On the last night of Halloween, my true love gave to me

Well, our week-long celebration of this sugar-laden holiday is over. We had a great time last night. Delia and David trick-or-treated a few houses in our neighborhood, then we all went to make the rounds in our friend Nathan's neighborhood with his family. And boy, did we make the rounds. The kids were on a mission. There was no dilly dallying around. They ran to the doors, got their candy, ran back to their vehicles and headed to the next destination. It was hilarious and strange.



On Halloween morning, Delia helped Daddy get ready for work before heading to school for her Halloween party. Here's David as Clark Kent.






During trick-or-treat last night, Delia shared a wagon with Nathan's friend, Cameron. She didn't learn his name, though, and just called him "dragon" all night, as in, "Let's go dragon. Time to get back in the wagon!"





Begging for treats at strangers' doors seemed to come naturally to our little penguin. She even tried to enter a few homes.




Delia made this spider hat at school and wore it this morning as she poured over her loot. This reminded me of the nights my brother and I would sort through our candy together. I remember that we traded pieces in an amicable manner. Do you remember it that way, Jason?



The candy thing is brand new to Delia. As she planned out what she would eat first, she held up a Twix bar and said, "Is this a granola bar?" I wish. This kid is overtired and oversugared today. Not a nice combination.




Annabelle slept through most of her first Halloween and woke up much happier this morning than her sister.

Brrr!

The cold weather has turned up here just in time for Halloween. (Stop laughing, Yankee relatives!)

We went to a friend's fall-themed birthday party this weekend, where Delia snuggled up to a scarecrow.




On Sunday, Delia and Daddy went to look for her first jack-'o-lantern.























Yesterday we went to a Halloween party where Delia loaded up on sugar and tested out her penguin costume for the first time. Poor Annabelle didn't get any sweets, but she did get a good nap.

Drama queen

Delia did not nap well today. When she woke up from a very brief snooze, she was crying, a sure sign that she did not get enough sleep. Crying made her nose run. Her runny nose made her upset, so she cried more. And on, and on.

Twenty minutes after she woke up, she was still crying off and on and sniffling. I tried to distract her by sending her on an errand to her room.

A few minutes later, I heard renewed hysterics and went to check on her. She was standing in front of her mirror, watching herself cry.

This is not a new thing. That girl in the mirror makes Delia miserable. If she catches a glimpse of herself, she immediately starts pouting.

I swear, Delia can make herself cry just by looking at her own reflection.



Some coloring finally helped Delia get over herself.





Meanwhile, Annabelle stayed chill.

Lovely ladies

A little post nap snuggling




My babies with their babies

While Delia naps...

...Annabelle and I try once again to capture a smile for the blog. Here are our efforts:




"Not only will I not smile, I will give you my sternest look, silly woman."





"Get that camera out of my face, or I will stick my tongue out at you."






"Okay, fine, here's my smile. The flash is sure to wash it out anyway if you hold the camera that close to me."

Beat down on aisle three

Well, this is what I get for bragging.

We moved Annabelle to her crib last night. She did not approve, and she did not sleep. She did not sleep this morning, either, despite many attempts to help her nap. Finally, I gave up and loaded the girls into the car to go grocery shopping.

In aisle three at Publix, a woman stopped me to mention how much she missed this time in her children's lives, how wonderful it is. Annabelle was screaming in the Baby Bjorn. Delia was dropping crackers all over the floor. I tried to smile politely, but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace. She meant well. I know she is right, but it was hard to hear it today.

We did have a great weekend, though, visiting family in Atlanta.



Delia was so excited to see her cousin Marysa.



Grandpappy read Delia a cute Halloween book.



Aunt Susan knows how to have a good time: building a castle with blocks.







Aunt Susan made Annabelle a beautiful blanket and matching hat. It might actually be cold enough for her to wear that hat soon. I actually turned the heat on last night.




Delia conducted an orchestra at Grandma and Grandpa's house.










We introduced Annabelle to Memommie.

Hallelujah!

Guess who slept through the night last night for the first time?

What will we see today?

Delia is on a mission to find interesting things outside her car window. There is a giant spider on someone's lawn up the street. A car dealership down the road has an enormous blue monkey in its parking lot. She is still asking about a huge peach we saw on our way to Florida in March. We often discuss these wonders during our daily travels.

Yesterday, we saw some scarecrows at Aldridge Gardens. Delia was pretty excited about that, but she still wanted to see that blue ape on the way home.




Meanwhile, Annabelle is starting to enjoy the mobile over her crib. Those little animals are fascinating. They go around and around and around...

"If you're happy and you know it, crap your hands"

This is what Delia has been singing in the car lately. I've inserted her pronunciation for your enjoyment.

Annabelle has been happy and she knows it. We're getting more smiles lately, although I have yet to capture a good one in a picture. She had her two-month appointment this week, and now weighs in at 14 lbs. 1 oz. She is 22 1/2 inches long. That puts her in the 97th percentile for weight and 95th for length. We grow big babies over here!

A moment to look toward the future

This weekend we had a naming ceremony for Annabelle and Delia at the synagogue. It was short and sweet. The rabbi said a blessing for the girls and gave them their Hebrew names: Devorah for Delia and Chana for Annabelle. Devorah, Hebrew for Deborah, was the prophetess and judge who led the revolt against the Canaanite king in the Bible. Chana means gracious or merciful.

In introducing these names, Rabbi Miller expressed a hope that each of our daughters will share the qualities of strength and grace implied by the names we chose for them.

He also asked us to say something about our hopes and dreams for our children. We came up with the following: (David read the bolded parts and I read the others.)


We spend a lot of time thinking about sleep schedules, potty training, dirty diapers, feedings, missing toys, misplaced pacifiers, and toddler diplomacy. But as we thought about this ceremony – and the names our girls will carry with them for the rest of their lives – we talked about some of the values and rewards we wish for them, beyond the smaller goals that now consume our days and nights. They are:

Curiosity

Patience

Laughter

The love of those around them

The strength to be who they are and not who others want them to be

An appreciation of language and books

The courage to pursue their dreams

Sound judgment

Lack of interest in revealing clothes, unusual body piercings and tattoos

Reason

Love for themselves, others and the earth

The path of fairness and justice

A purist's sense for baseball with disdain for domed stadiums, artificial turf, steroids and the designated hitter

Compassion and tolerance

A lifelong pursuit of truth

Wisdom

A love of newspapers and National Public Radio

Spirituality

Good health and happiness

Discernment

And when it comes to boys - 20 or 25 years from now - a strong right hook





These pictures came out really dark, but you get the idea...

Pumpkin time, again

It's hard to believe it's been a year since our last trip to the pumpkin patch. (Take a look at how small we were back then.)


We had a great time today.




We love our Daddy.




And Mommy is okay, too.




The hayride was a big hit.




Delia tried out a lot of pumpkins before settling on a little one she could carry herself.








We tried (and failed) to take a group shot of the kids.





We played for awhile in the hay maze while we waited for the hayride.







It takes a village to get a smile. Thanks, everyone, for amusing Delia while I snapped this photo.




And thank you, Annabelle, for making it so easy to keep up with our pals.





We had a picnic in the grass before going home.





Mary Catherine found some giant produce during our picnic.






Annabelle slept on the way up and back, but Mary Catherine and Delia were wide awake this year. There was a fair share of the two-year-old version of "She's touching me!" on the way there, but the girls played pretty well together on the ride home.