Merry Christmas Eve!

Grady really, really wanted to go meet Santa. He was very clear about it. We waited in a long line, and he remained committed. Which, honestly, is not a thing that happens ever. He told me that he was going to go meet Santa ALL BY HIMSELF and he was going to sit on Santa's couch, NOT on his lap. Cool. Good plan. Let's do this.

And then. He decided right at the last minute that he didn't want to. And I was the terrible parent who said, you know, dude, after an hour in line, we are getting the picture. So, here we are, Imma gonna wrestle you into the frame, okay, it's done.

I felt that it was a bit of a parenting misstep, to be honest. I knew I should have honored his decision to change his mind. But in the moment, with that long line at my back, I went with "screaming Santa photo, here we come."

And you know what? Within around 30 seconds of exiting Santa's couch space, Grady was talking about how he wanted to go see Santa, and sit ON HIS LAP this time. Because honestly, somehow I had held him back from the immersion Santa experience he had really, truly been after in his heart of hearts. Or something.

He now remembers meeting Santa as an absolute hoot, tons of fun, let's do it all the time. He was so excited to tell Daddy about it. I don't know, you guys. The kid's bananas.

I hope you're all enjoying the final moments of anticipation and prep. We're planning an epic walk after dark to see all our favorite light displays, but not a whole lot else. Pie, I should make some pie.

Halloween #2

Grady has really, really strong opinions about what he wants to wear on any given day. So the idea that he would consent to wearing a certain pre-selected and unfamiliar outfit just because it was Halloween? Unfathomable.

For more than a month we discussed the matter, trying to get Grady's buy-in on a costume choice. I felt that I got a pretty firm commitment on octopus, and I found a $12 octopus costume on Amazon. So, the plunge was taken.

Leading up to Halloween, we talked about the costume for days, suggesting maybe (maybe?) trying it on (just a little?) (NOOOOOO!!!!!)

We practiced trick-or-treating for dry cereal and goldfish in the kitchen. (This remains a highly enjoyable game to this day.)

Somehow, with the temptation of trick-or-treating, and the allure of the Halloween decorations draped over our neighbors' lawns (he still misses those skulls and cobwebs), he tried on his costume the day before Halloween. We went walking around the neighborhood, because, well, I've come to understand that sometimes familiarity helps.

And then Grady won Halloween. He wore his octopus costume, and waltzed right up to people's doors to say "trick-or-treat-thank-you!" And then he wanted to taste every item he received immediately. I think he only actually consumed a single fun-size Crunch bar. And then he was a crazy person and had to call it a night.

FFFA: Birthday Pumpkins #2

This is old news. It took place back in October. The 13th, to be exact. What can I say? I am in no way a professional blogger. But there were some photogenic moments this fall, and so I shall try to catch you up before the barrage of Christmas posts I have planned. I'm down to the wire. Brace yourselves for rapid-fire autumnal and vacation flashbacks.

I suppose I'm making a bit of a habit of forcing the family to go to a pumpkin patch for my birthday. It's just, well, it's the time of year, I guess. I don't have a thing for pumpkin patches, really. I especially don't have a thing for the sunny, hot pumpkin patches we get in October in November. It's actually quite depressing to me that my birthday is always so shiny and hot here. I long for a crisp chill.

But somehow I endure.

This year the pumpkin adventure started a little slow. I could tell that husband of mine was deeply unimpressed and convinced the whole excursion was destined to be a total flop. First trouble arose when we had to walk past some sort of air cannon game to get from the parking lot to the pumpkins. It was loud, and if there's one thing Grady doesn't like (there are lots, but this is one), it's loud noises. We were on the verge of fussiness all around.

And then.

I don't really know, but we turned it around. We explored the not-remotely-quaint grounds and I don't think I'm overstating things here when I say that we made some picturesque autumnal memories. For a long time, Grady would talk about the cow train (he didn't ride it, of course, but we cheered for it and said bye-bye when it left). To this day, he still demands to see pictures of Grady and pumpkins. Because, obviously: