Christmas 2006 - Susanville and Skiing in Tahoe

For Christmas 2006, we packed up the car and the family and headed north to Susanville. We left on December 22, 2006 BAE – 4:30am. For most people, the drive is 11 hours. With the boys, it usually runs us about 13 hours. And we were right on the mark this time. We arrived at the Roseberry House at 5:30pm – exactly 13 hours after our 4:30am departure.

Our Navigation System Did Not Like Us Going 395 North – It Kept Telling Us to U-Turn

Beautiful Drive...

Our Packed Car (Not to Mention the Rocket Box and Ski Rack on Top)

Arriving at the Roseberry House

Christmas was as festive and wonderful as ever. We had a lot of fun with my parents and my sister (Nana, the Grampster and Auntie Karin). We played in the snow, we made a gingerbread house, we took family photos in front of the tree, everyone opened presents, cinnamon rolls were enjoyed by all, it was grand.

Noah's Ponytail Still Has a Ways to Go to Catch Grampster

Andrew Likes Snow

Can You Say Snowball Fight!

Remember How Andrew Threw a Pinecone Left Handed on Mt. San Jacinto (April 2006) – Well, Here Comes a Snowball (It Nailed the Camera)

Andrew and His Gingerbread House - Evan and Robin Assembled it - Not so Well, But Andrew Decorated!

Andrew and Noah in Christmas Outfits - They're Excited!

Our Family and Rudolph

The Sorem Family

Evan and the Beard (Very Red)!

Open Like This (Nana's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls)

Nana and Her New Roomba – Clean Floors!

The Boys and Toys

Since we are Sorems, every year something goes missing. I can never remember whether it is found or not, but, trust me, something always goes missing. Below are pictures from 2005 Christmas (something missing) and 2006 Christmas (something missing). Bottoms up!

2005

2006

After Christmas, Nana & Grampster graciously agreed to watch over Noah in Susanville while we took Andrew up to Tahoe to ski! We spent two days at Northstar. We learned that we needed some gear (edgie wedgie and racer chaser) in order to help Andrew learn to ski. The two times we have taken him this ski season are a vast improvement over this trip, but it was nice to get him up there to the slopes and he had a lot of fun.

Andrew All Dressed and Ready to Ski

Robin Stopping for a Picture on the Slopes

Evan Stopping for a Picture (Down to a Goatee)

Robin and Andrew Heading Up the Gondola (Andrew's
Favorite Part)

Evan Working With Andrew on The Bunny Slopes (He Liked Going Straight Down (No Snowplow (Pizza), But He Did Not Like to Splat)

We are making some progress on the catch up blogs here. I think I am down to a backlog of between ten and twelve entries. Someday I will catch up. And then fall behind again. And then catch up. A pattern perhaps. Merry Christmas 2006 in March 2008.

Noah at Two and His First Haircut

Noah Sorem on His 2nd Birthday!

Since we continue to be way behind, what better time than to post on Noah’s 2nd birthday celebration. He turned two on February 21, 2007. We opened some presents at home on his birthday and then had a fun little party at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. The “Train Museum” is absolutely one of the kids favorites! Extra special for Noah was Nana and Auntie Karin’s trip down to join in the fun.

Noah and Andrew Excited about the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Noah Really Wanted to Hug Andrew, So He Tackled Him

Singing "Rock-a-Bye Baby", Not "Rock-an-Eye Baby" Noah

Gee, I Wonder What is in Here

MMMMMM – Bagels Mommy, Bagels

Carl, Caitlin & Nathan

Nana Teaching Andrew Bad Habits…

Did I Mention the Little Einstein Theme

Noah Getting Ready in His Little Einstein's Shirt From Nana!

Noah, Ready to Blow

That’s Leo, That’s Quincy

The Party in Action

Shortly after Noah’s 2nd Birthday, we got his hair cut for the first time. Noah has wonderfully curly hair and we just did not want to spoil it. So we waited. When we cut it, there was a little drama. Noah cried; until he got a lollipop that is… His hair is still a little longer and still has a darling little curl.

Noah’s 1st Haircut – Before the Cut

During the Cut

Gimme that Lollipop

Looking Good with Lollipop

The Fourth Birthday....

Because we have been so behind on blog entries, we never did get around to Andrew’s 4th birthday party. The short details are that we held it at Pump-it-Up – the inflatable party zone – on August 5, 2006 in the morning. It was a Disney Cars themed party. From what I remember, everyone had a good time – as you can see in the pictures below.

