Ode to October

One of our great adventures in October was going to the William & Mary football game. Note to all moms unfamiliar with this game: a live football game with a toddler isn't the place to learn about it. I was completely oblivious to what was going on 99% of the time. It seemed that every time I looked up nothing was happening and every time the crowd cheered, I was focused on the kiddo. So it happens that I remain completely ignorant on the issue of football strategy, terminology, and, well, everything else even slightly football-related.

After the Tribe's win, Patrick and some friends got together and played some flag football themselves. One thing I love about my husband is that he's really much more interested in playing than in watching (though he does like to watch it as well). Loving to play football as he does, Patrick was very excited beforehand about this informal game, and he wasn't disappointed afterward either-- he had a great time.

While Patrick played football, Caleb and I played in the leaves. Near the end of the game was when Caleb learned the sign "go." It mostly involves moving your hand to point, so it isn't too difficult. We played a game where Caleb signed "GO!" and I would run with him, then I would say, "Stop," and we would stand still. He learned the sign quickly this way because it turned out to be such a fun game for him. Overall, a very successful time period for us all.

Another vocabulary word I missed last time was "bubbles," or rather "ba-ba(s)" (the "s" isn't consistently there). We played with bubbles a lot this month because we came across goodies from last years Halloween with a little pumpkin bubble container.

This picture just makes me think that Caleb is becoming a little boy. (Okay, I admit I threw a block in his pocket so he would reach in to retrieve it, but I think it makes him look so big. He's less and less a baby all the time, even though he isn't technically "toddling" much yet.)

As mentioned in a previous blog post, we also hosted aunt (er, great-aunt) Jenny this month too. She came to visit us after checking out the Funny Farm in Wisconsin. We spent two fantastically fun days touring CW (Colonial Williamsburg) and learning all about the Randolph's, the capital building, and the Governor.
Oh, and we learned about the jail where Jen was incarcerated. Not a pretty thing to be carted off to the noose, as it turns out. Eeew.

Caleb and Jen bonded and are now buddies. It didn't hurt that she gave him fantastic maraccas from her recent trip to Peru. She also bought and read him Goodnight, Moon. It's now a good pre-naptime storybook. She also played the GO!-game with him (mentioned above). I got a video of that, but it didn't turn out well at all, so it's not gonna make the cut. And she just generally gave him a lot of attention and smiled at him a lot which is basically Caleb's idea of heaven.
At the very end of the month, our friends Jason and Melissa invited us over for a Halloween party. Here's Caleb posing in his adorable costume. The vest and pants were inherited from his uncles (my brothers). The shirt was a thrift buy that Grandma bought him. The mocassins came many months ago from my aunt and uncle as a gift with an appropriate matching outfit. And the hat was a Dollar Tree acquisition. The rocking horse belonged to me (and my brothers too?) when we were kids and my parents offered to send it our way when we made the move. All in all, this costume cost us $1. We call that success.
Here Caleb is with his most familiar friends. This is the best I managed with them. I have new respect for photographers of children. What insanity! They were all generally happy at least, but they are also all mobile and wiggly, so they weren't exactly posing for the doting parents and their glued on lenses. Ah well, you get the idea.

And now that Halloween is over . . . on to CHRISTMAS! I love the beauty of fall and the fun of Halloween, but I adore Christmas. I love carols and decorations and the food and the parties and the vacation and the presents and the family and the friends -- all those magical, marvelous parts of Christmas. I admit we have even set up our tree prior to Halloween one year. I don't forget Thanksgiving, I just see that as more build-up to Christmas time. I know some people think it's silly, but, hey, after I'm dead if my kids roll their eyes remembering that I celebrated Christmas ridiculously long I'll be so pleased to have that listed among my quirks.

Hope you're October was as fantastic as ours and hope you are as excited about the holidays as we are.