St. Sidell visit, weekend #1

My brother, Greg, his wife, Amy and their two boys, Nicholas and Timothy arrived from Maine late last week. So Dave, the girls and I took a ride down to my folks' in Buckley to get in some quality time with the fam.

Zoe, having seen LOTS of pix of the boys - with and without her - felt an immediate ease with her kin. She LOVED hanging out with her cousins and was especially smitten with Nick.

Here's the photo-enhanced blow-by-blow of the weekend:


Getting re-acquainted


Families that eat together...


Honoring a Sidell tradition



Story time with Nana

Saturday, we took a trip to a near-by indoor, blow-up playground. It was actually a lot of fun and Zoe knew just what to do to make sure everyone was a part of it:


Nana's turn


"I can do this all by myself" (yes, she really said that)


Nick's turn


Nick & Tim's turn


Pepere's turn...

And yes, mom took a turn, too:



Amy and the boys; elated Timmy


Zoe, er, Mom, just HAD to try the jumpy house!


Taking a "moment". hehe :)


Pre-nap story time with Dad and Tim


Art lessons from Uncle Chris


Peek-a-boo Auntie Erin!


Tim at the spoon. Maggie: "Uh, do you have a license for this??"


Back o' the head shot with the uncles (good thing there's another weekend to take pix!)


Story time with Uncle Greg


(She actually found Waldo, and the dog, and the wizard - a few times! My detail-oriented girl!)


Aw. The sweet, quiet solitude of not-yet-parentals ;)


Zoe displaying sophisticated interaction with a male: feigning interest in a lecture on the inner-workings of cars and trucks. Did I mention she LOVES her big cousin, Nick? ;)

We had a great time and Zoe can't wait to see everyone again at her house this weekend.

More on that, later...

Around and about

Maggie has been sitting beautifully for months now (that trick made its debut in July):


She's now realizing that with a simple scootch, push or pull, she can get around the room.



No more sidelines for Maggie - she's getting in on the action!



Oscar's response to this new development? Run for cover!!


(Look real closely, just below the TV)

Sisters

Totally unsolicited:



I think we should consider ourselves unbelievably lucky.

Trick or Treat

Zoe is coming into an age that makes certain occasions lots of fun. It was really something to explain to her first the idea of dressing up (she liked the butterfly costume I came up with and endorsed the moo-cow plan for Maggie), then the idea of going around asking for - and receiving! - candy.

In her typical fashion, she was a little reluctant to put on the costume but was won over by the purple suit and wings. Even more reluctant about going out and seeing people in the costume (my girl), she was won over by the reminder that she'd be rewarded in candy (again, my girl).

So, in the end, she (with Maggie in tow) really made good of all the holiday had to offer:



First, a trip to the Shoreline indoor playground Halloween kid-fest on Friday.


The party is that-a-way


Maggie, overseeing and hanging around, the action

Side note: Why a cow? The girls' daycare folks are Greek and use "moo" as a term of endearment. Maggie-moo has stuck as the poor girl's nickname. She'll forgive us, right? At least it made for a really cute costume!


Obliging mom post-kid-bash, pre-lunch

After the playground, we headed over to my office to meet up with my work folk for my boss's annual "make them dress up and take them out to lunch" lunch. Our office has added a few kiddos to the crew since we all started working together six years ago and Zoe and Maggie had a great time watching the other baby. Sorry, no pix. Have YOU been out to lunch at a restaurant with two kids lately? I was just thrilled to actually eat!

Yesterday, the official holiday, Zoe wore her 'butterfly' to the stores while we ran our Saturday errands. Little did she know that we'd be headed back to Central Market later in the evening to attend another party.

Another side note: just about every weekend, Zoe and Maggie come with me to do the grocery shopping. It's actually a big outing since we first hit Central Market for all the produce, meat, fish and oddities on our list. Central Market, for those of you not in the know, is quite the place and Zoe has come to love pushing around the mini carts and meeting up with "Cooking Man" - the "chef" who never fails to offer fun little tasters and treats to the shopping crowds. Over the past year, Zoe and Cooking Man have developed a bittersweet relationship - he thinks she's sweet and cute and she rewards that sentiment with a blank, cold stare. The girl has yet to warm up to this guy when face to face but loves to talk about him as soon as she thinks he can't see or hear her! I think it's because he talks to her...

Anyhoo, Cooking Man and all his Central Market co-workers were quite decked out; he went as a can of Spam. Apparently the giant box-like costume hanging from his shoulders made him unrecognizable because she actually cracked a smile for him! The store itself was plenty decked out, as well, with massive blow-up jumping rooms and slides, "icky-touch" stations, a hayride and sundry other activities for everyone from tot to teen. It's a great outing for those of us with little kids and little energy.


In awe of the noisy strong man mallet challenge thingy

Zoe made a killing being a cute, mute, little butterfly. She did offer this one gem as we left, though: "creepy man gave me candy!" Oh what the holidays teach our children...


This guy nearly blew the whole evening for us ;)


Maggie, sill life with pumpkins

After the evening jaunt to the market, we hit a couple of friendly neighbor houses, lest Zoe miss out on the real Halloween experience of knocking on doors and begging for goodies. I'm proud to report that at the third and last house, after the indoor playground party, my office party, and the market party, she finally said "Trick or Treat". Good job, bug. I thought we'd have to wait until next year!