Halloween is coming

In case we didn't already know (with all the candy that is already in the house) we have been working on decorations for the house and pumpkin carving, we also had a Halloween party playdate this evening but that is going to be saved for it's own post because it was that much fun. Yesterday and today both we worked on handmade Halloween decorations. Scott, Chance and I made construction paper pumpkins and ghosts. It was our first craft project using glue so I was a little worried but Chance did a great job. I cut everything out then Chance picked out the eyes, nose and mouth for his pumpkins and glued them on all by himself. After they were finished we taped them up in the front windows and then went out to see them from the outside. Chance really likes that they are part of the decorations and keeps asking to go out and look at the pumpkins from the outside. Yesterday evening we carved our pumpkin too. We had been waiting to carve him until Daddy got home and since he arrived home from Mobile yesterday we got right to it. Chance and I scooped out the insides, then Scott transformed our pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. After the carving was done we added a candle and watched his big toothy smile glow all evening. Tomorrow we are going to purchase the finishing touches for our Halloween costumes, Chance will be a Mummy and Scott and I will be Mommy and Daddy Mummys.

Halloween Comes Early

Today while Chance was sleeping I got a call from one of the employees at the Postal Emporium which is where our mail goes. We have had a box at the Postal Emporium since we lived in the French Quarter before Chance was born. So the employees have seen his progression since we have gone in to get our mail every day to every other day for the last 3+ years. The caller told me to make sure I come in today and bring Chance. Well that was part of our plan for the day anyway but as soon as Chance woke up I told him we had to get ready and go to the mailbox because they had a present for him. So we got our things together and headed out. When we arrived they called him over and asked if he could say trick-or-treat, he said no but then he said "present please" and they decided that was good enough so they handed him a plastic pumpkin filled with candy. Usually they let him pick a lollipop from a bowl they always have on hand but today they sent him home with a whole pumpkin. We thanked them over and over, they are all such nice people. We brought the pumpkin home and explored it's contents. Chance loved pulling everything out and inspecting every piece. He decided the one he wanted to try was a mini crunch bar. At first he licked it till he got down to the rice parts then after figuring out that it was in fact tasty be ate the whole thing.

Some pictures taken by Chance

talking and running around video

Be warned this video is long. I wanted to get some video of Chance talking so I just let my camera run till the memory card was full. That gave me 8+ minutes of Chance talking and running around our backyard. We are both eating Popsicle at the same time which you will see because we switch Popsicles half way through. Chance says lots of words throughout the video and even says a special hi to Nana, Grammy and Grandpa Von. He also syas his A, B, C's at some point minus Y and Z for some reason he didn't feel like saying those two letters. Also, you will see he has a Cars band aid on his cheek, he got a bug bite the other day and won't stop scratching it so we went to the store let him pick out whichever band aid he wanted (or course he chose Cars) and we are keeping it covered so he doesn't scratch. on He is talking all the time now, so many words and sentences I am amazed all the time.

Videos

These are videos from the day we went to the pumpkin patch
the first two are of Chance and some other kids running around at the pumpkin patch, The next two are Chance and Octavian playing ont he swings and the last one is all the kids running after a pigeon at the park.

Pumpkin Patch

We recently went to the pumpkin patch with our playgroup to get pumpkins for Halloween. It was a bit soggy from all the rain we were having but the people who worked there were very nice and had done their best to cover the big puddles with cardboard and hay plus the kids had tons of fun running around in the mud and jumping in the hay. Chance helped pick out a good pumpkin for carving and then since he already has a little pumpkin at home he got to pick out any one item from the funny looking gourde table and he did a good job I didn't take a picture of it but he picked the strangest looking one on the table. After the pumpkin patch we went to a park and let the kids continue to run around. Videos to follow.

