Spooky, Spooky, Spooky!

Halloween 2013 will go down as the first highly successful Halloween for the Langford kids. Let me give a quick recap of the previous years:

2012: Milo was terribly sick, which actually turned out to be a good thing because he was so scared by the entire holiday he didn't want to wear a costume. I don't even recall what he had planned to be before he a) changed his mind, b) got too scared to dress up, and c) got sick so it didn't matter anymore anyway. And Olive was so young she wasn't walking yet, she couldn't eat any of the candy, and she just didn't give a shit about any of it. She did look pretty cute in the chicken costume I forced upon her though. When she wasn't crying, that is.

2011: Milo was a bumblebee. The costume was fleece, and it was HOT that day. He roasted. I was pregnant, and I roasted. Milo didn't get the trick-or-treating thing at that point, and he got so bored. He sort of played along during the daycare party, but then we made the mistake of taking his costume off to eat dinner. He did NOT want to put it back on to go real trick-or-treating. I think we made it to one, maybe two houses before giving up.

2010: Milo's first Halloween. Too little to get it/eat candy/care. My first Halloween as a mom, so of course I put way too much pressure on the whole thing. He wore both a kangaroo costume for some early photos in the leaves, and a pumpkin costume for trick-or-treating. We went with some friends who had older kids, and we had to basically carry Milo up to the doors each time. Not so fun, really.

So! That brings everybody up to speed. This year was fantastic. Milo was Captain Hook. He had been requesting this costume since August, so I bought it for him in late September. In early October, he decided that Captain Hook was "too scary" and he wanted to be a pumpkin "with a smile and happy eyes, not a frown or mean eyes." Thankfully, he returned back to Captain Hook. Our neighbors gave us a little girl pirate costume. My mom gave us a watermelon costume for Olive. We let her pick. For weeks she refused to wear either. Well, frankly, she didn't try either of them on. On Halloween we sent the pirate costume to daycare and hoped that Ms. Kristin could get her into it.

We showed up for the daycare Halloween extravaganza at 4:30. Lo and behold, both Milo and Olive were in their costumes, and they looked awesome. Milo even had his hat and his hook on. Olive wasn't wearing the head scarf that came with hers, but no surprise there--she does not like stuff on her head (except for hoods...and some hats... OK, she just doesn't like having her hair done. But either way, I wasn't surprised about the lack of scarf.).

They sort of let me take their picture. Awfully wiggly and not very patient, those two

They did the daycare trick-or-treating. For awhile Milo didn't seem too into it. They were handing out little toys and stickers and such at the "houses" and I think Milo just wanted candy. As soon as they did get a piece of candy, they wanted to eat it right then. It was hard to explain that no, you can get MORE candy if you keep following the other kids. But overall, they both had a good time.

We came home, had dinner. This time I was smart enough not to take Olive out of her costume. I hadn't planned to take Milo out of his costume either, but he really wanted to take it off. I figured that was probably for the best, since his costume had these dangly sleeves. Anyway. Dinner. Then everybody get excited because it's trick-or-treating time!!

We set out with no expectations of how many houses we'd hit. We started with our cul-de-sac. Then a couple houses up the street. Then Ms. Kristin's cul-de-sac. Then down the hill to that cul-de-sac. Total of 10 houses, I think. Then the kids were getting worn out and started to be less happy about the whole thing. Back up the hill to home. One piece of candy to eat, then off to bed.

I was so stinking proud of these kids. Especially Milo. He rang the doorbells, said "trick or treat" every time, said "thank you," waved goodbye, and was just generally very agreeable. He kept his hat and hook on. Just such a nice guy. He did try to open doors and even walk into people's homes at first, but he got the hang of it before too long. Olive was so cute too. She started out just holding out her basket and saying "my candy!" as they dropped a piece in her bag. She did say "thank you" and "bye!" while enthusiastically waving. About 2/3 of the way through the evening, she started saying "chickee cheet!" So so cute.

Milo still got pretty nervous about Halloween this year, so I am especially proud of the way he didn't let his fears stop him from having fun. From the costumes to the trick-or-treating to the excitement of the whole thing, he participated--and he can often be the kid that hangs back and does his own thing.

