Happy Halloween from a Ferocious Blue Monster

That’s right – ferocious.  Or maybe just adorable.  Either way, Emmett’s costume is awesome.  Too bad he’s a little young for trick-or-treating and we have no place to show it off.  I’m actually thinking of taking him to the supermarket today for some grocery shopping, because at least some people will be able to see him costumed in person.  That is, if he can tolerate being in it for more than 5 minutes (the current record).

Ferocious Blue Monster

"Too Cute to Scare" shirt from Aunt Sara & Uncle Shawn

For mischeif night last night, I carved a pumpkin, toasted the seeds (which are DELICIOUS) and James built our first fire in the apartment’s fireplace.  Needless to say it was a nice little fall evening.  I’m also pretty darn proud of how well my jackolantern came out.  It’s an owl!

Owl Jackolantern

James and Emmett cozying up by the fire.

In past news, Emmett had his 9-month checkup the other week.  He was a super champ through the bloodwork.  He didn’t even make a peep –  it was incredible – though he wailed when they gave him his shots.  He’s now a whopping 20 lbs. 4 oz. (46th percentile) and 30.5 inches “tall” (97th percentile).  Again, one of the tallest kids in his class!

We  had a couple of fun visits this past week.  My best friend Niki stayed with us last weekend, and we had a visit from my good friend, Lauren, from high school last Wednesday.  More aunts for Emmett!

Crazy Aunt Niki - "We're drying our hair!"

Aunt L

I’m also convinced that Emmett is extremely close to saying “mamma.”  In fact, it sounds like he’s already saying it (although he might not exactly know what he’s saying)!  Check out this video for evidence.  What do you think?

Age Timer: 9 months, 2 weeks

Drunk Baby

When Emmett has a bad day, he goes straight to the bottle.  I guess it’s never too soon to have that “Don’t Drink and Drive” chat with your son…

Drunk Baby

Good thing it’s only formula.

Age Timer: 9 months, 2 days (In two more days, Emmett will have spent the same amount of time outside the womb as he did inside!)

WaterFire and Pumpkin Picking with the Grandparents

What a busy weekend!  My parents were in town, which is always fun.  Saturday we headed down to Providence, where we enjoyed the last night of WaterFire, a sculpture of bonfires on the rivers of Providence.  It was really cool and entertaining.

WaterFire man playing with fire

Lit WaterFire braziers

On Sunday, we took Emmett on his first pumpkin picking excursion.  We stopped at Shelburne Farm in Stow, where Emmett seemed to thoroughly enjoy the farm animals, a big mound of hay, chewing on pumpkin stems (ugh) and riding tractors like a true farmer.

Mmmm ... pumpkin stems. Nom nom nom.

Playing in the hay with GranD

Farmer Emmett on his tractor

For more pictures of Emmett on the farm, check out the Pumpkin Picking set on Flickr at http://bit.ly/14BsjK.

Age Timer: 8 months, 3 weeks

Welcome Baby Benjamin!

Benjamin Alec finally graced us with his presence yesterday afternoon, following a 2-day long induced labor and subsequent C-section (phew!).  Mother, father and baby are all doing well despite their excruciating exhaustion.

Congrats to new parents, Sara and Shawn – you two were definitely troopers!  Ben clocked in at 8 lbs., 11 oz. and 21.5 inches long at 2 weeks late.

Now for a look at the handsome little fellow …

Baby Ben

Daddy Shawn with Son Ben

Uncle James (Officially!)

Me and Little Ben

Cousin Meets Cousin (An Attempt)

Age Time: <1 day

Patiently Awaiting the Arrival of Baby K

James’ brother and sister-in-law headed to the hospital yesterday to induce labor.  Poor Sara was almost 2 weeks overdue, and it seems Mr. Baby K (for their last name) was getting a little too comfortable in his crowded little motel room.  Although it seems like it was a little slow going at first (apparently they spent last evening playing cards and eating hospital food), there has been no word from them yet today, so we’re wondering if things are starting to move along.

In the life of Emmett, there’s not too much exciting going on this week over here.  He seems to have a runny nose, so his nickname of “SlobberPuss” has slowly been evolving into “SnotterPuss.”  His Halloween costume came in the mail the other day, and it fits him perfectly!  We can’t wait for all of you to see him in it!

Happy Stander

Flying Baby!

Content to Crawl

Other than that, we’ve basically just been waiting for the exciting news of Baby K’s debut.  Hopefully by the end of the evening I’ll be able to update this post and announce the news of his arrival!

Age Timer: 8 months, 3 weeks