HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2010

Another Halloween has come and gone. Now all that remains are the decorations that I have to take down in the next day or two and the enormous amount of candy. This year, the kids collected quite a booty. This is something they still aren't used to....being in the old neighborhood we were lucky to get maybe 4 0r 5 porch lights on each block.

The day was filled with excitement and the 6 p.m. start time seemed days away to them. I think they asked us 50 (or 100) times that day, "How much longer?" Of course, we threw in the opportunity to have them figure out the 'math'....it's nice to know that we are still one step ahead of them (wink). As 5:50 arrived they bolted out the door, with me running after them with my camera. Gone are the days of dressing them up, setting up a cute backdrop to take some quality poses for the family. Now I'm lucky if I get the back of their head. So I chased them out of the door and onto the porch. I managed to get them arranged on the porch/steps, turned the camera on and snapped the one and only photo that I got of them 'posing'....suffice to say, I'm pretty impressed with my result.

This year, I stayed back and handed out the candy. The wave of kids coming through was really great and each neighbor would stop and chat for a bit before they moved on. We even had a "Trick-or-Beer" cooler out at the end, so that the grown-ups were not forgotten. They appreciated the extra attention to 'detail'. It was nice to sit by the fire pit, sipping warm apple cider and just looking around at what an incredible neighborhood this is. I had one of those 'pinch me' moments.

The kids finally filed in around 8:30 @ the Whalen's house to do their annual candy swap, before heading home for the evening...pillowcases thrown over their backs like Santa Claus. Brad told me that Brendan ran from house to house, the entire time. He has a buddy that ran with him, one of Owen's friends that just adores him. I guess they were two houses ahead of the group. Brendan didn't want to ride in the wagon, he didn't want any help with his bucket and when his bucket needed to be emptied, it had to be pried from his hands. It was really neat to see how excited he was and frustrating to try and explain that 'no, you can't have another candy bar.'

All in all, it was a wonderful Halloween. Our first 'official' Halloween in the neighborhood, the first time we got to decorate our new home and nearly the end of the first year of us living here. We look forward to many, many more years of celebrations with our friends in the neighborhood.

Mr. B is Two!

Brendan at 1 and 2 years old.

March 27th we celebrated Mr. B's 2nd Birthday. It is so difficult to believe that it has been two years since we first brought him home. He still is amazing...even in his 'terrible twos'. If this is terrible, I think we'll be okay. We've seen worse (not naming any names..wink wink, nudge nudge). We really had a great time and appreciated all of the thoughtful gifts that he received. He's been in love with everything!

So, yet another year has gone. We just hang onto every moment with him because we want to remember everything. Every little silly word "McQueem"..."Dater"..."cereal-kind" (when he wants a particular 'kind' of cereal). Every little saying he's picked up along the way, "Awwwwe Shoooot", "Watch this, watch this!" We want to remember it all. It seems so long ago that Owen was this age...and sadly, some of those memories fade.

Here's to another year of B just being wonderful and being our angel. He smoothed out a lot of the rough edges in our life and has made every moment even brighter. Mommy and Daddy love you, Mr. B. Happy 2nd Birthday!!