Fall's End

Over a month since I posted?? The year is almost over?? All is fine here. November ended with a quiet Thanksgiving at home. My dad came up, Steph and Wynn came over, and we stuffed ourselves silly. It was a nice holiday weekend.

Our impressive leaf pile

Banana slug on hike (ewww)

Papa, Marshall, me on a chilly hike

Marshall, Wynn, Steph, Papa on Thanksgiving

Halloween, etc.

I probably say this every other post, but where does the time go?? November already? Our October ended on a great note. Chris and I spent a weekend in Healdsburg with some friends and Chris ran a half marathon. He did GREAT. It was a wonderful get away...perfect weather, lots of good food, excellent wine, fun to hang out with our friends. My mom came up to stay with Marshall and they had a lot of fun together. Grandma stayed through Halloween, which was also a lot of fun. We went trick-or-treating at Grammy Mary Ann's office in SF and then did the nightly neighborhood round with a group of friends. Candy overload, for sure!

November hasn't been quite as stellar (yet). I was really sick last week and stayed in bed for 3 days. That wasn't much fun for any of us. Here are some of Marshall's recent gems:

• Last week, Marshall told me, "I like you better when you are sick." Over the weekend, seeing I was on the mend, he reiterated that sentiment and asked, "when can we get you sick again? I don't like you so much when you are healthy." Of course not! More discipline, healthier food, and less TV.


• 
  
  Helping Marshall in the potty, I exclaimed, "wow, Marshall, your poop is bright green." He replied matter of factually, "Well, mom, last night at Mark's party I ate blue frosting and yellow frosting. That is why my poop is green. " Ivy League, here we come! =)


• 
  
  In one rushed breath, "Mama, help me find my crane's lights, let's build a fort, I want to go dance in the leaves." Love the enthusiasm, but whew, he's exhausting!

Making banana pumpkin bread...YUM

The pirate and his school friends

Grandma the Viking

Cowgirl and Magnum P.I.

Marshall's fire breathing monster pumpkin

October Happenings

We're enjoying beautiful weather and the month is moving right along. Marshall is alternating between being unbelievably fun/cute and beyond impossible. He is starting to boycott naps on a regular basis, which is sad for me. He has napped well past his peers, for which I am grateful, but the subsequent behavioral changes aren't great. If he naps, he has a hard time going to bed at night and if he doesn't nap, WWIII erupts in the late afternoon/early evening. Marshall used to go to bed easily. Now, almost every night is an ordeal...he's up to go potty, get a drink, tell me about the monsters in his closet, or that it is too dark.

Recently at bed time he said, "mama, I want to sing you a song." In an adorable little sing-song voice he started, "mama, I love you so much..." I was rather touched until he continued with, "but not so much because you never do what I say."

The other day I was sitting on a small toy and he said, "my toy is under your jimmies (what he and his father call their private parts)," pause, "or whatever it is you have down there."

I got my flu shot today and Marshall has since wanted to play doctor. He had to tell me exasperatedly, "MOM, patients do NOT kiss their doctors!"

Marshall started soccer week before last. Aside from occasionally picking up the ball, he looks like a natural. It is not competitive, nor does it really focus on any real skills but they play lots of fun games and the coaches do a great job with an unruly age group. After his first practice, Marshall tackled me and yelled, "I LOVE soccer."

Last week, Marshall, Steph and I made a quick overnight trip down south to celebrate my grandpa's 95th b-day. My mom and Bob had just gotten home from Idaho so it was nice for us all to get together, albeit brief.

Marshall decided a few weeks ago that he wanted to be Darth (Dark) Vader for Halloween. I have had a heck of a time finding a costume. The toddler version is too small and the smallest child size is enormous. I took Marshall to the costume store to try and entice him to pick something else but he has been adamant that he'll only be Vader. Yesterday, after yet another failed costume expedition, I told him that he couldn't be Darth Vader, he'd have to pick another costume. He said, "Ok, I'll be a pirate." Whew!

Steph & Marshall

My grandpa's 95th b-day

School project

Soccer

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