Out of the Mouth of Marshall

Marshall calls Darth Vader "Dark Vader" and black widow spiders are "black windows." He prefaces a lot of sentences with "actually..." and he has taken to misusing the phrase, "speaking of..." An example: One day I mentioned something about marshmallows. He said, "speaking of marshmallows, mama, my friend at school wore a Dark Vader shirt."

A frustrating conversation:
Marshall: I'd like to watch a show.
Emily: Ok, please clear your plate and I'll start a show.
M: I don't want to clear my plate!
E: Then you can't watch a show.
M: I WANT to watch a show!!
E: Then please clear your plate!

A few more rounds of this and he finally cleared his plate and watched a show.

A funny conversation:
Marshall: sometimes daddy lets me have dessert after dinner
Aunt Stephanie: you can have dessert if you're good.
M: I'm always good for daddy. I'll be extra good for you.
S: Are you good for mama?
M: Not really.

Fall Fun

September is zooming right along. Marshall enjoys school. We all like his teachers and he's made new friends. He's been really into playing "pirates" lately. Lots of sword fights and yelling, "arrrgh matey!" We've been having a heat wave...high 90's. Whew! Last weekend, we spent an evening in San Francisco, celebrating a friend's b-day. A fun outing. Today is our 10th wedding anniversary! Time flies when you're having fun. =)

The happy couple with the cute boy

Leaf raking time

I think we have our Halloween costume

First Day of School

Marshall started pre-k today. He seemed to have a good first day. He was happy to be dropped off and when I picked him up he said he made new friends. They made necklaces out of Fruit Loops, which he was so excited to eat, but he made the mistake of leaving it on the floor when we got home. Riley promptly ate it. I was secretly pleased. I didn't want Marshall eating all of those Fruit Loops!!

Goodbye Summer

Our August ended on a fun note with a three night camping trip. We went with a few other families to Portola Redwoods state park. We played in the creek, hiked to a little waterfall, ate lots of wonderful food, spent an afternoon at the beach, and enjoyed the nightly campfire camaraderie. The setting was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and we had a fun weekend overall, marred only by Marshall getting car sick on the way home.

Labor Day weekend was also a lot of fun. We spend a lot of time with friends, relaxing and catching up. My dad came up for a quick over night trip. We spent a day by the pool at Mary Ann and John's and went with my sister to look at a wedding venue. The weather finally got hot...belated summer temps!

Shaving cream + food coloring = bath fun

Steph and me enjoying a margarita
Papa & Marshall's pool noodle battle

Enjoying Mary Ann and John's pool

Waterfall on camping trip hike

Waning Days of Summer

Swim lessons are over. Summer camps are over. Most of Marshall's friends start Kindergarten either this week or next. Sadly, summer is coming to an end. Marshall starts pre-K on Sept. 7. Two more weeks! We plan to fill the time with a camping trip, a hair cut, shoe shopping, and a relaxing Labor Day weekend at home, seeing friends.

A few days ago, Marshall captured an odd green bug (maybe a katydid?) which he named Buzzy Bug. The bug hung out in our yard and Marshall cared for it diligently (i.e. likely speeding up its demise). This morning we had some serious trauma. Marshall was screaming bloody murder, having found Buzzy dead and half eaten by ants. Yikes.

On a funnier note, on a recent walk around the neighborhood, some random guy saw Riley and said, "that's a good looking dog you have there." I thanked him and Marshall chirped, "hey, what about me?" The random guy responded, "oh, yes, of course you are very cute too."

August is moving right along. We spent a weekend in Carmel, visiting a friend. Chris celebrated his b-day. We helped a friend stain her deck (lattice looks lovely but it is the Devil). Marshall loved the animal camp he attended at the local wildlife museum.

Ice cream in Carmel

Little monster!
Making daddy's b-day cake

Chris will not be happy I'm posting this!

The dearly departed Buzzy Bug

Really?

Marshall has a regular set of excuses for not using the potty: he's too busy, forgot, doesn't really have to go, etc. Today's explanation: "My hands are too tired to pull my underwear down."

Last week he informed me that I am too bossy and need to stop telling him what to do.

Ha!

He's Got Me...

Some funny Marshall chatter:

E: Would you like 1 or 2 waffles for breakfast?
M: Two please.
E: Ok, I'll go get your waffle started.
M: Mama, you need to say waffleS, not waffle, because I am having 2.

Or:

After I asked him to get please get dressed, he responded, "Mama, do you want to do this the easy way, the hard way, or MY way?" Well, I'd certainly prefer the easy way but past experience has shown that he rarely picks that option! Why he makes everything (getting dressed, brushing teeth, going potty, getting in the car) a fight is beyond my comprehension.