My boys (Bob included) left yesterday with Bob's parents to Orlando. They are staying in a time share with Bob's aunt and uncle, who live south of Tampa. I'm joining them tomorrow. In the meantime, I've had a very productive weekend having the house to myself. And tonight, I'm having a couple of friends over. Below are some pictures from this week.

I introduced the cozy coupe to Alexander this week. Before, his legs were just too short. Now, he can go backwards in it, but he falls down to the floor if he tries to move it forward. Mostly, he likes to climb in and out of it (on the side without the door, of course) and push it.


Glenn had his Thanksgiving Feast yesterday at school. Here are the boys sitting in the "circle time chairs."


Glenn is the student of the month from his class this month. The theme this month was caring. He is definitely a caring child. We'll be going to a ceremony where he'll get an award after Thanksgiving.

So, Alexander ripped a gate out of the wall yesterday. I'm sure it was already on it's way out, but he's the one that pulled it. It was even secured with sheet-rock screws. I discovered that they now make door handle locks for lever handles. When we moved down here, I had brought all our door knob covers that make it difficult for kids to open only to get here and realize that we had all lever door handles. The locks weren't cheap, but they are easy to use. So, I installed them on all the doors I wanted to keep locked and the mounting tape will be cured in the morning. I'll be so happy. I also spent more time Alexander proofing his room so that eventually when he gets his bed (out of the crib) he'll be safe.

Here are some fun pictures:

This was taken at breakfast one morning. He was biting the spoon and wasn't letting me take it out. The words on his shirt say it all (but he's a cute monster):


Loving brothers


He goes into the pantry every day to get the crayons. He loves to color, even if it's just a minute. What's even more fun is practicing getting on and off the chair.

Yesterday, we celebrated Bob's birthday since he was away at a conference on his actual birthday. Glenn and I made him a crown, which he wore from the time Glenn came home from school. And after his birthday chocolate cream pie, Glenn presented him with a painting, which now hangs in Bob's office.



Alexander has been making car noises when he's pushing a little car. It's so cute. Yesterday, he and I were playing in his room. I was folding his diapers when I heard him grunt a little. Then he came over to me, picked up a diaper and handed it to me. I asked him if he had a dirty diaper. Sure enough, he did. When I was changing his diaper, he kept signing "thank you." So, polite! He's also smart. He has figured out how to open the cabinet and door locks. We have the ones where you can open the door slightly before it catches, then you have to push down on the lever to release the lock. I don't know what I'm going to do with this smarty pants.

Glenn's still waiting on his teeth to be fixed. He's been such a good boy at school. He's had a green smiley face every day (means he did what he's told to do and doesn't behave badly). I'm proud of my good boy. We have a day planned of making baked apples and crafts tomorrow since he has the day off from school for the holiday.

Glenn's Teeth

We got a call from school this morning. They were on the playground when they saw Glenn putting something in his mouth. They told him not to put things in his mouth. He put something on the ground an looked up with a panicked look. So, they asked him what was wrong and he said his teeth fell out and Mommy and Daddy said they don't come out. He apparently bumped heads with another child and the two teeth of his kiddie partial came off the wire and fell out. He was just trying to put them back in his mouth, poor guy. So, I called the dentist and they said to come right in. She took the wire out of his mouth (it was attached to rings around his back molars). He didn't bend the wire and thankfully they still had the impression from last time (he throws up when they take his impressions). They have never had that happen at this dentist office. So, I'm hoping the lab that created them will fix it for free. If they can't put the teeth back on the wire, they'll have to make a new one. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, Alexander is a mess. He has a cold, but since he doesn't know how to blow his nose, he's... messy. And his eyes are all watery. I feel so bad for him. No fever, so I'm sure it's just a cold. Glenn has a little cough, but no runny nose.

Here are some pictures from our busy week last week.

These first 4 pictures are of Alexander (and some with his playgroup friend) at a neighborhood Halloween party. His friend's parents took the pictures and sent them to us. At the last half hour of the party, they turned off all the lights and had a disco ball and flashing lights with music. Alexander and Glenn danced the whole half hour, it was adorable:








Alexander in a chair in Glenn's classroom during the Fall Festival:


Glenn eating a monster claw cookie he decorated. His class had 5 craft stations at the Fall Festival, and I helped the kids decorate their cookies.


Glenn the green crayon in the story book parade at his school:


Alexander dancing to the high school band playing at the story book parade:


Alexander sat down to listen to the band and his friend from his play group sat next to him. It was sweet. Both their brothers are in the same class.


Glenn came out one evening with his swim goggles on:


The boys working on the pumpkin:


Glenn was very proud of his pumpkin:


Daisy was a princess again for Halloween:


Getting ready for trick-or-treating... Elmo was very hot. It was very humid and in the 70s.


After trick-or-treating on our street, we sat outside to hand out candy (after Elmo went to bed). Glenn loved it every time someone came to our driveway. He'd run to them and say Happy Halloween. While we were waiting for more to come, Glenn needed to show us the inspiration behind the carving for the pumpkin- his silly face.


Waiting for more trick-or-treaters: