Happy Halloween

 We had a great Halloween this year!  It has lasted for 3 days and we've loved it.  This is the year he caught on to what was happening. Calder requested to be a garbage man for Halloween so we went with it.  I tried to convince him to be James Madison (like last year) but he could not be swayed.  

At first he wasn't thrilled with the costume I made. He was upset that he couldn't ride in the cab or drive it with a steering wheel or open the doors. Basically he was upset I didn't provide him with a real garbage truck to ride around in.  Thankfully he got over it. He liked his costume even more once other kids thought it was cool.

 The garbage truck fabric is all felt, which is definitely the way to go because you don't have to worry about fraying in any way. Plus it is stiffer and holds up well.  I used wooden dowels for added support and balled up newspaper for support in the front and back. The cab has a compartment on top to hold his candy. It worked beautifully. His orange vest is actually a Tonka construction costume vest but I added a WM (Waste Management) logo over the Tonka logo and we were good to go. The hat was a lucky find and the gloves were a pair we had around.

He wore this costume to the church party, a friend's party and trick-or-treating. It was well used and still looks pretty good.

 At the church party on Friday he won the Most Original Costume award. He was elated.  For a prize he got bubbles. He could not be more proud.

Canned Apples

I decided to can the 20 pounds of apples we picked. I just did a basic light syrup with cinnamon.  They look delicious.  I love how versatile these apples will be. I can make pie filling or applesauce. We could eat them alone or serve them over vanilla ice cream.  Yummy!  It's going to be a good winter.

Shabby Apple Design Contest Results

You are NOT going to believe this. I am a finalist in the Shabby Apple Dare to Design Contest!  I can hardly type I'm so excited!  They chose their favorite 15 dresses and they happen to think mine should be in the running!  

You can check out all the dresses that made the final cut here.  Everyone can vote and if by chance you like mine best please vote for #11.

Apple picking

 A few weeks ago Calder and I went apple picking.  We both loved it and would be happy to do it again. Most of Calder's time was spent playing the drums using sticks, running up and down the long rows of apples and riding his makeshift garbage truck.

 We picked Fuji and Pink Lady apples. We are still eating them and they are still as tasty as the day we picked them. I love it!

 Calder pretended he was a garbage man riding on a garbage truck. While I pushed the wheelbarrow he would hop on and off just like a real garbage man. He also spent a good deal of time riding in the wheelbarrow.

 We've never done one of these cardboard head things. Calder couldn't figure it out. I love the pictures anyway.

We picked a pumpkin at the patch they had but my camera batteries died so I didn't get any pictures.  I keep asking Calder if he wants to paint something on his pumpkin or if he wants to carve a face out of it. Every time he tells me he wants to cook it and eat it and thinks it would be weird to do anything else.  It looks like we'll be eating pumpkin. I'm not a fan of pumpkin that doesn't come from a can because of the consistency.  If anyone has a good recipe that uses fresh pumpkin my little boy would be thrilled.

Calder is 2

 Calder is two.  I don't know how this happened. He is changing from a baby to a little man. In honor of such we had a "Little Man" themed birthday party.  I think we all had a lot of fun and I love how everything turned out. I made mustaches and bow ties for everyone. Calder chose to wear his favorite hat. For the mustaches I traced mustache shapes onto felt, cut two per mustache, hand sewed around them and attached elastic to keep them on. They were so fun! I made up the pattern for the bow ties but am willing to share if anyone is interested.

 We used the club room in our building, which is a great spot for a party. There was a lot of eating and socializing. I didn't really plan games but we did have a few toys for the kids to play with.  The ages were such that this was all we needed.

 I painted a shirt for Calder to wear.  He loves his #2 shirt and requests to wear it a lot. He gets excited about anything I make for him. I wish this could last forever.

We had lots of adorable guests. Some happy, some not. 

 

 Calder successfully blew out his candle. I didn't practice this with him so I'm glad it worked. As I type this and look at the pictures I realize I only put one candle in the cupcake. All well.

 My friend Liz took the most amazing pictures.  I couldn't even begin to choose a favorite. Thanks a bunch Liz, you really are amazing!

 I love these pictures.  These kids are adorable and I'm so glad they took time out of their busy schedules to come.

 It was awesome that Jason could be there for the party.  We'll take all the Jason time we can get around here.

I'm so happy to have such an awesome little man.  He makes my days so much more fun and I can't imagine life without him. 

Family Birthday Party

 We had our family party before Jason left for work on Calder's birthday. It was really perfect because then Calder could play with his new toys all day. He LOVES all of his presents and often talks about who gave them to him.

 It has been so fun to see him get a lot of presents at once. He plays somewhat frantically and then living room gets trashed in a few minutes. He basically wants to play with everything at once. Thus the garbage man and the fireman fly the airplane and ride his skateboard with him.

Shabby Apple Design Contest

I entered a design competition for Shabby Apple. You can read my submission here.

Update: Shabby Apple will announce the top 15 dresses by October 22.  They will then leave the voting open until November 15.  I'll be sure to let you know whether I make the top 15. 
*fingers crossed*

A day in the life of Calder

Although we do something different every day there are a few things we do frequently enough to say they are regular activities. The metro is a big part of our every day. We often ride to DC to go to museums or play dates. This is what we see as we walk along the overpass to our favorite park. Calder loves to see whether there is a train coming or going.

Calder is curious, patient, sweet and loving. If he bumps me or bonks my head he immediately says "I'm sorry Mommy". It it so sweet. He also says "excuse me" and "please" when appropriate. He always asks me if "everybody okay?" when he wants to know how I'm doing. It is adorable. At the Library of Congress he spent so much time listening and watching the historical movies. He has a great attention span.

Calder took this picture of Jason. I think it's sweet. He gets so excited when Jason comes home. Most nights Calder is in bed before Jason comes home but occasionally the two get a few minutes in the evening and it is so great.

This is a regular activity at our house. Calder is still loving garbage truck videos on YouTube. When he poops in the toilet he gets to watch one. He also likes to watch Caillou as a special treat.

Calder took this picture too. When Katie was here she helped him while we were driving somewhere. I love that he wanted to take a picture of his favorite thing.

Grandpa John

Jason's dad came to visit for a week and we did all sorts of fun things! Calder called John Grandpa John Wilcox a few times. It was adorable. Here's what we did in pictures.

We visited Jason at work.

We went to "Abe Lincoln's house" as Calder calls the Lincoln Memorial.

While John was here our good friends Spencer, Anna and Grace came to visit. We had a blast with them! I'm so thankful they came and Calder keeps asking where they went. Grace is a pretty equal match for his personality and they seem to have a lot of fun together.

We all went to the Air and Space Museum. Spencer and Anna made out in the Cessna 150. Just kidding. Maybe.

Calder slept there, just like this. That is Jason's original Pound Puppy that we got this summer while we were in Oregon. That puppy sleeps with Calder every night and needed to come with us so Calder could nap at the museum.

John driving the Cessna 150.

Then we went to the Library of Congress. I want to spend a lot more time here. If not only to stare at the beautiful tiles on the floor.

Lunch outside the Library of Congress.

Thanks for coming John. We had a fabulous week! You can come back any time. The same goes to you Spencer, Anna and Grace.