it used to be cool

Daylight savings time used to mean an extra hour of bar (and sleep) time.  Now it means...  taking videos of your kids??  Oi.

You may not believe this the hippest way to spend the 5am hour, but I will take it any day.

Is there a fire in there?!?!?!

Halloween this year was the best ever.  B is at the perfect age, he is so excited about every holiday.  We marked Halloween on the calendar in August, and have been counting down the days.  Grammy J made an unexpected, yet super welcomed visit.  So, not only was she here to witness the excitement, but she was able to take me to Target, and cook!  I do love my mom.

Bennett was a Fire Chief.  He has several fire fighting tools, and attached as many as possible to his belt.  The morning of Halloween, he was preparing all the necessary items.  He came up to me and said, "Mom.  Fire chiefs carry numchucks, right?"

H was a skunk - which couldn't be more appropriate.  I don't feel I need to elaborate.  However, she was a happy skunk.

It's become a tradition to Trick-or-Treat with the Kral family.  They live in the perfect neighborhood (think Wistera Lane, sans the murderous neighbors), with big candy bars and lots of porch lights.  Rae was Minnie Mouse, and Lex a pirate.  It was difficult to discern what B was more excited about - the festivities of Halloween, or spending time with his best friend.

On the way to the Kral house, I told B he may have to help the little girls, as Lex and H were new to this adventure.  He thought about it, then piped up, "But, Mom?  I'm not really a Halloween teacher..."

Where's AP you ask?  He was packing the stroller.

Five Month Stats

Harper Nicole
     *13.2 lbs (32%)
     *25 inches  (64%)
     *Diet of cereal & 6 oz milk
     *FINALLY, sleeping through the night - 6pm-6am (ahhhhhh - can you hear me singing??)

Bennett loving refers to his baby sister as "Harps".  He is often checking on her, and snuggling her, playing legos near her, and waiting anxiously until she can "actually DO something".  Bennett is convinced that Harper can talk, but can only say, "Hi, B."

Harper runs pretty hot and cold.  She is screaming one second, and the next laughing through her big tears.  I've found that my parents think this is quite comical.  They also sharing a knowing glance when H sticks her thumb in her mouth.  Not sure what that is all about...

Ms. Kelli says that Harper is one happy babe, very content to watch the other kids play.  H spends a lot of time on the floor, but has yet to roll over.  All in good time - I'm pretty content with her staying stationary.

We love her - stinky butt and all.

The Great Pumpkin

Papa Prose is a gardener.  This year, in addition to his lovely flowers, and pears and tomatoes, he added pumpkins.  Papa grew a pumpkin for each grandchild (of appropriate carving age).  The Prose Family does nothing on a small scale - so it was no surprise when Papa and Grandma came to visit, they unloaded Bennett's pumpkin with a two-wheeler!

Carving the Great Pumpkin was as much fun for AP as for BP.  Thanks, Papa!  

H to the Izzo

Harps has known T her whole life.  T was one of her very first visitors, and of course, T had her camera.  Because T loves my kids, we have an amazing photo doc of the life of H to the Izzo.  From the tiny babe with sensitive skin, to the crying babe who made us sleep deprived, to the darling babe with a smile in her eyes - T captured it all.

T's Vision

T loves Bennett.  And, T loves photography.  She is pretty much a rockstar with a camera in hand.  The Prose Family has been fortunate to have their adventures captured by her vision.  So, here's a glimpse.  Let's begin with B through the eyes of T...

We have a bestie.  Her name is T.  We are lucky, because T loves B.

Race Day

One cold evening last March, AP came home and told me he registered for the Twin Cities Marathon.  I was not surprised, as AP often comes home with some pretty outlandish ideas (remember Prose Park?? or the curling/rollerskating rink??).  I was not surprised when he went out and bought fancy, new running gear, or when he printed out a training program.  I didn't even flich when he actually did some running.  What stunned me was when, three weeks later, he was still running.  Yesterday, after months of training, AP ran his first marathon. I can honestly say, I have never been more proud.  I spent a lot of time holding my breath, and back the tears.  Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera - so below are pics from my phone.  Fortunately, my bestie is a fantastic photog, so more pics to come.

 The day began with bundling up the kiddos.  It was chilly, but the sun shone brightly.  A perfect day for a run.  With 10,000 of the 11,000 runners wearing white shirts, it was difficult to spot AP, but the chip in his shoe sent us text updates.  Bennett cheered on the runners by screaming, "You're super fit!!"  "Lookin' good!"  and my favorite "Hey, have you seen my Daddy??"

 We saw #3871 at mile 14, and he was looking good.  He threw us his gloves, as he ran by.  Most of the race he spent with GnR, but he did find some time to chat with a lovely women who  gave him a boost of energy at mile fifteen.  His foot started to get sore around mile seventeen, and he ended up walking a few minutes; especially up the big mile eighteen hill. 

 Thanks to Colie & T for the co-parenting, and Wes, Rita and the Krueger family for the cheering  section.  If you missed it - He finished strong.  He looked good.  And, he'll do it again.