(More More) Trick-or-Treat

Last Halloween, Ayden rode around in his wagon while tagging along with other trick-or-treaters. This year, he actually got to do some trick-or-treating himself.

Hanging with my teachers at our school Halloween party.

We don't really live in a neighborhood, per se, so we crashed the trick-or-treating going on at our friends' development. Once it got dark, and after eating dinner, we plopped a bundled up Brogan in the stroller, handed Ayden his trick-or-treating bag, and set out into the night.

I thought it would all be over after just one house.

Brogan was Robin to Ayden's Batman (we replaced the R with a B).

Allison took Ayden up to the first door. The family was on their front steps, so he they didn't have to go all the way. Right before he was to get his first candy in his bag, a member of the family opened their front door, allowing their big chocolate lab to come bounding out. The dog ran right up to Ayden, who just so happens to be terrified of dogs. He freaked out, getting a couple of friendly licks to the face in the process.

With the trick-or-treating starting that way, I didn't think we'd be able to get him to go to another house. I was wrong. Very wrong. He loved it. Each time we walked away from a house, he said "more more." Unsurprisingly, everyone doted over him, which surely helped. Although we only got him to say "trick-or-treat" at one house, he made me proud by saying "thank you" each time. On multiple occasions, his expression of thanks got him an extra dose of candy.

Even Brogan's bibs for the evening stuck with the Batman and Robin theme.

Once we got home, Ayden had the chance to survey his haul. We confiscated some thing that weren't really suitable for him, but left him all the chocolate stuff, which he has been methodically working through each day since. (His version of eating his candy is to suck the chocolate off as it melts, which usually means most of it ends up on his hands, face, the furniture, the floor, etc.)

Something tells me Ayden will be very excited when Halloween comes around next year.

More pictures after the break.

Pumpkins!

Ayden has become obsessed with pumpkins. Pumpkin decorations. Pumpkin food. And, of course, pumpkins themselves. We didn't get the chance to go to Gentry's Farm this year, so my mama and I took the boys on a quick outing to a local nursery. Ayden was thrilled by all sorts of things... the slide, the wagon, and... the pumpkins!

 

 

 

 

"It's a... blog!" on Vacation, Return Trip

The ride to Clemson went fairly well, with the exception of the very end. The return trip went more smoothly. In fact, we would have made record time, had we not decided to stop for a walk and food break at a river park in Chattanooga. Ayden wasn't too pumped about having his picture taken, but he did love the time outside. The fresh air was nice for all of us.

 

 

 

 

"It's a... blog!" on Vacation, Part Three

After the visit to the boys' great-grandparents, we ate some lunch, then headed off to the next lake house to spend a few days with our friends Scott and Courtney and their son, Sawyer. They had visited us around the same time last year, before Brogan was born and before Ayden could walk. Obviously, the dynamic was a bit different this time, what with two boys capable of running around (like crazy people, as demonstrated by the video below) and an extra little one to keep an eye on.

The weather forecast had been favorable leading up to the trip. Unfortunately, the forecast didn't quite get it right. It ended up cooler and wetter than had been expected, which kind of threw a monkey wrench into some of our plans. (Under normal circumstances, we might've been more inclined to ignore the weather, but both Ayden and Brogan were still recovering from weeks of being sick. So, we didn't risk very much.)

Our trip up into North Carolina to a hilltop apple orchard got derailed - it was raining by the time we got there. We were still able to sample some of the many kinds of apples the orchard grew, pick up some apple butter, and buy some freshly made apple cider donuts (I agree, it sounds weird, but they were awesome). What we didn't get to do was let Ayden run around the orchard.

Something else that got a little altered was spending time on the lake. Because the forecast looked so good, Scott and Courtney hauled their boat all the way up to the lake from the coast. While the lake water was amazingly warm, for the most part, it was cool and windy on the water. Again, not the best scenario for two kids recovering from being sick. Nevertheless, as Ayden had never been on a boat before, we bundled him and Sawyer up, busted out the blankets, and took a ride one morning.

I didn't know how Ayden would react. The boat had an outboard motor, so I didn't know if it's loudness would freak him out. Or if the different movement and feel would bother him. So, of course, he loved it. He was all over the place. He wanted to walk around. He wanted to climb up onto the front so he could see more. He just had a ball. For days afterward, we heard a lot about the boat ("Boat, fun.").

"Mr. Scott, I hope you have insurance, because I can't really see where I'm going."