Happy athenoween!!

I'm not sure which Sylvie enjoys more: Halloween, or athenoween (our massive office Halloween party). 

When we got home we realized TOMORROW is the big day. It kind of snuck up. So we banged out a rush job lack-o-lantern. 

Another Liggett Halloween blowout

This weekend we headed to Connecticut for another round of Liggett Halloween madness. A great time as always.

Here is our Candy Corn Witch doing her best "enchanted fake smile" smile.

That automaton in the middle is Alex. He lasted roughly 2.5 minutes in his costume.

Our best Dummy/Witch/Huntress theme this year...

Holy cow! Maybe she IS a witch!!!

Peter Pan Take Two

I don't know... do you think I've made Sylvie too camera-conscious? She took all of 15 seconds to pick me out in the dark auditorium...

Thanks to Trystan for these last two (Sylvie obviously picked her out too!)

Peter Pan

Never has the role of Mermaid/Fairy #8 been played with such passionate conviction...

The only tense moment of the evening came when the troupe of Mermaid/Fairies, in their collective zeal to score a front row spot for the finale, almost ended up in a pile of fins and wings atop the pianist.

I think she spotted me...

At the end of the play, Melissa remarked, "I can't believe we have to do this again tomorrow night." By which she meant: "That was the best play EVER!!!"

Art

The difference a year makes, as measured in owls:

2013

2014

Art

October 2014: a month of milestones

When we signed Sylvie up for French immersion they gave us very clear instructions: do NOT teach her to read and spell in English. She would get that on her own, they told us, in good time. It would confuse things and slow her progress to try and teach her too quickly.

Knowing that and accepting it are two different things. I, for one, have been a little stressed watching other kids Sylvie's age plow through books while Syl was barely able to sound out even rudimentary words. Then, all of a sudden, it clicked--just like they promised it would. She's still very much a beginner, but as tends to happen with such things she's making light years of progress every single day. And she's super proud and excited to be reading, which is probably more than half the battle.



Between this and the sudden bike riding, October 2014 is shaping up to be quite the month!

Snow Princess

Thanks for the cool dress Grammy!!! Sylvie was the hit of the party tonight. 

Pumpkin pickin'

We rounded out the day with a trip to Out Post Farm to pick some pumpkins.

The "baby" suffered a little drop... so we patched her up.

Riding like a PRO!!!

After our long trip, Sylvie worked off her energy with a long bike ride--ALL the way down Willowgate (both cul-de-sacs) and then ALL the way down Dalton Road and back!

Quick trip to Ohio

Believe it or not, Melissa's 20th High School reunion was this weekend! Tickets were off the charts, so we decided to do it like we used to and drove. The long drive was worth it, both for the fun we had meeting Melissa's friends and seeing her school, and for seeing Grandma Lynne and Grandpa Steve , Great Grandma and Grandpa Steve and Betty and Mom's Uncle John, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Christian.

Sylvie even got to open some early birthday presents. Bonus!!

Can you find her?