We had one of the nicest summer/falls that I’ve witnessed in my 9 years in Utah, and I feel that it is finally over. Just last week we had temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s, even setting some record 
highs, but this week the high temperatures will not make it out of the 40’s (with some overnight lows in the teens! Brrrr). I guess I should expect this, it IS mid-November after all! I’m looking forward to winter err, snow for William to play in. I’m also looking forward to Christmas since holidays are so much more fun with kids that help you feel the excitement again. William was sure amp’d up for Halloween this year. If he would have gotten his first choice he would have been the red power ranger. I find this funny because the name of the original red ranger just happens to be Jason. I’m not sure if this is coincidence or if William really wants to be like daddy. I was not too keen on any costume that involved some sort of bow/knife/gun/battleaxe so we went for his second choice who only slings webs–Spiderman. It was quite fun. I also put Christopher in the same giraffe costume we used for William’s first Halloween, but only long enough to get a picture of the two of them and move on.
The day before Halloween, Christopher had his 6 month well-child check-up and next round of shots. By some ridiculous coincidence Christopher’s measurements were EXACTLY 
the same as William’s were at 6 months: 28.0″ long, 18.63lbs, and an 18.1″ head circumference. Sometimes I think he seems bigger than William did, but I guess time is just passing more quickly. I look forward to all the little milestones that I know are coming, but I also already miss his newborn smell and the way he used to fall asleep all snuggled up while nursing. I try not to be sad because we get to do new fun things like experiment with finger foods and watch him attempt to crawl (right now he only scoots backwards and gets angry). His sleeping has been a little rocky lately and I attribute that to getting shots/being constipated after starting solids/teething/a time change. The last few nights have been better so I think he’s coming around. Last night after his bath I was holding him in his towel and he was alternating smiling at himself in the mirror with snuggling my shoulder. It was like his own little game of peek-a-boo. As I took in the moment I decided my happy boys usually make up for the extra 10lbs of post pregnancy weight and my stretched out tummy. They are happy and healthy and growing and that’s what really matters.
William is a creature of perpetual motion. When he’s not bouncing off the walls he can be either helpful and polite or stubborn and contrary. His favorite color is red. He is somewhat afraid of heights, and dislikes 4 out of every 5 baths. I would consider him 
fairly well mannered for a 2 1/2 year old, but again I don’t have anyone to really compare him to. His favorite new phrase is “but mom…”. He is quite clever. He’s been told recently he needs to eat his dinner before he gets some of his Halloween candy, so last week he requested dinner promptly at 8am. To coincide with the time change we bought him a new clock for his room that has a night-light that turns green when it’s time to get up. He doesn’t always stay quiet until it turns green, but it does keep him in bed and he’s really excited to get up when it changes color. Around Halloween he started telling us things are “scary”. I don’t know if it is just another stage of development or if Halloween has him on a ‘scary’ kick. A few days ago we had to put the pump sprayer stored in the garage into a box because he complained it had “eyes” that were scaring him. He complains of being scared of the shadows in his room and would much rather fall asleep with his table lamp turned on. He will demand to watch Power Rangers and then want an new episode every 10 minutes because “that’s one’s too scary mom”.
We are still wrapping our yard up for winter. The leaves are hanging on extra long this year since it was so warm so late into the fall.
Last weekend we managed to dig the hole for our pre-formed pond and we’re going to attempt to keep the fish (4 small goldfish) outdoors this winter. We have ordered a de-icer to keep the water open, but until it arrives the fish are nestled in a 5 gallon pail in the garage. It has been cold enough to put 3/4″ of ice on the water overnight. The pond project was the biggie on my fall to do list. I still have flowerbeds to clean out, and some edging I’d like to dig in, but if it snowed tomorrow (update: it did) we wouldn’t be in bad shape (minus the leaves). Jason did manage to sneak me away from the yard for one day on an outing to Logan in order to visit his grandparents before they headed south to warmer weather for the winter. They left just in time, as it turned cold almost the very next day!
The cold weather has switched my mind from digging to painting. When I told Jason I had the itch to paint his reply was “It’s been 5 or 6 months, this is a standard statement of fact”.
Luckily he humors me, so I have started an end table painting project for our guestroom with some end tables acquired cheaply off the KSL classifieds. The seller told me they were $25 for the pair, then when Lee went to pick them up for us the seller told him $20 for the pair. When Lee dropped them off he told us he’d consider them part of Jason’s birthday present, so I guess we essentially got them for free. Since that time I’ve invested about $45 in paint and painting supplies. 
If you ask me, my enjoyment was well worth it. Other house-related projects on the docket include painting the downstairs bedrooms, one of which is our guestroom and one of which is supposed to be an office/craft room. I say “supposed” because after 2 full years in this house it is still not unpacked. Hopefully soon. My parents are scheduled to visit at the beginning of December. It is becoming tradition to put them to work when they visit, so during this trip they have agreed to help us replace the carpet in the aforementioned bedrooms with laminate. Again thanks to KSL I purchased enough laminate for both rooms (about 325 square feet) for $250. IF I ever finish the projects I’ve already mentioned, I would also like to paint the mudroom, the downstairs bathroom, and the stairway walls. I’m not sure winter will be long enough!
Because it takes me 3 days to finish writing a blog here is the update. We got some snow and William and Jason built the season’s first snowman. I stenciled my first end table and decided the additional flare added by the stencil was not worth the additional work of trying to put a detailed stencil onto a rough surface so I painted back over it. I guess this means my painted tables are done, and I must move on to painting basement rooms. 🙂
