We've got CRABS!

Today we decided to spend some much needed family time together. The sun was shining so we grabbed our coast-going gear and took off for Newport where we purchased a crab pot and set off for an adventure!

Unfortunately, we'd forgotten several things....like Maeby's mittens so she had to wear mine.

Setting off to the pier under the Newport Bridge. Little did we know we'd also forgotten: twine, a knife, anything to sit on and snacks (although we'd had a big lunch at Mo's just before so we were ok)

We were fairly successful at getting crabs into our pot which fascinated Maeby who wouldn't get too close to them.

It was raining when we arrived but cleared up for much of the time we were there and turned out to be quite spectacular!

She really didn't like them. Although we did finally get her to briefly touch the back of one of the crabs we caught.

She mostly liked watching the Harbor Seals play (there were several) and kept talking to the Seagulls which she deemed "turkeys" no matter how much we tried to convince her otherwise.

So funny together.

Watching Papa tie on some bait.

After several hours of crabbing we headed to the "beach" since Maeby constantly reminded us we weren't really there because there was "no beach at this water" on the pier. She was so cold and tired by the time we got there, we looked at the ocean for about 2 minutes until she opted to go home and watch Dumbo.

It was a GRAND adventure!

Playing in Fall Leavse

We Take Away the Pacifier AND.....

Maeby forms a support group to help her get through the night.

She set this up entirely on her own and very quietly. We are curious as to what Eeyore did to have to sit up and face away from the rest of them. Is he in time out?

Choo-choo train! (or, in the common parlance, "trick or treat")

Here's how you don't want to start out your Halloween: you wake up to the sounds of your daughter, in her room, saying (with a good deal of alarm in her voice) "uh-oh . . . oh no . . . uh-oh . . . it's yuuuuuucky . . ."

You know the rest. It's all over the room. Rancid. Still warm.

Mae had . . . a rough Halloween, spending most of the morning pale as a ghost (get it?) and shivering, while continually, and adorably, apologizing for the mess her stomach made in her room.

So, of course, we cancel our evening plans, reassure and comfort her, and settle in for a day at home, with j-ello and pedialyte substituting for the usual candied apples and cheap chocolate confections.

Then, of course, she spends the afternoon bouncing off the walls and asking when it's time to put on her "Cinderella dress" (which is what she calls her costume, pictured below.)

In the end, we wound up taking her out for just a few minutes so she could experience trick-or-treating as a 2-year-old, a ritual she didn't really understand but which she got the knack of just as we decided it was time to take our pale little ghost home.

Her "Cinderella dress"

Yeah - we don't get it either. Whatever gets her excited to wear it though, am I right?

She was going to be Princess Leia again, but for some reason expressed primal horror every time the costume was presented to her for inspection. So, I picked this up on sale at the OSU bookstore.

The same kid who puked up an entire town's population worth of food just a few hours earlier:

Hopping like a frog:

She didn't really "get" the whole trick-or-treat thing, and didn't really say that unique password (the only time she tried it came out as "choo-choo train!") or even "thank you." She did ask a few people how they were doing, but mostly she liked ringing the doorbells ("I push a button!") and, of course, taking candy, even though she looked baffled as to why people would just give such a valued treasure away.

This guy offered to give her some of his decorations that she was admiring.

She's a charmer, that's for sure.

In all, the evening turned out all right, even though all three of us were feeling south of lousy.

Of course, we probably exposed a good number of citizens to whatever bug caused her to paint her nursery green, but if Halloween isn't about spreading horror around, then what the heck is it for?

Mae and Isaac

Maeby and Isaac are the best of friends. Here are some recent pics:

They had to go "work on" the tree together. It mostly consisted of them hitting it with their sticks, and then standing back and critiquing each other.

Picking berries

The best part about this is right after the picture was taken, when Isaac jumped off the table, declared that he was going to find dinner for her, and then went in search of game in the grass with his stick-rifle

Watching Woody and Buzz together (they kept holding hands during the tense parts)

Sharing cake at her birthday party

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch with Maeby's cousins in Salem:

Maeby's Birthday Party

We had an awesome birthday party for Maeby. She had a great time with her Toy Story themed party and loads of friends!

Thanks again to all of our friends & family who came and played with us!