Last night, sometime in the middle of the night, he came into our room upset, saying "Is Halloween over yet?" So even after having lots of fun, getting to eat lots of candy, he still worried about Halloween. I'm hoping next year he remembers all the fun and doesn't let the worries slow him down. And I hope Olive tries on her costume before the day of the holiday. Milo has already informed me that next year he wants to be a rubber duckie for Halloween. We'll see, kid. We'll see.

Happy Valentine's Day

This is the tenth Valentine's Day I've celebrated with Andrew. Here's to many, many more.

Updates

• Milo continues to be adorable and awesome. He called my friend Stephanie "Snuffanie" the other day. I kind of hope he keeps doing that, because it's really hilarious.
• I got a promotion! Say hello to Hallmark Books' newest senior editor.
• On Sunday we had lunch with some friends, and Milo sat at the kids' table with two four-year-olds and they all had a grand time. Ate mac n cheese and oranges and drank milk (in a cup with no lid) and hardly a bite was spilled. So proud of that kid. I told him so on the way home, and he said "I don't want you to be proud of me." (In a very whiny tone of voice, I might add. In my head, I immediately took back my praise.)
• Less than two weeks 'til Christmas and out shopping is not done. Sigh.
• I turned 31 last week. How can that be? We went out for frozen yogurt after dinner to celebrate. Milo got his own cup of fro yo, and he picked out strawberry-banana and mocha, with mini M&Ms on top. Gross.
• Olive is playing me like a tiny violin. She has mastered the art of shrieking to get what she wants. Hooray! Also, sarcasm!
• Milo had started playing with Thomas the tank engine when he should have been going to sleep, so I made a bed for Thomas. The bed, which looks a lot like a box with some stickers on it and a blanket inside, is up on top of his bookcase (conveniently out of Milo's reach) and every night we tuck Thomas in. I can't believe I made a bed for a toy train. And that I say goodnight to the train every night and literally tuck that train in. And did I mention Thomas's nightlight? Yes, a battery-operated flameless candle also goes in the box.
• Parents truly use tons of batteries. Not only do toy trains get nightlights, but other toy trains are left running when no one is playing with them, flashlights are left shining long after the kid has left the vicinity, and almost every toy requires some sort of battery. Before Milo was born, I honestly don't even know that I ever purchased a battery to replace one that had died. But now we actually stock up on them at Costco. Costco!
• Olive has started shaking her head when she dances. Like she's saying no really emphatically. But while smiling. My favorite part of the head-shaking is that she'll even do it when I sing. No actual music required.
• I joined Twitter. Follow me if you want, @lenexicon. Sometimes I'm interesting.

Milo's Second Halloween

So now that Thanksgiving is just a week away, I thought it was time to post some Halloween photos. Some are from Milo's daycare Halloween party/trick-or-treating extravaganza, a few are from our post-dinner attempt to trick-or-treat. But sadly, we forgot to take the camera to the daycare party, so we missed most of the early action. The shots we do have were taken after the group came to our house to trick-or-treat and we were able to grab the camera. By that point, Milo was about done with the whole thing, if he was ever into it, that is. Not sure he really grasped the concept of trick-or-treating, and he didn't like following the other kids around to different places in the backyard for some reason he couldn't figure out. And I'm pretty sure he must have been roasting in his fleecy costume. The sun was out and it was quite warm that afternoon.  All that said, it was pretty fun to see Milo in his adorable little bumblebee costume holding his little pumpkin treat bucket. 

What the heck is going on? And why am I holding this bucket?

At least you're not making me wear the hood.

Are we done yet?

I do like this little green cup. Cups are fun for sure.

Look, flowers! Bees love flowers!

But I don't want to smell the flowers again just so you can try to take a picture this time. You should have taken the picture the first time I smelled the flowers.

Look, Daddy, nunchucks!

What? You're supposed to unwrap it first? Nonsense.

My first (and possibly only) taste of Halloween candy. Mmmmm.

