Boo!

Happy Halloween! We dressed Will up as a lion...well, actually a LIGER because of the stripes on his undergarments. Taking one for the team, my son agreed to wear tights to complete the effect of the costume. It was a good strategic move - we took him trick-or-treating around the block and Will scored some great candy for us. By the way, I just checked my camera, and I've taken 500 pictures (mostly of Will) for the month of October.

More Phall Phamily Phun Photos

Another gorgeous fall weekend...we took Will on a nature walk and carved a pumpkin. The boy is getting heavy - so we had to take turns carrying him.

Check out the pictures below...the first one was taken on Will's last day in the NICU when he was about 24 days old. The last picture was taken this weekend - look how small that pacifier looks now!

Jack

I love, love, love This American Life (the radio program). I love the drama, suspense, and comedy of the various stories and there is just something about Ira Glass's voice that is oddly comforting. The radio program broadcasts on our NPR station at 5pm on Sunday afternoons, which is inconvenient, but since I found their website with almost all their recent shows available for download - I am getting my fill of Ira and the gang several times a week.

I decided to format this week's post similar to the show with "each week we choose a theme, and bring you three or four stories on that theme". This past week's theme was JACK - which strangely enough - was the name Grandpa Casey thought Will should have.

Act I: JACK be Nimble, JACK be Quick. The Market to Market run was a success. Our team finished in a little over 13 hours. I thought 13 hours in a van would drag, but the day flew because we were in and out of the van every 10 minutes to get to an exchange point. I wasn't too sore after a grand total of 10 miles of running (including many more hills, something we are not used to in town) - surprising because I hadn't run that far since May 2007! It was a beautiful day and it was fun to be a part of the inaugural race - Will seemed to do okay without me for so long, although, I heard he missed me.

Act II: JACKpot. Last Thursday was the annual library book sale - an event I look forward to months in advance. All paperbacks 50 cents and hardbacks a buck...its a great way to expand my home library - and now Will's library - on the cheap. The greatest surprise was finding that my favorite children's book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (come on...you know that any books whose premise is that food falls from the sky would be my favorite), had a sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh.

Act III: Don't know JACK. Apparently, I don't know Jack about Site Design, because I failed my last exam! I really don't know how this happened because this was the only test I actually felt good about. So now I have to wait until next March to retake - so much for the goal of being registered this year. I was so depressed I binged on double chocolate brownies. MMMMMM - they almost made me feel better. Then I took a walk with my favorite baby and dog and put everything in perspective.

Act IV: AppleJACK. This past weekend was my work's annual retreat to Nebraska City - we were looking forward to taking Will for the first time. He had his first night a hotel (and had a lovely experience sucking in sewage gas coming up through the sink - thankfully, we switched rooms), first time in a swing by himself, and first experience at a bonfire. It was a gorgeous fall weekend.

Act V: JACK-o-lanterns. Will also had his first trip to a pumpkin patch yesterday...along with the usual entourage of mom, dad, Grandma, G-Squared and the Aged P. Since he's not quite sitting up yet, we had a little trouble getting the usual shot of "baby with pumpkins".

Happy Half-Birthday

Okay...I just put Will to bed for the second time (he has been sleeping HORRIBLY lately - up every 2-3 hours) and have a half hour until I need to wash bottles...time to update blog!

Will turned 6 months on Saturday - he celebrated by starting solids! He ate like a pro - well, a pro without teeth and without quite having the hang of closing his mouth once the cereal was in it. I cannot believe my little baby is that old...people told me time would fly - but I guess you never realize it until it happens. I barely remember this 5 lb 11 oz little guy.

All his troubles learning how to suck, swallow, and breath at the same time during his stay in the NICU are a distant memory - now, he's is holding his own bottles! He likes to take my glasses off and pull my hair. He is now 17 1/2 lbs and 27 1/2 inches long (both 51%-tile for normal 6 month olds - age corrected, Will is 4 1/2 months).

I am racing in the Market to Market run Saturday...it's a 86-mile road-race relay between Omaha and Lincoln. Needless to say I am a little nervous due to the fact its a little hard to train with a little one now...and its going to be the first time I'll be away from Will for longer than 7 hours. However, I am looking forward to seeing the beauty of a Nebraska autumn from a different perspective - at 7 miles per hour vs. 75 miles per hour.