Happy Halloween!

Luckily for Southern California kids, the weather has finally cooled off. I have had the windows in the house open for two days now, as it has been cooler, breezier, and even a little rainy. That's the way it has to be on Halloween. My memories of trick-or-treating as a kid all involve me having an elaborate costume on UNDER my winter coat! (And many times an umbrella had to be added to the ensemble!) On Wednesday afternoon as it was once again 90 degrees, I thought of how weird it would feel to have it that warm on Halloween. Luckily, today has turned out to be just the kind of day I like for this holiday, cool and a little dreary. Perfect!

Maxwell and I have had a busy week. Even though we didn't get to see "Aunt" Erynn since she was out of town, we stopped in for a beverage at Starbucks. This kid loves it there, and I am sure he will know the store and appreciate it more once he'll be able to have a treat when we go.
As for now, it's just fun to sit in the big chair!



We also had our 7 month photo shoot. He hasn't grown at all since the 6th month photo, so this one doesn't look much different, but I think he does get cuter each time!



His Mr. Bear scrapbook is now more than half way done! I can't believe how fast this time has gone by! If you look closely at the picture, though, you can see those two little teeth that are poking out! That's right; Maxwell had #2 break through two days ago. No fuss, just there it was! We are so lucky to have such an easy-going baby!






Griffin and Tucker have been really great with the baby ever since we brought him home. They didn't necessarily welcome him with open...paws...but they tolerated him. Yet now as Maxwell gets bigger and can start to do things with them, I think they like him more. When Maxwell sits on the floor playing with his toys, Tucker will bring one of his toys over and drop it in his lap, wanting to play fetch! Mommy has to be quick to be the one to throw, though, otherwise that dog toy will end up right in Maxwell's mouth! And Griffin is very possessive. He barks like crazy at visitors if he doesn't know them well, and wherever Maxwell and I go, Griffin is never far behind. Even during our photo shoot, Griffin was sitting close by. This is one of my favorite shots from the day:



Today we went to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. I just got little ones because we can't carve one with Maxwell quite yet. He had a bit of an allergic reaction to the sugar pumpkin he ate a few weeks ago, so our pumpkins will have faces drawn on, instead of carved. Hopefully as he gets a little older he won't be allergic to them, but for now, everything goes straight into the mouth, and we'll have to hold off this year. He seems a little wary, don't you think?



Maxwell didn't seem to happy to be in the center of an entire patch of pumpkins either, but I couldn't resist posting this photo:



He definitely gets his chubby cheeks and that big lower pouty lip from me!

More photos later after we go trick-or-treating tonight and tomorrow!

Not only am I back in business...

but I am finally online!

Check out my personal business website at:

http://www.partylite.biz/sites/jenniferingham

I've got a tooth!

I'd post a picture, but you can't really see it yet. But Maxwell had his first tooth come in a couple days ago. I think it was just on the surface for a few days, and then yesterday it for sure broke the surface. He didn't really eat anything yesterday, he slept poorly, and he was breaking out in this painful sounding cries for no apparent reason. All while grabbing at his chin. Yeah, definitely getting a tooth!

It is very little and sharp and cute, and it will be fun to see his adorable gummy smile transform into a tooth-filled one!

Watch out!

There is a fire advisory out for where David and I live today, actually for where Mom and Shelly and Steve live, too. I knew this before I even got out of bed today. How, you may ask? No, I am not developing psychic powers. But it is never fun to wake up, and after you lift your head from the pillow, your hair stays behind. I am now wishing that I hadn't cut my hair because I forgot that I wouldn't be able to put it in a ponytail on low humidity days such as this one. Static-y hair is one of the most annoying things I can think of. Blah!

But on to more important matters...

I think it was about five years ago that the wildfires were really, really bad by us. So bad that Simi Valley, where my mom lives (and I did at that time), was on the news every night, with tales of thousands and thousands of acres burned. The beautiful landscape heading into Simi Valley was replaced by charred hillsides with empty and vacant remains, showing only the dark remnants of what used to flower the land. It was there for months, a reminder of how scary it was on those days; Jeff and I sat on the rooftop of our house and watched the neighbors do the same, as we watched the hill across the street burn, wondering if it was going to take a turn and force us out of our homes. Our cars were packed for weeks with clothes, essentials, and photo albums in case we were forced to evacuate.

The weather this morning reminds me of that time. For weeks it has been so incredibly hot; ninety plus, heading somedays in the hundreds have made the last weeks of September and the first few days of October an incredibly uncomfortable fall. And then last night and today, it cooled off so much that we slept with our window open and pulled out the big, fluffy blanket to cuddle under. But that same thing happend in 2003. Luckily, David and I now live far enough away from any hills, that I am confident that we would be safe, but what about our Burbank friends and neighbors who aren't? What about Mom and Jeff, still in that same house in Simi Valley, that could potentially be at risk once again?

I hope, as the winds increase and the humidity stays so low, that we aren't faced with that fate once again. The fires that will inevitably start, as they do every fall, will no doubt cause acres and acres of damage once again. The fools that start these fires aren't going to be reading my little blog, so I guess my venting about it won't help anything.

Stay safe California!

Even babies need alone time.

Apparently, Maxwell is at that stage where he does something new everyday and goes through new phases every week.

While the squealing and screaming phase is still around, it is a little less, thankfully. But the last two days, he has started something new: alone time. I guess sometimes even babies need to be alone and chill. He eats, he naps, we play...but sometimes he gets crabby and just wants me to go away.

Like now. He was in his exersaucer and I thought we were having fun, but what do I know? He got crabby, so I checked his diaper, checked to see if he was hungry, and tried putting him on the floor to roll around. Nothing worked. I put him back in his exersaucer so that I could use the little girls room, and he was fine the whole time I was gone. When I came back and sat in front of him, he whined. When I got up and walked away, he was fine again. So, it seems that my son is sick of me. Or at least that every once in a while he needs to just chill. So right now he is in there, playing with his toys and watching Tucker sleep in front of him on the couch. And I get to write this.

Now, don't get this phase confused with the absolute polar opposite phase where he starts crying the moment he can't see me or if I leave the room. That one is fun, too. It's a fun little game I get to play trying to figure out which mood he is actually in!

I love my little boy so much. I love that he loves me and wants to play with me, but I also love that sometimes he just wants to be alone. Because guess what? Mommy does, too.

:o)