Trick-or-Treat Night

Pauline Visit

We made Buckeye candies, and they were delicious!

Brian's Birthday

Yes, it was Uncle Brian's birthday, and Lauren painted him a picture at school. But, as is the case on blogs such as this one, the spotlight was stolen by Hannah, using all her charm to smile winningly at the camera as only a three-year old can, with a mouth covered in chocolate frosting. And, of course, the majesty of the spoon-on-nose trick.

Uncle Ryan: O.B.

Lauren took this picture of Ryan, who is sporting an authentic 1990 Portland Trailblazers t-shirt. Authentic, in this case, meaning that it's been his since then, not some thrift-store pickup. Making him an Original Blazer.

Y

Sunday, our neighborhood civic association and the YMCA sponsored a Halloween Party. Trevor did not know what to make of it all... and they were both HOT. Trevor left early for naptime, but played a few games with daddy.

carving it up

Patrick accompanied Lauren's pre-school on her very first ever field trip today... to a pumpkin farm... they got to pick their own pumpkin to bring home.  So, tonight we carve.  Lauren wanted to carve a vampire... you know, the guys who are really spooky and live in a castle with blood dripping and are really nice (I'm paraphrasing a bit).
Patrick creating the work of art.
I was given the task of making a witch for Trevor... who was already in bed for the night.  I think her nose might be a smidge large.
Viola!

Gracious...

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks. What can I say? We got the camera back, but haven't hooked it up to the computer yet.

Let's see. Pauline came to visit for another weekend get-a-way... we had fun making Buckeyes. This past weekend we took Lauren and Trevor to the YMCA / Forest Park Civic Association Halloween Party. Lauren wore her unicorn costume, and Trevor was a cow. We have another costume for Friday, but Lauren insisted she didn't want to wear that one to the party... she's holding out for the "real Halloween".

Hopefully we'll actually post pictures soon.
Over all, things are good. Our furnace is currently blowing cold air (or it would be if it were still turned on), so hopefully that will be remedied soon.

Selby Park afternoon

what goes up...

... must come down

While Patrick's away...

Patrick is out of town... so we've been on our own for 4 days!

Trevor had his 9 months appointment on Wednesday... 22 lbs. 14.5 ozs (75-90%) and 29.5 ins. (90%).  He's an excellent sleeper--usually asleep by 7:30 and up at 7:30 with two naps of varying lengths during the day.  He's doing great!  

Doctor lady asked if he eats table food.... and um, he'd eat the table if we let him.  He typically eats 6-10 ounces of formula at breakfast / lunch / dinner... along with about as much food as Lauren consumes.  This morning he topped off a 7.5 ounce bottle with an entire pancake, 3 strawberries and 1/4 banana.  Lauren ate 2 pancakes, 2 strawberries, and probably about 4 ounces of milk.  At lunch, he ate an entire hotdog, a piece of cheese, part of a piece of bread, 8 grapes, and eventually finished an 8 ounce bottle (took it with us on an outing, and he finished it within the hour).  Lauren ate a hotdog, gave Trevor her cheese, 5 ounces of juice, a pretzel rod, and some grapes.  It's fascinating.... she's 48 lbs. and 44 inches and pretty active.  I don't know where it all goes... little dude's body isn't that big!

Friday we went to the zoo with Francie, Noah, Lucy and their neighbor Avery. Noah and Lauren are exactly the same age, born same day.  Lucy is a few months older the Trevor. Lauren has recently begun telling all that she's going to marry Noah.... however Noah introduced Avery as his "girlfriend"... so we'll see.

This girl LOVES the carousel.
Today we went to the Conservatory with Grandma... no pictures though.  Sorry.  Afterward Trevor enjoyed helping me make cookies... he really enjoyed the clean-up stage. I wasn't sure about the raw egg cookie batter thing... but, whatever. Like I said, he eats EVERYTHING. He licked that beater like a pro!
We're having fun... but can't wait for Patrick to come home tomorrow.  We miss him.

Sleeping Beauty

On the road after taking Pauline home Sunday, we stopped at Burger King. When given a crown, Lauren asked: "How did you know I was a princess?" So precious.

And about 8 minutes after the first picture was taken... there was another site to behold...
A weekend with a favorite cousin can sure wear out a little girl... even a princess. Note the crayon clutched in her hand... she sure loves to color, but just... couldn't... finish...

Beth's Special Backpack

On a walk

Sleepover Weekend!

We had Pauline for the weekend while Debbie's campaign ramps up. The girls are getting good at playing together, and Trevor follows Pauline around like a puppy.

Nine months old (+ 1 day)!

Can you stand it? He's so much more interested in the world these days... and just so darn cute!

fundraiser invite

We interrupt the usual kid oriented family updates to bring you this special announcement!

You are invited to help turn the Ohio House BLUE… by attending a birthday party for Debbie Phillips, candidate for the 92nd Ohio House District!

