This cold had my name all over it

Yes, as of LAST Monday I've been fighting a cold.  I am feeling much better but it seems to be hanging on much longer than most colds.  At least there wasn't any fever, but it's one of those kinds that sucks all the life and energy out of you so I've been more tired than usual.  So have the kids, it's been much harder to get them up in the morning.  I can't say I blame them, I would like more sleep too.  But they are kids so they are almost always in some sort of stage in the sniffles department.  It's just harder to deal with right before a major holiday and everything is so busy.  I made a point to not do much this weekend and blatantly ignored the leaves in the yard in spite of my to-do list.  David and I got to watch Holiday's dance class but in shifts.  Johnny just can't keep off the dance floor so we had to keep him in the waiting room during the class.  The girls are doing really well and I don't think any of them had a melt down which in the past was a regular occurrence during parent watch days.  Very good little listeners.  We went to the library and then to the Safeway pharmacy for Daddy and Mommy to get their flu shots.  So now we're all up to snuff on our shots.  David put up the exterior Christmas lights on Saturday since it was dry this weekend.  He had a little scare when the whole ladder slipped out of position with him on it to lay flat on the back deck.  But thankfully it was just racked shins and neck whiplash nothing major just a little scary.  The Christmas lights look good too.  We'll probably wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the tree.  I need to get some pre-Thanksgiving baking done anyways.

Johnny's 18 month check up...busy, busy

It's been a little busy lately.  Last Monday the kids saw the doctor, Holiday for just a flu shot and Johnny for his 18 month well child check.  Right when we got there one of the senior nurses gave us all sorts of accolades for keeping up to date on the kids' immunizations.  I guess I really wasn't thinking that hard about being on time, all I know that I was sick a LOT as a kid and if I can prevent my kids from going through that I will.  From my point of view, why be sick when you don't have to be?  It struck me kind of funny that the nurse reacted that way, I wonder if they have a lot of patients that decline immunizations.  Doctors can be pushy about that sort of thing.  But of course, the kids weren't that happy about shots.  Holiday had hers first.  Then Johnny had his check-up and his development is just great.  Last time they were impressed with his strength, this time his walking stability.  He's around 60th percentile in height and weight and 99th with head circumference.  Then Johnny had his shots and Holiday was pretty tense about it.  When we told her that he was going to have three shots she thought that meant he was going to cry three times.  She cried as hard as he did during the shots.  "He doesn't like it!"  "No one does Holly."  Poor sensitive little girl.  We did some Christmas shopping this weekend so Grandma Claudia and Grandpa Jet came to babysit.  When I handed Johnny a snack he wanted, he responded in his sing-songy kind of way with a 'thank-you'.  Grandma really liked that.  But we put the kids down for a nap and then power shopped because the sale was over at 3pm so we had to jam.  Yesterday we had family pictures done.  Johnny is still in the middle of his uncooperative picture-taking phase while Holiday seems completely over that.  So maybe in three years Johnny will be too.  We noticed that the Southcenter Santa was already in full swing.  Yep, it's the Christmas season folks and we haven't had Thanksgiving yet.

Couple more pictures

Johnny and Holly sitting in the kids chair.  That's best 'cheese' face ever.

Here I am playing House on Haunted Hill with David.  He's replaced the figures with characters from Scooby-Doo since we're exploring a spooky old house.  Shaggy was the one who went crazy thus becoming the bad guy.  In the end Velma and Daphne were killed by Shaggy's Shagenstein monster, but Scooby-Doo (me) won because I threw enough torches at the Shagenstein monster.

Now Holiday draws her stick people with hands

Left to Right: Johnny, Mommy, Daddy and Holiday

Happy Halloween/Happy Birthday Daddy!

Oops...Johnny made a mess.

Balancing act.

Now in tandem.

Holiday all ready to go to the school field trip of the pumpkin patch.

Full shot of the Dora backpack.

Johnny all tucked in playing with his tool set.

Fairy wings and kitty ears.

New cowboy hat and spiderman pajamas.

He really does ride that horse pretty hard.

I spy my little eye a Johnny shoe.

The kids really like to wrestle.  People have made note that they play rough.  Maybe it just seems that way because they're loud.

Carving jack-o-lantern time!

The kids are watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". 

The kids loved the jack-o-lanterns.

Hanging out in the hallway, relaxing...reading books.

They are so funny.

Holiday in her Disney Princess Rapunzel costume.

With Jack-o-lanterns.

And Johnny in his Superman costume.  That was pretty cute.

The other day when I was getting picked up after work I could see that Holiday was wearing an eye mask that she had made at school.  She pulled it up off her little face and said, "It's okay Mommy.  It's just me." And then proceeded to laugh really hard.  That was hilarious.  We went trick-or-treating last night and filled up her little pumpkin carrier as seen above here in the picture in about an hour.  The weather was great, no rain, not cold...and Johnny didn't get too bored rolling around in a stroller.  I gave him the Dora flashlight to play with.  People were giving out handfuls of candy and several of them said we were their first ones of the night.  There was one case where we weren't sure if what was seen in the distance was a cat or a raccoon.  So we were holding position when it moved into the light and it was clearly a raccoon.  We skipped that house.  Wait...I guess I should be clear and say a real raccoon, not a kid dressed as a raccoon.  It was pretty big.  The kids had a good time trick-or-treating and we stopped by Toni and Drew's for a few minutes and even got the kids home at a decent hour.  Early enough to pass out candy to a few kids at our door.  Everyone was tired this morning though.  It's David's birthday today.  He's 42 (It's the answer, heeheehee).  We'll give him his present when we get home tonight.  Then we'll take him out to brunch this weekend.