Happy Halloween Part 1

We woke up to a gorgeous Halloween day. It's sunny, no wind and 72 degrees. When I think back to other Halloween weather (pre-Devin) we've seen pouring rain, sleet and very cold weather.

YAY!


Matt took the day off, but is (of course) golfing. I can't blame him, with this weather.

So Dev & I drove to a little street in the "Highlands" of Louisville. These are older homes in the "cool" part of town.

Hillcrest Street is known for its' all-out Halloween decorations.


Its also known for it's tendency to be the "Liberal" side of town. You see only Democrat signs...

Our neighborhood doesn't allow political signs in the yards. Which I love, because they make neighborhoods look like bad flea markets.


The haunted choo-choo.


Dev said, "scary clowns!"




















OK, I saved the best house for last.

Apparently the owner of this home blames Martha Stewart for the current economic crisis.

First, you walk up and see the headstones....


It's an entire yard of Halloween decorations dedicated to a dead Martha Stewart.

If she comes up missing...police might want to start looking here.


Some of the signs, don't really make sense. (To me, at least)


Um...yeah.


Kmart stuff was everywhere & notice the "Martha" coffee mug.


There may be some in-law "issues" as well.


We had a great time looking at the yards and taking a long walk in the warm sun.

More to come from Trick or Treating tonight!

Oh, I've been meaning to document a few funny phrases we've heard lately. Her vocabulary is exploding and she speaks in sentences. But, all that gets jumbled up sometimes:

-She calls Merry-Go-Rounds, "Here we go round the Mulberry Mush."

-She got into my tampons and brought me one saying, "Here you go Mama, a coupon for your tummy."

-Cash register is, "rice crasher."

Also, we learned about a new side of Devin during the preschool visit. We were sitting around waiting for our turn at the carnival, so Dev was coloring at the table. A little girl sneezed and Dev immediately stopped coloring, got up, walked to the other side of the room, grabbed a Kleenex and brought it to Sophie. We were stunned and the teachers were like, "oh yeah she does that stuff all the time." They said she's very empathetic. We also saw her grab a tissue when a little girl got upset and offer it to her.

Halloween Party at Preschool

As with most new things, we had a rough start.

She just couldn't figure out what was going on...


Once she figured out what was happening...it was like the clouds parted, the sun broke out and the angels sung. Her two worlds were colliding, in the best way.

This is the look of, "I get to be at preschool AND have Mama & Dada!"


Parading 100 preschoolers around is....um....interesting.


We saw TONS of Star Wars costumes.


Here's Dev's class.


Getting a "tattoo."


Playground time! It was in the 40's, but sunny & nice.


NO it's not a Halloween binky!! It's a noisemaker from the party. We had a great time at Devin's 1st Halloween Party.

A good day

Devin had a GREAT day at preschool. She's staying the entire time from 8:50-11:45. That gives me a wonderful break to get work done.


Although, Matt & I weren't 100% sure once we started thinking about it....



The ATP Challenger Series is in town this week. These are tournaments with $50,000 total purses, which pro players use to get points and increase their world ranking. (Which allows for entrance into the Majors)

This is a local 18 Yr old, Eric Quigley. He's the son of a friend from tennis and plays at U of K. He got his chance tonight, as he was a Wildcard into the main draw.






Unfortunately, he drew the #1 seed, Vince Spadea.
Vince Spadea
Mr Spadea has won $5 Million in prize money and beaten Federer, Agassi etc...

Eric lost 4-6, 4-6...a very good showing! He played really well, but you could see the seasoned pro turn it on when he needed to.

Devin has her preschool Halloween party tomorrow. They have a school-wide parade, carnival and room parties.

We'll see how Little Miss Schedule likes this change up...

Potty Learning Progress

That's the new term, "Potty Learning" instead of "training." I like it. It sounds less like training a dog...and more like what it is, helping a person learn a new skill.

The odd thing is, Devin is about 95% for the poo-poo. Which we're all very thankful for. She did this on her own, so we assume the rest will come when she's ready.

She's pee-peed in the potty once before & that was an accident, really. Yesterday, I found this Elmo potty seat. It's soft and cushy and just like the one she's seen at Gymboree. (Except that one was Dora, and we don't watch Dora)


Keep in mind, we've tried various potty seats. She likes the self-contained one, but it's a pain to clean. And, obviously you can't carry it around. Then you have to train again, on the "big" toilets. (And public restrooms....yuck)

Soooooooo, we asked if she just wanted to sit on this one.

She said yes.

This morning I asked again, she said yes. And this time she USED it! She was still dry after our trip to the mall and I asked again. She agreed & used it again. Then, SHE asked to use it for poo-poo.

3 times in one morning? Am I dreaming?

I'll admit to one other technique. I gave her ONE gummy bear after the 1st successful pee-pee and she was thrilled. She asked for one after the 2nd time. I'm hoping the tiny reward is enough to get her pointed in the right direction.

I still don't think she can sense the need to go. It's more like I catch times when she's been dry for awhile, so I know she'll be going soon.

The Hair

We went to Mall this morning...we had no less than 20 people stop us and discuss her hair.

The #1 question?

"Is it natural?"

Does this mean that it's common to curl or otherwise "fix" a 2.5 year old's hair? I'm lucky to get a comb through half of it, while she's watching Sesame Street. I seriously can't imagine getting something burning hot near her head.




Dev's hair actually looks best the less I mess with it.

To Devin-2008 Election

Devin, it will be so interesting to see what the political landscape looks like when you're my age. My guess, it won't be much different. (unfortunately)

It will probably take a while for you to pay any attention to politics. It was in high school when I started to care. I saw my first classmate getting ready to serve in the Gulf War. It was the first time I saw Army Camo in the desert style.

Both of your Grandpa's served in the US Army. You're so lucky to live in a country where there is a choice. That's why it's so, so important that you pay attention to current events and VOTE every chance you get.

This election is a 1st for me. I have no one to vote for. I will vote, but it will most likely be for someone that can't win.

http://www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/

I've always respected Ron Paul and his ideas for our country make so much sense. Basically, he wants to minimize the power for the Federal Government and give as much power to the states as possible. He's fiscally conservative, socially in-the-middle & follows the Constitution pretty closely. He voted against Iraq & would withdraw troops over time.

I respect John McCain, cant stand Palin & worry we'll get 4 more years of Bush-like policies.

I respect and agree with Obama on many social issues, but that's about it.

I promise, that's it for politics on this blog.

To Devin: "...It is a loving living memory to give your daughter when time has blurred what your reality is now. "

The title is a quote from another blog. This is the main reason for keeping this journal of sorts. I'm also glad it can help our geographically spread out family see you grow.

Certain Halloween things are scary for you this year. Just walking around the Halloween Store was too much! Although, some of the stuff IS quite gory and scary. And, BIG coming from the perspective of someone who's 37" tall.


Here's your 1st Halloween. You weren't walking yet...since you were about 6 months old.


2nd Halloween~1.5 yrs old


3rd Halloween~2.5 Years Old