Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Bruce and I made his costume out of a banana box, some construction paper, and a few paper plates. It turned into the "Bruce Express." Bruce fit into a hole and had straps over his shoulders to hold the box on around him. I didn't think he'd keep it on long, but he actually wore it for quite awhile tonight. We had a Trunk-or-Treat with a bunch of other people in the church parking lot. Bruce went around to about four cars and gathered a few pieces of candy, then decided he'd rather sit next to me in the trunk and hand out candy while chomping on M&Ms.

Say "Cheese"

Recently when I tell Bruce I'm going to take a picture, he's been saying "cheese" and closing his eyes.

Morning Nap

I came home from visiting a friend this morning and found Emily and Bruce in his room, fast asleep on the floor. Nothing can really beat a good Sunday morning nap in the autumn sun. Bruce likes to read a few books on the floor and then snuggle up under a blanket with me or Emily. We usually transfer Bruce to the crib after a few minutes, but sometimes end up asleep next to him.

I had to sneak into the bedroom to take the picture and it made feel guilty, like I was some kind of stalker, especially because neither of them woke up! Is it stalking to take a picture of your sleeping family? Reminds me of a room-mate in college who fell asleep on the couch and woke up to find some girl from down the street sitting there staring at him. Hm...

Scott the Model

Scott finished his thesis proposal last weekend. He meets with his thesis committee this week: good luck Scott!

Bruce and I went on a hayride this week. It was supposed to be a "haunted hayride" but the dog-shaped hay bales just weren't that scary. Bruce paid more attention to the tractors, pumpkins, trucks, and standard farm equipment than the tacky decorations strewn in the field. Halloween is coming. We've bought our candy to pass out but haven't come up with a costume yet. Check back next week for pictures of the surprise costume.

The pictures are from walking around last Sunday; the weather was gorgeous! The last picture is Bruce helping to make cupcakes (or at least clean the bowl out!) for "linger longer," a church activity I helped put on where everyone gets together after church and eats food and socializes.

Living the Good Life

Here are a few moments of Bruce's recent life. As you can see, life is pretty good for him. Today Bruce and I got to the sitter's house a half-hour early so we went to the train station and watched six trains go by. What could possibly be better than listening to the dinging bells, watching the crossing gates fall, hearing a few angry car horns, and seeing a huge diesel engine and its passenger cars rumble into the station?

Getting Acquainted with the Dentist

Scott and Bruce visited the dentist this week. Scott checked out without any problems. The dentist didn't even look in Bruce's mouth but she let him play with the chair, count dad's teeth with a cotton swab, and she even gave him a toy car. In six months, I think he will be excited to go back.

Chris and LaTrisha's Wedding

We had a whirlwind trip to Ohio for my little brother's wedding and reception. All of my siblings were there along with their spouses and children; Bruce had a blast hanging out with his cousins and all the toys at grandma's house.

My bro, Chris, wore a kilt at the wedding reception. They did the traditional stuff: she threw the bouquet of flowers and he tossed the garter belt (although my ten-year-old nephew who caught it said "what do I do with this?"). They cut the cake and made a huge mess on each other's faces then proceeded to clean each other up (eww).

I kept thinking my brother can't be mature enough to get married. But I guess between me being at college and him out on a mission to Spain, we haven't spent lots of time together in a few years. The last time we hung out, he was still flinging rubber bands at me. For LaTrisha's sake, I hope he's grown out of that.

Sharing is Hard

The big 10k was on Monday and unfortunately, it was pretty lackluster for me. There were a bazillion big names there: Deena Kastor, Colleen Dereuck, Katie McGregor, Elva Dryer...

My legs just didn't go as fast as I wanted them to. I don't have any great excuse. Perhaps it was the Wiggles song in my head? I still didn't run too badly - 37:20something for 50somethingth place out of 7,000 women. Hopefully one of these years I'll get that race right (this was my fourth time running it).

Bruce had his buddy over again. They get along really well, but as you can see, sharing is a tough concept for an only child. Bruce will get a lesson or two about sharing this weekend when he gets to hang out with his dozens of cousins.

Fall is here. There is a farmers' market by where I work and instead of selling berries and melons, they had pumpkins and gourds.

New Shoes for Bruce

The Tufts 10k is in a few days. If you're free on Columbus Day and need something to do at noon, come check out the 10k at the Common or along Memorial Drive. Hopefully, I'll be done by 12:36. I love this race; the competition is excellent. I'll surely get creamed though: this is the USATF 10k national championship.

We finally got Bruce a new pair of shoes. He'd been wearing tight shoes forever, but a few weeks ago I went to a shoe store and was about to pay way too much for some shoes and couldn't get him to try them on in the store. He didn't like those shoes, I guess. He likes these ones though. They passed his test and now he wears them all the time. And they passed my test - Velcro is necessary. Better still: they were $5 at Old Navy.
The pictures are of Bruce at the park, our boxy apartment complex, the mountain of bikes outside our place, and Bruce's new shoes.