Fall Party and LP's Ladybug Debut!

Since the costume debacle was such a long post, we'll keep this one short and sweet. Ryan's class had their fall party (still not sure why they can't just call it a Halloween party, but whatever) today. Ryan was a killer Spiderman and his friends rocked out some awesome costumes as well - a princess, Mario and Luigi, Minnie and Mickey mouse just to name a few. But my favorite part of the party? The coolest (and healthiest!)halloween-inspired snack I'd ever seen. Human fingers made from string cheese, a little bit of cream cheese and pepper pieces. Seriously. So cool!

LP stopped by (she's not one to turn down some good party food!), but had already had enough of her costume for the day, so the suspense of the LP Ladybug lives on for one more second...

OK - enough suspense. Here she is! Our very own, very unamused, LindseyBug Bachman.

I had to add this picture because I'm convinced it's the best "smile" picture of Ryan to date, despite the goofy Spiderman hat and the unamused LindseyBug in the background.

And finally, the wonderful Ms. Heather, who lives down the street from my parents, brought Ryan and Lindsey a bunch of cool Halloween gifts, including these awesome shirts! Who's the unamused Bachman child now? Sigh...

The costume debacle

So Ryan is an opinionated 2 year old (we have no idea where it came from). As such, we've learned some great child psychology techniques that help avoid tantrums and meltdowns, while resulting in the outcome we were originally hoping for. Trust me, they don't teach you this stuff in a book.

With this in mind, we've been treading lightly on the topic of what he'll be for Halloween this year. If we try and pick something for him, we know it won't end well and we'll be holding him down trying to force a costume on him (not a fun way to start the trick-or-treat adventure). So we decided to let him pick a costume. Luckily, he knows exactly what he wants to be the first time we ask him.

Super hero? Nope. Beloved movie character? Try again. Farm animal? You guessed it! Well, that's easy, you say. There are plenty of cow and sheep costume's out there.

No, my friend. He doesn't want to be a cow or a sheep or a pig or any other animal that is readily available at your nearest party supply store.

Ryan wants to be a goat. So I scan the vast pages of the World Wide Web wishing and hoping that somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight (oops - Fivel reference, my bad) there is a goat costume, size 2T, that doesn't cost me a day care payment small fortune. Let me save you the suspense. It doesn't exist.

So we try a new approach - I call it the "tweens guide to getting what they want" approach. We just keep asking him the same question until we get the desired answer. It's just a matter of willpower.

Finally, after a couple weeks of hearing nothing but "goat," the answer changes. Spiderman, he says!! Consider it done. Until we realize that, here we are, a week before Halloween, trying to get one of the top-selling costumes EVER.

Well, five stores and countless more hours online and we finally got Ryan his Spiderman costume. And he loved it. Wore it for two straight days. And might I add, he was one awesome Spiderman.

Ingenuity

OK, so I've done posts on adaptability and compromise. Today's word of the day? Ingenuity. Defined as cleverness or skillfulness of design, ingenuity seems to be a trait that toddlers acquire quite rapidly. They reach a point in their development when they want to do everything on their own (me do it, is what Ryan says). Problem is, just because they have the will to do things, doesn't always mean they have the ability. Which is where the ingeniousness comes into play. Ryan's go-to object of choice? His red "thinking chair." It's usually in the hallway near his bedroom and is used for timeout purposes - or for when he isn't necessarily in trouble, but needs to "think" about his behavior or actions. I heart the thinking chair.

Luckily, it hasn't had any negative impact on Ryan as far as its usability. So lately Ryan has been using the thinking chair for multiple applications. Most recently? He wanted to help Lindsey eat her breakfast in the morning. So while I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work, Ryan hauled the thinking chair down the hail way and positioned it at just the right spot to climb up and help LP eat some cereal.

Ingenious.

Pumpkin Carving Time!!

I need to start this post off with a story-ending spoiler - I have no pictures of the finished product. Tragic, isn't it? But there were still a few cute pictures of the "during" stage, so I figured we'd move forward with a post.

Ryan is getting better and better at the whole pumpkin carving production each year. Year one, he didn't want anything to do with it, last year he was so curious I don't think he could help but stick his hand in the slimy goo and this year - well, this year he has a little sister to impress and a daddy to idolize. Combine the two and you've got one enthusiastic two-year-old ready to go elbow-deep in pumpkin guts. Love it.

Sibling Similarities

When Ryan was born, he very quickly adopted the nickname "peanut" for one simple reason - he was TINY. I don't think he was any smaller than any other baby. At 7lb 6 oz., he was a fairly normal weight. But to us, he just looked so small. And he had his daddy's chicken legs. These skinny little legs that had spent countless nights kicking me in various locations before he was born.

Then there was Lindsey, who at 7 lb. 12 oz., was only slightly larger than her brother when she was born. But she just looked like such a chunky monkey. She inherited her daddy's chubby cheeks and seemed to be a little ball of baby love.

Despite these difference, I could see a ton of similarities right away. Sometimes it wasn't even the physical features as much as it was the mannerisms. But I don't think I fully realized the extent of their similarities until I took this picture.

Not only are they making the same goofy face with the bit-lip look, they have the same eyes, same nose and same aura of "yes, she's taking our picture again" attitude. For the record - I fully encourage my kids not to eat on the floor, but if it promotes sharing and quality bonding time between siblings, who am I to hold them to a dining room table and chair?



Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart?

Nine months ago today, we brought home Lindsey from the hospital and Ryan began his official duties as "big brother." Things were slow-going at first. He had good days, where he'd jump at any chance to be our big helper. And he had bad days, where he'd throw himself on the floor screaming - a combination of frustration and irritation that he was no longer the only show in town.

