HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Henry is celebrating his first Halloween with Meme in Stoneham. We have a beautiful autumn New England day for the occasion. Though he might not participate in many Halloween activities (no candy for baby), he does have a little pair of jammies to wear with pumpkins, ghosts, and "Boo!" on them if he makes it past his bedtime to greet a few trick-or-treaters.

For those who may be going through withdrawal because I haven't posted lately, we've had a few obstacles to internet access and blog time.

In summary, here's the October news from the Wisconsin Leydon family:

• We've officially moved! We now live in our new house. It is a strange, yet pleasant feeling to unpack boxes with a permanent attitude. No more apartments. No more temporary or make shift spaces. And more importantly, no more RENT! Whew, what relief to know that the apartment is cleaned and the keys turned over. What a job. A big thank you, once again, to my mom and sister, Jessica, for all their help. We'll have to be creative to find a way to express our gratitude for all they've done (I'm thinking Jessica will cash in an I.O.U. for painting assistance in her new condo soon!).

• Henry and I are keeping Meme company as she recovers from total knee replacement surgery. We are happy to report that Claire is having a speedy recovery from this operation. Everyday she feels better - less pain (or at least fewer pain killing drugs with tolerable pain), more mobility (in the knee and in general) and more strength. She is being a very good patient and following instructions from the visiting nurse and physical therapist. We are all so glad that things are going well for her!

• Henry has been a very active boy. He continues to explore his world by crawling around, pulling himself up on EVERYTHING and tasting this or that. He is ready for the Wisconsin winter now that we've purchased a winter coat, snowpants, hat, mittens, fleece jammies, and his first pair of shoes! Just before we left for Boston we saw our first taste of winter with a few flurries. A note about Madison: last year they had record breaking snowfall with 109 inches through the winter. Apparently, the Farmer's Almanac called for 110. So that was a fairly accurate prediction, right? This year's prediction? 120 inches.
  

Peek-A-Boo

I see you, too! Henry loves playing peek-a-boo. Oh, and I guess he learned how to pull himself up in his crib (despite the lack of bars to hold onto), as this is what I walked in to find when I heard him wake up from nap today.

I should be packing, but I'm taking a blogging break, because George has had a long day at clinic, conference, training, hospital, wherever his residency demands his presence...and I'm tired and lonely.

My life is in such chaos right now. George and I have started to move boxes and other things over to the new house. That means that our belongings are split between two living locations, and when juggling life with Henry, that requires more organization that what I have energy for at the moment. So he's gone without a bath for two nights in a row, he's worn the same jammies, and has eaten applesauce for just about every meal! At least I know that he won't remember this neglect when he's older. I feel like I've devoted so much attention to house stuff lately, and not playing, singing, reading, or cuddling. Despite wanting to just devote hours on end to packing, or cleaning, or painting, babies continue to need nap time, meals, diaper changes, etc. Therefore, it seems like most projects are started, interrupted, and completed in only small increments of time, which I've found to be quite frustrating.

I am so thankful that my mom and sister are coming this weekend to help -- even if they only just occupy Henry so that I can do what I would like at the house it will be "mission accomplished!"

As I close, I want to draw your attention to those big teeth making their way into Henry's mouth. Teeth can really change a person's smile, huh? In fact, I've become quite accustomed to his gummy grin. Well not any longer!

Working hard

A few more photos - on our breaks as we clean and continue the home projects. Henry's new swing, which he absolutely LOVES, in fact, he cried when we pried his hands off the ropes so we could move on to something else. There will be more days of tree swinging, I'm sure of it.

The second picture is Henry begging for food. He's downing the bread from my sandwich like a little birdie with his mouth open, waiting for momma to drop in little goodies. Gone are the days of mine and yours. Only yours. What's mine is yours. As in, my lunch is your lunch. Even after 7 months, I still feel like a "new mom" sometimes as each new stage leads to new lessons in parenting. Can I still use that excuse when he's a teenager?!

I Heart Rug Doctor

Oh happy day. I'm in love with yet another doctor. The Rug Doctor.

If cleanliness is next to godliness, I've moved up the ladder a little closer to heaven.

Our previous homeowners weren't big fans of cleaning. In the sale agreement, they were to leave the master bedroom bed and family room sectional couch. Sounded good to us as we are in need of couches, and wouldn't want to turn down an extra bed. (bed story in brief: floating headboard attached to wall with 2X4's...oh, and storage drawers underneath the bed are handy, unless they don't open because they're angled into the corner of the room as is...another project, another story, another day).

