This boy loves Halloween.

He loves it so much that he quickly commandeered the Halloween socks I brought home from the witches' party. (I'll have to get some pictures from my sister so I can tell you all about that.) They're knee socks for adults, and so he had to take his pants off the fully experience the Halloweenity of the socks. His father was none too thrilled.

As I recall, I once had some adult-size soccer socks (I was six, the one and only year I ever played any organized sport.) We folded them down respectably over my shin guards. But if it ever got cold, I could pull them all the way up and there would be a smurf-legged blond girl running around the field. I guess some habits are making the generational leap.

Conference Weekend

If only it could all have been this peaceful. I'm waiting for the November Ensign to come out to really experience conference.

Goodbye, September

 Yeah, it's three weeks into October. So what? Here's the last of my September pictures. And hopefully I'll get Halloween up before Thanksgiving.

 On the last day of September we had no work and no school. So what's a family to do except Red Butte Gardens? We also had a Groupon that happened to expire on the last day of September. Happy coincidence.

 I'd never been before, so it was fun to check out a new place all together. Both the kids didn't want to ride in the stroller because it was so fun to run around and explore. Which was fine until Nathan got lost. Like, lost lost. After an employee helped him find us he spent the rest of the outing in the stroller. He's been doing so much better about not running away, and I don't think he meant to this time, but this one was a doozy.  Hopefully it will be a lesson.

 All the gardens were beautiful, but of course we spent the most time in the children's garden. You can see in the background the vine-covered tunnels that Nathan was over the moon about.

And good thing it still felt like summer, because we couldn't keep this little miss out of the water. It's fun to see her branch out and try things on her own.

So, Red Butte Gardens = thumbs up. Especially when you get an ice cream cone with your lunch afterward.

A Sunday at Bisweywand

Sunday evening after dinner Nathan discovered the empty pear box. I canned pears on Friday, and tidy people would have removed the box from their house before Sunday. But tidy people would have missed this enjoyment:

He decided the box was a boat, and that the boat would go over the waterfall (the stairs). He spent some time trying to find a parent to push his boat, then spent some time trying to navigate his boat down the stairs himself. I was a little mystified at where this idea had sprung from, fully formed and so ready for execution. Then he started talking about Bisweywand (Disneyland). Ah.

Recently, a classmate at preschool had gone to Disneyland. Nathan's told me about it a few times. So, preschool + Bisweywand = my son knows about Splash Mountain. And he knows it's scary.

He doesn't know what Disneyland is exactly, but he knows he wants to go to there.

Clara, for her part, claimed the other half of the box for her boat. But she didn't try to convince anyone to push her down the stairs in it.

Labor Day

 This Labor Day, as with every Labor Day, was spent at the Holliday family reunion. And if it's a Holliday reunion, then what better theme than to celebrate all holidays in one weekend? Friday evening was Halloween, also known as the best idea ever. Craft supplies, paper bags, and cardboard were supplied, and the kids spent hours preparing their costumes. It was a big hit. My attempt at a dragon was less impressive, but still Nathan wore it all weekend. The hat was his idea, though. He insisted he needed a hat. I'm not responsible for how horribly it turned out.

 Settling down for bed, reading Curious George by lantern light.

 What's more fun than a woodpile?

We even survived the weekend with only a handful of bee stings. Hornets had taken over the tree that shaded our campsite. Clara was the first casualty--she tried to pick one up. Luckily my wonderful sister-in-law had brought some lavender oil which quickly ended the whimpering.

Adventures in vocabulary

I really ought to have a picture for this post, since it's all about how my little girl is growing up. But no picture. Use your imagination.

She is using sentences. It still takes me by surprise when I hear something like "I see you, mom" and "it's my turn!" She's always learning new words. She's also an expert mimic and so can say more words than she strictly knows. The other day, following Nathan's lead, she said "dangerous."

She loves to follow her brother around and copy him. They are playing so well together lately, however with frequent outbursts of screaming. But she thinks everything he does is funny, and having such an appreciative audience is always welcome for a three year old.

She loves shoes. She'll put on any that she can find. Nathan's are the best because she can get them on and they'll stay on. But occasionally she'll get her own sandals on, usually only one and usually on the wrong foot, and then she'll walk around enormously pleased with herself.

She also loves to clean up, usually when it's not sanctioned. On Saturday at a baby shower she had a great time picking up some clothespins that had fallen on the floor. When she was done, she knocked them all back on the floor, said "clean up, clean up" and proceeded to pick them all up. She did this several times. It was a grand game. Today I broke a casserole dish and despite my repeated efforts to get her out of the kitchen, she managed to pick up some of the pieces of glass and put them in the garbage while I was trying to sweep up and keep her out of it. Not that I didn't appreciate the help, but I'm sure nobody loved the bandaging trip to the bathroom we had to take next. She wouldn't use the hand with the bandaid for several hours.

She's also picked up Nathan's old habit; when she's sad or angry or just doesn't like what she's hearing, she shakes her head and say "nuffing nuffing nuffing!" Levi finds it funny while I am annoyed. I think if he had to hear it as often as I do the cuteness would wear off.

Last year...

Everything happened last year. Did you know? Nathan picked up this phrase somewhere and now any period of time in the past was last year. He likes to talk about "last year we went to Yellowstone" (last month) or "last year I threw up on the carpet" (last week) or "last year I stood on this stool and brushed my teeth (that morning).

I forgot to take a picture of Nathan's first day of preschool. I'm such a bad mom, I know. But he loves preschool. The first day I picked him up and asked if he had fun. Yes, he had fun. What did he do? Nothing. Did he play toys? Yes. Which ones? Preschool toys. I also was asked by his teacher if he didn't like to run around and play outside. What? Are you kidding me? So he's having a little adjustment period and I think he'll settle in. He's starting to learn the kids' names and today volunteered that he got to paint and color. Every day he asks if it's a preschool day and was very excited this morning that it was.

The only other Nathan news I can think of is last week he kept his pull-up dry at night for four days in a row. Since then it's been a pretty even split. It was very exciting. So we're making progress, and I think before he goes to kindergarten he'll actually consent to going to the bathroom by himself.