A soggy trick-or-treat

It has been raining all day and promises to continue well past bedtime this evening, so we're going to have to resign ourselves to a soggy trick-or-treat. We have a large umbrella and plenty of Halloween spirit. We may not hit as many houses as planned, but Kellan will still get his trick-or-treat experience.

This child loves to trick-or-treat. It is all very new to him this year, but the idea of meeting lots of friendly people who give you free candy simply for saying "Tic-tee!" is simply fabulous. You should see those little legs go! Last night we were at a friend's home in a community that did Sunday trick-or-treat (I really don't know why, but it was good practise), and Kellan was unstoppable. The other kids had long since headed back to the house and he was still running up the sidewalk, turning in at each driveway, while I tried to keep up.

Two incidents of note: Beware the person who is handing out Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (Kellan's favourite). A woman apparently didn't give him enough in his bucket last night and he rushed her, lunging into the candy bowl with his big Elmo hands. She honestly didn't know what to do. At another house, Kellan decided that he was going to come in for a visit. He simply ran past the woman at the door and took off into the house. I caught up with him in their kitchen, where a very startled man was staring in bemused confusion.

Yes, tonight promises to be a fun one, umbrella and all.

Elmo

We attended a Halloween event this weekend and were able to test drive this year's Elmo costume. Kellan is the hit of his peers in this costume. The little bee is Carmen, one of Kel's buddies.

Mommy and Kellan

Here we are after our shower last night. And please forgive the brown appearance of my teeth in photo number two. I'm not sure what happened there. I don't even drink coffee or tea!

New Jammies

Grandma sent these lovely warm Dinosaur jammies for Kellan and he decided to do some modeling after his bath last night. They are too cute and he's snug as a bug now that the cool weather has arrived. They'll be our winter standards.

Train Trip

We had a lovely weekend. Lots of cycling, family time, and fun activities. The culmination of which was our Fun Shop train trip on Saturday afternoon. This was so much fun. The regular St Louis to Chicago train picked us up, but we had our own car. The conductor spent time with the children and punched souvenir tickets for them. And the kids had a fantastic trip on the train as far as Lincoln, IL, where Nic met us, we went for a malt, then drove home to Springfield. A delightful adventure.

[side note: a "stranger" took the photo of Kellan and I together, thus the bewildered expression on his face]

My big boy

Kellan had his most recent well baby visit yesterday. He is a big guy! 97% for height, 88% for head circumference, and 80% for weight. He's going to be tall and thin like his daddy. He also had his final immunizations and thankfully won't need anymore until he is in Kindergarten. We've been playing catch up since moving here from Britain, as all of the immunizations are different and needed to be repeated. He also had a flu shot. I know that there is debate on that one, but with his respiratory problems I feel that allowing him to contract the flu is a greater risk than the injection. Hopefully that was the right call. He had one last year as well with no adverse reaction.

What's in a name?

Just one week after Kellan actually started acknowledging my existence (verbally anyway), he has already changed my name. I am now "Ahma" and Nic has suddenly become "Addie". His favourite stuffed dog, Roger, previously "Puppo", is now "Oppo". I have no idea why he has decided to drop the first letter in these three names. He hasn't shortened any other words or names, just the three of us. And, yes, Roger ranks up there as a member of the family. What a silly boy!

Sleep? What's sleep?

Another comic from Ellen over at Dot Moms.

Do I feel like this every single day of my life? I'll let the bags under my eyes and total lack of brain power answer that one for you!

Our New Favourite Item

I absolutely must recommend this fantastic Regalo chair to any and all toddlers and their parents. We were completely fed up with Kellan's high chair commandeering most of our kitchen and Kellan was ready to eat at the table like a big boy. We have a plastic booster seat that we use for eating out (the typical strap onto a chair type), but it seems dreadfully uncomfortable and of course occupies one of our four kitchen chairs which is not terribly convenient. So we purchased one of these wonderful Regalo chairs and are incredibly happy with the result. Kellan sits at the table in a comfortable and safe chair which is stylish, compact, convenient, and very easy to use. He has even been eating his meals with a bit more gusto and independence. I can't imagine why we didn't do this earlier.

Can he be more adorable?

He said "Momma"!

Yesterday Kellan pulled a framed wedding photo off of Nic's night stand. I was making the bed when I suddenly heard, "Daddy, Momma. Daddy, Momma". He was looking at the photo and pointing to each of us in turn. AND HE WAS SAYING "MOMMA"!!! For those of you who don't know, he has been calling me "That" since he could first speak and he finds the game of not calling me "Momma" to be absolutely hilarious (see post). Previously, if I showed him my photo, he would laugh and exclaim, "Puppo!" (puppy). Yesterday I started taking him around the house to look at photos and he referred to me as "Momma" in every one. I love the way that it sounds. "Momma". It is so beautiful and sweet coming from his lips. A deep and full sound. A sound that I had not yet heard. I love it so much. Is it odd to say that it makes me feel even closer to him (if that is possible)? Over lunch today he pointed at Nic and said "Daddy", then at me and said "Momma", twice. He has yet to actually call me "Momma" personally, but it can't be far off now.

Lovely Autumn Day

My Little Oedipus

Having completed a child development major (alongside my geography major and American Indian studies minor) at San Diego State University, Kellan has decided to play havoc with my disdain for Freud and his theories by becoming a poster boy for the "Oedipus Complex". Nic and I are not permitted to touch or show affection towards each other. Any touching will be met with quick reprimands from our toddler son, plus an immediate demand for my full attention. This all began when Kellan was an infant and we were cuddling in bed one morning. He crawled in between us and made it clear that he was to be the centre of attention. We thought that it was cute at the time. And yet, many months later, we are wondering where to draw the line on this phase.

If Nic and I should attempt to hug or cuddle each other, Kellan immediately runs in between us, pushes us apart, and asks me to pick him up, thereby not only separating us, but also focusing all of my physical attention on himself.

If we kiss, same reaction. If I happen to be holding Kellan while giving Nic a kiss, Kellan will say, "No no", and if the kissing does not immediately desist, he will smack his father in the head. At this point he usually asks daddy for a kiss, a part of the display that we don't fully comprehend.

We were holding hands at the soccer match the other night. When Kellan spotted this, he ran over and said, "No", then grabbed Nic's hand away from mine. Nic took my hand again and Kellan pried it off, then crawled into my lap. Any further attempt at hand holding was met with resistance, removal of hand, and fussing.

And in bed now, if we attempt a family cuddle, Kellan will immediately decide that he needs to nurse that very second. He realises that asking to nurse means getting mommy's full attention and of course results in me turning my back to Nic.

Yes, Kellan's got things well figured out. And I'll just hang on to this stage of life for the later years when mom is "yucky" and touching dad is just "gross", rather than competition. When he's a teenager, I'll love regaling him (and his future girlfriends) with tales of his early Oedipal self.

Eating his first whole apple

At the Apple Barn