Andrew Enjoying Blowing Out His Candle at His School Party

Andrew and His School Friends Enjoying Donuts

Birthday Prince Eating Donut

Nathan, Annika & Andrew - Friends - Getting Ready to Pump You Up

Aunt Theresa & Papa at Pump-It-Up

Andrew & Robin After Coming Down the Big Slide

Andrew, Robin & Noah at the Party

All the Kids And the Standard Pump-It-Up Party Pose

The Birthday Cake - Go McQueen

Uncle Howard, Noah & Papa in the Party Room

Andrew Blowing Out His Candles (See - 4)!

Andrew and Ella Discussing the Situation (Andrew LOVED Ella from His Preschool)

Andrew Has Found a Solution

Andrew, Robin and Evan

Andrew and His Cal Hat and Shirt Made by Nana and Funded by Nana & Grampster

Andrew With His Lionel Train Light from Howard & Stacy

Howard & Stacy Opening a Small Anniversary Gift (2 Years)!

The night of the party, we departed for a 7 day Alaska cruise out of Seattle. Someday there will be a post on that as well....

The Boy is Five

When the first born child enters the world and needs you for everything, it is hard to imagine the true weight of your responsibility. Most parents are just trying to survive – make it to the next nap, until bedtime, until the little one can sleep through the night and so on. And over time, the child’s need for the parent changes – and so does the recognition of the weight of responsibility.

Andrew’s 5th birthday was on August 5, 2007. The boy is five (because it takes forever for us to write, edit and integrate the pictures into these blog entries, of course now he is FIVE AND A HALF). It’s hard to imagine that he’s five. But he is. I think my recognition of the responsibility for him has been growing over the past year. It really hit me over the last couple of weeks. My job transformed from taking care of his basic needs to telling him what to do in each situation to trying to teach him how to make the best choices for him in those situations. Obviously this will be a lifelong process, but the responsibility of it all is a little daunting. Somehow it must all work out.

For Andrew’s 5th birthday, we had a party at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. We had 20 kids and pretty close to 20 parents. The party started at 10:30am, so we arrived about 10am to pick out the different animals that Andrew wanted his friends to see. Andrew selected a snake, a tortoise and a dove and Robin picked a pony. I did not pick any animals. I just unpacked the food, drinks, party favors, and other assorted party supplies. Andrew had requested a fire fighter/fire truck theme, so we had a cool fire fighter/fire truck cake, plates, cups, tablecloths (littered with little red fire fighters – picture a red GI Joe and substitute a fire hose for the gun), napkins, and the like. We played pin the balloons on the fire truck.

Andrew Ready to Party with Firetrucks

The party started with a little playtime in the craft room. After 15 minutes of freedom, the structured educational portion of the party began. The educational leader was a wonderful lady named Leona (is there anyone under 55 named Leona – I doubt it). In no time flat, she had the kids marching around in unison like graduation day at Boot Camp. After marching over to a different area, all of the kids sat in a line on a bench waiting for the pony to come out.

Kids in a Line (Leona is in Blue)

Despite my best efforts, Andrew would have none of petting the pony; even though he rode one at the Del Mar Fair just months before. The boy has a very strong will. So we left it at no petting and invited his friends up to pet the pony. While the kids were petting the pony, Sam (Robin’s Dad), who had been waiting at Ralph’s for the cake to be finished up, strode in with cake in hand.

The Cake Man (Thank you Dad)!

We got some good pictures of the kids waiting to pet and the kids petting the pony.

Waiting Patiently . . .

This My Friends is a Pony

Nathan Pollock and Noah Waiting Their Turn

Cheryl & Carl Alberola (Is Carl Catching Some Shut Eye Standing Up?)

Caitlin Alberola in Deep Thought

Nathan & Taylor Lyon (Methinks They are Related)

Annika Patel Actually Pets the Pony

After the pony, at Leona’s direction, we moved inside (all marching in line) to see a snake. The python was inside a pillowcase inside a crate. I've had enough bad dreams about this already. Snakes in pillowcases – not good! All of the kids had the chance to pet the snake – with just two fingers – provided everyone was quiet enough. We had a few little outbursts, but the kids really did well. Most everyone pet the snake. Even Andrew!

Shhhhh - Quiet for the Snake (Thanks to Tobias Starling (his brother Gabriel) and Andrew)

The Snake

Andrew Petting the Snake!

