As the holiday weekend draws to a close, I hope you got the chance to enjoy it. We certainly enjoyed it, though it was toned down from previous years.
We didn’t have the entire family with us this year. Some of the family was sick and some were invited elsewhere or had something else going on. We tossed a few burgers and dogs on the grill and enjoyed a bonfire.
It’s been awhile since we have been able to enjoy a bonfire, so this was really nice.
The fireflies were plentiful and beautiful that night. Ella and Andrew loved catching them.
They had a little Tupperware container they were trying to put them in, but I think the lid wasn’t on right. Every time they came back to drop one in, the others were gone.
Sam bought us all matching shirts to wear. July is National Hot Dog Month, and she’s been thinking a lot about her sister Grace who passed away. The shirts have Mickey Mouse on them and say Hot Diggity Dog on them. Grace loved Mickey Mouse.
We were missing some of the cousins, but quite a few were with us and they had a blast.
We get to watch the fireworks right from our backyard every year. This year they were not too bad. They had some new ones, but I felt other years were better. For what it is worth, the town raises ,money every year to do them. Maybe they were short on donations this year. You still can’t beat a decent show…
Oh, and incidentally, I was able to get my yearly flag photos. Six Fourths of July for Ella and four for Andrew.
It seems like the last 7 days have been nonstop for our family, but in between doctor appointments, work, and school, we’ve managed to find time to enjoy some fun moments.
First Photo
If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know that my children are no stranger to a camera! My daughter has had her share of photo sessions, too. However, this week, we received her first “official” school photo.
There is something poignant about getting this picture. It is the first of many that we will receive over the next 13 years. This one will go in a frame the kindergarten photo going on top of it next year, first grade the following year, etc… Each year, we’ll compare the older photos and stand in awe of how much she has grown and all of the little changes that take place. It is hard for me to comprehend this, even though I have been through it twice before with my older boys.
As if my daughter’s picture wasn’t enough, my youngest son went and had his third birthday photos taken. Our photographer always captures our kids in beautiful photos. Instead of a full session, we took advantage of her “Fall Mini Sessions”. It was 15 minutes and we got plenty of poses.
She had some fall scenes set up outside and my son just rolled with the flow. There were pictures by a teepee. There was a nice fall set up with hay, pumpkins, corn and a wagon. She has a big backyard with a pond and fountain, an area with a porch, and various photo “stations.” One of those is an old pick up truck. My son made himself at home and she caught photos that look like senior pictures!
Old Friends
On Friday I went into work early so that I could leave early. My buddy, and old DJ partner, turned 60 and had a little party just down the road from where I work. By the time I got there, the party was in full swing. He had some guys running karaoke and there was plenty of singing. I had forgotten how many people really think that they can sing. I had flashbacks while I was there. I recall those days when I was out with the gang and we were all drinking. You start out singing fine, but as the night goes on your words and singing become … pretty obnoxious.
Based on the responses that he got back from the invites, two of my oldest friends were supposed to be there. Joe, Steve K, and I all graduated together. We were kind of inseparable in school. We were all band nerds and we were like brothers. Steve M (the birthday boy) was also in band, and we all played together in alumni band.
Steve K had some medical issues awhile back, and he was unable to be there. But it was nice to get some time to hang out with Joe and Steve M. There were a couple other folks who graduated from our school there, too. It was a bit crazy though, especially after this picture was taken.
Joe and I are younger than Steve, but Steve looks younger than us! Our grey beards make us look like the older dudes.
Trunk or Treat
A lot of people complain about the Trunk or Treat stops. For whatever reason, they feel that it takes away from the trick or treaters on Halloween night. Personally, I wish they had had those when I was growing up, because a kid can never get enough free candy!
None of us really felt great over the weekend. Lots of sniffles and coughing. It is probably the weather change and allergies. So we’ve kind of been staying indoors. However, my daughter has been dying to wear her Halloween costume and the weather was perfect on Sunday. It was almost 80!
Sam’s parents called to tell us that their church was having a Trunk or Treat and that the cousins were going with them. My kids couldn’t wait to go!
There were about 50 cars there with plenty of treats. It didn’t take long to get through the line and afterward, the kids wanted to go play on the playground with the other kids.
Fall Fun
As soon as the trunk or treat was done, we came back home to rest. But it was still daylight and the kids wanted to ride on their scooters. So I let them go outside for a few. As the rode on their scooters, I raked up some of the leaves. That was all it took to get the kids’ attention.
They saw me making a pile on the front lawn and this became their obsession. They had to jump in the leaf pile! They were actually walking with handfuls of leaves over to the pile and adding them to it.
And once I told them to have fun, they were in the pile!