Sunday, October 12th, 2008
2:00pm to 4:00pm
Claddagh’s Irish Pub, 585 S Front St, Columbus, OH 43215

Special Guest: U.S. Congressman Zack Space

Appetizers and cake, in honor of Debbie’s 39th birthday, will be served
Suggested contribution: $39 or $92
Business casual attire suggested
Ample metered parking available within immediate vicinity of location

SPONSORS:
Platinum
Representative Armond Budish, SEIU, Representative Vernon Sykes

Gold
Representative Ted Celeste, Representative Bob Hagan, Representative Sandra Hardwood, Representative Tracy Heard, Representative Clayton Luckie, Representative Dan Stewart, Representative Matt Szollosi, Representative Peter Ujvagi, Brian Usher, Representative Carlton Weddington, Representative Tyrone Yates

Silver
Kevin Boyce, Dennis Concilla, Hearcel Craig, James Friedman, Governor John J. Gilligan, John Patrick Gilligan, Hal Keller, David Leland, Kathryn and Mike Lorz, Matt Lorz, Alan Melamed, Gayle Channing-Tenenbaum,
Frederick Vierow

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: FRIENDS OF DEBBIE PHILLIPS

Debbie Phillips is running for the Ohio House in the 92nd District, which includes Athens, Meigs, Morgan, and western Washington counties. She is an Athens City Council Member and Executive Director of the Ohio Fair Schools Campaign. Debbie Phillips resides in Athens with her husband Jim and their children, Jeremiah and Pauline. To learn more about Debbie Phillips, please visit http://www.debbiephillips.net/.
Paid for by Friends of Debbie Phillips, 48 Hudson Ave, Athens, OH 45701

Hooray! It's Christmas time!

Bzzzzzzzzt. It's flippin September! C'mon, Kohl's, check a calendar before you change the seasonal displays!

Breakin'

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

HOCKEY!

I know. It's September. But, hockey season is nigh... the first CBJ pre-season game is tomorrow night. Patrick and Trevor went to an open practice two weeks ago... apparently Trevor LOVED it. The beginning of the season is always such a hopeful time... they have a perfect record today!

Catch Up!

Where to start...?

1) Our camera is broken. The wise Patrick bought a warrenty for it though, so it's getting either repaired or replaced, but it will take FOREVER. So, look for phoney photos for the next while.

2) The power was out for many days. The family tagged along to a conference in Toledo, and it should be noted that the four of us do not sleep well in the same room. Trevor likes it DARK. Lauren likes a night-light. Trevor is a light sleeper. Lauren can fall asleep, and stay asleep with a screaming baby in the room. Patrick is creative in that he built a little pillow / comforter chaise lounge in the little foyer of the room where he could read while waiting for Trevor to fall asleep. Some hotels have tvs that can be programmed to act as your alarm clock--so even though I made sure the alarm clock wasn't set for some obscene hour--the tv turned on at 6:30. What?

3) The Toledo Zoo has cool things like hippos, giraffes, seals and polar bears... according to the family. All things the Columbus Zoo doesn't have right now. Also had a playground, and a trainride through Africa. This is what the family did while I was conferencing...

4) The power is back on, thank goodness. I think we finally finished raking and bundling downed branches... living in a community called Forest Park lends to lots of yard work after a wind storm.

5) Lauren had her 4-year old appointment last week. She's 97th percentile in weight, off the charts in height, and incredibly intelligent. She took her shots like a pro this time too! When Patrick told me of the appt, he indicated that they asked insulting questions... something like this: what color shirt is daddy wearing? (red) can you draw a circle? Um.... she beats me out right in tic-tac-toe often. And Connect 4.

6) Trevor has his 9 month appt. soon, so we'll update you then. But, he claps, he crawls (really, really fast), and he's yet to find a food he doesn't like. We joke about how we flick food to him like a monkey at the zoo... but it's kinda like we're feeding a monkey at the zoo.

Trevor Claps!

For the first time ever, and here's the proof. Also: the power's back on, we're all OK, and the sky is not falling.

28 Hours Later

...and my best friend is this little clip-on LED reading light. I keep hearing reports of people's power turning back on, but I'm not holding my breath.

Darkness.

We just learned that it could take up to 7 days to restore power to the 375,000 franklin county households currently without it. Se7en days? wtf? This picture is a currently accurate representation of my family room.

Leading edge of Ike hits Ohio

The wind has been like 60mph for 6+ hours now. We haven't had power for 3hrs. What a crazy day.

video

girls day out

The mall. Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. The movies. Big fun.

boys @ home

The girls are on an all-Girl adventure outing, so Trevor and I are "stuck" watching football. Heh.

My sister, Debbie Phillips!

Ok, I know you're barraged by political commercials, push-poll calls, political surveys by phone, and recordings from your favorite political figures... but this is different. This is my sister!

Give her money. She will be a great representative!
Visit her site to make a donation.
http://www.debbiephillips.net/

That's me, she, and our mom. Go Debbie!

game day

main gate

My First Day of (pre)School

Today I went to preschool at the YMCA. It was lots of fun. It was like a whole lot of fun wrapped into one ball. We played a game together with Lindsay and lots of other kids. The way the game works and the rules are: When Mrs. Hayes (my teacher) passes the ball to me, I tell her my name and my favorite color. I made a new friend and her name is Lindsay. I played lots of games with her and lots of things with her, but, I didn't come home with her. Because, you know, I didn't live with her. I live with my father and my mother and my little baby brother Trevor. And I love all of them.

(as told to daddy, with little to no editing)

Family Pool Day (Labor Day)