The kids then marched in unison outside to the tortoise area. While the tortises had very cool shells – made of the same stuff as our fingernails you know – it was hard to get any good shots of the kids petting the tortoise. They did march into the tortise habitat in groups of four to feel that tortoise shell.

I Swear There is a Tortise Behind the Wall of Kids

After the tortises, we all headed back inside (in line) for the doves. The room was dark, so picture taking was a little rough.

Robin left the group before we headed into see the doves and headed over to setup all the food and drink as fast as she could. She did a great job – by the time we got back from petting the doves (two fingers again), the fruit and veggies were all out on trays, the 7 layer dip and onion dip were ready for chips to barge in and the chips were in baskets waiting for our greedy fingers. We were just waiting on the pizza – which arrived about 5 minutes later.

Leona then left us all to our own devices. Chaos insued. The kids could wander all throughout the yard and play with lots of different things – bubbles, beanbag toss, pin the balloons on the fire truck, etc. Thankfully we had lots of parents there to keep things to a controlled chaos. Robin and I mostly ran around the yard like chickens with our heads cut off trying to make sure every last detail was handled. The kids just played and had a grand time.

The Devine Family (Abby, Johnny, Ansley & Halle)

Mommy & Andrew (Shot of the Day IMHO)

Andrew's Friends from Beth Am Preschool (Milan Rosenbaum, Joshua Dagan & Gabriel Starling)

The cake and signing turned out pretty great. We had a little issue getting the candles lit, but it all worked out just fine; the candles got lit and Andrew blew them all out.

The Cake!

Andrew Putting the Fire Out

Andrew Gets a Taste of His Cake

So Does Noah!

Andrew (& Noah) Finally Gets Comfortable on a Horse

Andrew had a wonderful time at the party. As the party ended, he turned to Robin and said – “Now Mommy, Now I’m five.” He loved petting the different animals. He loved that a lot of his friends were there and shared in his celebration. Thanks so much to all of you who were able to come and share in his birthday (Carl & Cheryl Alberola (and Caitlin) even came down from Orange County – on their 6th Anniversary). After the party, we put all of the “stuff” back into the minivan and headed home. Noah went down for a nap right away. Andrew stayed downstairs – no nap or quiet time on his birthday – and got calls from Nana & the Grampster (right at 1:54p – the time of his birth), Auntie Karin and Uncle Howard & Aunt Stacy. He opened some presents from them and enjoyed playing with some of his new things.

Andrew Talking to Nana and Holding Some of Her Handiwork (Red the Firetruck Patch on Pants)!

Andrew and His Cars Shirt!

Andrew and His New Firetruck (Red)

I Think He Likes His New Geotrax

Thanking Papa in Person

That night we had some of the leftover pizza and headed out to Chuck E. Cheese’s to see how many tokens we could cram into the rides and games there. Both boys had a great time.

Now, he’s five. We’ve got a lot of work to do. He is intense and persistent and sensitive. And we love him more than anything.

Not This Year – Cal v. USC 2007

Every year I say that this may be the year for Cal football. This year honestly looked like it might well be after the Bears started off with five straight wins and moved up to the #2 ranking in the country. This was higher than they had ever been ranked in my lifetime. But then the wheels came off the bus. They lost to Oregon State after a terrible last minute decision by backup QB Kevin Riley. They then blew a very winnable game against UCLA (we were at the Rose Bowl with Karin and watched the Bears implosion). This started a crazy string of games where Cal lost by throwing a last minute game ending interception. It was maddening. Maybe next year will be our year.

In the midst of Cal’s crazy losing streak, we packed the family up in the minivan and headed north to Berkeley for the Cal v. USC game. We go every year (as evidenced by last year’s blog on the game). We left on Friday November 9th at about 12:30pm. The drive took us FOREVER and we ended up arriving at Chez Cole at around 10:30pm. We quickly got the boys into bed so that they would be ready for the next day and the big game.

The next morning, we arranged to meet my Mom and Dad, my sister, Jason McCarthy and the Holstein family at Zachary’s Chicago Pizza on the North side of the Cal campus. Zachary’s is deep dish Chicago style pizza and is an institution in the Bay Area. The flaky crust, cheese galore and mountains of tomatoes on top never disappoint. We had a great time catching up with Jason and the Holsteins. This was our first opportunity to meet baby Alexander Holstein. He did a good job sleeping right in his daddy’s arms – as all good babies should! And we had a great time as usual with my parents and my sister. It was great we could all get together on game day.

