October 08

--in october we finally started getting some cooler weather…granted one day we’re wearing layers and the next we’re wearing shorts. i love the crisp cool air of fall, so i’d prefer it to just stay around 60.
--grandma, grandpa, and devlin came to visit the first weekend of october. we went a place called “hunt club farms.” we played in the petting zoo, rode some rides, aidan jumped in the moon-walk, and we went on a hayride. the kids really loved it, and the grandparents loved seeing them having fun. we also went to see “sesame street live.” they were doing shows for military families for free on base. i thought aidan would like it the most, and sierra might be freaked out. aidan did love it, but sierra really got into it. she didn’t know what the creatures on stage were, but she thought they were great! she was dancing and laughing, and couldn’t take her eyes off of them. really fun!
--we had a dentist appointment this month too. it was aidan’s third, and sierra’s first. she screamed her head off when we laid her back in the chair. it was a couple weeks after her visit with the doctor, and the last time she was put in that position she got four shots…so needless to say, she fought us and screamed, thinking she was getting more shots. poor thing.

--we had a great time on halloween…except for billy being sick. so i got the kids all done up and we took a trek around the neighborhood. both of the kiddos racked up in the candy department. (i had to take out all the milk duds first thing, cause everyone knows they’re bad for you, right, but just happen to be my favorite…so i had to be the good mommy and consume all the really bad milk duds!) anyhow, sierra was the cutest little mouse EVER! she charmed tons of candy out of our neighbors…she ended up with more candy than aidan, i think. she thought it was tons of fun grabbing candy out of everyone’s bowls. aidan was the too-cool buzz lightyear. we opted for the cheaper suit from target (with the french pronunciation) rather than the disney store, which had real lights and wings, and i think even a helmet. anyhow, instead i made aidan some wings out of cardboard and clothes hangars. he didn’t know the difference, and even thought they were cooler cause mommy made them. he was a proud buzz, and told everyone who he was. last year aidan freaked out anytime someone was wearing a mask. he didn’t do that this year. he’d look carefully to make sure it was really not a monster, and then he was okay. he did get scared one time though. one guy had his head in a big pumpkin and was sitting on the porch swing like a stuffed scarecrow. the bowl of candy was next to him. aidan went up to get his candy and when he reached into the bowl, the guy moved his hand toward aidan. aidan jumped like crazy! even though it scared him, i couldn’t help but laugh. he skipped candy at that house, because he never got a piece when he got scared, and he wouldn’t go back. even days later when we were walking past that house, he was still trying to figure out why that man had scared him. i tried to explain that that’s part of what halloween is…being scary.

--sierra is a total mimic. she tries to say anything she hears, she’s really trying to communicate now. she understands EVERYTHING we say to her, it’s just up to her whether or not she cooperates with our wishes. she’s all over the place. she’s climbing on tabletops, up bookshelves, everywhere. she doesn’t do it just to do it (which is good), she does it to get something up there…which means we have to watch what we leave lying around. she goes after the bowl of halloween candy on the dining room table, daddy’s keys on the kitchen table, mommy’s blinking clock on the entertainment center, it’s always something. she falls constantly, just running around the house, though rarely cries about it. once at volleyball, she wiped out in front of some people. they all jumped and i could hear the intake of breath. i just watched her get up and move on, and they looked at me, like “wow…she’s tough.” i said, “yeah, she gets tackled by her brother at last fifty time a day, so unless she’s going to fall off a table or down the stairs or something, i don’t really worry about it.” she even climbed out of her crib one morning and dropped down to the floor. normally in the mornings, she wakes up and sings, or talks to aidan, or plays with her babies…she rarely cries. so when i hear a big thud and a scream, i of course go running. she’s on her hands and knees screaming at the carpet. i think she was more scared than hurt, because she was fine as soon as i scooped her up.
--she knows lots of her body parts now. she can point out her eyes, nose, ears, hair, toes, hands, belly button, and when someone says “potty,” she either runs to the potty or pulls on her diaper.
--her latest vocabulary additions include:
* a growl or a quack = any animal sound…bark, ribbit, roar, whatever
* “opp” = up
* “daw” = dog
* “hot” = hot
* “hat” = hat
* “nana” = almost any food…used to be banana, but now it’s just FOOD!
* “opp-ee” = apple
* “ah- may” = amen
* “ah-dah” = all done
* “chew” = shoe
* “ehh-rah” = sierra

--aidan is a talker as well. he must tell me EVERY SINGLE thought that enters his head. i hear, “mom-meeeeeee, …..” ALL DAY LONG. he’s either telling me some random thought, telling me what crazy thing sierra is doing, telling me what i’m supposed to say back to him (“say, ‘good job, aidan!’”), or arguing with me. seems i’m constantly defending my decisions with him. i’m working on different approaches to the arguing and fibbing…we’ll see what works. cause he’s really such a good boy! :)
--some of the things aidan says these days are pretty funny. i can tell he hears a phrase somewhere, and tries it out. some of them are used in the complete wrong places, and some are just impolite. some examples:
* “i’m a little nervous” (going to take a bath)
* “actually” and “otherwise” (used in the wrong context)
* “we’ll never make it” (going down to breakfast)
* “penis breath” (heard it on E.T. (which is one of his new favorite movies) and never said it again)
* “we don’t live on earth. earth is in space. you’re funny, mommy!” (i’ve got nothing to say to that one…it’s just cute, cause that is a hard concept to grasp.)
--he’s super excited about starting school next semester. i’ve been doing lots of research on the pre-schools around here, and we just sent in his registration for january . we’ve been telling him that he can start when he’s four, and he tells everyone that he’s “going to school when i’m four...in january.” i wanted to keep him close as long as possible, but he wants to go to school, and i think it’ll be some good exposure for him. we enrolled him in holy spirit catholic pre-school (the three-year-old class) for three half days a week from january through may. then he’ll do five half days in the four-year-old class starting next september…and be ready for (half day) kindergarten the next year.
--they grow up waaaaaayy to fast!