Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. We sure did. Fin's school had a fun day where the kids got to circulate through the preK and K classrooms and each teacher had an activity for them. Here is Fin and her buddy Jamil (they are so cute, they bicker like an old, married couple) decorating cookies. She is telling him he's doing it all wrong, then he would look at me and roll his eyes.


Then, they got to go around to the classrooms and trick-or-treat.


This is the point I left. No way was I staying trapped in a room with 25 5-year-olds hopped up on sugar and adrenalin.

When I picked her up, she was eating gummy teeth. Gross, no?


When I told her that, she looked at me with great exasperation and said, "It's not gross. It's candy, it's not people."

Tonight we went trick-or-treating with Nancy in her neighborhood. She lives in a really nice neighborhood that has better candy, oops, I mean... is safer than ours for wandering around at night.

Fin was a cowgirl...


... I was her cow.


To wrap up the evening, we went to the zoo for the "Train of Terror" driven by Brandon, aka "The Evil Train Conductor".


She had a great day and so did I. Now I'm just waiting for her to fall asleep so I can steal all of the Reese cups out of her stash.

Fin at the Gym

I haven't been able to get any clear shots of Fin in gymnastics class. The gym is deep from the parent's area and my small camera doesn't reach that far. When my mom was here, she was able to get some good shots with her hardier camera.

Fin likes gymnastics and it is good for her. They do lots of strength training and the kids are always moving on a circuit. The instructors are all very supportive and focused on the right things; teaching kids to be healthy, letting kids have fun, and making kids feel good about themselves. I really lucked out to find this place so close to my office and so close to my wishes for my kid.

Making Mr. Pumpkin

Looks like it's waiting for the Demon Greengrocer of Fleet Street:


EEEWWWWWWW! Pumpkin guts!


"Whatcha doin? Can we help?"


The butchering is complete:

Our Weekend

Well this was the kind of weekend I imagined as I waited for my daughter. Saturday, we went to a birthday party for Empress Elizabeth. Kids birthday parties. In a few years I will probably be saying, "Egads! Another one? What, they have a birthday every year?" But, for now, it is a real treat.

Elizabeth's party included tons of food, including a delicious cake, outside play, crafts, and a pinata. Fin had never seen a pinata before and she thought it was a great idea; you get to hit something without getting in trouble and you get candy at the end. Yippee!

Riding a car with a helpful push from the older kids:


Knocking back a shot of Nerds:


A blustery day allowed for what Fin called, "kite flying":



Elizabeth turned four and what a terrific four she is. She runs fast and talks a lot and loves eating potato chips. That may not seem like something to note, but when Elizabeth came home a little over a year ago, they were things that were difficult for her. It has taken a lot of love, attention, and pushing on the part of her parents to see this blooming in Elizabeth. She could not have ended up in a better family.

It reminds me how lucky I am that Fin was in a foster family who cared for her as if she was their daughter forever. It was a hard separation for everyone and I have many emotions of gratitude and guilt and jealousy wrapped up in that relationship that Fin has with her foster family. It was still the best possible start in life for my daughter and I shouldn't forget that.

So, one of my favorite moments of the day was when Elizabeth came riding into the backyard on her electric jeep. Two of the older girls were walking in on either side of her... it was like the Rose Parade queen and her court were entering. She's so cute.


Sunday was an easy day. We spent the afternoon on my bed watching the race and reading and having tickle fights and making up stories and playing with cats. At one point Maggie crawled up onto the pillow and made herself comfortable. I got the camera to take a picture and Fin pulled Charlie's cat bed up where we were so that we could get a family portrait.


Since I have been neglecting the blog lately, here a few pictures you missed...

Riding the train with "Engineer Brandon":


Barging in as I was taking a picture of my friends' children:


Pony ride at a small town festival:


"Watching" a race (just like her grandpa):


Mismatch day at school:

If a Tree Falls in the Forest and No One Blogs About It...

Hey, there, strangers. It has been quite a filled and fulfilling couple of weeks. My parents returned from an extended summer in Maine. They stayed with Fin for 5 days while I went away to the beach with my friends. I read 3 books and watched 3 movies. I had some nice conversation, good food, and cheap wine. Lovely. I am so appreciative to have parents who not only stepped in with Fin, but cat-sat, cleaned and did household chores, too, so that our little home was left better than it was found.

Fin is still making me pay for it, though. Don't be mistaken, Fin is crazy for her grandparents, but she still doesn't like for me to leave. I have yet to get a kiss, though she is now sparingly doling out hugs. When asked if she missed me, "No. I miss Jimmie Car." Well, the car was happy to see her, too.

Though lots of small things are constantly happening in Fin's life, October has been pretty quiet. So, instead of catching people up, consider this joining your regularly scheduled program already in progress.