Halloween

Halloween was too fun! Dominic's excitement leading up to the date made it feel as if Halloween is made for 4 year olds. He's just so into dressing up, and so into believing he is the character he is dressing up as... Oh, to be FOUR!

For weeks he has been waking up in the morning and shaking with excitement, "it's almost Halloween! I can't wait!" Each morning the excitement seemed to escalate until Halloween actually arrived...

HALLOWEEN seems to be right up there with Christmas. And truly, I think it's the dreams of CANDY that create the absolute excitement. Sweet, sweet candy... Oh, and the reality that for one night, you are a superhero; you get to parade around with your peers of dinosaurs, princesses and other carefully thought-out personas who share this excitement as your fans deposit sticky, sweet delights into your brightly colored orange pumpkin. And oh, the crazy sugar rush that follows up until that final moment when you simply fall asleep...

...As you can see, Ellie was equally excited about the dress up aspect of it all. This little costume was her in-the-house get up. Se wore Dominic's chicken for trick-or-treating as it was quite warm and had lots of padding for those unexpected falls. And may I also confess, she tasted CANDY. Oh dear, she is now obsessed! We have to hide it or she starts to scream at us for it and real crocodile tears start streaming down her face in response to her sheer disappointment of the deprivation!

Background Info on Dominic/Spiderman -- When Dominic saw the Spiderman costume in September, he said he had to have it. He developed a crazed obsession for superheroes over the summer while in Ohio. When we brought the costume home, he said, "Mom, can I wear this every day until I'm like 16?" He's been dressing up in the costume almost daily since.

He dreams of superheroes. The other day when I asked him if he was ready to go to preschool, he confirmed. Although, he said he is ready for superhero school. He seems to think we can enroll him in the school so that he can be a superhero when he grows up. Tonight at bed time, he told me as we were saying a little prayer that he will protect us when he grows into a super hero... Who needs God when you have a superhero:)

I digress... Halloween was most amazing. These little guys really shine spotlights on the thrill of it all...

One more for D

Dominic -- Growin', Growin', GROWING

Dominic gets sweeter, smarter and more fun every day. He's dribbling a soccer ball like a pro after a handful of soccer classes. Solving puzzles is a breeze and his artful pictures grow more vibrant and specific each day. He's drawing monsters, people, dinosaurs and coloring like Matisse (o.k. and exaggeration – just a littleJ).

He's riding a bike with training wheels now -- a bit precarious in my mind as I watch him enjoy the scenery all around rather than look straight ahead to ensure safe navigation. He seems to travel in these miraculous S curves that nearly miss tumbling straight off the sidewalk time and time again. Somehow disaster seems to sashay out of the way when Dominic rides; he miraculously escapes perpetual near misses... So far, he's unscathed and absolutely adores the sensation of his little legs pumping away on the pedals. (Thank goodness he thinks it’s really cool to wear his helmet!)

I adore our time together. When the days get long, as they sometimes do, we simply pop in the hamster dance and pump up the volume for a spontaneous dance party. Dominic and I jump around as Ellie laughs, kicks and waves her hands.

Enough words for today…

Ellie -- All smiles and two (blurry) teeth!

Ellie has two little lower teeth popping through front and center. Her eyes are still a blazing blue -- azure to be really specific:) And her smile, well it lights up a room. (Although this is probably a mom's perception as in my mind both Dominic and Ellie can light up a room with their smiles. It's as if their eyes twinkle and their smiles radiate sheer happiness. Absolutely awesome.)

Let me share some of her smiles...

Miss Ellie-- Learnin' to Crawl

Ellie is trying to crawl; been playing with this movement since January. To date, she's really good at shimmying backwards and has absolutely mastered the 360.

Her forward crawl looks a bit like a legless bug trying to move forward with limbs a kickin'.

Just when she makes two crawls forward, she flops onto her tummy and starts the legless bug -- as if the kicking will somehow propel her forward; never mind that she's high -centered on her belly...

The evolution of crawl...

Glimpse...

It's been months since our last update... Little ones growin' like wildflowers:) I'll share some pix and update with each. (Here are the two. Can we say that Dominic wears "GO Bucks" daily! He has even slept in this outfit...