It's the Great Pumpkin NRB!

Bear with me, this is a photo heavy post.

For Nathan's First Halloween, I pondered lots of fun costume ideas and perused lots of stores checking out their selection. But nothing really stuck out, until I remembered the classic kid's TV special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I used to (and still do) love to watch those Charlie Brown specials and it seemed to me that sweet Nathan would make a good Charlie Brown. So, my decision was made easily and with some help from Miss D, Charlie Brown was brought to life.

We went to our church's Fall Festival a few nights ago and Nathan had a blast getting to see all the sights.

Fall Festival Photos

Distressed? No, just a crazy camera face

Nathan's new favorite photo pose: The ScrunchfaceDad n Me

Feeling Hay for the First Time

FamilyThere is a street in Louisville that goes all out for Halloween every year. One of the best displays on the block is one house with scenes from It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! So, naturally we had to stop for some photos there.

Great Pumpkin Photos

Next to his Costume Inspiration

What a great little Charlie Brown we had! And his sidekick Snoopy was a hit too. Nathan squeezed and hugged him the whole time he had him. I really had a blast getting to see our son have so much fun. Can't wait for next year! Maybe we can fix that Scrunchface by then...

Really, REALLY?!?

I don't know if y'all have watched SNL recently, but on the Weekend Update segment a lot of the time they do a piece called Really?! It is where the two hosts say several astonishing/funny things and then say REALLY?! at the end. So, it seems there have been several notable things happening around our family lately and I think I have enough material for my own Really segment. Here goes...

When traveling back from Houston by airplane, the guy at the security checkpoint made me take off Nathan's baby shoes and send them through the x-ray machine. As if those paper thin suede soles about 4 inches long could hide something dangerous. REALLY?!

The city is doing construction near the end of our street. It literally sounds like one machine is eternally backing up because there is a beep-beep-beep I hear all day long without ceasing. Interspersed in between the beeps are jack hammers and ultra loud clanging where they are breaking up the asphalt. Makes it hard for any peace and quiet. REALLY?!

My beloved Target that is 2 blocks from the house opened 4 days ago. And, today I scored the best diaper deal I have ever come across: 116 diapers for $14.98. That's about 13 cents per diaper and regularly they are about 29 cents per diaper. I bought the only 2 packages of Size 3 they had and it was worth it. Other moms check out Target ASAP. Awesome. REALLY?!

It is a fact that at our house we get mail for every single blood related Bethancourt in Phillip's family. That's right. We get mail for John, Debbie, Justin, Kyle, and Christina all at our house and most ALL of it is junk. I believe it is a product of being the last ones to live at the Lincoln house in College Station and therefore we just end up as the final forwarding place for junk mail to die. No offense John, but the AARP wants your business badly! (According to the amount of mail they send you...) REALLY?!

Nathan is officially crawling. REALLY?!

I think our house would be a good candidate for an HGTV show. We could redo the basement or the master suite or the landscaping/garage seriously. Except, I want them to pay for it all. If you know how to make that happen that would be a great Christmas gift for us. REALLY?!

Our Very Own Rugrat

The boy is just minutes away for crawling so it seems. But, what tides him over in the meantime is that he can do a pretty successful army crawl. This involves a pulling with the arms, slithering with the tummy, and a push with the legs to get from one place to another within a reasonable distance. He is especially gifted on the hardwood floors because they are the best for sliding.

So, that takes us to the latest incident. I had put Nathan in the office floor with some toys to occupy him while I was putting dinner in the oven (about 7 minutes). I could hear him getting progressively closer to the kitchen, but he usually gets stopped at the air vent (ours are in the floor up here) and he likes to beat on it and enjoys when the air kicks in and blows in his face. So I assumed that is where he had stopped. But, when I came around the corner to check on him this is what I saw...


Yep the guy had scooted all the way into the hall AND grabbed up the rug off the floor AND managed to get underneath it somehow. I just started laughing! How does this guy do these things? I think he was trying to get to me in the kitchen because I was talking to him while I was working, but that rug just seemed so interesting he had to check it out. Oh boy.

Sweaters are Better

I was just remembering today as I was out shopping how much I love sweaters. Just love them. There is just the hint of coolness in the air around here and I am dreaming of wearing sweaters soon. Cardigans, pullovers, v-necks, scoop necks, with buttons or without they are just all so lovely and I am always so happy to pull one out of the closet. My only lament is that I don't own MORE! Literally, every cold day or even semi-cool day should have a nice sweater. Mr. Rogers and I could have a neighborhood sweater club if his show was still on. Okay enough sweater love...

Phillip is off to a good start with his semester's classes and really enjoying them. He is taking classes on the Holy Spirit, the book of Ephesians, and his systematic theology colloquium. It is shaping up to be a great second year.

And lastly, Nathan has recently added da-da-da-da to his vocabulary. He has always been a talker, but these days he really sounds like he's carrying on a conversation with you. He has also had his gigglebox turned on recently and seems to laugh anytime and every time you laugh, look at him funny, or his personal favorite is when Phillip yells "Touchdown!" The boy goes bonkers when his Dad yells "Touchdown!" The laughter is uncontrollable and he starts flailing his arms and legs in excitement. We are working on him throwing his arms up to signal touchdown when we say it, but it might be a while before this skill is perfected. Nathan is quite the charmer and his sweet spirit is absolutely contagious to anyone he's around.

Knees If You Please

This just in...

Nathan in the past 3 days has started attempting and then attempting successfully to push up on his knees. That is like one minor eensy weensy move away from crawling...yowsers. And about 5 minutes ago, we heard a bump bump in the crib and when we checked the video monitor it was our son up on his knees and rocking rocking rocking back and forth then bumping the side of the crib. Oh. my. goodness. I don't know if I'm fully ready for a mobile Nathan! I understand it could still be a while before he actually gets everything going together for a full out crawl, but I know my days are numbered with a non-mover. Perhaps I should go shopping for some new running shoes to keep up with the little man? Get ready.

Happy After Church

A little peek at Nathan enjoying folks after church...(video courtesy of RESagers videography)

Mr. Longfellow

My sweet husband has been gone to South Carolina the past two days and I have missed him greatly. In my time here by myself, it's been pretty quiet in the evenings and so I've been listening to music and thinking a lot. Tonight, I was thinking about poetry. I love the stuff, but I don't read near as much as I use to. I was that girl in high school that looked forward to the poetry analysis lesson in English, while others bemoaned I rejoiced! I enjoy writing it too, but it has been a while since I composed any lines.

Well, in my head most days you can find a scrolling of songs, Nathanisms, prayers, items to take care of, scripture, Phillipisms, hopes, how-does-this-work thoughts, and poetry. One of my often remembered lines is the last stanza from this poem. I used to have this piece posted up in my room near my bed probably during junior high and early high school and I read it most nights, which is certainly why I remember it so well. It seems to sneak into my thoughts as I am crawling into bed at night or turning off the lights downstairs. And it's slight hints of sadness, seemed appropriate for these evenings missing Phillip. So without further adieu...take it away Mr. Longfellow

"The Day is Done"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.