This morning Erin was thrilled to wake up to big wet snowflakes! It's still coming down steadily at our house now. Erin had dragged her snowboots out of the closet even before breakfast. Even Fran's blueberry muffins could not keep her inside for long.
Our first attempt at a snowman was in the backyard, but didn't realize Oscar and Duncan missed their calling as officers in the K9 unit (Duncan bit off the "arms", and Oscar took out the torso with his front legs while chewing on the head). Erin laughed. We moved to the peace and quiet of the front yard to collaborate on the masterpiece above.
Fran always groans, but I really like the first snow of the year. Wait until Seattle, she'll miss the start of Minnesota winter (maybe?).
Before going outside, Erin and I talked about snow angels. This is her interpretation!
We had a really nice Halloween this year. I happened to be on a consult service at the hospital with weekends off. We took advantage by heading to the western edge of town to go pumpkin picking a few weeks ago. Erin seemed excited in the car, but was lukewarm when we starting picking out great big pumpkins to carve. When we asked, she quietly said "I want a smaller one". She started to smile when we came across the one below, but...
She spotted an even smaller one nearby and that was that! Here she is reassuring mom that, yes, you can actually carve a pumpkin that small.
She carried this tiny pumpkin by the stem all the way to the barn where you weigh them and pay. Not surprisingly, she got to take it home for free.
Grandpa and Grandma came over the evening before the big day to help us carve them.
Erin told us several weeks back that she wanted to be Spiderman, but seemed puzzled when we asked her who Spiderman actually was. Pretty sure she heard about that one at daycare. Her second choice was a pumpkin. Fran found a pattern online, went to the fabric store, and spent a couple evenings making Erin this great jack-o-lantern costume complete with stem and leaf hat. As you can see below, she promptly rejected the final product and ended up with some facepaint and ears as a cat.
I think this last picture is funny. One of the dogs favorite afternoon activities is to find a sunny patch of rug and take a nap. After her own nap, Erin came out and decided to be a human blanket for Oscar. He didn't seem to mind.
Erin's becoming more interested in potty training, and has graduated to sitting on a booster seat thing that fits on the real toilet when she wants to "try". I was in the bathroom a few days ago (with the door closed) emptying my bladder, when I hear little footsteps outside. She flings open the door and a split second later has a completely dumbstruck look on her face. She looks up at me and says "Daddy! WHAT is coming out of your BODY?!" I didn't know what to say...