My parents had agreed to watch over Noah while we took Andrew to the game. Thank goodness! It was a rainy day, so we needed all the help we could get. Sometime, on a sunny game day, we are going to have to get my Mom & Dad to come into the stadium with us and enjoy the taste of a Cal victory. Maybe next year!

As the rain began to fall, we (Evan, Robin, Andrew, Karin & Jason) headed up to Pierre & Kristin’s place for a little pre-game food and drink. It was nice to see Pierre & Kristin and to prepare ourselves for the game and the weather. Since it was the USC game and Robin roots for the Trojans, she chose not to wear red, but rather red shoes. Robin has been to too many games where CAL fans chant to “take off that red (fill in the blank). She does not want to suffer that embarrassment.

We headed off for the stadium, prepared to brave the rain. After the first quarter, it became pretty clear that we were not going to make it that long. The rain was pouring down and even with our umbrellas, we could not avoid getting EXTREMELY wet. As we got wet, Andrew (and the rest of us) started to get very cold. It was right at that point when Andrew decided that he wanted his frozen lemonade. At every game we go to, Andrew gets frozen lemonade. Evidently it doesn’t matter if it’s raining or not. So I headed over to the lemonade stand and picked up the lemonade and then wandered back to our seats. As Andrew ate, he got colder and colder and started to shiver.

Evan and Andrew in the Rain (Jason in the Background)

Jason and Karin in the Rain

Evan, Andrew and Robin in the Rain (Catching on Here?)

Andrew couldn’t make it through the lemonade. We couldn’t make it through the end of the half. With a couple minutes to go before halftime, we all got up to leave and to go find dry land.

Andrew's Half Eaten Frozen Lemonade (Too Cold for Lemonade)

The Scoreboard (Fuzzy - It was Raining) When We Left

We made our way back up the hill to Pierre & Kristin’s place to pickup Karin’s car. Robin did give me big kudos for carrying Andrew all the way up the hill back to Pierre's house in the rain. Going up that hill is tough under normal circumstances; much tougher in the rain with a 45 pound kid on your shoulders. From there we jumped in Karin’s car and headed to a café in Berkeley to warm up. Since our clothes were soaked, we tried our best to dry off. Andrew did a better job than the rest of us.

Andrew Generally Naked (Except for His Shirt and Underwear - Thanks to Karin for Providing the Blanket for Andrew))

Andrew Enjoying His Hot Chocolate (Better Idea than Frozen Lemonade)

Me Like Hot Chocolate! (See the Dark Spots on His Shirt – Water Spots!)

Karin Enjoying Her Warm Tasty Beverage

Jason and His

Robin All Wet

Evan All Wet

The game ended as it usually does. Bears lose; Trojans win. Of course it was another last minute interception to doom the Bears. Robin was happy. I was not.

After the game had ended, my parents came to the café to meet us. I thought Mom & Dad were close by so I wrapped Andrew up in the blanket and started to head outside to meet them. Just then I got a call from them saying they were actually only down on San Pablo. So I turned around and headed back inside to wait a little longer. As I do this, Andrew asks, “Daddy, why are we going back inside.” I said to him, “Because it is cold and raining outside.” Somewhat concerned, Andrew looked up at me and said, “Daddy, are we staying the night here?” Thankfully the answer was “no”!

Shortly thereafter, my parents arrived. Evidently, they all fared much better than the rest of us – not as wet. After we had Noah back in tow, we then took Jason back up to Pierre & Kristin’s to pickup his car. After we made sure Jason was off safely, we headed back to the Cole house to crash for the night.

The next morning, we met up with my parents for breakfast in Berkeley at Fat Apples. The boys had a lot of fun playing with Nana, Grampster and Auntie Karin at the restaurant. To top it off, there was a picture of Jack London and his second wife, Charmain Kittredge at the restaurant. My mother, Charmy Ann, is named after Charmain. Very cool!

Charmy Ann beneath a Picture of Jack London and Charmian (her namesake) at Fat Apples in Berkeley

After that breakfast, we headed over to the Tilden Park steam trains for some fun with good portions of the Cal Gang. We went on the train, blew our whistles, wore our hats (knitted by Jennifer Pesetsky) and had a good time hanging out. Of course, we took a few pictures of everyone together. It was a cool, but lovely day in the Berkeley hills.

