Halloween Weekend

We had a great Halloween and the kids really got into it. Jarrett because I think he kind of understood what to expect for the first time, and Cara because Jarrett was into it. Jarrett dressed up as a dinosaur and Cara was a mouse...sort of. Couldn't get the girl to keep her hood on, so most of the time she just looked like a woolly toddler.

Jarrett and I had been practicing all week so he would be ready for trick or treating, role playing the whole bit.
Me: Okay, we walk up to our neighbor's door and what do we do?

J: We knock knock knock (pantomiming)

Me: Then, they open their door, and what do you say?

J: Tankoo!

Me: No, not yet, what do you say first?

J: Tricky treating!

Me: That's right! Then what does our neighbor do?

J: Dey give me candy!!!

Me: Uh-huh...then what do you say?

J: Tankoo!

Me: That's right, I think you are ready!

Jarrett had school on Friday and they had a costume party and parade. I pretty much think in this photo Miss Janet might be saying "Jarrett, get back over here". I say that a lot myself.

Let me say there is no amount of tuition discount that could make me take a job in a preschool. It is no place for a control freak.

That evening, and by that I mean afternoon, because around here people start trick or treating around 3 pm, we took the kids around the 'hood for some big fun. Jarrett was absolutely cracking us up. He had a ball and so did Cara though she got tired of walking and carrying her candy bucket...but hey, she's 2, that's a lot of work for a wee one. The routine went much like our above role play with only a few hiccups. The most alarming one was that on the first few houses, as soon as people opened their doors, Jarrett would just walk in and start looking around. We had a tough time convincing him that trick or treating took place on the front porch. Finally, when we knocked on a door and he heard a large dog barking, we were able to convince him that if he didn't want to meet a big dog face to face he might want to stay on the front porch...so he did. But that didn't stop him from craning the entirety of his upper half around our neighbors' legs to take a good look around their homes. Jeez..Nosy Norton!

a brief moment in her hood

Our next door neighbor and babysitter, Katherine. The kids LOVE her, and we do too

I think it is fair to say we enjoyed trick or treating as much as the kids did...it ranked right up there with our former Halloween parties, with a lot less clean up. Still had a hangover though. It was a sugar hangover, but a hangover all the same.











On Saturday we took the kids back to Sesame Place. It was a nice warm day and the last weekend it would be open till next spring. Our tickets were still good. And, I think I mentioned before, it is only 40 minutes away.

She thought this ride looked like it would be fun

Then, once she was in the air, she changed her mind

Enjoying the teacups

She had been dipping her cookie in ketchup. That one's for you, Auntie Carol.

Bicycling and Sesame Place

This weekend, at long last, we (VERY belatedly) celebrated Jarrett's Gotcha Day. He got a new bicycle Friday and we worked with him on learning to ride it. It has training wheels but it's a booger to explain to a four year old how to pedal. Telling him to push down with one foot and let the other one come up doesn't really work so well because inevitably he pushes the wrong way and uses the brake rather than propelling himself forward. If anyone knows the secret to setting this boy free on his wheels, please let us know.

does not like wearing the helmet

But Cara does

On Saturday, we took the kids to Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA. It's kind of like Disney, but smaller and really focussed on younger children. It is only about 40 minutes from here so it was perfect.

Parts of the park are set up to look like the Sesame Street set

and they have tame rides and lots of activities that are interactive.

We went t a little show, that our kids loved and actually sat nicely all the way through it.

We couldn't resist buying the video of Jim and Jarrett on the roller coaster, or "choo-choo train" as Jarrett likes to call it. Take a look, too funny.

We went to a "character dinner" and it was actually a lot of fun and either the food was pretty tasty or we were just hungry. We met Ernie, Bert, the Count, Zoe, Big Bird and the Count. Granted, Jim and I were more excited to meet them than the kids were but it was still alot of fun. Jarrett and Cara were both kind of afraid of the life size characters,

though J did decide that he could be friends with Ernie and Elmo. Cara never did get past wanting to have a long distance relationship with them.

J even scraped up his nerve for an Elmo photo op...well of course, it was Elmo.

After the dinner, we hit the gift shop and then loaded up to head home. We weren't 10 minutes out of the park before we heard some gentle snoring from the back seat, and I confess, I wasn't far behind them! Poor Jim...but I guess that's what you get when you make fun of your wife's driving.

has her blankie hanging out of her mouth. I guess she fell asleep mid-blankie-chew

She's Two, Part 2

Tonight, we finally had a birthday meal (lasagna) cupcakes and opened presents. I don't think Cara had one clue as to what it was all about and Jarrett was most certainly confused, but it was a fun night. More so for Cara than for J, certainly.

The poor little guy kept on saying "I want Doc" as Cara began opening a gift or card. We would say " we know, maybe on your birthday" but I don't think he ever got it. He's been asking us for Doc, a car that is a character from the movie Cars, for what seems like forever and we've been telling him that he has enough toys and that he can ask for Doc for his birthday if he wants to. Then, he has been hearing all about it being Cara's birthday and I'm not sure he made the distinction. I just looked through the photos and he just looked so happy, so full of hope at the beginning of the party and by the end, he just looks kind of like he pasted a smile on his face to be polite.

Cara's main gift from us is a toy kitchen and I think we may have found something she loves. Right now, we don't have a kitchen table so we set it up in the breakfast nook with the kids' toy table and chairs and she really went to town in it and brought Jim and I lots of things to "taste" until we dragged her little exhuasted self off to bed.

Enjoy the photos and know we love you!

Note Jarrett's joy at the sight of the plastic ice cream cone

She's Two

This weekend we celebrated Cara's 2nd birthday...sort of. The actual day was Saturday the 11th but we were still unpacking, installing toilets and having a garage sale; so we didn't do anything on Saturday. Oh the joy of parenting the oblivious toddler.

On Sunday, since it was a beautiful day, we took the kids to Sandy Hook beach at the Jersey shore. We had heard it is the closest actual beach to where we live and was really pretty. The oldest functioning lighthouse in the nation is there and we went to see it. We then parked near the beach and started walking. Jarrett loved it but Cara wasn't so sure. She hated walking in the sand -- I wasn't all that surprised since she hated walking on grass for months. Still, it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. We tried ot eat a picnic snack on a beach blanket but the kids were totally thrown off by that. I think partly because we don't often do picnics or even eat outside...our fault! And then also, because they just couldn't stop putting their hands in the sand which meant the snack was sandy...their own silly fault! So, for the kids, the snacks were kind of a bust...too bad, as it was DELICIOUS muffins from the neighborhood bakery. Yes, I said it, neighborhood bakery. Did I also mention there is a neighborhood ice cream parlor? What a happy place this is!

Okay, back to the beach...we also saw lots of dogs there. I gotta tell you, people in Jersey love their dogs. Everyone seems to have at least one. It's rubbing off on me a little bit. I have caught myself doing sneaky perusals of the classified domestic pet ads. We met one dog at the beach named Felix. He was a six month old French Bulldog. He should have been named Mellow Yellow. What an easy going little guy. Cara loved him.

We got enough of the beach and began the long slow trek back to the car - then began the short slower trek from the beach road to the main road where we would actually begin heading home. By short and slow I mean 2 miles in 1 hour. By the time we got home, it was too late to cook, too late to open presents, too late to have our cupcakes. So, the birthday celebration will continue tonight. I am going to post some photos of the beach now and some party photos tomorrow.

Having some fun in our Sunday best

How cute is this dog?

Holy Cow! That's NYC!