Halloween is apparently a valued holiday in Homewood. The houses begin decorating as soon as school starts (well, they have to take down their apple wreaths first!) with spider webs, orange lights, and witches galore. Of course, my kids love it! We even added a wreath this year!
When we were "Booed" by some unknown neighbors (look it up if you don't know what that means - we did it on Blue Cedar in Charlotte and it's so fun!) - we knew the holiday was upon us. EH initially wanted to be a chef, but after his ZhiZhi got him some knight characters, it was officially changed to a knight. He needed a full body of shining armor and a princess to rescue (cue Kiki).
Since he didn't seem too committed we held off on crafting until Sunday (well, let's be honest, when have I ever done anything in advance?) when we knocked out a fairly decent knight costume - all for $12. Thankfully a neighbor had the "accessory kit" so we didn't have to make a sword, shield, or cape (with "sprinkles"....that's what EH calls sequins).
I finally caught EH's "I'm so happy right now, but I'm trying not to smile" face below. His dimples say it all. He happens to share this face with Big Edmund and Pop!
Kiki was ready to serve as the damsel in distress, but I figure she'll be a princess for many Halloweens to come and our cousin, Mary Hannah, hooked us up with a Carolina cheerleader dress last year that happens to fit perfectly this year! She even sent us some face tattoos to complete the ensemble! The Keeks loved her "up-do" and cheek tat and was ready to hit the streets trick-or-treating.
Our neighbors, Josh and Laura, joined us on our journey to the famous West Glenwood Avenue, a street that is the self-declared Halloween street! The street is blocked off and they host a community-wide Halloween festival where literally thousands come to trick-or-treat. Two of our friends from church live there and said they give out about 3,000 pieces of candy. They said neighbors begin dropping off bags of candy the week before Halloween - so we followed the casually-dropped instructions and left a few bags on their porches last week!
Here is Kiki with Josh - whom she thinks is the funniest person alive!
Check out the Wizard of Oz themed house (The Ponders). The parents, kids, grandparents, and cousins all dressed like the characters and they projected the movie on a screen in front of their house. They hosted a party on their new porch out back - so we considered ourselves VIP trick-or-treaters for being invited to a few "backyard events" this year!
Although EH understood the point of trick-or-treating, he would only go up to people's houses where he could see the person that was giving out candy. If he couldn't see their face, he wasn't going (like Mimi, he doesn't care for masks). He's such a cautious child. In short, we got candy from three houses. Edmund was disappointed with his loot upon arriving home - but we were both pleased with his common sense approach to the evening's activities!
A quick recap of the summer - Edmund is still loving his job. He's definitely becoming a "go-to" guy around the office and taking great pride in that. They are all anxiously awaiting the bank's decision of whether to renew their contract, take the business in-house, or go with a competitor. This decision will give us a little direction with regards to our housing situation, too. The owners of this house have been wonderful and are allowing us to go month-to-month beginning in January so we will officially be on the market for a house...or a job. We'll find out which one! Edmund is also serving on the Outreach committee at church now and coaching EH's soccer team. Pictures of that coming on Friday!
EH had a wonderful summer of finding his independence. He's officially potty trained (even at night!) and enjoys showing Caty Van how to do things for herself, like get dressed, open her sippy cup, and brush her teeth. He's learning how to sound out words, write his letters, and count. Of course, I'm biased, but he continues to have one of the most creative and elaborate imaginations and enjoys telling us stories and directing his own plays with his trains, pirate ship, and knights! Spiderman has become a new favorite hero, too. He's started going to the "The Atrium" (essentially Sunday School) on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and plays soccer on Thursdays. He's in school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and loves it! He was line leader the very first day - and has yearned for that role every day since!
Caty Van is continuing to exude high spirit and enthusiasm in everything she does. She is not in playschool this year - but is taking a music class with me on Wednesdays at church. She absolutely loves it! She sings the songs around the house and in the car and goes crazy when the instruments come out in class. We've made some new friends with girls her age. I have a feeling instruments and a cd player will end up on her Christmas list. She certainly shows her social skills, too, as she generally tries out several mom's laps, takes everyone an instrument or scarf and collects them at the end, and says, "Goodbye" to everyone when it's over. She LOVES shoes and is actually very skilled at wearing my heels and Edmund's flip flops. It's hilarious when we hear the clip clop of shoes coming down the hall! She's very impressed with "Edmuh" and gets so tickled when he helps her out and plays with her.
As for me - I'm still working hard at church with the Guild of the Christ Child, essentially a circle for mothers (mostly with young children). I've also begun taking Level 1 Catechesis training so I can "teach" in "The Atrium" at church. And, I'm leading the parents in Edmund's classroom in putting together the many celebrations throughout the year. A much busier job than I expected, but it's great to get to know his teachers so well - and the other moms!
We had a great trip to NC over the summer and look forward to visitors and traveling through the holidays. Since we've moved here a little over a year ago - we've seen family almost every 6 weeks - so I'm pretty sure EH still has no idea we live a time-zone away and not just down the street! We have been so blessed to have that support system in place!
Okay, Okay - I know you only check this thing for pictures of the kids - so here you go! Summer 2011:
EH and Grandaddy went fishing at "Jackson Lake" in Albemarle. (It's a lake that he and his friend stocked with fish so they could take their grandsons fishing. I like to call it cardio-fishing because they literally caught 13 fish in about 30 minutes! Just perfect for a 3-year-old!
Here is Caty Van in her favorite suit at Aunt Mary's house! She LOVES the water! Even if it's just brushing her teeth or taking a bath!
And, finally, EH in his swimsuit on the deck. He just loves being the oldest cousin!
Cheers and Happy November from Homewood,
Emily
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