Halloween at the Neilsens

Halloween is not a terrifically huge holiday around our household. We hang a few decorations, buy a bag of candy, and generally have a costume for the little person of the house. But, after trick-or-treating this evening, I can see that Halloweens are going to become more and more fun the older our kiddos get.

Here are some photos of pumpkin preparation from this past weekend and today's events.

Wesley spent a little while rolling the pumpkin around on the kitchen floor... pumpkin weight training, so to speak.

Mommy thought it would be a good idea to draw a face before we jumped into carving... but Wesley decided that coloring was an even better idea than carving.

And really... could you argue with that face?

Here is Wesley the spider at his holiday party at daycare earlier today (a fellow parent is admiring his googly eyes).

Wesley on stage getting ready to tell the audience what he was dressed as... "a 'pider."

Stopping at "Mr. Jared's" house... we made this our first and last stop for trick-or-treating. I think about a quarter of all of Wes' candy came from Jared and Renee. They're very generous with the Wesley Spider (and note the yellow W on his back. It's the official marking of a Wesley spider).

Deciding which of the loot he wanted!

Wesley's big thing this Halloween. After about ten or so houses, he decided that he knew the ropes. As we would approach the foot of the drive-away he would turn to me (who had accompanied him to the doorway of the houses) and say "Mommy, stay back" (with a hand gesture if necessary). Apparently two years and nine months is old enough to go to the door of strangers and solicit candy all by himself... thank you very much.

Back at home, in our PJs, enjoying a piece of the loot with Mommy.

And lest you forget... baby Neilsen 2.0 is on the way as evidenced by the shirt I wore yesterday. Here I am at 27 weeks....

And look! It's actually me and not just a random pregnant belly!

 

Wesley helps Mommy decide on the face of the pumpkin... of course he then decided that coloring the pumpkin was more fun than this random idea of "carving." So... we have a fully intact but black markered pumpkin on our porch!

And here is one of Wesley trick-or-treating in action.

I can't BELIEVE it!

Here I am... back from the "other world" of non-blogging. I have no idea if I'll be able to keep this up with Robin Hood starting (I'm directing) and baby #2 due at the end of January (just before Wesley's third birthday). But... I look back on this blog fondly and frequently refer back to it for crucial pieces of information on Wesley's life as a baby. I want to be able to do that for more of his life and for this next one. So... here we go.
Pictures from the last few weeks...

Wesley was "making me lunch" one morning before school... future culinary artist like his daddy? Perhaps! 

 

 Wesley insisted one day on wearing "his" headband (one of mine that he found in a bathroom drawer) to school. He apparently wore it all morning, through naptime, and only had to take it off when he started drawing in his snack with it. The dogs are gratuitous in this shot but cute!

 

 Wesley was a two-fisted candy eater at the ASU Homecoming Parade.

 

 Wesley decided he needed to wear a kitchen towel as a head scarf so that he too could be a pirate... the shorts over the pants were his teacher's way of keeping the loaner pants he was wearing on (the shorts are his). It worked... and he didn't seem to mind the insult to his style at all as he kept both shorts and pants on until bathtime.

 

 This was just today at the park... a groupe of kids that were there before we got there made a huge leaf pile and then abandoned it when they left... Wesley and two little girls who were also there made sure it didn't go to waste! Look at that smile!

 

 Throwing leaves!

 

 This was this evening... back at the park. He was pretending he was "stuck" and calling for Mommy and Daddy to come save him.

 

 "Peek-a-boo!"

 Wesley, Daddy, and the doggies (Tater is behind Reid) on the "River Walk."

 

Wesley walking in Cole Park.

Some of my favorite things that Wesley is saying/doing right now...
The other morning, he requested that rather than going to school he wanted to go to outer space. We got in our "rocket" (the car) and he counted down from five to zero (with a bit of help from Mommy... going backwards with his numbers is tricky!) and then yelled "Blast-off!" As we drove he would periodically call out "Outer space, where are you?" He was not terribly pleased when outer space turned out to, indeed, be the parking lot of his daycare.

He will run ahead of me and then turn back and say, "Wait for me, mommy."

He will hold up a finger and exclaim, "I have an idea."

He will stop, cock his head, and say "Hey. I hear subing." It could be a dog barking, a car, a bird, etc... apparently his hearing is a-okay.

He frequently narrates his emotional state, telling us "No. I not (whatever it is we're asking). I mad."

He LOVES to put coins in his piggy bank and will ask his father on a regular basis for coins. He has, on more than one occasion, brought me my purse to go searching for coins in my wallet as well.

Alright... I think that's enough for now. I don't want to overdo it after all!