Halloween, 2012

I figure there might not be many years left that I can choose the kids' costumes or plan for themes.  But on the other hand, they aren't big fans of hats or accessories, so we needed something simple.   And one day, as Caroline was bossing her brothers around, it hit me.

The Peanuts Gang!  

She is a perfect little Lucy Van Pelt, and with their 90th percentile head circumferences, the boys would make an excellent Charlie Brown and Linus!

I found Daniel's shirt and Caroline's dress on Etsy.

Max's shirt was "hand drawn" to give it the real Linus look, and we pinned his blankie to him.

We set out for Trick or Treating about 5:30, the whole pack of us - Lucy, Linus, Charlie, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Boppy, and Auntie Lee Ann.  Uncle Kelly offered to come too, but he thought perhaps six adults for three kids might overwhelm the neighborhood.  

The personalized goody bags are courtesy of Boppy

At the first house, they were a little unclear on the concept.  We were the first trick or treaters and as our neighbor opened the door, his dog came bounding out, much to Caroline's delight.  While the dog was wrestled back into the other room, Max and Daniel walked themselves right into the living room as if we were over for a visit (on a side note, I was impressed how clean the house was - luckily nobody barged into OUR place!).  It took a little while, but eventually we got them bundled back out the door and down the stairs.

At the second house they had figured out how to each take a piece of candy (or more), and as we moved on across the street and down the block they started developing their own little patterns.  Max and Caroline each regularly grabbed a handful of candy and smiled.  Caroline sometimes followed this up with something that sounded like, "Happy Hoween!" or "Happy Day!"  Daniel was more often found poring over the candy bowl to find the one piece he wanted to take and he was the only one to remember to say, "thank you" at almost every house.  He has gotten incredibly good at saying "thank you".

I call this "Robert DeNiro plays Linus"

We stuck to just our block, about eight houses total, but considering there were stairs at all but one of them, and that the kids insist on walking up the stairs themselves (and Caroline insists on walking down without help most of the time), they were suitably tired out by the time we made it back to our house.

Caroline's already digging into the candy

They weren't sure about the scary ghost at this house

When we got home, Caroline plopped herself down on the floor and started pulling candy out piece by piece, handing it to me and saying, "Opee?" She's a big fan of chocolate, it seems.

The rest of the night was spent hoping the doorbell didn't ring and send them hysterically clambering to open the door and grab the candy we offered our visitors.  At seven, we gave them a bath and just as I got them into the tub, I heard rain start to thunder down on the roof outside the bathroom window.

Good thing we went out early!

Here's a video Auntie Lee Ann got as we approached the second house:

Salvateenies Mojo, Take 2

It's been a while since I've updated the blog because life has been a bit crazy around here.  In early October, both the Giants and A's made it into the playoffs.  The A's' post season ended disappointingly quickly, but the Giants progressed into the second round in dramatic fashion, coming from behind by winning three games in a row on the road.  A week later, they repeated the improbable by winning the National League Championship with three straight elimination game victories.  And then it was a seemingly easy sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

And this is relevant because, obviously, the Salvateenies are responsible for the victory.  In 2010, the Giants' march to the championship began the day they were born, and while my friend Sam tried to convince me that this year's repeat performance proved the babies weren't responsible last time around, I am quick to point out that the Giants had not won any World Series in San Francisco before they were born - now they've won two.  Plainly, Salvateenie Mojo.

We tried to get pictures of the kids in their new Giants jerseys to mirror the tiny baby pictures we had of them before their first World Series, but interestingly, 2 year olds are slightly less interested in sitting still for a group photo than six week olds are.

Here's what they looked like when the Giants won Game 1 of the 2010 World Series

And Game 1 of the 2012 World Series

November 1, 2010 - the Giants win the Series!

October 28, 2012 - the Giants win the Series just minutes before bed time!

The best part about all of these pictures, though, is this amazingly adorable picture of Daniel:

(who might be just slightly more photogenic than Max in these situations:)

Here's the new twist on the Salvateenies Mojo - Caroline can now say, "Go Giants!"

