Happy Halloween.

Noah was up too late last night partying at the primary's trunk-or-treat AND he had no nap today...
(Yes, these are the same costumes as last year but the boys wanted it that way. promise.)

It's a race, of course.

I arrived at Calvin's school yesterday morning just ahead of the bus. Seeing this, Calvin immediately demanded that I hurry and unbuckle him. Once freed, and with no goodbyes, he set off on a very brisk walk to the sidewalk.

I noticed him take a sideways glance at the three children getting off the bus, then all of a sudden he bolted into a sprint. He wasn't the only one. Right behind him was a cute little girl with pink bows and dark curls running faster than I would have guessed possible. As she started to catch up, my polite little boy stiff-armed her and upped his speed even more.

Noah, apparently watching as well, started calling from the window, "Go, Calvin, go!!" The sweet nun who was supposed to accompany them didn't even bother calling out, as they were too far ahead. Calvin managed to reach the door first and, with a single fist-pump, walked inside. I couldn't figure out what I had missed that started this.

When I picked Calvin up from school later that day, I asked him what happened this morning. His only reply, "I beat Emma".

to remember:

(pen just stopped writing)
Noah: Mom, this pen just ran out of crayon gas.

(after a soccer game to a girl on the opposing team)
Calvin: Hi. We dominated you.
Me: Calvin, you shouldn't say that.
Calvin: But mom, we dominated her off.

(yelling to a passing car while riding his bike)
Calvin: Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!
-Driver then stops, rolls down window-
Calvin: Excuse me, please don't crush me.

(in the car, out running errands)
Calvin: Mom, do you not know many things?
Me: Well, I know some things.
Calvn: Ok, good. Tell me them, I need to know everything you know.

(another backseat conversation overheard)
Calvin: I have a great idea, Noah. You can be my padawan. I'll be your master.
Noah: Ok, Calvin.
Calvin: No, no. You say "ok. MASTER"
Noah: Ok, Master.
Calvin: Good job, padawan.

Knoebles with the Stews'

Our good friends, the Stewarts, came to visit for the weekend. They have three boys as well, so needless to say, it was non-stop playtime for our little guys.

(safety first)

We visited Knoebles, the local amusement park. Thanks to their incredibly lax safety rules, all of the boys- even the two year old- were allowed to drive the go-carts and go on pretty much any ride they wanted... heaven for thrill-seeking little boys.

A big month for little Malcolm:

crawling.

teething (x2).

eating.

Little one, please slow down.

ps- yes, occasionally we clothe the poor child.

A little sensitive...

While it's true, little boys are mainly made up of snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails; there is also a very sweet, sensitive side to them... that seems to come out mainly when daddy isn't around:

Today I made the mistake of letting Calvin watch Charlotte's Web. As the movie ended, he came up from the basement sobbing. Alarmed at first, all I could make out in between tears was something about his "heart hurting". Eventually, he was able to explain that Charlotte died, and it just "hurt his heart so much", it took him-seriously- twenty minutes and a chocolate brownie to get over it... please, no one mention this movie around him.



Little Noah is a sweet mix of sensitivity and stubbornness. He adores Malcolm, and cannot bear to see him crying. Yesterday, I pulled up to a friend's house to drop him off for a playdate, which he'd been excited about all day. Malcolm was crying in the car, and I had planned to just leave him there while I quickly ran Noah to the door. Noah threw an absolute fit. He dropped to the ground and refused to go near his friend's house until I picked up Malcolm and got him to stop crying. Seeing that his little brother was happy once again, he quickly waved goodbye and sprinted away.

DAY of school

As you may be able to tell from the lighting here, Calvin awoke bright and very early for the first day of kindergarten (Daddy was still home to take the picture).

I woke him up the following morning, saying it was time for school. With a confused look on his face, he asked, "Again?"