Opening the Box

Scott's Mom recently found a bunch of things that belonged to Scott when he was a little boy. We had planned to go see her this winter but unfortunately that trip has been postponed to Spring/Summer next year so she packed all the things in a box and mailed them to us so Scott could rediscover them and Chance could experience them for himself. There were a lot of great things int he box. A few T-shirts that are still a little big for Chance but when he can wear them they will be cool vintage shirts. Cars which Chance immediately took for his own and transformers that turn into cars and space ships which Chance also loved. Scott showed Chance how they turned from robots to cars, he is still a little young to figure out the transforming but he found it interesting when Scott did it, showing him the robots. There was a great (and very warm) jacket that has a sailboat on the back with an 'N' (for Nielsen) on the sail which we are determined to get a picture with Chance in it but it isn't cold enough for him to wear it quite yet. There are handmade/sewn blocks that we placed on a shelf in Chance's room after he inspected them. There was a wonderful train in the box with lots of cars it is handmade/sewn with buttons for wheels and an 'N' on the engine. It is delicate but Chance has been doing a really good job playing with it gently. There is also a blanket that matches the train "N" and all, along with a lot of other blankets. It is so neat to see these things that Scott used to play with. Chance took all the blankets to his bed and the first night insisted on sleeping with all of them on top of (literally) the three blankets he already has on his bed every night. We plan to sneak a few into the closet when he isn't looking because he is a big fan of blankets. I think I have said this already but I will say it again it was lots of fun seeing the things Scott played with when he was a boy and I know Scott loved being able to share these things with me and Chance too. IMG_7083" height="500" width="375">

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Steam Fest 2009

Today we did something pretty cool. We went to Steam Fest 2009. It is a festival organized by the Louisiana Steam Train Association. There was a band, yummy food, a kid area, a Thomas train to ride on and the highlight of the whole thing a real working steam engine, a restored dinning car from the steam era and other baggage cars that have been converted into museum cars. We ended up getting a year membership to the LSTA because it was only a few dollars more than the fee to get into today's event and we get in free to all their other events for a year. We started with the engine. We were able to climb in, right where the engineer stands and ring the bell which has a pretty nice kick to it so I had to hold on to Chance while he pulled the rope to ring the bell so it didn't pull him off the box he was standing on. After the engine we went through the dinning car which was very fancy and sort of took me to a different place when travel travel was more prestigious than it is today. After that we walked through all the museum cars which told the story of the refurbishing of the engine and cars as well as the building of the Huey P. Long bridge. We learned that they used to take trains across the Mississippi on barges before the bridge was built. The engine we were on, the Southern Pacific 745, was built in Algiers, LA which is just across the river from where we live now. We were able to see part of a movie that was made way back when and discribed New Orleans in a totally different way than what it is now. We traveled down the ramp and off the real train cars right over to the model trains. Chance really enjoyed watching the model trains go around and around then he moved on to the train tables where he could play and play which he did. Chance went in the bounce house for a few minutes but ultimately it was the trains that kept his interest (no surprise there) so back to the train tables he went. After playing a little longer we we collected drinks, popcorn and cotton candy from the venders on site and sat on the grass to enjoy the band. This was Chance's first time having cotton candy and he did not like it, I was surprised by that one but he tried it twice and both times said he did not like it and handed it back to me. All-in-all that's fine with us, now if we could just keep his hands out of the cookie jar... After listening to the music for a while we caught a ride on the little Thomas train that took us out of the festival area, past a few soccer fields and back. Then we made one more round of the festival, train table, model train and then one last walk through all the real train cars to take us back to the exit. We stayed much longer than we had planned (right through nap time) but it was worth it as we all had a great time. There has been so much going on the last few days I have a lots more to share and post hopefully I will get it done tomorrow and the next day. Also I hope to have our Flickr account back up and running in the next couple days so I can share all the picutres I have taken over the last month with you.

Riding on Daddy's Shoulders

For some reason Chance used to ride on Scott's shoulders in the house but anytime we were outside, he immediately begged to get down. Well, not any more. We were at the park this weekend and Chance rode on Scott's shoulders with a big smile on his face.

chocolate milk

we made some chocolate milk the other day which everyone agreed was very tasty. Chance thought it was so tasty that he then cleaned the table where I had spilled a little of the chocolate powder.

Yummy!

