Cheerio Fiasco

Ryan is typically a bit slow to fully wake up from his afternoon nap.  Today was no exception.  Since he's still recovering from being sick, he was extra clingy today.  He stumbled downstairs bleary eyed from his nap and crawled into my lap for some cuddle time.  As we were snuggling on the couch, I could hear Gavin rooting through the pantry.  I didn't give it much thought since it seems like he unloads the pantry daily.  I did, however, make a mental note to make it a priority to put child safety locks on the pantry doors.

 After hearing a few crashes from the kitchen, Ryan whispered, "maybe we should go check on Gavin."  I assured him that everything was fine; that Gavin had most likely discovered the unopened bag of Halloween candy and was preoccupied with figuring out a way to open it.    Obviously the more responsible one of the two of us, Ryan decided to check on him anyway.  He tiptoed into the kitchen.  I then heard him gasp, "Mommy, I think you're going to want to see this."  I did not respond as quickly as you'd expect - I figured no one was seriously hurt or maimed since I hadn't heard any blood-curdling shrieks.  Therefore, I reasoned I was about to discover a disastrous mess.  Here is what I found:

Gavin had dumped an entire bag of Cheerios all over the pantry floor!  To his credit, he was trying to clean up by putting smashed fistfuls of Cheerios into the crock pot and Daddy's insulated lunch bag.  (We'll be finding Cheerio bits for weeks!)  Deciding it would be fun to help clean up, the boys scrambled for the vacuum cleaner and wet mop.  In their haste, they stepped on the pile of Cheerios, grinding them into a fine powder.  Naturally, they quickly lost interest, and then tracked Cheerio dust through the rest of the downstairs as they looked for toys to play with.  Guinness, the canine vacuum cleaner, snorted as many as he could inhale before he was shooed away.  I'm still waiting for him to vomit.  And, the man who was coming to give us an estimate on having our Palladian window tinted called to say he was a few minutes out!  All in a days' work!

Gavin's First Haircut

On Tuesday, October 19th (one day shy of his 16 month birthday), we took Gavin to Salon Kids in Pikesville for his first hair cut.  Earlier that day, Mike admitted that he wasn't sure that he was ready to have all of Gavin's curls cut off.  Initially, I thought he was joking since he's the one who has been encouraging me to schedule the appointment.  But, he explained the boys are growing up too quickly and he's not ready to let go of Gavin's "baby stage" just yet.  I was happy to compromise since I, too, was reluctant to cut off all those beautiful blond curls.  We asked the stylist to trim the long, shaggy bangs that hung in his eyes and to take off some of the length without removing the curls altogether.  We were pleased with the outcome, but realize he'll probably need another haircut before the holidays!  After both boys had their hair cut, Mike surprised us with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Smokys BBQ, where we all enjoyed pit ham and turkey sandwichs. 

BEFORE - CRAZY CURLS

THE FIRST FEW SNIPS (*SNIFF  SNIFF*)

AFTER - NOW WE CAN SEE THAT HANDSOME FACE!

(Disclaimer:  Mike and I are clearly exhausted.  He worked an overnight shift the night before and I have been getting up with the one or both of the boys in the 5 o'clock hour for a couple of weeks now!  Also, we tried to get Gavin to pose for an "after" picture outside of the hair salon, but he obviously had no interest in that!  He's at that age where he does not want to be confined to a carset or highchair, restrained for a diaper change, or made to stand still for a picture!)

MEMORY LANE

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few photos from Ryan's first hair cut.  He had his first hair cut about two and a half years ago at the same place.  Ryan was about 17.5 months old when he had his first hair cut.  I think the boys look remarkably similar in these photos and we look far younger and more well rested!  Hopefully the next 2-3 years will be kinder and we'll age a bit more gracefully!

Before

During

After

Fall Fun

This past weekend was too beautiful to stay inside!  Unseasonably mild temperatures and the autumn colors hitting their peak made for an amazing Fall weekend!  After researching the various events in the area, we learned that the Christmas tree farm we've gone to for the past few years recently began hosting Fall festivities as well.  When we got there, we were amazed at the selection of activities that were available - we could have spent an entire day there and still not done everything!  The feature attraction was an elaborate corn maze, with the theme, "Alcatraz - No One Escapes the Rock!"  They also had a corn crib, pumpkin sling shot, corn cannon, pedal cars, hayrides, petting zoo, pumpkin patch, and campfire sites for rent.  Despite an early diaper diaster that threatened to derail our plans for the day, we had a wonderful time enjoying the outdoors and spending time together as a family.           


