Spooky Celebrations

In preparation for Halloween, I bought a watermelon. Because that's what you do. Caleb saw it and got really excited, but then begged to buy a pumpkin, too. So... he and I went to the store and bought a pumpkin, too.

Craig took over the watermelon, and Calista and Caleb worked on the pumpkin.

Craig did great, hollowing out the pumpkin nearly all by himself.

Calista and Caleb went to work on the pumpkin,

Though we quickly decided Caleb was a little too free with the knife and relegated him to eating watermelon.

Calista discovered that she had never gutted a pumpkin before

And she, surprisingly, loved the feel of the seeds and muck in her fingers.

After it was cleaned out, we got out the drill and let Calista go to town.

She loved using the drill, too. I think it made her feel powerful.

The finished products were pretty awesome.

Especially all lit up.

And Calista and Craig were both pretty proud of their creations.

As for costumes, Caleb went back and forth a bit before finding an owl costume in our costume box.

He fell in love with it, and decided that's what he wanted to be for Halloween.

When we went to Boo at the Zoo, we got a picture of Caleb with the snowy owl.

He loved it.

Craig informed me he wanted to be a pumpkin for Halloween. Why?

I don't know.

At first I thought I'd have to make one, because I had no idea where to find a pumpkin costume that fits a 7-year-old.

But, to my surprise and Craig's delight, I found one at the thrift store!

Complete with a jack o' lantern face. How perfect.

Calista was Elsa for Halloween, which has been a long time coming. 

The August Calista was 4, she decided what she wanted to be for Halloween... for the next 6 years. I might have laughed at the time, but here we are: Year 6. 

Her list is now complete. Never doubt a Calista when she makes plans.

My kids were all excited for their costumes, 

and I was pretty happy to have only spent about $20 on all three.

As previously mentioned, on Halloween itself we first went to Boo at the Zoo.

It was cold but not horrible, so we had a good time.

The white handed gibbon put on an especially good show,

And it was nice to get out of the house and do something as a family.

We also got out of the house that evening.

We hit up a few houses in our neighborhood

carried lanterns in our pockets and in our hands, 

And had an overall good time.

And got lots of candy.

Happy Halloween!

Craig Year 7 Retrospective

What an awesome little boy this guy is!

Of course Craig, like us all, has had an interesting year. He was doing really well at grade 1 in school, 

learning and enjoying field trips like going to City Hall. 

Then school was interrupted and moved online, which he struggled with (meaning I struggled, too). Craig has a silly side (shocking, I know) and interacting online was just too silly for him and too easy to tune out. 

He had an amazing teacher who had Craig figured out, including the silliness, which is the only way things worked out at all during online schooling. When the new school started up and we had the option of in-person learning, we took it. Craig is thriving academically, and making new friends, too, which is a benefit online could not give him. 

Craig has been doing gymnastics throughout the year, except when everything was closed. Usually he listens, and has been enjoying it. Surprisingly, he doesn't like the rock climbing wall. Go figure.

He also learned to ride his bike without training wheels, 

although he sometimes is unsure about starting. 

He loves playing outside. 

Craig is the child most likely to go out in the cold or dark winter, and he usually just finds weird little ways to entertain himself. 

While he very much enjoys social interaction, Craig doesn't necessarily need anyone to play with to have fun. 

Sometimes he does want people to join him, though, especially when he makes up games and rules as he goes. 

If you don't play correctly, Craig can get rather upset rather quickly, leading to a full on tantrum sometimes. 

Craig is incredibly stubborn. If there is something he doesn't want to do, it takes nearly a miracle to get him to do it, and is nigh impossible for him to do it happily. His emotions are big, 

both the good and the bad, 

and so his reactions to life are pretty big, too. 

For someone who doesn't want to sit down and color, Craig sure loves to craft and create. 

Like everything else he does, Craig just has to do it on his own terms. 

Sometimes this means using dozens of pieces of paper in a single day, 

or creating a very nearly life-sized version of himself out of paper. 

Sometimes he is so silly 

that I forget how serious and sensitive Craig is, as well. Like, when he set up his "alone chair" in the trees while we were camping, 

so he could have some place to "pray or something" like Joseph Smith and Moses did. 

My little man is such a sweet boy. 

He gives the best hugs and climbs into bed to cuddle with me nearly every weekend. 

Craig's best friend is Calista, 

and he's also gotten much closer with Caleb the last several months. 

Watching the three of them interact is usually the highlight of my day... 

unless they are fighting. Then it's the most frustrating part of my day.

Craig is learning and growing so much. 

I can't believe he's seven!

Loves:

Applesauce

The color orange

Cuddling

Reading - especially non-fiction and Dogman

Mario Maker

Dislikes:

Sitting still and making a "normal" face for pictures

Not getting his way

Being bored

Picture Review:

October 2019

November 2019

December 2019

January 2020

February 2020

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

June 2020

July 2020

August 2020

September 2020