Gary, the friendly lion, goes Trick-or-Treating.

Little Gary got dressed up tonight as a lion, and we hit Uncle Rick's neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating. Boy, did he score! For the last 30 minutes or so of the night he had us carrying his pumpkin for him because it was too heavy. 

He did well saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you", but he wasn't loving the houses with the scary decorations. Uncle Rick tried to encourage him to go to those doors, but he was having none of it. 

Ree Ree got worn out from all the walking, but everyone had a good time, and we'll have plenty of candy around for a couple of weeks. Woo hoo! Happy Halloween!

Utter Cuteness

I caught this picture of Gary tonight while he was watching "Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie". Wouldn't you love to recapture a 3-year-old's sense of wonder? He's blissful sitting there in his M&M-covered dinosaur pajamas watching Winnie the Pooh. These are the moments to remember.

Bubba Says "bite" . . . almost

In our house, word approximations count as words. After big brother was sent off to bed for repeatedly trying to kill Will, we were sharing (I wasn't really getting much) a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It dawned on me that Will kept saying "bi-" and then opening his mouth. He was trying to say "bite"! Yeah! He did it consistently. I'd hold out a spoon of ice cream and wait, and he would finally say it. Then I'd say, "OK, you can have a bite. Here you go." He was digging this communication thing. I could just see it on his face. He was getting his point across with a word (well, almost a word). 

Will is 28 1/2 months old, and we think we've heard Mama and Dada on occasion. Of course, that may just be wishful thinking. That's it. Asking for a bite over and over and over again with the same word approximation is progress in this house. Hot dog! When he learns to say "No!" and "Mine!" to his brother, I think I may just have to sit down and do the ugly cry, as Oprah says. I know we'll get there one day. That day can't here soon enough.

Gary's Halloween Costume

Oh, boy! Gary gets to go trick-or-treating this year for the first time. He is so excited! Today we settled on a lion costume, and he's thrilled with having a tail. He keeps saying he's going to wag his tail. 

I can't wait to see him with the nose and whiskers. He's going to be so cute. We're working on his roar. Ree Ree is going as a witch, and I'm going as the official "candy inspector". Lucky for me, this kid won't go near peanut butter, so I get to eat the Reese's Peanut Butter cups before Big Gary gets a chance. He's staying home on Bubba duty. No, Will isn't trick-or-treating this year. He gets to go when he learns to walk when I say "walk" instead of dropping to the ground like a 30 lb bag of potatoes. Maybe next year will be his year. He can share in the spoils.

Stay tuned for official Halloween night pictures. This is only a semi-dress rehearsal. 

The Boys Get a Visit from the Aunts

My mom's two sisters, Elaine and Gail, came to visit this past weekend. We've seen Gail recently, but the boys haven't seen Elaine in about two years I think. They had so much fun getting all that attention. Elaine came, of course, with new books for the boys, and Aunt Gail bought them toys while she was here. Gary got a real pair of binoculars which he loves and thinks are very cool. It really stinks that they live so far away. We all had such a good time visiting and playing. Plus, I got a break from bathtime for two nights!