Packages and Forts

Today, Luke and Michael got a package in the mail from Poppy and Nan. Luke loves getting his very own mail. Inside were Halloween books! Then Luke built a fort out of lawn chairs. I can remember building one of these myself. I seem to think there's even a photo of it somewhere in Boulder. Perhaps a kind stepdad will seek it out and scan it, so I can compare lawn chair forts.

Apple Picking

Yesterday we went to Lynd's Fruit Farm to pick apples and pumpkins. Michael carried around the same apple the whole time and spent 2 hours eating it. Of course, if I give him an apple at home, he won't touch it. No corn maze this year, but the hayride was still fun!

Family Breakfast

Well, this morning was Family Breakfast morning at Luke's school. Matt canceled a class, so we picked him up on the way and all went together. We had so much fun eating with the other families and showing Daddy around the classroom. Then we dropped Matt back at work and walked around ODU for a little while. There would have been a lot of really cute pictures, BUT in the chaos of trying to grab muffins and snack mix for 18 kids and their parents plus sippie cups plus jackets plus Luke and Michael, I forgot the freakin' camera. GRRRRR!!!

Michaelism of the day

A-nin = again, and he also uses it for "more." A-din = all done. They sound pretty much exactly the same. But, God help you if you mistake one for the other at meal time. If you think he said "a-nin" when he really meant "a-din" and you put more food on his tray, you will be rewarded with flying sausage, oranges or eggs. If you think he said "a-din" when he really meant "a-nin" and you try to take him out of the high chair, you will be rewarded with a flailing tantrum. Ah, the joys of an 18-month-old.

Daddy's Birthday

Today is Matt's 35th birthday! This morning I asked Luke what he wanted to get Daddy for his birthday. He said "a dragon robot with a button you can push." I said, "No, Luke, that's a present for you. This is a present for Daddy. What do you think Daddy might like?" He said, "Daddy needs a blanket." So he got Matt a red blanket. Mommy cried because it was just about the cutest thing ever. The cake is not going to be making the cover of Martha Stewart any time soon, but it's what Matt wanted: frosted angel food cake with Smarties on top. In Canada, Smarties are like M&Ms only in the full rainbow of colors, Matt had to make do with M&Ms because they don't sell them here. By the way, if you're wondering, the little tart candies that we call Smarties are called Rockets in Canada. Michael got extra cake because he turned 18 months old on Monday!

When Matt was Luke's age . . .

My moms' board is posting pictures of the dads at 3. These are the pics of Matt that I scanned. I actually think he's about 2 in these shots, right between Luke and Michael's ages.

Matt and big brother Jon.

With their mom in matching rompers, so seventies and so cute!

Chili Party

Last night was the annual Van Ausdal Family Chili Party. The kids had fun, despite Michael faceplanting on the cement, and the food was delicious. Alyssa always makes a huge batch of chili and then you can eat it however you want--on rice, on pasta, on mashed potatoes. Somewhat sacrilegious for a Colorado girl, where we eat our chili straight up, but pretty tasty! Michael kept stealing all of the yummy focaccia, homemade by the breadmasters (aka the Chapman family). Luke didn't eat much--instead he spent a very long time tying up an inflatable baseball bat with Jennie and then stuffing himself into an overcrowded sandbox with the other boys.

Miss you, Nan!

We all had a great time with my mom this weekend. Luke made out like a bandit with new socks, shoes and rain boots (fireman ones, this time). He also gained a new obsession for sapphire rings and won't leave the house without a sparkly ring on his finger. I think dad hopes this is a short-lived phase. Michael learned how to climb up the treehouse ladder all by himself while Nan watched. It was a great weekend, but we missed Poppy. He really would have liked our fishing game. Think it may be our turn to visit Colorado next.

Red Shack

Matt moved his award-winning brewing operation out to our storage shed a few months ago, hence the name "Red Shack Brewing Co." Well, Matt's birthday is coming up and I ordered him an official sign for his Brew Shack. It was going to be a surprise, but he happened to be at home when it came in the mail. I don't think we've ever managed to surprise each other with a gift and I don't think we've ever waited until the actual day to give birthday presents the entire time we've known each other.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to Pigeon Roost Farm to pick pumpkins. It was awesome. So much fun stuff to do. The kids had a great time in the corn maze, corn tunnels, corn sandbox, etc. And they got to do it with their Nan, which made it even better!