 

Ryan fearlessly led us through the corn maze.  I'm not sure he had a sound strategy for getting us out, but we sure had fun exploring the different paths through the maze (some paths more than once!). 

 



It was a little daunting to discover water stations, Port-A-Pots, and an observation tower to help those who are hopelessly lost, overwhelmed, or panicked.  If only these photos were time stamped so you could appreciate the desperation we felt when we returned to the same spot almost a half an hour later!  Fearing a coup, Ryan agreed to let Daddy navigate the rest of the way.   

Oh, you can't imagine all of the nooks and crannies where I have found corn kernels! 

Daddy explains the mechanics of the sling shot.  For the first few attempts, Ryan loaded the apple (not sure why it's called a pumpkin shot?!) while Daddy aimed and launched it at the target.

The boys pose before their apple assault!

Ryan shouts out orders to Gunner Daddy for the final launch.

The corn cannon, which also shot apples instead of corn cobs, was a big hit as well ('hit' meaning Ryan and Daddy enjoyed it, not that they 'hit' any of the targets!).  

You can't tell from the picture, but the way Mike was driving, Ryan should have been wearing a helmet and protective gear.  Apparently, Mike thought it was bumper pedal cars.

 

Gavin watched and cheered for his favorite race pedal car team from the safety of the sidelines.

Another example of monkey see, monkey do!  Ryan and Gavin take to the kiddie track.  Ryan made a couple of loops, but Gavin stayed in the pit area. 

 

Ryan enjoyed the petting zoo, particularly the goats, who as you can see, were pretty fearless climbers.  He fell in love with this baby goat, which was for sale.  Despite his best efforts, he could not talk us into getting him one.  We did suggest he ask his grandparents to build a pen in their backyards to house a pet goat!

Gavin was excited to find that he was bigger than most of the pumpkins this year! 

Twilight Safari

Last night we kicked off the Halloween season with a flashlight tour and twilight safari ride through the Catoctin Zoo.  Ryan was so excited for the adventure that he picked out matching safari shirts (i.e., ones with elephants) for he and Gavin to wear.  He also made sure that we each had a flashlight to use during the guided nighttime tour of the zoo.  For all you naysayers out there, the crank flashlight served us well when the batteries in Mike's recharageable police flashlight died!  (For those of you who don't understand the reference, last year Mike became enamored with the crank flashlight and gave one to everyone on his Christmas list!  Many did not understand or share his enthusiasm for it.)






I don't think Ryan realized that a flashlight tour meant that it would be completely dark outside.  We soon discovered that the zoo can be a pretty scary place at night, especially with spooky lighting, Halloween decorations, creepy fog (courtesy of a fog machine), and chilling animal sounds.  Ryan was far braver than I would have expected.  I have to admit, I was a little spooked stumbling along the dimly lit wooded paths listening to the owls hoot and the wolves howl.  It was also a little unnerving shining a flashlight around a pitch black exhibit trying to catch a prowling mountain lion in the light beam.  Or, shining a flashlight through the murky waters of the alligator pond trying to see the red glint of the alligators' eyes as they lurk just below the water's surface.  The worst, by far, was the reptile exhibit.  Imagine feeling your way through a dark building, with only your flashlight to light your way.  As flashlight beams danced throughout the small room, we were able to catch brief glimpses of bats flying around their cage and snakes slithering around their tanks!  Ugh!  The feature snake was 250 lbs and feasts on rabbits and chickens!  Seriously, I'll have nightmares about that for awhile!  None of us had any interest in spending any more time there than we had to!  We made a hasty exit to safer grounds!  







The best part of the adventure was the safari ride.  The zoo has a small fleet of authentic-looking safari trucks that they decorated with hay bales and hanging, lit ghosts.  The off-road ride was so bumpy that it actually felt like we were driving through the wild in search of exotic beasts.  We didn't see any elephants, rhinos, zebras, or lions, but we did see buffalo, camels, deer, and antelope.  The animals we encountered must be used to safari trucks regularly driving through their exhibits because they did not seem fazed by our presence.  In fact, much to Ryan's surprise and delight, many of the animals came up to greet us, and some ran alongside the safari truck as we drove through.  Watching the bison thunder alongside us almost within arms' reach, was quite a thrilling experience.  It was especially exciting when they tried to escape as the safari guides quickly closed the gates once the truck passed through!






