Recent Goings-On

Daddy and Miss Mouse picking out the perfect pumpkins - Oct. 19

Miss Mouse and Mommy ready for the hayride to the pumpkin patch

Miss Mouse - "Mommy has me in a dress on a hayride! I'm really not so sure about this....."

Happy "meat" harvesters!

Really, truly, she chose to lug those around!

She thinks it is so cool Daddy comes home with "meat"!

Grammy and the Mouse playing with friend Andrea's new puppy - super, super cute! Oct. 21

This was Auntie Laura's work with a bit of cajoling on Grammy's part for Miss Mouse to sit still on the bathroom counter long enough! It made an adorable look for our outing to the mall and then to an Indian restaurant later in the evening - Oct.22

Miss Mouse "dressed" as Rebekah for Halloween. Okay, perhaps not, but last night was a bit of a struggle (think 30 minute scream-fest) around snack-time (not sure why). Once Daddy got home (20 minutes into the scream-fest), we were together able to get the poor Mouse settled enough (she had just been sitting on my lap sobbing - we're so lucky - even her 'fits' are usually fairly sweet!) to listen to him tell her the story of Rebekah and Isaac meeting at the well and Isaac giving her the nose ring. Daddy explained the idea to Miss Mouse, so she thought she should play "dress up" apparently. It worked; she had a good time with Daddy's ring and agreed to take bites of her snack in between play-time with the ring! This is, perhaps, the very definition of the phrase "whatever works"! - Oct. 29

Happy Birthday to You

This past weekend was crazy! We spent Saturday and Sunday attending numerous functions to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the church Daddy serves. Last Wednesday, Auntie Laura and Grammy arrived (it was teachers' convention weekend for Auntie Laura). We got lots of work done around the house, projects that are difficult for a Mommy to do while chasing a toddler at the same time. Thursday afternoon we treated ourselves to some time shopping downtown. Very cool. Miss Mouse enjoyed it, as well, other than one of the stores where she sort of "freaked out" and wanted to leave right away. She just pulled back really hard and wouldn't move unless I carried her; a friend suggested the place must have been haunted. Hmmm...perhaps. It would be the appropriate time of year for such things anyway! She enjoyed the other stores much more. We finished the evening at Red Lobster. Yum! The next day (Friday) there were lots more projects to tackle, but, again, we treated ourselves to some shopping in the evening, hitting the mall and then meeting Daddy for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Yes, Indian. As in, from India. It was extremely cool. Miss Mouse thought so, too. It was quite a fancy place - cloth napkins and the works - but they seemed okay with the Mouse being there. We grabbed a takeout menu on the way out so that we can remember what we had - mine was cottage cheese chunks (think huge chunks of mozzerella-type cheese) in a spinach sauce; Laura's was chicken in a tomato sauce; Grammy had Indian vegetable fried rice; and Daddy had lamb in a dark gravy. Everyone's was excellent, though most of us chose Laura's as our favorite. As I said, Saturday was hectic. We started the day with Grandma and Grandpa Toomey at Barnes and Noble for their story hour. I'm not sure how much fun Grandpa and Daddy had, but Grandma and Miss Mouse had much fun looking at other babies (there were plenty for the Mouse to observe) and books. Then Daddy, Miss Mouse, and I went to a luncheon for current and former staff at the church. The food was great; the Mouse ate an entire pulled pork sandwich (not the bun, just the meat!). I returned home with Miss Mouse long before the luncheon was "officially" over so that she could stay on nap schedule. Saturday night, Grandma and Grandpa, Daddy, and I went to a banquet celebration. It was fun to visit with friends there and to listen to the speakers. It's always fun, though, too, to return home to our Mouse. Sunday we woke up to snow! Ugh! Snow and strong wind. We braved the weather and made it to church just in time to get a seat in the nosebleed section (the service was held at a local auditorium in order to accommodate everyone at one service, rather than the six that are usually held each Sunday). This seating arrangement was really hard on me and Grammy. I was able to adjust, but Grammy had a tough time the whole service. After Grandpa (from the other side of the family!) graciously helped her get down the stairs for Communion, she refused to return up and just met us after the service was over. I can't say I blame her too much. It is really dizzying to be that far up, just about eyeball-level with the ceiling lights! Lunch after church was great, though we returned outside to snow and wind greeting us for the drive home. Bummer. Auntie Laura and Grammy took off right away after lunch to make the long drive home; Grandma and Grandpa stuck around for a few hours to play after Miss Mouse's nap. So.....that was our weekend! Busy, busy, but fun and exciting at the same time.

