Broken Rule #1

Brian was VERY serious about not letting Penny on the couch. It was absolutely prohibited, with no exceptions. (She had obsessively licked the previous couch and it had to be thrown out. He had a very good point to make.) Well, fast forward to this moment. The rule has been happily (and sleepily) broken.

Sarah at Eight

Sarah turned eight today. In this moment, she's happy, horse-obsessed, and sings, chatters, and screeches constantly. She wants to be a large animal veterinarian when she grows up, but for now she's happy to dream and play and wear her cowgirl boots whenever she can. She's in a very good place, and for that I am so glad, and so proud. 

Eric, Captain Underpants

Eric was practicing his yoga moves this evening, doing a downward dog in the kitchen after dinner, and I noticed that he had two pairs of underpants on. Now, there may have been a time when this would have surprised me. Not anymore. I've come to expect the unexpected with him. That didn't stop me from asking why - I'm always intrigued by the thought process involved.

"Eric, you've got two pairs of underpants on - what's up with that?"
He giggled. "Don't know." Always how he starts.
Me: "Did you put a second pair on this morning?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "Why?"
Him: "I wanted to."
That's about all I got until later, when I asked again.
He said, "Underpants are warm and fuzzy. Two pairs are better than one, right?"
Me: "Not really."
Him: "What about when it's really cold out? What about then?"
Me: "Two pairs won't make you any warmer."
Him: "Could I wear two pairs of pants then?"
Me: "You could wear long johns. They're kind of like tights without the feet."
Him: "I want to wear tights."
Me: "No you don't."
Him: "Yes, I do."
Me: "No, you don't."
Him: (Grinning.) "Yes I do."
He's a weird one, and I love him for it.

Ellie Mae

She's been with us since last Saturday - she's 9 weeks old and just over 3 pounds. She wants to snuggle most of the time and gives way too many kisses. We have no complaints!

Happy Halloween

We had fun tonight, and for several days leading up to it. Sarah wanted to go creepy this year, and while it wasn't my first pick, she was a vampire. (She's holding Scarlett, my parents' dog, who is a Jack O'Lantern! That dog has some serious patience.) Eric had all sorts of ideas, and we thought he had settled on being a bat. (I liked this - it made Sarah's idea cuter.) But, in a last minute change of heart, he chose to be a ninja. Our dear friend Anna joined us as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. (She was wearing brown clothes with a clown nose and antlers. Loved it.) Her costume reminded me of how much of my own Halloween memories are tied to the costumes I wore. My mom made ours, and they were creative, unique, and special because of it. (One year I had told her I wanted to be a witch's brew, and she pulled through. It was so cool.) That said, I may not have sewing skills, but I do have pumpkin carving pretty well figured out. This year, we went with scared and scary . . . there was a pumpkin with arachnophobia and a pumpkin-eating pumpkin. 

Eric at 6

Today he is six. While another year is always bittersweet for me, I love who he is right now. He's funny, loving, sensitive, and generous. He's obsessed with Legos and often gets it trouble because he's too focused and can't pull himself away. He loves school and wants to go on weekends. He tells really bad knock-knock jokes. He never wants to move out of our house and gets sad and choked up thinking about it. He wants me to give money to homeless people when we see them on the street. He tells us all the time how much he loves us. And while I don't want him to grow up and it hurts a little each time I think about it, I also look forward to knowing the person he will become. I think I'm really going to like him!

Self Portraits - Eric

He's been into taking pictures lately, many of them include shots he's taken of himself. I like that he's showing an interest in expressing himself, and I'm happy to give him the camera whenever he asks. His preferred self portraits seem to be individual body parts - I've included several of them below. Now, I'm going to spare you from one photo that I happened across the other day in our August photo file. Can you guess what he might have decided to photograph? The good news? It's the rear view. When I questioned him about it, all I had to say was, "Eric, I found a photo you took." He replied, "Oh yeah, sorry about that." I am constantly bewildered and almost always entertained (though I do my best to not let on).