Just a note.

This will be really quick, but when Ryan gets home I'll try to tell more about our last few weeks. Till then, here is a quick clip.

Love and Logic for Chickens

Eric said something hilarious this morning. But first, some nuance:

*The kids’ favorite movie the last few weeks has been Chicken Run, where a group of chickens escape from a chicken farm by building a plane—a “crate” as they call it.

*Also bear in mind—Ryan is a hopeless tease.

This morning over breakfast, Ryan was teasing Beth, calling her “Muffin” and “Baby Maybe.” So Eric goes into protective older brother mode and tells Ryan he needs to stop or Eric’s going to get his crate and fly so close he’ll bonk Ryan’s head with the wing. Of course this only goads Ryan on—“What if I called her my sweet potato? How about Beth-bug?”

Then Eric levels the ultimatum: “You choose—the wing or the wheels.”

He explains that Ryan could either get clocked by the crate’s wing or ground under its landing gear. It was so funny to hear him using Love and Logic right back at us. (“Would you like to leave the park now or in five minutes?”) Ryan chuckles and says he’d prefer neither. “I’ll take a pillow. A soft, fluffy pillow. Like a marshmallow.”

Eric wasn’t having any of it. “Okay," he says, "you get the propeller.”

Ryan just stares at him incredulously and then bursts out laughing. “You’re one morbid kid!”

Once Upon A Halloween

Halloween came and went especially quick here. With the baby and all, it felt like it kind of sprung on us. In fact, we hadn't even gotten to downloading the pictures off the camera until we talked to Grandma Alleman tonight and she asked to see the kids' costume. This one's for you, Mom.

Here is Robert at one month.

Here are the kids ready to go trunk-or-treating the Saturday before Halloween. Eric would not be dissuaded from wearing Thomas again, but not having to whip together another costume for him sure made things easier on me. And Beth is not just any pirate. She's a pirate princess!

Behold!

Yo-ho! Hands off me treasure!

This was taken just before we headed out Monday night. Ryan is so in his element here.

Eric in his element.

If you can believe this, the picture was taken before he had any candy.

I was not motivated to dress Robert up, so we made do with a super cute teddy-bear hat a good friend made for him. Is this picture disturbing to anyone else?
Ryan here.

Halloween did kind of sneak up on us. I usually try to write a little something, but with the baby and all, I just never got around to it. So come Halloween Day, I went on a writing website I frequent with some friends and proposed doing a Halloween Bulwer-Lytton.

If you've been hanging around this blog long, you know the Bulwer-Lytton is the Dark And Stormy Night contest, where the goal is "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels."

Here are a few of my favorites. Feel free to add more in the comments if you feel so inclined.

1). Of all the lycanthropic breeds, I had to be bitten by a were-Chihuahua.

2). After years of therapy, both emotional and physical, the troll felt ready to confront the Billy Goats Gruff about that fateful day.

3). "I know you're undead and all," Sophie cooed to Tyrone, tracing his bicep, "but I always go for the bad boys," to which he responded--somewhat awkwardly, due to half his jaw dangling by a few strings of cartilage--"Grawww?" which, roughly translated, means: "How fortunate it is that I dowsed myself in body glitter."

4). The witch drew one wart-rimmed, ragged, grimy fingernail across Barbara's creamy skin, and then said, "Let me tell you about the MaryKay products available for your skin type, darlin'."

5). Now the Hunchback of Notre Dame, he had class--alas, the Hunchback of Hot Topic never got invited to the same parties, and vowed revenge.

6). Russell never realized the problems dentures posed until he became a zombie; off he shuffled into the night in search of a good denture cream, and then braaaaains . . .

7). Gretchen puzzled at the bad rap step-mothers got as she paid the hitman.

8). In frustration, dread Cthullu destroyed another city, desperately searching for his missing teddy bear.

9). Gregory watched in horror as the small lump traveled up his torso and into his left arm, only for a gray head to pop out and announce, "I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!"

10). Dracula, waiting atop the chilly and foreboding Empire State Building, began to despair that his date for dinner, Teri Fayed (on whom he intended to dine), would not be meeting him--not knowing that she'd been struck down by a taxi cab in her rush to meet him, and that now she languished in a hospital two miles away, losing all that precious blood he so yearned for.