Amusement Park

At City Park, one of our local parks there is a year round amusement park. Well, the rides are there year round but the amusement park does close in the winter, anyway we have been putting off going until Chance was tall enough to ride a good portion of the rides. Today it was overcast which kept it cool but luckily the rain held off so we decided to go ride some rides. There was a section for little guys his size, He was very excited and picked the one he wanted to ride right away, They were construction trucks that went bumpity bump around in a circle. He had a great time driving his dump truck. There was a plane ride that went up in the air he wasn't too sure about that one so we skipped it and went to cars that went around in a circle. These are the same cars fairs had when I was little those cars and motorcycles with the half steering wheels and metal fleck paint. Chance picked the car he wanted to ride before the children in front of us hand even finished their turn. He loved it he had a huge smile on his face the whole time. As a matter of fact he loved it so much he did not want to get off the ride but after a little cajoling we exited the ride and went in search of something else fun. Soon we found something that we have wanted to do for years, literally. Ride the train. When we first came to city park just after we moved here I spotted the train tracks and wondered if they had been in use before Katrina, then after we had Chance and came to the park he spotted the tracks and wanted to know about the train. The train took a hit during the hurricane and they did a lot of work to get it up and running again, we have walked on the tracks many times waiting for the train to be fixed and ready to ride so when we saw that the train was open we hopped on board. The man let us all three ride even though we only had two arm bands which was very nice of him, it wouldn't have been the same if either Scott or I had to stay behind. I don't know when the train was built but it feels old and sturdy and wonderful. It felt like you were riding on the same train that has been enjoyed by families for years and years, it looks like a scaled down model of an old steam train. We all had a great time riding the train all through the park, it takes you out of the amusement area and all through City Park over bridges, by New Orleans Museum of Art and through the Sculpture Garden then back to the station. After the train and a little playground time we called it a day, though I am sure Chance could have ridden many more rides and we will come back soon to do just that.

SEAlebration

Yesterday evening we went to SEAlebration, the annual members only after hours event at the Aquarium. Even though we have been members for a couple years now this was our first time attending SEAlebration. It was raining off and on as we walked to the streetcar stop just a few blocks from our house, then after we realized we didn't have the right change to ride the streetcar, Scott braved the rain once more to get some at a nearby shop. When the streetcar finally arrived it was pouring, we enjoyed our ride and by the time we arrived at the Aquarium the rain had already let up quite a bit but we still had to dodge a few puddles as we walked up the steps.
These members appreciation events are great (they have one at the Zoo too), they pull out all the stops. There were two bands one outside and one in, there were three divers in one of the tanks one of the guys stopped by where we were and waved at Chance while he was feeding the fish inside the tank. They open the doors and let you see behind the scenes how the tanks work and where they prepare food for the animals, We were able to listen as they had a training session for the Otters and we were able to pet Stingrays and a baby Nurse Shark all on top of the regular exhibits they always have at the Aquarium. We all had a lot of fun. It seems as though every time we visit the Aquarium it is a new experience for Chance, with all the words he has now and the way he picks them up so fast at this visit he was actually naming the different fish and learning so many new names like Stingray which he said for the first time and then identified other ones in different tanks as we went through the Aquarium. As we exited we noticed more tables along the walkway so we went over to investigate and found more animals. We were able to pet a Ferret, a Lizard, a Beetle, a millipede and the biggest Cockroach in the world. Chance was very interested and brave, he touched every single one he even wanted to touch the more dangerous ones that weren't allowed to come out of their cages. As we continued walking we saw three bounce houses, it had stopped raining at this point but everything was wet however you don't get the opportunity to bounce in a bounce house everyday and you're only little once (blah,blah,blah) so we let him get in anyway. He bounced for a while int he first one and then he moved on to the bounce slides, he had to work hard to get up the stairs but once he did he had a great time sliding down. After he played for a while and got thoroughly soaked we headed for the streetcar and home.

Happy Birthday to Scott

I want to send a great big Happy Birthday to a wonderful man, the love of my life, Scott. We have been celebrating his birthday in bits and pieces over the last few days. On Friday we went out to a nice dinner, then we walked on the beach while watching the sunset and stayed in a hotel for the night while my Mom watched Chance. The whole thing was wonderful, walking on the beach was the most romantic coupley thing we have done in a long time and it was long overdue birthday or not. Then on Saturday we opened presents and had birthday cake. Today we are driving back to New Orleans and although we are spending Scott's actual birthday driving we are doing our best to make it his special day.



Scott,

I love you so much, hugs, kisses and lots and lots of Love on your birthday.

Rayna