peeeez and daaaaaaanks

After much practice this week saying "Boo!" (which sounds more like "bow" but has enough enthusiasm behind it to make up for my lack of annunciation), Halloween finally arrived! I met my friends from the neighborhood outside and went trick-or-treating for the first time, where I learned to say please (peeeeeeez) and thanks (daaaaanks). While Daddy insisted that I mind my manners by taking just one piece of candy at each house, I did attempt to butter up as many people as I could by saying "bye bye" in my cutest voice and blowing kisses in the hopes they would insist I take another piece. I think I was close a couple times, but the need to keep up with the pack of kids (all of whom walk much faster than I do!) prevented me from closing the deal. I still came home with an impressive Elmo bucket full of candy.

Happy Halloween!!

Perhaps the reason I've been invited to so few parties in my life...

This weekend I went to a Halloween party hosted by my new school. Despite a plethora of games, snacks and interesting attire, I discovered that an Oreo and a balloon were all I needed to be entertained. Additionally, I discovered that repeatedly walking off with the only basketball for the hoop-shooting game does not amuse anyone but myself.

Dragon queen

With the changing leaves and chilly weather I knew that we couldn't be far from that special time of year when mom dresses me up in a silly uniform and parades me around like a circus chimp. And so it was that today was the second annual playgroup Halloween party. Good to know other moms share questionable and not altogether unscary judgment when it comes to toddler apparel. Seriously, is my stylist out of town this week?? My outfit totally made me look like I've been putting back too many ho-ho's.

At any rate, I thought it was a special time to reflect back on how much we've all changed in the last year...and of course just to check and see if anyone's mom made them recycle their costume from last year. (How embarrassing, right? Luckily for my friends, no repeat performances in this group.)

Me 2007: Baby bumble bee

Me 2008: Preparing for my big entrance (cue the band!)

Zach 2007: Mr. Monkey

Zach 2008: Dinomighty!

Jack 2007: MVB

Jack 2008: Sweep the leg!

Jordie 2007: Able to extinguish fires with his eyes

Jordie 2008: Bummed to be downgraded to using a hose

***

And some newer members of the posse:

Gabe 2008: Wondering where his security is

Mia 2008: Hardly living up to her costume (clearly she was not aware that the alternate snack option was cookie with frosting)

Kool and the Gang 2008 (Umm, I get to be Kool, right?)

The "good kids" (i.e., the ones who posed for the group shot for longer than 5 seconds)

Did you hear the one about the dragon and the pig?

We've been friends for practically our entire lives, which allows me to do this without consequence

Park it right here

Beautiful fall days seem like a good time to catch up with old friends outdoors, so I invited my gal pal Rylie to my 'hood for a little brunch and some playtime in one of the downtown parks.

At brunch, my mom ordered me food off the kiddie menu and I actually ate it! For the first time, I ate food off the kiddie menu! And for those of you constrained by forks and knives, I am here to tell you that half a Belgian waffle dusted in sugar and dripping with butter can be eaten just like a piece of watermelon! (Had I given mom the heads up that I was going to eat my breakfast, rather than stare it down (per usual), she would have brought the camera into the restaurant. No...really. She would've.)

On the way to the park, Rylie and I enjoyed a quick rest on a bench. At the park, we found a slide made of rolling tubes (almost like a conveyer belt for babies!) and I enjoyed tens of trips down it. Once we were done running, sliding and swinging, Rylie and I hugged it out for a little bit in what turned out to be a touching (and unprompted!) photo op.

While we enjoyed the crisp fall weather and the colorful foliage, Rylie and I were a bit perplexed by the families in the park for photo shoots. We've never seen whole families dressed in the same outfit! We've seen some silly stuff in our lifetimes, but that was some of the silliest! Mom had no good explanation for that one.

Too cool for (not being in) school

Now that I'm a big girl pushing two, I figured it's time to join my peers in some thoughtful discussion about letters, numbers, animals and other worldly subjects. And so I'm saying goodbye Gymbo and hello Montessori school! Two days a week for an hour-and-a-half I'm going to school all by myself! (Except my mom has to drive me because I can't reach the pedals.)

Today was my first day in Miss Kelly's class. We spent the whole time out on the playground, where we colored pictures, collected leaves, played with a parachute and practiced our walking, running and tip-toeing. I even drank out of a big kid cup at snack time!

I let Mom stay with me today and I'll let her stay tomorrow, too, but after that I'm going to have to insist on some quality alone time with my newfound friends. After all, how can I maintain my status as the "cool new kid" with my mom hanging around?! Seriously.

Before I left for school, I comforted Pooh because I think he was a little sad to see me go. I assured him that my schooling would in no way impact our quality time together, and I think he generally felt better about things.

Mom didn't really need comforting (she was excited!) but she really needed some help with the hair. I was all, "You're taking me to school looking like that? Just drop me a block away, okay?"