nights we carved pumpkins, for trunk or treat, and for Halloween. Now we are going to spend Halloween watching for signs of concussion (he barfed tonight--sign #1) and encouraging him to lie down and not move. Not quite what any of us were planning on. Even worse, he has been extremely brave and sweet about the whole thing, which makes us feel extra sad for him.

Go Mike!

Who's that speeding bullet? It's our own Mike! Mike ran the 4 Bridges Half Marathon on Sunday. He finished the 13.1 miles in 1:50. We are very proud of his accomplishment. I wish that we had been there to cheer him on, but I was home with our kiddos, who really just aren't 100%.

Who knows what his next challenge will be? He has become very athletic this year!

Pushing the HIppo

Why is Sylvie all wet? I am sure you are asking yourselves. (Now you are probably saying "What? She's wet?" I know, I know, it is hard to tell in the picture.)

Well, usually while I shower, I bring Sylvie into my room and close the door to protect her from her brother. She crawls around, plays with stuff, and keeps herself entertained. Today she was very upset that I would leave her out in the bathroom and suddenly she figured out how to open the shower door. I tried really hard to be fast, but I was not fast enough. In spite of my repeated attempts to keep her from crawling into the shower, close the shower door, and wash my hair, she eventually crawled into the shower wearing all of her clothes and proceeded to stand up next to me, screaming furiously because she was getting all wet. I was trying to rinse out the soap without getting it on her or in her eyes, and eventually managed to pick her up. She was very traumatized by the whole event and had to snuggle with me for about 20 minutes afterwords, laying her head on my shoulder and letting out gusty sighs. I keep thinking that maybe she will have learned a lesson and won't try to come into the shower again, but somehow I doubt it.

October 21st

Oops. Today was school picture day. I totally forgot, and I am now trying to picture what exactly Jens looked like when he left for school this morning . . .

We had a great weekend, though. Mom, Dad, and Peter got here Thursday night. Jens had been counting down all week. I told him that I thought Papa might help build him a sandbox while he was visiting. Thursday night when Jens went to bed, I told him that when he woke up, Papa, Grammy and Peter would be here. He excitedly added "And my sandbox!" I told him I thought Papa might want to sleep Thursday night, so there probably wouldn't be a sandbox immediately. Friday we got the materials and Saturday Jens helped Papa put it together.

He is one happy boy. He loves a sandbox full of sand.

Friday we went to Apple Hill, and we are sure glad we went Friday and not Saturday! It was pretty busy as it was. We had lots of treats--more than is good for anyone, really, but they all tasted really delicious. We went to Boa Vista and had treats and bought apples, stopped at Kids Inc., where Mom and Peter did the corn maze and Jens picked a pumpkin and we all admired the big fat pig, and Larsen's Apple Barn, a place we have never been. They are 7th Day Adventists, so they are always closed on Saturdays. They have a little farm museum which was interesting. The best part was when Jens saw a large animal head mounted on the wall. "It's a bear-goat!" he exclaimed. Can anyone guess what it really was?

A buffalo, which we might now forever call a bear-goat. Anyway, the scenery was beautiful and the company was excellent. That night Mom took me birthday shopping (yay new jeans!) And we had a very healthy salad for dinner to make up for all of the treats.

Saturday was the sandbox day. Also, we went to the farmer's market and Mom and Mike went out for a bike/run. Mike ran 12 miles, Mom biked (in a different direction) while he did that. We also did some shopping for Sylvie, which is always fun. Little clothes are so adorable. And of course, we watched the Gator game, which was VERY stressful. I have to admit that halfway through the 4th quarter I couldn't take the stress and looked up the score on line. (We were watching it several hours after the fact!)

Sunday was the long awaited primary program. In spite of some good hustling, we were two minutes late, so we had to sit way in the back, so we didn't have a great view. Jens behaved very well and said his part very clearly. "Heavenly Father wants us to be happy during our life on earth." We were very proud of him. I think he even moved his lips on one of the songs. Happily, Mom, Dad, and Peter took Sylvie home for a nap and made us a divinely delicious lunch while we stayed for the rest of church. We came home to Mom's Beef Burgandy (Julia Child's recipe). It was so good. Thanks, Mom! And thanks Dad, for opening the Burgandy. We don't have a corkscrew, you know, so we had to get a little creative.

The rest of the day was spent walking on the bike trail and around the neighborhood (Mom was helping me check out exterior paint color schemes) and playing around.

We miss our company, but we sure are grateful that they would come so far to spend time with us. We had a really good time.

Sylvie has been keeping us delighted. She is standing better and better each day. Her balance and control are really improving, but she still shows no interest in walking. Even if I hold her hands and try to walk with her, she doesn't really want to.

A couple of funny things right now--she crawls directly over anything in her path. No going around! Sometimes she gets stuck halfway over and has to kick her legs to propel herself over whatever obstacle she is trying to surmount. In this case, Papa.

She also carries things in her mouth like a little dog. It is pretty cute to see her crawling along carrying something in her teeth.

Jens continues to work very hard on his art. He is getting more creative every day. These are his dinosaurs. The best part was when he was telling Grammy the names of the dinosaurs. I wish I could remember them all, but they were very made up. Along the lines of "Mieshio" and "Degasaurus."