Following the safari ride, we enjoyed light refreshments, warmed up around a small campfire, petted some camels and goats, and were guided the rest of the way through the zoo.  Although it was a late night, we all had a really great time. It certainly put us in the Halloween spirit and introduced us to a zoo that we'd like to go explore again in the daylight!

First Day of Preschool

Ryan started preschool about a month ago and, unfortunately, he's struggling a little with the transition from the carefree, laid-back days of summer to the more scheduled school days as well as with the transition from the touchy-feely two- and three-year old program, to the more curriculum-based four-year-old program..  In particular, he's having a hard time adjusting to new teachers (he previously had the same teachers for the past two years), new classmates, new schedule (he now goes three days a week instead of two), and an increased emphasis on reading and writing (although he enjoys learning both of these skills, he'd obviously prefer to have more playtime as he did in years past).

For the past week or two, he's cried most school mornings, been unusually clingy, and repeatedly told us that he was going to miss us.  So now, before dropping him off, we kiss both of his hands and tell him that whenever he's feeling lonely or scared or sad he can put his hand to his cheek as a reminder that we love him and are thinking of him even when we aren't with him (an idea we got from the book, "The Kissing Hand," by Audrey Penn).  This past Friday was much better so we're hopeful that his attitude toward school is improving. 

I don't know which is worse, having to drop off a two-year-old who can't express his fears or communicate what happened while we were apart; or having to drop off a four-year-old who is crying, begging not to go, and saying he's worried we won't come back to pick him up.  I cannot imagine what his first day of kindergarden will be like.  I'm dreading the day I have to put my sweet, sensitive, precious little boy on the bus and trust that he'll be taken care of.  My eyes well up every time I think about it.  Mike may have to take off the entire first week of school to provide emotional support! 

Anyway, here are a few photos of his first day of school before he realized all of the changes that were in store.

A Daddy's Love

While I have a lot of posts to catch up on, some dating as far back as May, I thought this one deserved to be shared first because it demonstrates the lengths (i.e., potential embarrassment) a Dad is willing to go to for his children.

My mom came up last week to watch the boys while I worked on a freelance project.  One afternoon she and Ryan decided to design adventure activities for Mom and Dad to do.  Since Ryan was learning about the five senses in preschool and had just learned about taste, they decided to create a taste test for me.  There's nothing like being blindfolded while a giggling 4-year-old shoves unidentified food in your mouth!  It's amazing I wasn't ill after sampling pickles, Goldfish, chewy chocolate chip cookies, and a Sour Green Apple Warhead that was probably left over from last Halloween!  But my experiment paled in comparison to the one they came up with for Mike...

They planned an outdoor super hero scavenger hunt complete with a map and rhyming clues.  Mike waited patiently while they set everything up in the front yard.  As he was walking outside to begin the scavenger hunt, Ryan stopped him and said, "Dad, where's your Batman mask?"  Now we all know Mike does not like a lot of attention being called to him.  And, I should add that this was all taking place just before dinnertime as many people in our neighborhood were arriving home from work.  But, he didn't flinch; he didn't hesitate; he returned to the house and emerged a few minutes later as The Caped Crusader.  To add insult to injury, Mike had to fly around the front yard using his imaginary cape, hang like a bat, and pretend to drive the Batmobile.  (My mom insists that the costume was not party of the original plan!)

Although I laughed so hard I cried, and was secretly relieved that it was him and not me, it was endearing to see him so willing to endure public humiliation just to put a smile on Ryan's face.  The photos below prove that Ryan and Gavin have the best Daddy in the world! 

Mike prepares for his Bat Mission.

He creeps stealthily as he keeps a watchful eye for criminals.

Batman flies after an escaping crook.

After capturing the bad guy, Batman returns to the Batcave to rest (i.e., hang upside down like a bat).

The adventure concludes when Batman follows the final clue to discover his reward - a pack of gummies!

Batman poses with his sidekicks once the hunt is over.

The next generation Dark Knight in training!