A Mother's Day Letter

Dear Milo,

This Sunday will be our second Mother’s Day together. Last year you were awfully tiny on Mother’s Day—only seven weeks old. And as it turned out, you pretty much cried the entire day. (Was it because we dressed you in your sweater vest? Sorry about that. But you should know that as your mother, I cannot help myself.) So even with the wonderful breakfast your daddy made for me and the amazing necklace (which I wear very frequently), all that crying you did really put a damper on the day.

This year is going to be a lot different—in ways both good and bad. The good? You are much older, and tend to do less crying. And when you do cry, we can usually fix it with snuggles or food. But the bad—I will not be spending the first two-thirds of the day with you. We are going to a wedding in another town, and you will be spending the night with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Russ. (Remember to wish Grandma a happy mother’s day!)

I can’t tell you how bummed I was when I realized that we’d be driving back to town on Mother’s Day. I was so looking forward to playing with you and spending some fun time together. I thought maybe we’d go to the park or go get frozen yogurt or something. I know you don’t really know that it is a special day, so we will just have to do those things some other time. But I’ll be wishing I was with you.

You are so very special to me. I’m so glad I am your mama. You are more fun than I ever could have imagined. I love your laugh and the way you bounce in your seat. I love tickling your chubby baby thighs and the way you tried to slip me the tongue when I kissed you. I’ve never laughed so hard. I even love the way you take partially chewed-up food out of your mouth and offer it to me. It’s very generous of you.

When you were still growing inside my belly, people would tell me that they couldn’t really describe what it was like to have a kid. You just had to experience it. And, well. They were right. How can you explain the way you love a person who has peed on your face (and his own), vomited in your hair, pooped in your arms, and screamed in your ear? Why do you love a person who breaks your heart when you have to leave him with someone else for a few hours, then turns around and breaks your heart again when you return and he doesn’t want to go to you? There’s simply no explaining it.

Milo, there is nothing you could ever do that would make me love you less. I hope you know that. Thanks for all your hugs and smooches. You’re amazing.

Love,
Mama

A few thoughts

• Milo’s birthday party is on Sunday, and I still have SO MUCH to do to get ready. Crossing my fingers that it will all come together in the end…
• I’m down another few pounds (!!!) and it seems my weight-loss plateau has finally come to an end. I’m now twelve pounds below my starting pregnancy weight and only five pounds from my goal.
• Milo has been sick again, and we’re all dragging in the Langford household. For whatever reason (teething, difficulty breathing, generally not-feeling-well), Milo has been waking up every day for the last week or so at 5am. Or earlier, if we’re lucky. And I am TIRED.
• I am no longer pumping at work. So nice not to be doing that anymore. And Milo is doing just fine (other than the aforementioned issues, that is).
• This morning Milo was in the bathroom with me while I, um, used the facilities. He opened the cabinet, pulled out a large box of pantyliners, and grabbed them by the fistful, surrounding himself with little piles of feminine hygiene items. Time for more babyproofing!
  
• As you know, today is St. Patrick’s Day and I would like a shamrock shake. Can someone please make that happen for me?

I hate making resolutions.

But this year, I actually have a couple of them. And in order to help keep me accountable, I will share them here with you.

1. In typical New-Year's-resolution fashion, I want to lose weight. (More weight, that is, on top of the 40 pounds I've already lost since Milo was born.) Twelve pounds, to be exact. This will get me back to my college/living-in-New-York/wedding weight. And I will be satisfied with this weight.
2. I want to decorate our bedroom. I absolutely hate it right now, and I have lots of ideas to decorate it. Unfortunately, these decorating plans of mine all cost money. But this is the year I no longer want to just live with the room I hate. I want to make it a place I love to be, rather than just a place I sleep in. I'm thinking navy, light gray, butter yellow, and crisp white...

Milo's First Stocking

1:15pm - Survey crafting area. Hmmm. Lots of baby stuff.

1:16pm - Much better.

Ready for The Stocking Slash Crafting Event 2010. But wait—something's missing...

1:18pm - Ambience. I'm missing ambience.