But in the days, weeks and months since he has come to realize, as we have, that his little sister worships the ground he walks runs on and that he has magical powers to make her smile with even just a passing glance. Lindsey loves her brother.

We've been doing a monthly photo shoot with Lindsey to chart her growth in picture format (I can't WAIT to publish them all in a few short months). After today's shoot, Ryan decided he wanted in on the action. And what follows is a small fraction of the magical bond we get to witness everyday.

Pumpkins, apples and hayrides - oh my!

I love fall. I especially love fall-scented candles - cinnamon spice, pumpkin pie, cranberry orange -you name a fall scent and I've probably got it in Yankee Candle tartlet form. It's my favorite time of year.

Another reason I love fall? Pumpkin carving, apple picking and hayrides are all expected forms of entertainment during this time frame. So you know what that means - field trip to Milburn Orchards! Last year when we went, it was super special because it was Ryebread's first field trip.

This year it's special because LP got to join in the fun! So, without further ado - some photos to highlight our trip.

Family photo shoot on the hayride!

Ryan was listening very intently as he learned about sorting apples while sporting a sly grin cause he knew I was taking his picture.

 Lindsey was sorting through the gourds, trying to find the dirtiest one she could to stick in her mouth.

Ryan found a nice, nubby pumpkin that was heavy enough to make him feel big and strong, but not so heavy that he couldn't hoist it over his head and say, "look mom, a hat!"

Yes - Lindsey isn't wearing any pants. No, she's not an exhibitionist. She was wearing fleece-lined jeans and it was just too stinking hot out.

If I had a hammer...

Of the many things we can be grateful for, Nate's handyman skills, which led to our finished basement, are high on the list. Our house is small - a quaint, three bedroom rancher - and with each child, it got smaller. Not only that, but the layout is not very conducive to a family of little explorers and limit testers (read: there's not much room to run around and the layout isn't open enough to be in one room cooking dinner, while the kids are in another getting into mischief of one kind...and another - shout out to Where the Wild Things Are!).

So, finishing the basement became less about "a great selling point" and more about "a necessary step to regain order and sanity." Now, I'll readily admit there were times I was convinced it would never be finished. Unlike all the renovations upstairs (which were mostly cosmetic), where Nate and I worked together, staying up late and starting early, devoting entire weekends to the cause, enjoying our little house projects in newly wedded bliss...the basement was different. For a majority of the project, I was either pregnant or chasing around a toddler or both...ugh. So Nate was on his own, with some help from our families, to get the job done.

And, like any good government-paid engineer, he took his time and spent as many hours thinking and sketching about the basement as he did actually working on the basement. But in the end - it's beautiful.

Even more beautiful? Ryan and Lindsey continue to bask in the loving attention of one another and are getting even better at actually playing together. Dorothy was right, man. There's no place like home.

Faulty Cameras and the "Terrible Two's"

If you're looking for a good reason for why there hasn't been a post in nearly a month, I ask you to look no further than the title of this entry. First, we'll delve into the faulty camera. It's a much easier explanation.

We love our camera. It takes great pictures, has a ton of options for making shots look great and is pretty idiot proof. For two people who are not photographers by any stretch of the imagination, it's exactly what we need. Except when it goes on strike. Every now and then, for no discernible reason, our camera just stops taking pictures. It still turns on, still goes through the motions of capturing a person's face in a little box and gears up to take a shot. But when it comes to actually taking a picture - it craps out. For parents with two active children who have the ability to create endless Kodak moments - This. Is. Really. Frustrating. And with no good pictures, I haven't been inspired to put up any new posts. So I'm going to "borrow" the work camera for a few days and get some good shots - we'll beat you, camera. We're parents, you know. We always win.

Except when it comes to the "terrible two's." Which brings us to the second reason there hasn't been a post in nearly a month. First, I put "terrible two's" in quotation marks because it really is a poor label for what the truth of the matter is. Kind of like how they say pregnancy is 9 months...lies - all lies. The "terrible two's" actually begins to brew around a child's 18 month of life...slowly, quietly making its way into the child's routine. Causing just enough chaos to provide subtle foreshadowing of what's to come without completely revealing itself to unsuspecting parents. For us, the crescendo, it appears, has revealed itself a month shy of 2 1/2 years.

I'll start with a caveat - despite what I'm about to write, Ryan is an awesome kid. He's funny, kind, energetic, helpful, curious, thoughtful, (too) smart and downright adorable.

But then there are moments - that often come without warning - when this awesome kid has a case of the "terrible two's." Symptoms include an excessively annoying whine, blatant disregard for any common sense or understanding, egregious overuse of the word "no" and superhuman powers that render normally calm, cool, competent parents completely useless and borderline crazy. It isn't pretty, folks.

It consumes large blocks of time and is usually sparked by an insignificant request - eat your breakfast, Rye; let's go potty, Ryan; help clean up the toys, buddy. And though, in the end, the request is fulfilled, the battle that takes place after the request is made and before it is fulfilled is draining. The emotional and physical impact on both the parents and Ryebread is significant, yet silly all at the same time. One rule in the Bachman household that we stick to - no one goes to bed angry. There will always be smiles and laughter after the tears and shouting. Because no matter what - there's love and understanding. This too shall pass.

Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but by my calculations, we're a year into this nonsense. And if I'm right (please, please let me be right) and we've reached the peak of this phase, we just have one more year of a slow decline of craziness before...crap...before we get to start all over again with Lindsey.

Well, here's to perseverance and persistence - and the silly notion that, in the end, we're the parents and we always win.

And since the camera won't cooperate - enjoy another beautiful picture from the Gibraltar shoot. This one cracks me up - the bug looks truly terrified that Cheeks Magee is going to eat him for lunch!