They must have asked me to re-rake the leaves about 25 times so they could jump in them again. They were tossing leaves in the air and laughing like crazy. It was exactly what all kids should be doing on a beautiful fall evening!
There is nothing better than flopping in a big pile of leaves! Ah, fall!
Of course, being outside just set all of our allergies off and there was plenty of nose blowing that night. It was worth it!
Andrew got a haircut a few weeks ago. I had to work, so Sam brought Ella. She kept saying she wanted her hair cut. Now she’s had the ends trimmed a few times, but that’s been the extent of it.
When Sam asked how she wanted it cut she showed us with her hands. She said she wanted it to look like her cousins Kenzie and Riley. Both have theirs a bit short.
I was supposed to take her to the haircut today, and was hoping that I could talk her into just getting it cut to about shoulder length or lower. Sam decided that she’d take her and before they left, we asked her again. She wanted it like her cousins.
She has such beautiful hair. Her curls have always been there and people compliment her all the time on her hair. I just wasn’t sure if I could take it being gone.
Her hair is so long and beautiful. She was having issues with it getting snagged in the car seat buckle and in the zipper of her coat. This may have played a factor in her decision, but it was probably more that she loves her cousins.
When it was finally her turn she was excited!
Sam said she smiled through the entire haircut and could barely contain herself. When she saw the finished cut, she was filled with joy! She loves it!!!
Sam sent me a text with the above picture. My heart sank. “That’s a lot of hair,” I thought. She said, “She loves it and can’t wait for you to see it. Make sure you make a big deal out of it when we get home!”
I saw the car pull in the driveway and I began to prepare myself. I’m no dummy. I know that a good haircut makes kids look older. That’s why I think it bugged me so much. I knew she’d look older to me.
I put my hands over my eyes and they came in. “Here’s Princess Ella!” Sam cried. I opened my eyes and was stunned by just how beautiful she looked. She’s always been beautiful, don’t misunderstand me, but I’ve never seen her hair short before. I can’t even begin to describe it.
I told her how amazing she looked and then the video calls began. We had to show Nana, Aunt Emily, and Uncle Chris. The other folks were working, so they got to see pictures.
She’ll be four in February, and she is getting sassier as the days go on. Today, however, when I saw her new haircut, I held back every tear because I felt like she looked 10 or 12 years old.
My sweet baby girl, Daddy loves you so much. You are the most beautiful Princess I have ever seen. Slow down a bit, honey, you’re growing up so fast!
Where did the weekend go?! It was so busy for me that it flew right by!
Friday night, Andrew had his sleep study. He had it done at my lab, so we all drove together to the lab. Ella got to have a sleep over with her cousins. They all slept with the blankets that Sam’s mom (Nana) made for them. In the morning, Aunt Emmy sent us this picture –
What a PERFECT picture. Her cousins love her so much, how awesome to see them holding her hands.
Meanwhile, back at the sleep lab, Andrew was all hooked up and ready for his night. It went MUCH better than we thought. Any time you are dealing with a child under 5, the hook up can be difficult. The fact that I was in there hooking him up probably helped a lot! He never cried once! After he fell asleep, I was able to get the final couple pieces of equipment on and I only had to go in to fix things a couple times. We neglected to get a picture of him while he was still awake, but we snapped one of him sleeping.
He was a champ! We follow up with ENT on Friday.
Saturday, we all took turns napping. It was a long day Friday and Sam and I were both exhausted and Sam had to work Saturday night.
Sunday, I took this kids to a cute little park. It is at an early childhood center. It isn’t a park I can take them to when school is in session, or there are kids there, but on Sundays, no one is there. There was a variety of things for both kids to do and many were toddler specific. It was completely fenced in, so they could run and I didn’t have to worry about them getting away from me.
While some areas were in the sun, there were many shaded areas where they could play and not worry about sunburn. It was fun to run around with them and let them burn off some energy,
He was so happy to be able to run around. We started with shoes on, but they only lasted about 5 minutes!
The slides are always a hit with Ella! She loves them. They even had some smaller ones for Andrew, but he didn’t quite get the concept ….
He always wanted to climb up instead of slide down the slide!
One of my favorite pictures from the day is the one above. By itself, it is a great picture of Ella. However, I love it because she walked over to this step and sat down announcing, “I’m a Queen, Daddy! This is my Queen’s chair!” I wish I had a crown to give her!
After they ran around for an hour or so, we all grabbed something to drink and sat beneath one of the trees in the shade. I knew it was getting close to lunch time, so before we packed up to go home, I tried to get a selfie. It is harder and harder to get pictures with Ella now … but I was lucky to snap this one.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 