Happy!

 

Elizabeth calls jack-o-lanterns 'happies.' Here she is painting (rather than carving -- knives causes owwies, as we've told her over and over) her happy. The great thing about painting a pumpkin is they last. This morning the one I carved finally deliquesced to the point of falling off the garden fence and breaking into four pieces, whereas Elizabeth's pumpking (pictured above) is solid as a ... pumpkin, and going strong.

Happy Birthday, Barb

We had a good time on Barb's birthday. Aaron and Wendy and Lily came over, as did Grandma. We carved pumpkins ('happies,' as Elizabeth calls them), blew bubbles, ate pizza, and drank beer and port.

Below, Elizabeth and Lily participate in a pajama fashion show.

Trick or Treat, Part 1 of 14

Technically last night was Elizabeth's second Halloween, but practically it was the first. She wore a costume. She attended a couple of Halloween events (at the library with the awesome Librarian Joan, then at the community center where she got a treat bag and a black balloon), and she went trick-or-treating! It was really fun, particularly the trick-or-treating. Barb and I have over the past six years noticed a decided lack of trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. On a given Halloween night we might get zero or ten trick-or-treat parties. But last night was different. As we were walking around we saw lots of people and when we got home we got more than the usual number. Maybe people are forgetting their fear and re-learning the fun of the trick-or-treat ritual. I hope so. Twice on our route we got solicited to trick-or-treat at a particular house. Once, a grandma-aged woman opened her door and implored us to trick-or-treat her house. Later, another woman stopped us on the street and told us to go to such and such a house because the kids there had put in such an effort to decorate.

We're already looking forward to next Halloween!

Baby loves Grandpa

Elizabeth only has one grandpa, so he's a particularly special person in her life. Although he can be a grumpy old soul, Elizabeth isn't put off in the least by the gruff exterior. It was fun for me to see just how much she loves spending time with him -- and how much she learns from him! Grampa was instrumental in Elizabeth eating her first solid food (broccoli, I think) and in taking her first steps.

Owwieday

Rainy and cold here in Rocky Point, which has led (indirectly) to some unfortunate owwies. First, while I was hanging up my raincoat this morning in a closet Elizabeth, coming to investigate, tripped over my shoe and cracked her forehead against the door jamb. It sounded like a firecracker going off. Later, we were playing in the construction zone in the back yard (Frankie is paving a walkway) and while "jumping" from paver to paver, Elizabeth slipped on sand and slammed the back of her head against the concrete paving block. Ouch! Her eyes rolled up into her head and she was silent for a very scary moment before the wailing started.

Later we got in the car for a trip to Port Jeff and she passed out almost instantly. I kept poking her to make sure she was just sleeping and not in a coma.

After a brief time at home, we went out with Grandpa to a bevereage store to get a growler filled with local brew (Bluepoint Ryestafarian -- pretty good; very bold for a Long Island micro; "over the top," as desribed [correctly] by the salesman). We also picked up a sixpack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo (a taste of the West Coast -- ahhh!) and something called Porkslap Pale Ale from some town upstate that I've never heard of. It's OK, especially for beer from a can.



In any event, the beer has proven a godsend today given all of the shouting amongst the Braccos. They like to shout. Long ago I accepted the fact that they enjoy this form of communication, which, to my upstate sensitivities, sounds like hostility. It's not. It's love. But it sounds weird.

Back East

We're at the halfway point of Big Vacation 2009. It's been great. The picture above is from one of the highpoints for me -- hiking in the southern Adirondacks with Barb and Elizabeth (natch) as well as Mark and the Scott Larrison clan. The eastern woods are so lovely at this time of year. I also find them kind of comforting, probably because they're the woods I grew up in. The footbridge in the picture crossed a large wetlands area. It was broken down so badly that more than halfway across it just dove under water, becoming uncrossable. On this trip Elizabeth discovered the joys of hiking, and the joys of using the word "hiking," which she did over and over as she tramped through the woods with her hiking stick.



Now we're in Rocky Point enjoying the hospitality of the Braccos. Elizabeth is thrilled to be in the presence of her other grandma, and especially her only grandpa. She clearly loves and enjoys them both.

Oktoberfest

 

Last weekend our Oktoberfest mania culminated in a blow-out at Oaks Park on the shores of the mighty Willamette River. Elizabeth made herself a crown (pictured) and we saw crafts and an oompah-band and ate sausage and drank beer (not Elizabeth).