Trick or Treat and Other Mischief

Libby and Caleb thoroughly enjoyed their trick or treat this year. They made it completely around the neighborhood this year for the first time. They also rang the doorbells and actually said "trick or treat" and "thank you" on their own. Libby chose her dress in September and could barely wait until Halloween to wear it. All year, she was planning to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast until she found this dress. It is a white wedding dress with satin and lace and little rosettes. She loves it and wants to wear it all the time. She wore a long sleeved white shirt under the dress since it was quite chilly, damp and windy on Halloween this year. Caleb was Dracula. He told people he was a "vampi-uuuuhh". They was both so cute! We took lots of pictures of them. Sara stayed with Grandma and took a nap. She didn't fit in Caleb's pony costume from 3 years ago, and it was really too cold to take her out for very long. That evening, Dad excavated the swing out of the basement and brought it up for Sara to use. She loved it! The mobile, music and lights really kept her attention. She just stared and stared without blinking for the longest time.

In other news, Libby is making great progress in her reading and math this year. She can sound out so many words now and is almost through the alphabet sounds and some sound combinations like "sh", "ch", and "ar". Caleb is specializing in good natured trouble making. In an average day, he can really make a mess! He always says, "Sorry" in such a forlorn way that you can't help but forgive him and prepare to cleanup the next disaster. One example is how he tried to help himself to Libby's birthday cake a few days after her birthday party. I found him eating frosting off the side of the cake while it was upside down on the floor. He has recently discovered painting as well, and enjoys painting masterpieces with some rather muddied water colors. He is so proud of his new ability to color within the lines when he is coloring. We are working on color recognition now - just yesterday he colored a purple sandwich. Sara is such a good little baby. She is still sleeping all night - usually from 9-7 or longer if Caleb doesn't wake her with his racket in the early morning.

Annie and Millie are caring for their sweet little kittens and have most recently moved them to Caleb's room. I don't know what they were thinking when they chose his room over all the other places they could have gone in the house. Hopefully, we can convince him to leave them alone when he is supposed to be napping.

I was comparing pictures of Libby, Caleb, and Sara when they were babies to see how much they looked alike. Sara looks so much like Libby that she could be her clone. Here are a few pictures to compare. See if you can tell who is who. The rest of them are posted online.

This month we are teaching the three four and five year old kids at church. They are so much fun! They are the same kids that we taught last year, so I am enjoying having my kids back again. Libby is going to be in the children's Christmas production at church this year, so she has a littler practice after church each Sunday.