More emerging language

Auntie Lee Ann babysat on Wednesday while Daddy went to the A's game.  When I checked in, she said everyone was doing well and that Caroline was talking a lot, but she (Auntie) had no idea what she (Caroline) was saying.

I guess it just takes practice - it makes perfect sense to me!  Or maybe I'm just filling in the blanks with my own imagination.

The truth is, Caroline has turned into something of a myna bird.  She likes copying exactly what you say, but with a matter-of-factness that makes you think it was her idea all along.  When she sees her shoes and insists on wearing them, I ask, "Do you want your pretty shoes?" and she answers, "Pretty shoes! Pretty Shoes!"  She is obsessed with her "pretty shoes", so that's not a big surprise, I guess.  After she's worn them around the house for a while (and trust me, you haven't lived until you've danced with a toddler wearing a pink flowered onesie and black mary janes), she decides she wants to go barefoot again and announces, "Mommy - shoes all done!  All done shoes - shoes no more, ok, mommy? No more shoes?"  Makes sense to me!

Daniel, who was talking up a storm a while back, took a brief hiatus, it seems, from chattering and now is back.  A few days ago, he was sitting in his high chair - everyone was barefoot and he kept pointing at the floor, saying, "Sheeyoos?  Sheeyoos?" I couldn't understand it - Daniel doesn't usually care about shoes unless he knows we're going out.  But there he was, pointing at the floor, his mantra in place.  I tried reasoning with him.  "No, honey, you don't need your shoes.  We're staying home - no shoes!"

Yep, no dice.  He pointed right back at the mat on the floor.  "Sheeyoos?"  But then he pointed at the table and repeated, "sheeyoos?"  And then he pointed to the kitchen and to his tray, "sheeyoos?"  And all of a sudden it dawned on me.  "CHEERIOS"  He was asking for Cheerios.  When I brought them out, he clapped and smiled, obviously proud that Mommy had FINALLY figured out what he meant.

Caroline doesn't limit who she talks to.  She talks to her brothers (calling them both by their names, but also calling them "baby" pretty often), and she talks to us and to Uncle Kelly and Auntie Lee Ann.  When Grandpa showed her pictures of her birthday party, she pointed and exclaimed, "Happy day! Happy day!"  The other night she had a nightmare and woke up calling for me, saying, "Mommy! Tell them go away. Make them stop!"  Perhaps she was dreaming of her brothers getting back at her for all the times she's knocked them over?

Today she was talking to someone new.  She grabbed an old cordless phone, punched a few buttons, put it to her ear and demanded, "Abby?  Da-da-da-calala-da-data!  No! Da da da la da! Good bye!"  Then she punched another button and forcefully put the phone back down on the floor.  When I told Joe about it, he said she and Abby had been having this angry exchange for much of the day.  I don't know who Abby is, but Caroline is NOT happy with her, that much is clear.

And now for the pictures to catch us up for the past month:

Max is still loving apples.

Caroline loves her utensils!

And breaking into Mommy's purse.

Daniel going for a drive with Chuck E Cheese (Uncle Kelly and "Uncle Wendy" took them for a distraction).

Caroline learns algebra while Tom babysits.

Caroline was serious watching the A's win the AL West on the final day of the series

The boys enjoyed it too, though Max couldn't bear to watch in the close parts.

Caroline pushed slide all the way into the other room so she could try to turn off the lights.

Poor Max was SOOO tired at Junior's birthday party

Daniel was just about to learn how to play "tag"

Caroline tuckered herself OUT at the party (check out the "pretty shoes!")

Caroline, sporting her Sequoia Cross Country jersey!

Daniel with a mouthful of "Sheeyoos"

Caroline is Bubble Queen!

Max is not so sure about the bath pictures

But Daniel is a ham for the camera

So Max warms up

Warmer...

Giggle Time!

They're laughing because they're wondering if you can tell who's who

And, of course, watching the Giants win Game 4 of the NLDS requires a good head of RALLY HAIR