Halloween 2010 - Max and Ruby (and 80's Dan and Alicia)

This Halloween, Charlotte and Peter dressed up as Max and Ruby from the Canadian TV show and books. They (well, Charlie) have been looking forward to it and talking about it for months.

Max and Ruby.

"Cheese!" Okay, "Carrots!"

Peter, aka Max, for 1 of the approximately 7 seconds (cumulative) that he allowed those ears to be on his head.

The Max and Ruby Express on its way to go trick or treating.

Ruby is seriously contemplating her Trick or Treating strategy. Max is just worried.

Stringers Halloween 2010. Niki and I are dressed as our neighbors Dan and Alicia, circa 1980's.

Dan and Alicia, 1980's Dan, 1980's Alicia, Max, and Ruby . . . Looks like 1980's Alicia and Alicia already are on a sugar high . . .

Vet appointment

Peter tagged along while I took Connie to an appointment at the vet.  We were concerned that her normally TERRIBLE breath had become ridiculously worse in the past few weeks, plus she was due for some shots.  I put Peter in his sweater that has little golden retrievers embroidered on it (thank you, Great Uncle Dave, Great Aunt Lisa, and cousin Ellie!) for the occasion.  Petey charmed everyone there, of course.  He also decided it was time for a dance party in the exam room.

Oh yeah - Connie was there too.  She just had a little gingivitis and some aging eyes (nothing unusual for a dog her age), but otherwise she passed with flying colors.  The vet was super impressed that Connie could still run crazy fast and still had so much energy.  [Don't worry, Mom -- I washed Petey's hands many many times during and after the appointment.  It's just tough to keep the little guy off the floor nowadays!]

Snip snip

NanaB just sent some shots she took of Peter's first haircut.  Unfortunately, he looks kind of like a zombie in all of them -- probably because he was totally overwhelmed and confused about what was going on.  He actually cooperated very well for the first two-thirds of it.  After that, he screamed like a stuck pig and I held his head in a two-handed vise grip while the stylist frantically tried to finish.  I like how I got to wear a smock as well.  I still ended up with a ton of hair on my arms, but it was better than all over my clothes.

My little boy looks so neat and clean now!  It definitely made him look older.  Another milestone reached...

Two quick things

1.  Why am I spending time arguing with Charlotte about whether Pacey the cat is a boy and Connie the dog is a girl?  She's pretty convinced that the opposite is true, and I'm starting to wonder why I'm bothering to correct her considering both have been neutered/spayed.

2.  One of Charlotte's assistant teachers told me that Charlotte was the last to leave the table at the Halloween party at school today.  Then she said something like, "I have a feeling that she's always going to be the last one leaving the party!"  I just giggled, but now I'm wondering exactly what she meant by that.

These are the deep issues I ponder nowadays.  I think I need to start paying more attention to world politics or something.

The spaghetti apocalypse

The real apocalypse was on the floor, but I didn't get a picture of that.

He knew he had bested me.  Here he is, declaring victory over my broken spirit.

Scenes from a fun weekend with NanaB & GrandDad

Cheering the Michigan State Spartans on to victory:

At Lucky Ladd Farms:

Giggling at the ducks:

Posing as a cow:

Driving his first tractor:

Measuring up:

At our favorite little park:

Carving pumpkins:

Had to get this shot quickly before tornado warning sirens went off due to a wild storm:

GrandDad and his Mini Me:

After his first professional haircut:

And finally, after a particularly yummy chocolate ice cream cone:

We had a great weekend, NanaB and GrandDad!  See you at Thanksgiving!

Dressing up like Mommy

I'm not saying I wear a baseball cap and tennis shoes every day to take Charlie Jo to school, but let's just say her teachers aren't really sure if I shower more than once a week.  Here is Charlie, modeling Mommy's regular fashion statement (I wear the hat on forward, though).

GET OFF OF THERE, YOU LITTLE TWERP!

Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised about this.  As you may recall, Charlotte shared the same tendencies, had a lot to say about how to load a dishwasher, and pulled the same trick at Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike's house when she was just about the same age.

Brushing Daddy's Teeth

Every night, we ask Charlotte to brush her own teeth. When she's done brushing, then we "check" her teeth. "Check," as used herein, is defined as "continue to brush."

Charlotte, however, now insists that she get to check my teeth after I brush.


If I do not open my mouth wide enough, then she shows me how.


After she's done checking my teeth, she always tells me I did a good job.

Magnum P.I. is on the case!

A post by Peter, aka Peter Knievel

Woo hoo!  Mom and Dad took me and Charlie Jo to the park after dinner tonight!!  This was the first time I ever climbed up the stairs all by myself.  I'm such a little daredevil.

Check out this HUGE slide!  I'm totally going to conquer it!

(With Daddy's help, of course...)

Zoinks -- that wasn't everything I hoped and dreamed.  Kind of disturbing, actually.

Meanwhile, my looney sister is careening down all sorts of crazy slides.  How does she DO that?

Mom and Dad had the bright idea to have Charlie Jo slide down with me.  I think they hoped some of her sliding prowess would rub off on me.  I knew it was a bogus idea from the start, though.

Yup - just as I suspected.  The ride ended with my legs tangled under CJ's legs.  SO not cool.

But THEN, Mom had a brain flash and taught me to go down backward on my tummy.  I went down over and over and over and over again.  All Daddy had to do was put me back up on the platform and I turned myself around and pushed myself back down without any help from the 'rents.  I must have done it 25 times.  (Somebody remind Mommy to put me in a onesie next time so my bare tummy doesn't stick each time when my shirt rides up as I hurtle down the slide.)

Afterward, I needed a little swing time with my favorite gals.  Even a daredevil such as myself needs some rest and relaxation to end the day.

I fell asleep before I even finished my evening bottle.  Death-defying stunts are hard work for a 10-month-old!