Andrew Blowing His Whistle

The Boys Waiting for the Train

Ready to Ride with the Pesetskys

Jason and Evan Ready to Ride

The Pesetskys are Happy (Steaming Happy)!

Two Boys Posing in Front of the Engine

The Whole Group (Sorems, Jason, Pesetskys, Coles & KrishnaFullartons)

Justin, Noah and Andrew Watching the Train Depart

Andrew, Justin and Noah - Pose for a Photo, I Think Not!

Happy Family in Tilden Park

That evening, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Cole house, courtesy of Susan and Pete. Jason joined us and it was wonderful for all. Pete even gave us a glimpse of his new HD camcorder. The picture on that thing was incredible. While we were watching the beautiful color and crisp picture of Justin’s Halloween celebration at his preschool, I told Robin that we were going to have to get one of these HD camcorders. She said, “Why?” Pete, in typical Pete fashion, chimed in with, “Robin, if you have to ask that question, then obviously you do not understand.” Understand or not, we don’t have the free cash to be getting one of those anytime soon!

On Monday morning, November 12, Veteran’s Day, we drove home to San Diego. The drive home was not nearly as long as the drive up. We had a great family weekend despite the Bears loss. Maybe 2008 will be Cal's year – one can hope.

Boo! Neigh!

Every year Halloween is a big deal around our house. Halloween 2007 was no exception. Usually late October is about the onset of fall (as it goes) in Southern California. The weather gets a little cooler, high temperatures in the upper 70’s give way to the low 70’s, night falls a little earlier, the long sleeve shirts come out, the winds howl and blow some of our trees down and the neighborhood decorations start to appear. When fall comes, the Sorems get ready for pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, a little fall outing and wonderful costumes. This year we had a Ghost (Andrew) and a Horse (Noah) on our hands.

Most years we make a pilgrimage up to Bates Nut Farm to pounce around on some hay bails, check out some pony rides, pet a few animals and pick out some picture perfect pumpkins. Often we make the trip with the Pollock Family, but this year they had to bow out as they had just returned from their European Vacation to the soot and ash that lay across the Southern California Desert. So, on Sunday morning, October 28th, we trekked out to Valley Center with the boys. The day felt more like August 1st as temperatures were in the low 90’s in Valley Center and the boys drank water and Gatorade like they eat candy on Halloween. We went to the petting zoo, watched the boys ride the ponies around in a circle, went on a tractor hay ride, went pumpkin surfing and even pushed a few Big Mac pumpkins together for some pictures. Robin and I were both trying too hard to get just the right picture of the boys. In the end though, we think we got a few good pictures and we are still talking to each other.

Andrew Loves Feeding Goats

Noah the Horseman

Andrew Trotting Along

Hay Suspended

Two Boys at Bates Nut Farm

Daddy Pushing the Wheelbarrow (Boys Inside)

Noah, Pumpkin Surfer

Andrew, Pumpkin Inspector

Andrew Carrying Pumpkin to Market

Mommy Pushing the Wheelbarrow (Boys Outside)

Two Beautiful Boys on Two Big Macs

What a Beautiful Day at Bates

We bought three standard size pumpkins, two little pumpkins and two tiny pumpkins. All for a pretty reasonable price – though perhaps less so when you factor in the $20 in gas it took to get us up to Valley Center and back. We took the pumpkins home, worked with the boys to get them all cleaned out and Robin and I (MOSTLY ROBIN) spent the next couple of days carving away. The boys had a lot of fun carving up the pumpkins and pulling out the seeds. I so wish we were still eating pumpkin seeds (we like them baked with garlic salt – TASTY).

Noah Cleaning Out a Pumpkin

Look, He Got ONE Seed

Andrew - A Little More Efficient

Andrew Checking for More Seeds

Checking Closer

Robin (and I) have come a long way in our carving abilities over the past several years. By way of illustration, below is a comparison of pictures of our efforts from 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (in 2004, we ran out of time and just drew faces on the front of the pumpkins – poor form).

Comparison Shots from 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 - Improvement!

You can see the improvement year over year. This year was a huge leap forward. We started with the Mickey Mouse pumpkin. In itself, it was not that big of a deal to carve the front. However, in order to keep the “ears” (aka little pumpkins) on, we had to devise a plan. Originally we were going with long bamboo skewers, but they proved too fragile for the task. Robin came up with the idea to drill into the top of the little pumpkin and the side of the big pumpkin and just leave the drill bit holding the two pumpkins “together.” Good idea! So here is our Mickey effort in all its glory.