Wild, Wild West and More Recent Activities....

It's obviously been awhile since my last post. I'll try to catch the blog up to speed. The first weekend in October was spent out West. Daddy Mouse went antelope hunting (successfully - one with a bow, one with a rifle), and Miss Mouse and I spent the weekend with Auntie Laura and then Grammy, Grandpa, Great Grammy, Great Auntie Linda, Great Auntie Karen, and Great Uncle Bill. We had a great time! We got to meet Auntie Laura's horse, Jewel, who is an absolute sweetheart. Unfortunately, it was too windy for Miss Mouse to spend much time with her. Still, it was great to meet the newest pet addition to the family in person, and to spend time at Laura's and Great Grammy's. I think, however, we're going to need to get ourselves a school bus to pack everything in the future. Ugh! With a kenneled dog in the back, several weapons, two adults, and a toddler that requires carrying a toilet chair, toys for the trip, a suitcase, blankets (in case the motel we stayed at the first night was disgusting, I put in blankets for Miss Mouse to sleep on), etc., we had little room for anything else - like another car seat and baby!! I think in the future, we will learn to pack more intelligently. When we got back, I went to work finishing another towel order. Now that that's done, there is a bit of breathing room for blogging! Other things going on include the inevitable "leaf sweep" which seemed to hold off this year until quite late. Last year, we jumped in leaf piles when Auntie Steph visited the last weekend in September. This year, it is mid-October with the leaf piles just now popping up. Miss Mouse had loads of fun last night playing in our neighbors' pile with their grandkids. I got it on video. She would sit down hard into the soft pile and then throw herself backwards. Pretty funny. They (Jada and Esmae - the neighbors' granddaughters) even got me to jump in the pile once. I think it earned me the title of "silly".

We also enjoyed a visit the other night from a, hm, how to describe her, long-term friend of mine (i.e., friends since age 3!) and her husband and baby daughter. Adorable baby daughter, that is! Miss Mouse was pretty unhappy when the baby left. She now can say the entire word, "baby", and makes sure to use it a lot! Daddy asked her if a baby should come to live at our house. She said, emphatically, "Yes!" (or "Yesh!" as it comes out). And just to clarify, Miss Mouse is patting Baby Addison; Miss Mouse enjoyed giving her toys to Baby Addison because when she would offer a toy, Addison would just dissolve in giggles! Such a sweet baby girl, she is (Addison)! At one point, when Addison began crying, Miss Mouse ran to give her a toy. It actually helped for a moment! It was a really fun visit from friends and their sweet baby!

On the talking front, we now hear the entire words "baby" and "boom". There is also a word for "leaf", though it comes out "weese". She will try to say "red", also. On the color front, I'm fairly positive that she knows, when able to concentrate, the colors red, green, blue, and possibly purple. She will point to the appropriate color in books with me and hand me the appropriate color toys when asked. It seems that she gets it correct way more often than simple chance would allow. Moving to the potty training front, we're making good progress (in my novice opinion, anyway) there, too. She now appears to relish the "big toilet" because it makes noise when she 'goes' in it. We've had several 'poops' and several 'potties' on it. She loves the idea of getting to use toilet paper, and just is really enthralled with the noise on the 'big toilet'. I'm hoping these are steps in a good direction! This is totally child-led so far, but she really does seem to enjoy it, even though she is starting much earlier than I had thought she would (or than anything I read says she even can). I think those are most of the updates on what has been going on in our lives lately. Miss Mouse is ever-helpful, insisting that her jacket be put away immediately when we come in; wanting to shake the rugs every time (every time) we vacuum the kitchen (which is several times a day); making sure toys are put back in places that she wants them, etc. I'm sort of hoping this trend, for one, lasts! I'll end with another picture I took a bit earlier this fall. I think this one was from September.