Flight

Our flight to Germany went very well; Case played Leapster for a while then slept for 5 or 6 hours, all the way until I had to buckle him in the seat for the landing.

Case's feet would occasionally stick out in the aisle, and I would smile apologetically/indulgently to people who had to step over his feet, and thought to myself how much happier everyone was that he was sleeping. Also that they didn't have to sit in front of him.

Merry Christmas

Tomorrow morning Monkey and I begin our perilous journey to visit Marc in Germany. I have plenty of Leapster games plus some cough syrup with codeine to assure that Case has a great flight. To celebrate, here are some of the fifty pictures I took trying to get a good photo for Case's passport, arranged from cutest to goofiest.

My little jet-setter! Christmas in Germany, then next summer we are off to Okinawa! (Did everyone hear that we got orders to Kadena? We will be there by the end of July!)

Arrrr!

The other day Case was scratching his ear so much it was bleeding, so I tied up his head like a pirate to slow further agitation.



I know that it is a lot of pictures of the same thing; but catching photos of him smiling is still so awesome and novel to me. The camera continues to pay for itself.

Beach

Florida rocks. The weather was beautiful today-mid 70s- so Case and I went to the beach.

Thanksgiving

This would have been a really long week off of school without visiting relatives to brighten our days. My brother and his family picked Case and I up, and we drove to Mississippi to spend the day with Holly, Ronnie and Ben. Thanksgiving, while one of my favorite holidays, is not all that photogenic as holidays go, but I did get a few cute pictures of Holly and Cash.

Cash thought Holly was great. She was cracking him up by giving him rides on her wheelchair, which delighted him so much he would ask for more by running up to her and asking "Oooooooooooo!"

Toad

This morning while doing a little yard work Case and I found a toad who patiently let us poke him a few times to make him hop, and even tolerated being picked up.

Case was very gentle while holding him, even though the wiggling gave him the giggles.

Wow

Happy Anniversary Marc!

This has been the best 11 years anyone has ever had. It makes me giddy every time I see you sign on to Messenger. I can't wait to see you at Christmas. I think we have made a wonderful start on forever.

Reading!

Earlier this week, the Amazing Case sounded out several words he knew on the computer while texting with Marcus. He then amazed us both by sounding out and reading the word "Fox". I couldn't be more proud; in my opinion there is nothing else he can do that will improve his life as much as reading will. He continued to wow us the next day by sounding out "Ham."
Then yesterday while texting with Marcus he typed in his name several times. Astounding!

Happy Halloween!

The night Case wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind or another...

Continuing proof that he is my son

Case got a package in the mail this weekend that contained...

Star Wars Figures! He is so happy. He calls them "little guys" and lines them all up, carefully placing their light sabers in hand.

Nice Qui Gon Jinn!

Thank you so much Holly, Ronnie and Ben! He loves them!

Birthday

Happy Birthday little Monkey! We brought cupcakes to his classroom today, which was a big hit.


You think this picture is a freak moment caught in time, but I have THREE different pictures of him pounding down this cupcake with his eyes rolled back. I am just that good a cook.

Halloween Preview

Last night Case and I went to his school's Fall Fairstival. It was very hot and crowded, but Case got a hot dog and cupcake so he was reasonably happy. Here is a sneak peek at his Halloween costume.

From the pages of Jello's Holiday Recipe Pamphlet

I am having a tremendously good time playing with the shutter speed on my camera. It lets me take pictures that remind me of the photos that National Geographic is so enamoured with. This should be an illustration of some touching scene from America's Heartland. Something gritty. Beautiful but completely foreign to the current editing staff.

That might be completely accurate, of course. Monkey is whipping up a tasty desert consisting of Jello and Cool-Whip.

Sometimes you have to stick with the basics though. Last time he made fois gras it was a little grainy, and he was terribly embarrassed.

Cousins again

This post is out a little later than I intended because I was practicing the piano. It is so much fun! And the theory is so tremendously aplicable to the guitar, where I know how to do a great deal of stuff but not the math behind it. It also is inspiring Monkey to play around with the keyboard more.

Cody, Raquel and Cash came down to see us this weekend, and to con me into watching Cash while they went to the Boise State/Southern Miss game. The boys and I have had lots of fun today. Cash thinks Case is the cat's pajamas and follows him around all day. Case tolerates this reasonably well.

Dinner time was serious business for both these kids.

Cash likes pizza too.During bath time, Case was a big help in making sure the baby got nice and clean.He was very enthusiastic about his job.They both had lots of fun spending the day with their long lost twin brother. See the resemblance?

Me neither. Maybe the shared birthday is just a coincidence.

Date night

Yesterday Case and I went to the mall to eat pizza and ride the carousel. As usual, the Chik-fil-a Cow was dancing around handing out balloons to Case's delight.

Anyone notice anything weird about this picture?

No? Look closely.

Look more closelier.

FIRST TIME EVER.

Green Eggs and Ham

Monkey and I consoled ourselves tonight with a tasty dinner of green scrambled eggs (with mushrooms and cheese) and ham (turkey bacon). Also ramen.

Beach

We went to the beach this afternoon, to get Marc a little sunshine before he heads off to Germany, where autumn is a little more autumn-y than it is here.

We found a pinchy crab and saw dolphins surfing.

Then we went to a birthday party for a girl from Case's class, who adores him. It is kind of nice, in a weird way, to talk with other parents who have kids with issues.

Now the boys are snuggling and listening to Bob Dylan as Monkey goes to sleep.