October 2012

Winston will be Thomas for Halloween

[I never published this!  well here it is now]

We are hunkered down here in DC, awaiting the storm that is dubbed Hurricane Sandy.  Dave and I are amazed that we spent 6 years in Miami and have had more inclement weather in DC than we did there.  Go figure.  We're hoping this is just a bad storm for us, but just in case we've bought extra food, we have firewood in case we lose power, and we're sleeping in the basement on Monday night just in case any big trees decide to fall on our house.  Dave was mister handyman yesterday, cleaning out gutters and battoning down the hatches around our house. 

We've had an action-packed fall.  Dave and Winston visited Wisconsin for a week while I had the great fortune of traveling to New Zealand for my job with Safe Kids.  We've had visits from Trish and Dan as well as Uncle Tim.  Winston is enchanted with each visitor and asks after each person he meets incessantly!  When he is particularly frustrated with Dave or me, he will say, "I want to go to Grandma's house."  Ah Winston, if it was only that simple, we'd grant you your request!!

Every few weeks, I discover something that makes me say "Winston is getting older."  This weekend, he spent Saturday with Dave and his friends Tom and Dan.  As Dave was driving Tom and Dan home, Winston said, "I had fun with daddy.  And Tom.  And the other one, what was his name?"  In the past, he would have just not mentioned "the other one" or else would have mumbled a made-up name.  The fact that he asked the question was a marvel to me.

Also this past weekend, as I was getting ready for a work dinner, Winston reached out and felt the material of my sweater and said, "Mommy, you look very pretty.  I like that sweater."  What?  Where did this little charmer come from? 

Mind you, there are alot of challenges with Winston.  He is an incredibly active child; in constant motion from the moment he wakes up until bedtime.  Yesterday evening, at a dinner at Kate's house, he climbed up and started dancing on her very expensive glass table.  No one was very pleased about that.  And he has developed this very gross habit of partially chewing his food (apples and other fruits primarily) and then spitting them out.  We now have him spitting it back on his plate instead of all over the house, but it is so gross and despite the efforts at home and at daycare, we can't seem to get him to stop.

All in all, there is more fun and joy than frustration.  We've decided to keep him.

Here' s a photo gallery of some photos from our fall adventures.  We've been enjoying the beautiful weather here in DC (current weather notwithstanding).

Looking forward to Thanksgiving in Wisconsin and Christmas in California!