Joyous Day

Two exciting things happened today. Two events that will change my life and the lives of many for the better. It is a day to be hopeful for the future and to claim a renewed sense of purpose, determination and honor.

1. Barack Obama was elected the next President of the United States by a WIDE margin; and

2. Eva has finally decided that she can successfully drink from a big girl cup (i.e., not a sippy cup with a lid).

It's a very big day in our home. Share the joy with us.

Costumes costumes!

Here are a few pics of Halloween over the years.

Eva (8 months old) as a Sustainable Forester. I made the suspenders and hatchet out of felt. Seen here with Chicken Lily.

Eva (1 1/2 years) as a furry monster. Seen here with Dorothy Lily.

Eva (2 1/2 years) as a purse that I made out of a graham cracker box, an old skirt, binder rings and a hot glue gun.

And this year as a baseball player.

Fall Festivities

Drawing my inspiration for a costume from Eva's interests, she dressed as a baseball player this year (shown here without her hat and mitt). This was Eva's first year trick-or-treating and first year WALKING. In years past, we've dressed her up, gone to parties and shown a few neighbors. She was a little confused over the whole process--knock, "trick or treat!", get candy, say "thank you" and leave. And since she doesn't eat candy, she wasn't that excited about her loot until a neighbor gave her a packet of microwave popcorn. Oh joy! She LOVES popcorn. (A note: I've tried to give her different kinds of candy, but she won't try it. A good side to oral-motor aversions, I guess!) BTW, Jerry is wearing a wig in this pic.

A couple weeks ago, Eva and Jerry went to the farmer's market and got three little pumpkins for us to decorate. She loved painting and applying glitter to the wet paint. LOTS of glitter. So fun!