sinkerbeam: kidstuff: October 2006

First Halloween

Evy got her first taste of Halloween tonight and we think she liked it. Well, at least she played along. She dressed up as a ladybug, complete with wings and antennae. And she kept her costume on from the start of trick-or-treating all the way until bedtime.

Normally we would be frightened by a 14 pound insect crawling around in our living room, but in this case it was pretty cute.

Then, she found the big bowl of candy. We didn't know ladybugs liked 100 Grand bars.

After enjoying some crunchy chocolate and soft, chewy caramel, we're not sure she'll ever go back to little jars of peas and sweet potatoes.

Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch

Evelyn took her first trip to Trax Farms today to pick out her pumpkin for Halloween. She had a few to choose from, and she climbed all over the pile to find the perfect one.

While she was there, Evy also had a chance to enjoy some of the other activities offered at the annual Fall Festival. She tried to drive the tractor around but could only reach the steering wheel and not the pedals.

Then, we got to see what she would look like as a pilgrim.

Until she pulled herself up on top of the cut-out and tried to bite it. We decided then that it was time to go. Overall we had a lot of fun, drank apple cider, picked out some nice pumpkins and took a few cute pictures. Sounds like the start of a family tradition.

Except for the biting.

Back To Basics

The Steelers finally got back on track with a win last week, and we think it was because of Evy's refresher course in football basics. Here's a recap of the the important skills she covered:

1. Stretching for the last yard to get to the goal line

2. Diving on a fumble (instead of trying to pick the ball up and run with it)

3. Becoming a media darling

4. Holding the ball for a field goal attempt

As for #4, if Jeff Reed actually tried to kick the ball we're pretty sure that Evy would pull it away at the last second (think Lucy as the holder for a Charlie Brown kick).

She's solid on the first three though.

Demolition

Evelyn really likes her blocks. Sometimes she likes to chew on them. Sometimes she likes to play with their storage case. But her favorite thing is to knock them down.

Maybe one day she'll build the towers and we'll get to do the demolition.

Climber

For her safety (and our sanity), we have already moved Evelyn's crib mattress to the lowest possible position. It didn't help.

She can still climb the slats and pull herself up. The problem is that she can't get back down.

It isn't just her crib, either. Evy will climb up anything or anyone within reach (the couch, her ExerSaucer, me), only to fall over when she realizes that she can't stand up on her own yet.

Until her balance is perfected, the safest thing to do would be to put her in a padded room. Or put us in one.