Owen as Anakin

We had been planning on him being Superman because he had the costume last year and it was a bit too big—but we’ve temporarily lost the cape so I wanted a backup just in case. He picked Anakin Skywalker. I had told him he could try it on when he got home from school, so within minutes of walking in the front door he brought it to me. 🙂

Yes, it’s a little big. To get the waist to fit, I have to order a bit larger-than-necessary size, which makes the rest waaaay too long. I think a few well-placed rubber bands on his legs will work well enough for an hour of trick-or-treating.

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Now with light saber!

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In action!

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In mom’s dress with mom’s matching doll—Part 2!

See part 1 here!

Today Gramma Jean and I tried to get a better shot of Katie in the dress with the doll—and with the bonnet that I found (and didn’t lose after we moved!).

First, Katie was thrilled to get new shoes (I’ve had them forever and finally had a reason to get them out). Second, she loved her “long socks” and sat very patiently while I put her tights on. Third, she was excited to finally hold “her dolly” that she had seen sitting on the table waiting. 🙂

Here’s a comparison shot with the original picture and the closest one from today (out of 147 shots):

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And a collage of the rest of the best:

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Two of my favorites:

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Some pics mom took:

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Showing grandpa her long socks!

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Heading to the bus stop to get Owen, with a brief detour to see the pumpkins and try for more pics:

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As always, excited to see Owee getting off the bus!

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Back at home, refusing to take off any of the outfit:

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Trampoline Birthday Party

Owen was invited to a classmate’s birthday party at a trampoline place—and he LOVED it! Tom took him and got these pics and vids.

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Owen was also thrilled to come home with Ninja Turtle swag—including a tiny plastic skateboard, kleenex, and ooze. 🙂

My first morning program!

Parents and siblings are welcome at Owen’s school every Friday for the morning program (it’s for grades K-2 only). Today was the first time I’ve been able to go.

He was SUPER excited that we were going, and was thrilled to see us when his class walked in. There were about 10-14 parents there.

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Katie didn’t do too badly, but kept inching closer to the kids. 🙂

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They sang a patriotic song about the flag, learned a new dance, listened to a brief talk and watched a few role plays on RESPECT (this month’s topic), and handed out Respect awards for the last week.

We’ll definitely go again. 🙂

Owenisms 55

Mama, am I having a cupcake, no or yes?

Owen and I are coloring and he’s drawing ants (what they’re studying this week in school).
I’m going to draw a purple ant because the green needs to take a nap.

Me: Owen, what did you sit in today? Your pants are a mess!
Tom (from the other room): Is it poop?
Me: No, it’s not poop.
Owen: Well that’s a relief!

Mom! Katie’s an apple!

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Birthday plans didn’t go quite according to, well, plan.

Short story: I had lunch with a new mommy-group friend and then went out to dinner with the fam.

Long story: The original plan was for me and said friend (and our two toddlers) to drive/metro in to DC’s Union Station to see a free 30-minute Joshua Bell violin concert. (Joshua Bell is playing in the Metro again. This time, maybe you won’t pass it up.)

The stunt was seven years ago, but no one will let him forget it.

Hey, did you hear about the famous violinist who played in the Metro and no one paid attention?

Yes, Joshua Bell must say. That was me.

Technically, 27 people did stop the day The Washington Post asked the Grammy-winning violinist to don a baseball cap and pose as a street performer playing for change in the Metro. It was a social experiment for a magazine article: If a world-famous musician and his $3 million fiddle brought some of history’s most beautiful music to a rush-hour crowd, would people stop and listen? “In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?,” the story wondered. The answer: 1,070 people passed Bell without paying him any attention.

Now, after being asked about it nearly every day since, Bell is bringing his violin back to the Metro. This time, on his own terms.

I had heard about the 2007 stunt and thought how cool that would have been to be there, so this time, I figured since we lived THISCLOSE and it would be a cool thing to do—and it would be on my birthday—I wanted to go. HAD to go, in fact. But I also get SUPER anxious doing new things like that so I was sure I wouldn’t actually do it. But then this friend said “I’d love to go! We’ll do it together!” And so we planned. And commiserated about having to take the kids. And planned some more. She would pick us up after her doctor’s appointment, we would drive to the closest metro station that didn’t require an extra transfer (a 20-minute drive), take the metro in (about 40 minutes), watch the concert, then reverse the process home. It was going to be tight, but we were confident. (Well, I was filled with anxiety but was mostly confident!)

So the morning of, things were on schedule and I felt like I was going to throw up from anxiety. And then the doctor’s appointment went awry…he had never run late before but of course ran late today. So we didn’t go. At once I breathed a huge a breath of relief…and also felt a bit of sadness because I really did want to see the concert. But it was all good as we went out for lunch and had a great visit…which I am so thrilled about because before today, we had literally only met once and talked for maybe 30 minutes total at a playgroup at the park. She lives close (maybe two miles at most) and we really get along and are very similar in a lot of ways. So it was a good day, even considering we missed the concert. 🙂

These are our girls at lunch (her daughter is five months older than Katie):

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