We're always up for holidays here. First, before we move forward, a few last pics from Halloween:
Inspired, perhaps, by her teeth, Natalie drew this picture of a "vampire who makes bad choices and needs to go think about his bad choices." So there's that.
But, I mean, Natalie's plenty cuddly! (Also, my mom knit me that robe!)
Also, here's Big Boy, showing off his latest trick:
At the park:
In our yard:
Indoor playtime:
Here's Jacob in his little leisure suit. Jacob pretty much lives the leisure lifestyle.
Coordinating with daddy. Sort of.
I did manage to get Jacob's 10-month picture this month:
Don't let the pictures deceive you, Jacob still mostly only eats baby food.
Check out these babies:
I said baby!
Chocolate cake + a princess plate = love forever.
Also, our old babysitter came over for a visit. It was so good to catch up with her!
Friday was the big Thanksgiving show at Natalie and Jacob's school. This year, there was a combined Chanukah + Thanksgiving theme. Thanksgivukkah. Bring on the Menurkey!
JBoy on the Menurkey Mobile:
Natalie doing her thing on stage:
She was also a butterfly in a song about miracles.
Of course, the best part of Thanksgivukkah is the food. Here she is post-sufganiyot, pre-pumpkin pie. I believe that is known as "the sweet spot."
Happy Thanksgivukkah to all! See you on the other side!
No better time to put up the Halloween blog post than on the very day that my daughter finishes the last of her Halloween candy, no?
This year, Natalie declared she wanted to be Tinker Bell. I am not really sure that Natalie knows very much about Tinker Bell, to be honest. I don't think she's seen the movie version of Peter Pan. While we do have a beautifully illustrated version of the book, the language is not pitched at her level. So, by Tinker Bell, I assumed she just meant "fairy." Which, um, was perfect since we already had a purple fairy costume. So I convinced her she could be TCU Tinker Bell (spoiler alert: this was a big hit at the TCU Halloween festival).
(Astute observes may say to themselves, "Hmm, that looks like the luggage tag that was the TCU annual giving thank you gift a few years ago." Astute observers would be wrong.) Jacob was a dinosaur. He had the noise down! If I were a different sort of crafty mom, I'd totally have made a costume from a hoodie. I am the kind of mom that went to eBay and bought a used dinosaur costume. Which was AWE.SOME.
We had lots of Halloween events this year. Lots of use out of those costumes!
First, we met Natalie's friend from school for Boo at the Zoo. For the uninitiated, Boo at the Zoo is where the kids (and some adults) wear their Halloween costumes to the zoo, look at the animals, visit craft tables where they can make Halloween-themed animal crafts (tiger masks, etc.), and fill their provided tote bags with candy. It's quite a scene. Also, possibly the only day where the people-watching FAR exceeds the animal-watching at the zoo. Here we are at home before leaving for the zoo.
Can't see the dinosaur very well? Here:
This picture also marks the only time this Halloween that Jacob would wear the head portion of his costume. Here are some pictures of the zoo.
Next up, Halloween party. This is the same event we've been attending for several years. We totally love seeing how much everyone has grown each year.
Halloween party snacks. Take that, Pinterest.
And then it was time for the TCU Halloween evening.
As we approached the lawn, Natalie caught sight of the monster bounce house and needed to be reassured that, no, it wasn't a real monster. By the end of the night, she actually went in the monster and loved it.
The other big draw was a real fire truck where the kids could pose for pictures.
By the time actual Halloween rolled around, it wasn't too hard to convince Natalie that it was our turn to stay home and hand out candy. And so we did.
Continuing the fun, it was Mike's birthday.
Aunt Jenny came to town to help use celebrate (but we were too busy having fun to take any pictures, apparently! We'll do better at Thanksgiving!).
Or maybe I should call this post "October Snapshots," since I fear this might be a bit of a photo-dump post. But, well, no time like the present, right?
First, we've officially become one of those annoying homes that has a lawn flag. Worse, we fly a sporting-themed lawn flag. Suburban cliches, you slay me. With your cuteness.
Natalie had her follow-up with the ENT. Her hearing is fine; her listening, um, needs work. That, I suppose, isn't really a surgical problem . . . .
The friends go to school. As regards their listening, they spend a fair amount of time in time-out.
On a related note, I tried some mother-daughter yoga the other day:
Let's just say that, um, there was a lot more of Natalie announcing she was done and bored than listening to our breath and finding our zen. Maybe zumba would be a better exercise activity for us?
Jacob in his resting pose:
Natalie ready for Pajama Day at school. Oh, yes, she is double-desserting in her pj choice.
Snuggles:
The lunch bunch:
Happy Boy:
Jacob is pretty mobile these days.
He still prefers the army / stomach + forearm crawl to the traditional hands and knees approach, but he can really motor along on his belly!
Natalie built a sukkah in our bedroom. Let's just say her location and construction materials may have result in an, um, non-standard sukkah. But it's awesomely decorated - and very carefully balanced!
Beside the Natalie tree:
A cold day at the park:
We also went to a carnival celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jacob and Natalie's school.
This is the story of a young couple from Seattle. They started this blog when they moved to Japan for year in 2005. Since then, the blog has become a record of their lives, friends, cooking, and travels. Follow along at home as they discover a new foreign country: Texas, where they moved in 2008. In July of 2009, the couple added a native Texan, Natalie Beth, to their family. In January of 2013, another native Texan, Jacob Samuel, joined the team.
