Vote for Henry's Halloween Costume

As Henry gets older and more opinionated, I feel I am definitely losing any sense of power with him. I was thinking this might be the last year I get to choose his Halloween costume for him. Alas, we've been arguing over costume ideas for the last two weeks, and I'm starting to wonder iflast year was the last year I got to choose! We finally settled a bit tonight when I told him he could just write a letter to The Great Pumpkin telling him his favorite Halloween costume ideas. Then The Great Pumpkin would decide on the costume and leave it on our doorstep as a surprise! Yay! He went for the idea and puts a lot of faith in The Great Pumpkin. Here is the letter he dictated:

Dear Great Pumpkin,

These are the costumes I like best:

train

ladybug*

bumblebee*

Thomas (train)*

James (train)*

boxer*

delivery man

UPS man*

car*

Please send me one of those costumes for Halloween!

Love,

HENRY

P.S. I put stars by the ones I like the most! HCI

Wanna help The Great Pumpkin make his decision? Vote on our poll in the sidebar or leave comments here. Remember that we have to come up with a matching/coordinating costume for Ellis. Whether we make or buy it will depend on the costume choice. Thanks for your input!

Labor Day Weekend

Here's what I like:

Living an hour's drive from Yorktown, Maine. Lighthouses on craggy cliffs. Little islands that can only be reached by boat or zipline.

Taking pictures like this and wishing I had a real camera. Dreaming with friends about next year when we're going to spend Thanksgiving in the beachside resort pictured above.

Babies squealing in delight.

Boys and their unfailing ability to get dirty. No matter what.

Picnics on the beach, especially when the water is too cold to feel like you have to get in. Seeing the ocean just to see the ocean.

When other people walk Ellis around (thanks, Robbie!)

When other people play cars with Henry (thanks, Dave). Playing/singing with Amy.

Beastie (a.k.a. Jacob Priest). You'd like him too if you knew him.

Getting together with lifelong friends. These are some of our best ever high school friends, plus one new addition (Dave), who fits in perfectly. It's amazing how nothing in our friendship changes, even though so many other things have changed. We all live in different states now, living different lives. Some are well into successful careers, others are on their way. Some are trying to figure out their own family and marriage; others are professional counselors helping strangers with their families and marriages. Still, we can sit in the living room on a Saturday night, just like old times, just sitting, yet having the time of our lives. I love these people. I also love eating dinner in the North End. I also love that Jacob couldn't get off his phone to smile for the camera.

One Year for Ellis

Several times during my pregnancy with Ellis, I told people that I wished he could just come out of my belly and already be one year old. Okay, so maybe he could be a newborn for a week or two, and then magically transform into a one-year-old. I admit that I'm a wimp when it comes to parenting . . . I don't like doing the hard stuff! And with both of my boys, that first year was hard. Of course, the first year was also full of sweet and wonderful times (as you saw in The Ellis Show), and we have loved every ounce of our little Ellis, but I AM SO HAPPY that he has reached his year mark! My life is finally starting to feel "normal" again. Ellis is getting more independent, not to mention more adorable, happy, cuddly, and funny every day. This is one of my favorite stages in raising a little one (so far). I love to see his little personality developing as he is now trying to find a way to join our conversations and make his own little jokes. I love watching everything babies learn between 1 and 2 -- the way language develops as they discover ways to express what they see, feel, and want. I love watching little tiny under-20-pounders starting to walk (he is SO close) and gain a sense of acceptance with the rest of the world. I love kissing those soft, chubby, ticklish little cheeks. Happy Birthday Ellis!

The bathtub cake (because up until the day after his birthday, the bath was his favorite thing in the entire world. Now he has suddenly decided to hate it!). And "bath" was his first word that was actually attached to meaning. Bat, bat, bat, bat, bat!

We had friends over for a BBQ and birthday cake. We were so happy to have close friends in town, since we didn't have any family here for the big day :(

"I wish . . . I wish Mommy will let me rip her earrings out this time. Just this once!"

Going for the cake . . . a little tentatively

Taking his post-cake bath

the "afterbath" (I couldn't help it)

in his cute personalized hooded towel

Ellis got some pretty great presents (thanks, everybody!)

The Ellis Show

Here it is, the first ever official Ellis Show, in honor of our favorite 1-year-old! I've been meaning to post about Labor Day and Ellis' birthday, but I spent all my extra time working on this. Hope you like it!

As usual, it comes with a mostly-for-grandparents disclaimer. I won't be offended if you don't finish it. But it's so sweet if you have seven minutes on your hands. If you just want to watch for a couple of minutes, skip to the second or third song. Enjoy!

The Ellis Show (Year 1) from Ben and Jenn on Vimeo.

Thoreau

During my morning scripture study today, Henry came and sat across from me. He asked me to pass him the Book of Mormon so he could read it. He started turning pages and then asked, "Where's the Henry David Throw part?" A little confused, I asked him what he meant. He repeated, "Where's the part about Henry David Throw?"

Did I correct him and show him that Thoreau's words are found in the book Walden? Yes.

Do I regret that my son instinctively thought Henry David Thoreau was scriptural? Not at all.

And here is your Thoreau scripture of the day, very appropriate for September 1st, spoken to me over the phone by my dad last night:

Live in each season as it passes;

breathe the air,

drink the drink,

taste the fruit,

and resign yourself to the influences of each.

Love it!