1:25pm - Uh oh, baby's awake and he's coming this wa1zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzRRRRRRTttg

1:26pm - Must move ambience. It is a choking hazard.

1:36pm - Daddy came for baby. Where was I? Oh, right. Stocking. Must gather supplies.

1:38pm - Begin tracing existing stocking. So far so good.

1:43pm - Tracing complete. Now where did I put that candy? I mean, ambience.

1:45pm - Size check. Looks just right for this little guy's first Christmas.

1:49pm - Milo back. Decide to not stop him from hitting the keyboard and instead grab camera.

1:50pm - Decide to not delete Milo's first typing. He is brilliant, no?

A!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~AQq ``````````````````````````````````````````````AWQQQQQQ W A `11111AXQAW

1:52pm - Pins: good idea or not? Will try pins.

2:17pm - Ack, the distractions! Finished nursing Milo. Time to get back to business.

2:18pm - Must move cat first.

2:20pm - Ready to cut!

2:22pm - Zadie watches. More cat sabotage in store?

2:26pm - Cat attacks! Why does she hate Christmas so?

2:31pm - Two pieces of felt, ready to become a stocking.

2:31:30 - Note the time. Wonder how come crafting takes so long.

2:40pm - Turn pieces inside out so red outline won't show.

2:41pm - Damn. It shows. Attempt to trim it off.

2:42pm - Give up. Decide red outline gives the stocking holiday ambience.

2:42:30pm - Speaking of ambience...

2:48pm - Gluing going well. Last time there was hot glue. This time tacky glue. People who craft, tell me: which is the better choice? Maybe the sewing-machine type of glue is really best. But I don't know how to use that kind.

2:56pm - Gluing complete. Taking a quick timeout to play with Milo.

7:30pm - Well. Back to work. Break was longer than expected.

7:31pm - Survey crafting area. Hmm. Lots of baby stuff.

7:32pm - Much better. Ready for The Stocking Slash Crafting Event 2010, Part 2. But wait—something's missing... Ambience.

7:35pm - Determine ribbon arrangement. Not a lot of options, really.

7:38pm - Cut ribbons. Prepare to glue.

7:54pm - Sigh. Ribbons not staying put.

8:02pm - Jeebus. Ribbons finally attached. Crossing fingers that they stay put.

8:09pm - Ribbons all falling off. Determine hot glue is the way to go for this type of project.

8:10pm - Ask self once again why I ever attempt crafty projects.

8:19pm - Begin tedious work of cutting out letters.

8:29pm - Ready to do some ironing and take this project to a whole new level.

8:33pm - Feeling lazy. Decide to let glue fully dry and finish this project tomorrow.

9:25pm TWO WEEKS LATER - Finished stocking, like, forever ago. Forgot to take any more photos. Please enjoy this slightly blurry photo of all three completed stockings.

Milo's First Halloween

Some friends of ours gave us a hand-me-down Halloween costume, a kangaroo. It was cute (quite cute, actually), but I had this image in mind that for Milo's first Halloween, I wanted to choose his costume and—heck—maybe even make it myself, like the crafty devil I am. So I tossed around costume ideas, and eventually settled on '80s aerobics instructor.

But as I looked for inspiration to dress up my little fitness guru, I noticed that '80s aerobics instructors are not particularly cute or cuddly. And what good is a baby in a Halloween costume that isn't cute or cuddly? So just a few days before Halloween, we went to a local kids consignment shop and bought a cute pumpkin costume. Bonus? It was also cuddly.

The day before Halloween, we dressed Milo up in the kangaroo costume for a little photo shoot. The weather was gorgeous, Milo was in a happy mood, and we got some super cute photos.

On Halloween, we attempted a photo shoot in the pumpkin, but Milo was less than happy to be participating. It was also really windy and cloudy. We're lucky Milo is so good-looking, or the photos would have been a real disaster.

On Halloween night, we tagged along with some friends of ours who have kids that are old enough to trick-or-treat. It was fun, but it will definitely be more enjoyable when Milo is old enough to participate. I think he had a good time, though. Watching people is one of his favorite things to do.