Yes, it's a goat obstacle course.

Playing in the corn sandbox with Nan

Luke takes Nan for a ride on the plane . . .. . .while Michael opts for the train.

Lukism of the day

Discussing Nan . . .

Luke: Is Nan coming today?
Me: No, tomorrow.
Luke: After I sleep one more time?
Me: Yes.
Luke: Yay! I'm so excited. I've never seen her in a long, long time.
Me: I'm excited, too.
Luke: And she's your momma!
Me: Yep.
Luke: And you're my momma!
Me: Yep.
Luke: That's wonderful.

While Luke is away . . .

This week, Michael and I have been figuring out how to amuse ourselves while Luke is at school. Monday we went to playgroup. Friday we will be home wildly cleaning in preparation for Nan's arrival (yippee!!), but today we just kind of bummed around Clintonville, the neighborhood where Luke's school is. Michael has recently become obsessed with slides. Too bad he can't get up them as well as he can get down them. But his favorite part of this morning was pouring his snacks from one cup into another, ensuring that the pretzels become sticky with the peaches and losing a little more with each pour. The game ended when he finally lost the last piece.

Our new godson . . .

Yesterday, we got to meet our new godson. This is Benedict Raymond. He was born two weeks ago, but we didn't get to see him right away because Matt was sick and then the storm hit. Benedict's dad, Mike, teaches Philosophy at ODU. His momma, Michelle, is my adjunct professor soul sister--although she teaches English instead of History. Big brother Thomas is 23 months--they are almost exactly the same space apart as our boys. My pictures sucked, so I'm making do with one his parents took when he was born. We'll take better pictures at the baptism.

That makes two godchildren for us. Benedict and our youngest niece, Jacinta. Here's a picture of Jacinta that I stole from her mommy's blog. She's 20 months old and lives in Ottawa with her big sisters Talia and Claire. We miss them!

Growing Fast

Luke jumped two shoe sizes overnight from 8 to 10. We are down to one pair that fits--and it's actually too big, but oh well. Sorry, Poppy, the beloved new dinosaur boots are going to be short lived. You'll see them again when Michael hits size 9. When our friends came to visit a month ago, he still couldn't reach the pedals on his 16" Diego bike. We were outside two days ago (no camera) and suddenly he climbed on and rode away. Sigh.

First day of school

Luke was supposed to start school on Monday, but everything was closed because of the storm, so today was our first day. Last year, Luke went two mornings a week to the School for Young Children's two-year-old program. He screamed for 6 weeks before finally settling in. Fast forward one year and my three-year-old was distraught this morning when he found out that I would be staying with him for the first day. He said "Mommy, you and Michael should go and then come back later." He saw his old teachers in the hallway and told them that he was three now and had to go to the big-kid classroom. Luke was very happy to be reunited with his classmates from last year. He seems to like his new teachers: Chelsea, Jenifer and Dani. The only tears shed were when it was time to come home. He wanted to stay at school "for a long, long time." Michael had fun, too, but he'll have to wait until next year before he can start the two's program.

Hurricane in the Midwest

Who knew that Ike could take out Ohio? The dying hurricane hooked up with another front and revitalized--knocking Columbus pretty hard. We were without power for two days. We still have friends with no power going into day 4. Schools are closed, including ODU. The good news: we still had running water, some stores and restaurants were open and the weather was beautiful. I'm considering it a semi-emergency experience. Just enough to be an adventure and a major wake-up call for us to get prepared in case of a real emergency. Luke and Michael did very well and were quite the helpers at getting our yard back in order. Lots of downed trees and blown off gutters around the neighborhood, but no damage to our house.

One of the more annoying things was that the power went out mid-laundry cycle with all of the boys' clothes in the wash. I don't exactly have a clothesline, so I had to make do with this poor overburdened sweater rack. Obviously, I don't have anything major to complain about.

Renaissance Festival

I think we were hoping for a cooler day today, but we still had fun at the Renaissance Festival. Contrary to popular belief, attending Renaissance Festivals is NOT what Matt and I do for a living. But it is fun to take the kids and people watch. We saw lots of leather and corsets. We even saw an older couple in full "elven" dress complete with pointy ears. Something to think about, Mom and John, a new hobby, perhaps?

Luke gets a swordfighting lesson.

Luke and Daddy on the dragon swing.

King Luke

King Michael