I've referred to my dad's advice of "nothing in life is free" in previous posts and reflect on its meaning once again. For fear of visitors not wanting to use said furniture, I'll skimp on the details and just let you imagine the possibilities with the fact that these people were dual pet owners (a cat and a dog) who didn't like to clean. We found a Merry Maids business card during our cleaning process, which I find ironic, but also indicates that most likely only surface cleaning was done throughout their 6 years of home ownership. While recently I've been contemplating what it means to be tidy, organized, cluttered, or clean, any of the combination of these are obviously not mutually exclusive.

With the help of my dear friend, the rug doctor (and upholstery attachment), we have ousted the kitty smell in the basement and created a space where Henry can play and I can feel confident that his environment is a safe and cleanly one. Although the couch doesn't "look like new" - it does look like a completely different one than that which was left behind! The Berber carpet is three shades lighter, and the stains I was uncertain would come out are almost gone entirely. (On the rug doctor website they claim some carpets, such as Berber, can hide up to a pound of dirt per square foot. No kidding!?!) I'm so impressed and pleased by the results. You'll all have to come see for yourself. The proof is in the pudding!

Wailing and gnashing of teeth

Henry is discovering his mouth full of teeth. With both uppers and lowers, he was grinding away this morning. I cringe with the creaking of bone on bone.

He has also determined that this week we are going to be super early birds. He thinks 5:00 am is a good time to scream at the top of his lungs. Unsure what to do with him, George and I have been trying to let him work it out. Changing his diaper or giving him Tylenol seems to encourage morning wake up, rather than sleepiness. He refuses to settle into cuddles and instead wants to play. And the "let's give it 10 minutes and see if he stops" finds us watching the numbers on the clock countdown the half hour...45 minutes...hour. Ok. We give up. We'll start the day.

Put on the coffee. Yesterday I had a second cup in the morning. Oh and 3 cans of diet Pepsi to make it through the day. Those who know me know I generally don't drink pop. At all.

Autumn Adventures

Over the weekend, Henry and I traveled to Michigan with my mom and two sisters (all riding snugly in her new Buick) to visit my other sister, Jennifer, and her family for what is becoming an annual Capper tradition. Apple orchard day! Of course, this particular apple orchard is more like a fall carnival, complete with petting zoo, inflatable bouncing houses, old farm machinery playground, wagon rides, corn mazes, donuts, and much more fall farm fun. Its actually quite nostalgic for us, given our rural childhood, and even more so for my mom, considering the "Model B" tractor that Andrew was playing on was one mom drove as a youngster on her family farm.

We had lovely weather (still feeling a bit on the warm side for fall) and the leaves were gorgeous as the reds, yellows, and oranges gleamed brilliantly in the October sun against the dark greens leftover from summer days.

Henry had his first taste of a fresh picked apple. He mouthed a juicy golden delicious intently for part of our trip around the orchard. His top two middle teeth are barreling through his poor gums. Its amazing how quickly they've come in. Like chia pets, you can actually see the progress each day. Anyway, when his apple escaped into the dirt he was quite upset. Temper. Temper. Replacement apple sought quickly.

His time with the cousins was more interactive during this trip. Julia loved holding Henry, telling him stories, and showing him many things - up close and personal. Andrew spent most of the weekend showing him his toys and repeating "mine," as any territorial 2 1/2 year old should.

New house firsts

We had our first meal in the new house this week: take out pizza! We think Henry likes the new space. Right now, there is a lot of room to crawl around. When he's not crawling around, there are many more doorway options to choose from to hang his jumper. Thankfully, it still keeps him fairly occupied while we work.

Henry also had a guest over to look at his new space. This is Mia, Dave and Stacia's little girl (she turned 1 last weekend!). Stacia made a quick afternoon trip to Madison for a visit - it was good to see the two of them - hopefully next time the dads will be around, too.

I think in the first photo they are playing the "I'm not looking at you" game with each other.
For this photo, Mia scooted over to be closer to Henry. What a cute pair of kids!

Mini Me

Henry has been hanging out with us as we are cleaning and getting ready to paint in the new house. He now fits the flannel shirt and khaki pants that Meme bought for him when she visited Detroit shortly after his birth! Like father, like son in this photo!