Halloween

Happy Halloween! Jack's school has some fun parties planned...and Katie is spending her first Halloween as a Jack-o-Lantern. Unfortunately, she is also sick. It is pretty stormy and rainy here in Portland, so who knows how trick-or-treating will go this time!

Videos & Pictures

A former co-worker/acquaintance has a blog, and in the sidebar he has a section to play video clips of movies. I though that would be neat to have on this blog. Our digital camera is able to capture video, and how cool would that be for everyone to actually SEE and hear Jack and Katie, rather than just still pictures. So I got the code all formatted in the template (don't ask me how) but it didn't work. The code I have is for a Windows Media Player, but the videos are in Quicktime. I have to figure it out. But for now, you can go to another site and see a video of Katie by clicking here! It is really dark because the light was so low... now that I know this can work, I'll take some video clips in better light.

You can also click here to see some pictures from Salt Lake City. Our visit to the Fitch Cemetary in Eureka, alpine sliding and tram riding at Snowbird, visiting Margo and Great-Grandma, and pictures with the cousins.

Catching Up

I used to see this license plate in the parking lot of Jack's preschool and I wanted it for myself:

IMSOL8

That is me in a nutshell!

Katie has changed soooo much even since I last posted about her. She was just starting to be able to sit up briefly on her own. Skip to now, and she's an old pro. She is now starting to lean forward and balance on her hands and knees. Then she lays flat on her tummy and kind of inches along like a worm towards whatever object she's trying to reach (usually a Lego, crayon or strand of dog hair - ick). Then she rolls over on her back with this crazy look like, "It's mine! All miiiiiine!!!" and starts to pop whatever she just grabbed into her mouth. By this point, so far, it's usually snatched away by whoever is watching this whole scenario. But we really need to remember that just because it's sitting 3 feet away from her, doesn't mean she won't figure out how to get it. And honest-to-goodness crawling is probably just days away.

Teeth! We have teeth! 2 of them on the bottom. The poor baby is so desperate for things to chew on. It's disturbed her sleep (and ours) a little bit, but she's really handling the whole thing with her usual cheerfulness.

Jack is really enjoying her more and more. He sings to her when she's in her highchair, rushes to comfort her if she seems distressed or feels lonely, and just chatters away to her about whatever is going on in his life. He even sat and fed her cereal this morning while I rushed around to get things ready to go. Yes, we were running late. Big surprise!

(picture is from daycare)

Feeling Behind!

I know there are at least 2 or 3 people out there who read this, so I'm sorry I have not kept more up-to-date! I have a whole bunch of new pictures to link to, including all the ones from our trip to Salt Lake City in September (why does that feel like so long ago?). I will definitely get that done this weekend at the latest.

My Grrrr! of the Week

Memo to HR and "Talent" departments:
When you decide to conduct a search for candidates to interview for positions, don't waste their time. Get yer darn budgets in order first!! Don't have them try to fake assorted doctor and dentist appointments, or sick kids, for the sake of your interview process, then in the end tell them you really want to hire them but suddenly you don't have the budget for the position! Huh?

I interviewed for a new job... great company, nice people, more $$$, and telecommuting possibilities! They contacted my references and it sounded to me like it was a sure thing. Then yesterday they called to tell me that I was the one they wanted to hire, but things had changed that afternoon and they were not able to hire anyone. I'm so disappointed. Now I have to backtrack and fill out the dumb "big brother" timekeeper here at work that I have purposely ignored for the past 3 weeks, thinking I'd be gone by the end of the month. Sigh.

Awesome Jack!

Jack is doing so great in Kindergarten! Not that we are surprised at all. Like most schools, they have all kinds of rewards and incentives for kids to be on their best behavior. Jack is just an amazingly kind, good-natured kid (even though there are plenty of 5-year-old "moments," with the fart and penis jokes, funny faces and silly noises. hee.). That's why, despite the expense, we like having him in the Catholic school where respect for self and others is really important. Their "theme" this year is "This is Holy Ground." Yesterday the school had an assembly and Jack was picked from Kindergarten to get a Principal's Award. He was nominated by Mrs. B, the assistant K teacher, for writing love notes to the teachers to cheer them up. He was so proud! I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall, though, since he can get pretty nervous when all eyes are on him. Then this morning, he showed me a box that he keeps in his cubby filled with little "good job" coupons. They hand out the coupons during the week and then Fridays they can use the coupons for a treat. He's got quite the stash going.

Last week he got really brave and decided he wanted to walk into school by himself. Usually I go in with him and help him unpack his backpack and put everything away. So I pulled into the carpool lane dropped him off at the door. Then I pulled over to the kindergarten room (which you can see from the parking lot) and watched for him to come into the room. He looked pretty confident, but that night he told me he was "shakey" and decided that he still wants me to come with him. I was relieved to still feel needed (but it WAS nice not having to get out of the car)! It's good that he's willing to take chances and try something new. Wish we could do that with food!

Oh, and he's officially 5-1/2 now! He wants everyone to know that!