Happy Halloween!

So as you can see, we have a pirate theme this year. Last night we went for some kiddie trick-or-treating at our town park. Then we went for our third (yes, third!) hayride of the season. There actually wasn't any hay in the trailer. Anyway, we forgot Jules's costume, so you can still try to guess what he is going to be. I can't believe no one has guessed so far.

Tonight we will be trick-or-treating in Brittany's neighborhood. Then tomorrow night is the costume contest at the town park. Then Halloween season closes :-(

Pumpkin Carving

Isaac carved our pumpkin this year.

Doesn't it look just like Orion?

It's a pirate!

Spooky!

Only you, only I

Far from day, far from night,
Out of time, out of sight,
In between earth and sea,
We shall fly; follow me.
Dry the rain, warm the snow;
Where the winds never go
Follow me, follow me, follow me
To a cave by a sapphire shore
Where we'll walk through an emerald door,
And for thousands of breathless evermores my life you shall be.
Only you, only I,
World farewell, world goodbye.
To our home 'neath the sea
We shall fly; follow me.
Follow me, follow me, follow me.

Can you believe Jules is one month old already?! Time just seems to fly by. Not long after Jules was born, this song got stuck in my head. I sang the last verse to him over and over while we nursed all by ourselves during the night. Finally I had to look up the words online and found that I was not butchering the song all that much. Anyway, the song is from one of Isaac's least favorite musicals. Anyone know what musical? No cheating by searching online.

Photo Shoot

Jules had his first photo shoot:

Yup, that's a naked baby on my couch.

Look how high he holds his head up!

Uh, oh! He's hungry!

Sweet baby :-)

Clothes make him grumpy :-/

Big brother had to join the shoot, too.

Orion's Corner

Well, Orion says he wants to tell everybody nothing. He says he is waiting for Halloween. Here are some photos of Orion being paternal:


Here he joins Mommy and Jules at the couch. He didn't nurse the baby doll, but he did carry it while supporting the head.


He wanted to take a walk and when I told him yes he immediately got his stroller. He didn't want to bring his doll, though. He opted instead for a flamingo.


The main reason he wanted to take a walk was to see the caterpillars that are all around a tree down the street. He likes to poke them with a stick.


Here he is teaching Jules how to play peekaboo. Cute, huh?

The Gram Cam

Grandma Y just visited the StarShine family and while she was here we barely touched our camera. Good thing she brought hers along! Here are some of the better shots from her camera:

She bought some binoculars for Orion and took photos of him all around the house. In every photo he looks exactly like this, only the backgrounds are different. It's kinda spooky.

Orion got to go to Pumpkin Fest, just down the road, with Daddy and Grandma. They were out of pumpkins :-( but Orion got this season's candy stash started and Daddy won a door prize.

Mommy and Jules try out a new wrap. We like the colors, but think the non-stretchy wrap may get put away until Jules develops some more head control.

Here is a little Halloween preview. Mommy came up with the theme, but the costumes have been entirely created (and bought) by Daddy. Any guess as to what Jules will be? (No fair guessing Gma Y.)

Another Halloween means another trip to the Maize Maze. The first order of business when we got there was a barrel ride.

Then a hay ride.

Then we got lost in the maize.

Aah, Mommy and Jules.

Then, after playing in a big mound of dirt and petting some farm animals, it was time to pick out a pumpkin.

Daddy Duty

In this house, Daddy changes diapers at least twice a week.

Orion's Corner

This is the first post to Orion's Corner. Orion gets to pick out the photo and I'll write what he wants. Here goes...

"I want to write my ABCs and my numbers."
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1234567890
"I listen to John Deere tractors and Thomas." (He is referring to watching John Deere and Thomas the Tank Engine movies on You Tube, which he hasn't actually done in quite a while.)

Well, that's all he wants to share for now. Oh, wait. Now he wants me to tell everyone that he can walk like a crab. And I got this photo of him demonstrating.

He's a Keeper!

A picture of health

Jules had his first pediatrician's appointment today. The doc declared him a keeper! He said that he might have a white tongue, but it is not thrush. Yeah! His gunky eye is not gunky today. Yeah! They did a blood test for jaundice. No jaundice. Yeah! His cord stump had been bleeding. The doc put some stuff on it to help it along. Yeah! He is heavier than his birth weight. Yeah! He is half an inch shorter? Hmm... Not to worry, just due to different measuring techniques.

Jules without the Slime

Here he is all cleaned up.

Details about Jules...

He is a quiet baby. He communicates in a few different ways. One is a pig-like squeal when he is about to pee. If he grunts then he is trying to poop, unless he is sticking his tongue out, then the is trying to burp. If he is crying then I've missed his signal, or I'm changing a diaper. Mostly, though, he is asleep.

He was born knowing how to get his hand into his mouth. Latching him on for the first few days was hard because anytime his mouth was open, his hands were trying to get in. Now he seems to have mastered nursing and it could be my mommy eyes, but he already seems to be beefing up.

When he was born his left ear was curled up inside itself, as if he had be laying on it for the last few months. It is mostly uncurled now. It no longer looks weird, but is not quite as flat as the other ear.

Jules also seems so aware. He is content to just look around even though I don't think he should be able to see very far yet. His neck has great control and if he is laying on his belly he will lift up his head and look around for a few seconds.

He was looking a little jaundiced for a few days, but that has almost cleared. I think he has thrush because his tongue is white, but it doesn't seem to bother him or me yet. His right eye gets gunky, so I'm thinking he's got a clogged tear duct, but I have been keeping it clean so he can always open his eye. We see the pediatrician on Monday and we'll see what he says about all that (and more).

Big Brother

Orion: I'm not a little man!
Mommy: No? What are you then?
Orion: I'm a big brother!

Big brother, Orion, thinks Jules is so cute.

He likes to read him stories.

He likes to watch the faces he makes.

It's important to start reading to your child at a young age.

Orion has been doing well with the transition to big brother. He thinks his baby brother is cute and likes to give him lots of kisses. He is so gentle with him. He is also continuing to be a helper, getting things for me when I can't get up (diapers, food, books, games, etc.). He is no longer getting regular naps, so we have the typical problems of dealing with an overtired 3 year old at the end of the day. For now daddy is off from work, so that is a big help. We'll see how things go in a few weeks.