Hope you all had a spooky Halloween! On to the holidays!

Our Tricker-Treat Baby is Here!

Ryan here--and so is Baby Robert Stuart!

Just prior to his arrival, I snapped a rare photo of Cassie in her last stages of pregnancy. Also pictured is Beth, posing oh-so-preciously with a baby doll stuffed up her shirt.

Good morning, angels!

Here's the proud papa with a five-minute-old Baby Robbie.

We were very blessed to have Cassie's folks, as well as Mary and Sam, here to help us witht the delivery and as we transitioned from two kids to two kids and a barbarian. To you gladiator-souls who sacrificed so much to be here for us--we salute you!

Here's Grandma Clines (Lela) with the barbarian.

And as for Beth: Beth kisses the baby. Beth sings to the baby. She hugs, pats, pokes, and generally smothers him. We've started calling her the mini-mommy.

And Eric's an old hand at this by now. He's so gentle with the baby and reads to him on occasion. Although he asked me once: "What happens if he doesn't like trains?"

Here's a nice side profile of Robert at a few days old.

Mary made the blessing outfit, and it turned out great. The tie is made from the same material from the quilt Grandma Alleman made for him.

Tell me he doesn't look dapper!

Here's a shot with Cassie before the blessing.

And one with yours truly.

And here is our up-to-date family photo, taken by Mary post-blessing.

While Cassie and I ran back and forth to the hospital, Grandpa Clines (Papa) heroically kept the kids occupied by carving pumpkins with them.

Here they are by the light of day . . .

But by night . . .

Here they are pictured with our two little goblins.

It's been a roller coaster ride of emotions and changes for us, but we are so grateful for the ride! Happy Halloween, everyone!

I know . . .

. . . it's been a while since our last update. But we've been a little preoccupied. With THIS!

Ta da!

Behold Robert Stuart, our latest addition. He's a robust, healthy little boy, avid eater, late-night opera star, erstwhile foe to diaper-changes everywhere, and the tiny center of our existence for the past few weeks.

All together now: Awwww!

Not to worry. More pictures soon to follow. But first, a message from our sponsor . . .

The Many Faces of Beth

What do you do with a daughter who loves to have her picture taken? Who loves to make people laugh by being outrageous? You dedicate a post to her! We love you Beth!

Today we took the kids to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned. Before we left, we asked Beth if she was ready for the dentist to count her teeth. Beth's response: "Only if he's not STINKY or anything!"

Eric went to a superhero-themed birthday party and they handed out the neatest hand-made superhero capes for all the kids. Beth was as thrilled about it as Eric. Luckily he's a good sport and lets her have turns with it whenever she wants.

Our Super Hero!The next few are all from bowling on Eric's birthday.

Coy and cute.

Some of her many faces, all seen on a daily basis. She's like the seven dwarfs in one: happy, sweetie, pouty, moody, sassy, grumpy, and bossy.

I don't know where to start with this one. I really don't. So add your own caption.

This is her explanation for her getup:

"You had a Birthday! Shout Hurray!"

Sorry this is so late. We've had family in town for the past three weeks and thoroughly enjoyed having them. We'll feature highlights from the visits in the next few posts. But today we're focusing on our Eric!

Eric started out his birthday with a combination of family traditions. For the birthday breakfast, the Allemans usually put a candle in a waffle. My dad likes Captain Crunch for his birthday breakfast. Put them together and . . .

Here's the Birthday Boy. Crunch Berries rule!

Ryan took off half the day so we could all go bowling up on campus. I won't share our pitiful scores with you. But the kids had a blast.

Eric showing off his "slipping shoes."

The kid's lounging on Ryan after a long-fought game (which I WON!)

Eric's Birthday cake. Guess who was headlining. (The writing on the cake was supposed to be red, not pink. I do the best I can.)

Eric's not a cake-and-ice-cream kid. Here's what was left of his plate. I don't take it personally (at least not this year).

Here are the cupcakes from his friend party. If you notice, there are mini-trains made from marshmallows and chocolate chips on EACH AND EVERY train. The things we do to make birthdays special for our kids.

Here are Eric's friends eating said cupcakes with helpings of ice cream.

Cue the Birthday song! We love you, Eric!