I like that they are so happy and friendly.

He also continues with his writing. This says "Happy Halloween"--he mixes up Y and W, then a mystery word (he didn't know what it said, either, and when I asked him he tried to sound it out) and then the names of everyone in our family including Casey.

A cute thing from this week has been his prayers. They have been very thankful lately, including being thankful for everyone in our family. He always remembers to be thankful for himself as well as everyone else. Yesterday he and I went for a long bike ride/walk--about 4 and a half miles. He was such a trouper! I would remind him periodically that we were building our muscles and getting so strong, and he would say "Yeah!" and flex his arms very dramatically.

I think I have mentioned before his talent for mimicry--he can hear and imitate other people's voices, phrasing, and expressions--when we come home from Utah I can always hear Jake, Alia, and Grandpa by turns. Well, since company left he has been channeling Uncle Peter. It is awesome because Uncle Peter was really nice to the kids while he was here, so yesterday Jens was really nice to Sylvie the whole day, remarking often on how cute she was and using the same friendly voice to talk to her that Peter used. He also used some of Peter's expressions and arm gestures. I hope he keeps channeling his uncle! Thanks, Peter!

That's all from us for this week.

Sylvie

Since I figured out how to put video on, I thought I'd put up a little clip of our Sylvie. Yes, she is only half dressed (picture her in a very cute denim jumper) and her hair isn't done (picture a little red bow) but she was being so happy and chatty this morning. She had a new tooth break through yesterday on the bottom left, but it isn't slowing her down much. She is such a cheerful, happy little thing. We are glad to have her around!

Okay, I decided to put up two clips because she is so cute, how could I choose just one? I know you all want to see one more.

A find

Back in May, Jens lost almost all of his race cars. He had maybe 4 or 5 that didn't disappear. As you can guess, we were pretty distraught around here. I tore the house apart, looking through every closet, under every couch and bed, to no avail. Mike and I decided that maybe he had put them into a bag that had gotten thrown away or that he had put them in the trash himself, not realizing that they would be gone for good. Well.

Today I cleaned the floor of the pantry. I actually cleaned the pantry in June, but things get piled on the floor, so I took everything out and washed the floor. When I picked up our little blue sandwich cooler it seemed unnaturally heavy, and voila! There they all were, along with a bunch of legos and playdough toys. Jens stayed pretty cool while he was opening the cooler and taking them all out, but he is now playing with them devotedly.

I can finally REALLY wear everything in my closet again. Hooray!

Sad Thing

One of our blue jays got killed in the big storm we had on Monday. Jens and his friends discovered it during playgroup--as you can imagine, they then searched the entire yard for more dead birds.

I keep thinking that its family must miss it.

October 13

Hi Everyone-

It is a rainy gloomy day here. We have had so many consecutive days of sunshine and summer that I kind of forgot what this weather was like! Hopefully it will be good for the grass seed I threw around in the back yard last night.

We have continued to just be sick around here, which means we haven't been doing much or going anywhere. Sylvie was so miserable on Saturday that I finally called the doctor--two days of 102 temperatures made me nervous. Fortunately they said to just keep an eye on her because that afternoon she woke up fever free. Now we are just dealing with a terrible runny nose and a desire to sleep in, which is fine with us, although since she is our alarm clock I missed out on the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and we were decidedly late to church on Sunday.

I did brave Lowe's on Saturday morning to take Jens to the project while Mike ran around the lake (11 miles--I know, totally insane!). Jens had a great day and continued in a construction mood, which was nice since I had a project to work on, too.

Jens was making a house. I was making a computer desk:

It turned out pretty well and gets my computer off of the kitchen counter. The real test will be to see if I can keep it from getting cluttered with stuff. It is tall--standing height, which means it is well away from fat little fingers that can reach surprisingly high these days. I am going to get a bar stool to sit on and we need to get some trim molding for the floor.

Also on Saturday Mike ripped out our bathroom vanity. The new cabinets are stained and ready to go in, but the footprint of the old vanity is narrower than the footprint of the new. We are going to have to do some tile removal, which should be really great. In the meantime, I am really missing my place to get ready and wash my hands. We also are still undecided on a vanity top, which we can't really get measured for until the cabinets are in place. The problem with projects, I feel, is that they snowball and get bigger and bigger and longer and longer. Will our bathroom ever function again? Stay tuned.

Sunday we met up with friends at the park and came back here for dinner. It was very fun to be with everyone, and our house felt very full and cheerful. We had chili and the kids ran around. We have a lot of really nice friends, which we are grateful for.

We have also been decorating for Halloween, which has Jens all sorts of excited. He draws at least 20 pumpkin patches a day, as well as sundry ghosts, witches, Jack O' Lanterns, etc. Although he did make this picture, which was supposed to be just of "the dudes." He couldn't resist adding Sylvie (guess which one she is) and writing my name at the top because "I love Mom so, SO much."

He is loving our skeleton bowl now, although he has to jump back very quickly when he is triggered to say something.

Today we are going to try to get fabric for Jens's Halloween costume. He is still insisting on being a ghost, which isn't very cute, but he is super excited about it, which is cute. We are going to make him a ghost body and paint his face and hair white, which I am sure will be very scary.