Mickey's Lit Up

Assembling the Mickey Mouse Pumpkin (Drill Required, Knives Optional)

In addition, since we had a Ghost and a Horse, why not carve a ghost and a horse into the side of our other two pumpkins? Robin did a fantastic job with both of them. The details are really amazing (for us). After she was finished with all the difficult parts, I would come in with my little knife and clean everything up. But the real credit goes to her. Here they are.

Boo's Ghost Pumpkin

Odin's Horse Pumpkin

As discussed at length in the 2006 blog entry regarding Halloween and the 2005 entry my mother, Charmy Sorem, has been the costume guru since about forever and a day. This year, not only are the costumes lovely, but they are award winning. Andrew wore his Ghost costume to Kindergarten at Ocean Air School on Halloween and won an award for the Kindergarten grade. He received a nice card from Principal Gary Wilson and a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble (thank you very much). Robin thinks that Andrew should buy his Nana a book with the gift card. Obviously it is intended to spur his continued reading efforts. As an aside, we are very pleased with his efforts and progress in reading this year; it has been amazing to see him grow and a true joy to watch. So now Nana has made an award winning costume for her grandchild. How wonderful! The excitement in her voice when we all called to let her know was palpable. How grand! A big THANKS to Nana for making the boy’s costumes.

This year, Nana sent the boys costumes down early. So we took a picture of both boys in their costumes just after we received them from the great seamstress of the North. The boys both loved them. My particular favorite is Noah’s candy basket, labeled “Odin’s Oats.” My parents have Norwegian names for each of the boys – Andrew (Laars) and Noah (Odin) – and the alliteration is perfect.

The Ghost and the Horse from Nana

On Halloween, Robin’s Dad, Sam, came down to San Diego to help us out and to see the boys in action. This allowed Robin to go to Andrew’s school on Halloween morning for the parade and the class party. She had the camera in full go mode and took several great pictures of Andrew and the other kids in action. We'll save these for a blog entry about all of Andrew's school parties (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Winter and Valentine's Day).

On Halloween night, I picked up Andrew for his swim class while Robin, Noah and Sam headed over to the Patel house to get ready to romp around their neighborhood and collect gobs of candy that we’ll never let the kids fully consume. After swim class, Andrew and I headed out to the car to drive over to the Patel’s house and meet with Robin, Noah, Sam and the Patel Family. But of course – MY CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD. I went into action mode. I pushed the car out of the parking spot, down the parking aisle and out into the long driveway area of the Noonan Family Swim School (and other businesses). I then gave the car a good running push (all the while Andrew was buckled into his seat with no driver). I ran around, jumped in the car and tried to jump start it. NOTHING. I called Robin to let her know that my car would not start. Unfortunately, I was panting so hard from my car moving and jump start efforts that she could not understand me very well. I then pulled out my jumper cables and proceeded to try and flag down the next five or so cars that had to drive around me to either enter or exit the parking lot. No luck. I then started standing in the middle of the driving lanes. I stopped the first guy, who just shook his head no and drove around me. I stopped the second guy, a 19 year old kid, who told me that his car was new and he did not know how to use jumper cables. I told him that it was no problem; all he had to do was sit in his car and rev his engine when I asked him to. He then said he just didn’t feel comfortable. Bear in mind of course that I am in a massive hurry to get over to the Patel house so we can quickly eat, get the boys in their costumes and head out for Halloween. Finally, I stop the next guy and he says that he is in a hurry. I must have given him a pathetic enough look because he said, “Yeah, OK, I understand” and got out of his car. He had a nice Range Rover, but he could not figure out how to pull the latch to open the hood. After a minute or so of fumbling around with that, we got it open, found his battery and hooked up the cables. The cable going to the positive side of his battery would not stay on without me holding on to it. So, at risk of life, and turning out looking like Young Frankenstein for Halloween, I held the positive side of the jumper cable onto his battery while he went over and started my car. It worked! After thanking the gentleman profusely, we were on our way. NOTE TO SELF: Next time someone needs a jump, help them!

