My Little Boy

Tate,

When I went away for 5 days (the longest I've ever been away from you), I expected a few things. I expected to be stressed out, I expected to miss you like crazy, I expected a few tears on your end as well. I did NOT expect to come home, walk into your room the next morning and discover that my baby had, magically, become a little boy. I know it didn't happen in 5 days. I know that you're 2 and a half (and you make sure no one forgets about that half), that you're potty-trained, that you sleep in a big boy bed. But in my mind, I was holding onto that picture of you just a little bit younger. You aren't a baby anymore, not even a toddler, but a little boy. My little boy. The sweetest one I know. I'm so lucky to be your mommy.

Happy Halloween!!

What a perfect night for trick-or-treating. Not overly cold. No rain. Still light out when we left the house. Lots of friends. Lots of fun. Lots of candy. An impromptu playdate with Lucy while I was lured in by the adult treat of hot spiced wine. My little Sleeping Beauty and Harley rider were adorable, remembering to say "thank you", hiding behind me if anyone scary walked by, happily eating their Skittles (Rowan) and Nerds (Tate) at the end of the night.

The next day Rowan said "So, we did our trick-or-treating yesterday, but Grandma is handing out candy at her house today." "Yes," I said, "our city did trick-or-treating a day early." "Sooooo," Rowan said, the wheels turning, "We could go to Grandma's today and go trick-or-treating!" It didn't happen. But I was pretty impressed she thought of it.

Zoo Goes Boo!

With Lance working 4 weekends in a row, his decision to take a vacation day was a good one. So we took full advantage and took the kids to Zoo Goes Boo. Sort of a crazy, crowded mess, but they loved it and it was a good kick-off to Halloween. They went with the animal-themed costumes (which was great since it was a cold day). And even though Lance's "vacation day" ended with him in the office for 4 hours, we made the most of it!