Andrew and I made it to the Patel house a little harried, but just fine. The Patel kids, Annika and Lena, dressed up as a Barbie Princess and a Lion, respectively. The Patels had kindly put together a pizza and salad dinner for us. After dinner, we put the kids' costumes on and headed out. The kids all had a grand time trotting from house to house and truly enjoyed the spectacle that is Halloween. In particular, Andrew, in typical Andrew fashion, stopped to visit most every display, pumpkin, light, or other decoration that he saw. And our little Noah found it enjoyable to walk right into peoples houses when they opened the door. I think he felt like they were holding back on the good candy and he wanted to be sure he got his best shot. All of the kids had a great time, which is evident in the pictures below!

Boo and Odin

Put Your Arms Out Like This

We Have a Shot Like This Every Year

Comparison Shot from 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007

Annika the Barbie Princess, Lena the Lion, Andrew the Ghost and Noah the Horse Trick-or-Treating Together

The Four Kids!

The Only Shot Where You Can See Both of Noah's Eyes

Odin Dropped Some of His Oats (See, Only One Eye)

Lena Doesn't Look Ferocious

Spooky on Halloween

Now You See Why Andrew’s Costume Won a Prize!

The Beautiful Barbie Princess Leaving the Monster Party

Brigitte the Witch Casts a Spell on Lena to Close her Eyes

Miki (She Lives 2 Houses Over from Annika and is in Andrew's Class), Annika and Andrew

After we made it home, we took a few last pictures of the boys in their costumes in front of the pumpkins. The boys were tired, we were tired, but we got a few gems.

Andrew and His Ghost Pumpkin – How Fitting

Noah and His Horse Pumpkin!

Our Three Creations

The day before Halloween, Andrew asked me and Robin what we were going to be for Halloween. We told him that this year we were just going to watch out for him and Noah. Then on Halloween night, when we were getting ready to lay the kids down for the night, Robin, rocking Noah in the rocking chair in his room, asked Noah, “what do you want to be for Halloween next year?" Without delay, Noah replied, "A Bison." After laying Noah down, we asked Andrew the same question, to which he responded, "A Witch." I advised Andrew that boy Witches were referred to as Wizards and then asked him if he wanted to be a Witch or a Wizard for next Halloween. He replied, "A Witch." So next year, maybe we’ll have a Witch and a Bison on our hands. I wonder what Robin and I will be. A Wizard and a Native American perhaps...

Happy Birthday to Mommy

Robin turned another year older today, March 4, 2008. This was not a milestone birthday like LAST YEAR, so we just played it mellow for the most part. Robin and I had a nice lunch together. The family had a nice dinner together. At dinner tonight, each of the boys sang their own version of Happy Birthday to Mommy.

When we got home from dinner, I asked the boys to sit on the couch with Mommy while I went to get presents. When I came back in, the boys were loving Mommy and wishing her the best of happy birthdays. See below....

Noah's Big Week

The week (7 days) from January 30 through February 6, 2008, was a really big week for our Noah. He was preparing to turn 3 years old on February 21. And he got ready to welcome age 3 in grand style.

On January 30, the first of his 2 year molars (bottom left) began to appear. The second one appeared on February 6 (bottom right) and the top ones are coming in now. The two year molars are the last of the baby teeth. It took Noah a little while to get them, but they are in and chomping now.

Two days later, on February 1, Robin started potty training Noah. Robin is pretty ambitious. I went up to the Bay Area for the weekend (the first weekend in February is an annual pilgrimage for me for the Chi Phi Alumni Banquet). Despite my absence, Robin went for it. I left on Friday afternoon. By the time I came back on Sunday, Noah was pretty much potty trained. He had just 5 accidents the entire first week of training. He's had but a handful since. He was ready. Now he wears big boy underwear. Please use caution when asking him about this; he is all too pleased to show you!

Just a few days later, the front rail on Noah's crib broke. It had a small crack for a long time, but while Robin and I were "tinkering" with it, we broke it much worse. We promptly removed the crib rail and the next night, Noah slept in a "big boy bed" for the first time.

In the span of about a week, Noah went from our baby sleeping in a crib, wearing diapers and waiting for his final molars to come in to a little boy sleeping in a big boy bed, wearing underwear and with a full set of chompers. Crazy!

That's a big week!

Orange?

Almost a year ago, I posted an entry about Andrew and his plans regarding future favorite colors. The title of the post was - What About Orange? Andrew picked lots of colors to be his favorites in years to come, but he left orange off the list.

Now of course, Orange is his new favorite color. After all, his hair is orange. Why not?

And in the spirit of that prior post, here are some recent pictures of the boys - in orange of course.... Noah at 3 Years and Andrew at 5 1/2 Years. Time flies....