Carleah Grace Takes First Place

I am blessed again with a baby niece. Carleah Grace was born Thursday morning, November 6 at 8:37 am. Last night Ben, DT and I drove to Plymouth to see her. She is a perfect beauty. She never made a peep or batted an eye, but her dark hair, round cheeks, and tiny fingers made a wonderful first impression.



Mommy, Daddy and baby Carleah

The Great Pumpkin

Last week I saw a TV ad for the Charlie Brown Halloween special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I'm pretty sure I watched it on public television every year as a kid. I loved it. It wouldn't have been Halloween without it. So, when I saw that it was going to be on TV this Tuesday, I planned to watch it with DT.

Tuesday night came and went, and I forgot! Not surprising for those who know me well. I've forgotten far bigger events and far more important meetings. But, still I was sad when Ben came home from teaching his night class at Purdue and asked if we remembered to watch the special.

Regardless, DT dressed as "The Great Pumpkin" to go trick-or-treating. A friend from work passed down the costume. DT had seen it in the closet in the spring and has been excited since then to wear it. Ben walked around the subdivision with DT and then we drove to 2 houses of people we knew...we didn't stop at either one since their porch lights weren't on, but we did see a lot of trick-or-treaters out and about.

At home I passed out Kool-Aid Burst drinks and pre-packaged popcorn balls. We had 24 trick-or-treaters in the hour and a half that I had the light on. Overall, I was impressed with the costumes and manners, but of course there were a few kids that were "too old" to be trick-or-treating. The presidential election is in 3 days. I'll vote for whoever sets a legal trick-or-treating age of 10 and younger.

Enjoy a hayride if you can.

Last weekend, before the first snow fell, the 3 of us enjoyed the crisp autumn weather at Bendix Woods County Park. The church we've started attending had planned an afternoon of hayrides, hotdogs and s'mores over a campfire, and fellowship. Ben and I were introduced to several church members and DT played with the other kids on the playground.

When we got there, the 3 of us hopped aboard the first moving wagon for a hayride. The loose straw made for a fun trip. Dressed in his winter coat and gray gloves, DT had a great time burying his body. When the wagon came to a stop, Ben got off but DT and I took off again. The second trip was a bit longer and our wagon had more kids DT's age. They laughed and played, not noticing our beautiful surroundings. It was gorgeous.

Loss of an old friend

New truck (blue)......Old friend (red)


Getting a new vehicle is always exciting. Or at least I say it should be. I've enjoyed shopping around for trucks the past few weeks with Ben. It gave us extra time together... something we agree we're consistently shorting ourselves. Something we know we need to do more of. So, even if our time together wasn't a romantic evening away, I feel it was good bonding time as we searched and test-drove truck after truck, in town after town.

His trade-in was a red 2-door 1994 Chevy Silverado. Throaty and stout. A good and trusted friend. A working-man's truck. But it's rust was spreading. The air-conditioning didn't work. It had a cracked windshield.

The "new" truck is a blue 4-door 2004 Chevy Silverado. Clean and well-cared for. Crisp and modern. Family friendly. Immaculate.

Nonetheless, it was sad to see the old truck go. And worse... to hear the dealership say they wouldn't even try to sell it on the lot. They would send it out for auction.

The deal is done. And I'm more than ecstatic about the obvious upgrade, but poor Ben is having to deal with the loss of that old red friend. It isn't going so well.

Good-bye Autumn

Leaves have been dropping by the thousands in our yard daily for weeks now. But a few days ago I noticed that the tree in our front yard, although odd and unwanted, had suddenly lost it's green and become the most spectacular colors of autumn. I snapped these 2 photos not knowing how long I could expect it to last.

Well, this morning we woke up to snow. Enough to have to brush off the car before heading off to work and enough that the roof is still white this evening. It too was beautiful, but I just wasn't ready to say good-bye to autumn.

Sprained Ankle: Day 16

So this is what it looks like now. It's on the mend, but still not back to normal. The ankle is still swollen, but the swelling in the rest of the foot is down. There's bruising on the toes, inner and outer ankle, and above the heel. It's still uncomfortable to walk in shoes, but I'm doing it. I had x-rays taken again on Friday, which showed soft tissue and ligament damage, but no bone fractures. That's good news, right?

A Bear-y Unusual Adventure

At the beginning of the school year DT's kindergarten teacher sent home a letter telling about the class "share bear". It is a small fuzzy teddy bear packed with a journal inside a small fuzzy bear backpack. His name is Duncan and he goes home with someone different every Thursday after school and returns to class Friday. While he's gone, he writes about his adventures in his journal. And on Friday the teacher shares this adventure while the class sits in a circle with Duncan in the arms of whoever took him home.

Ben and I have had our schools' parent-teacher conferences on our calendar since the beginning of the school year. They were Thursday. And yes, it just happened to be the same day that DT unexpectedly was crowned the new care-giver of Duncan the coveted kindergarten share bear.

What a strange day. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't believe the story Duncan told in his journal entry that day. He and DT went home with the after-school care teacher, had dinner, and played games at her house all evening.

Now, I can only think of 3 other times we've used babysitters in the evening. Once when DT was 4 months old, I asked the Fox's from church to watch DT so that Ben and I could go to an employers Christmas party. Once my cousin Carrie watched DT so Ben and I could go see the pastor at church. And once last spring when I again asked Carrie so that I could go out for a "girls' night out" with some high school friends when Ben wasn't going to be home.

I don't feel good about asking people to do things for me. Baby-sitting included. I'm humbled. So, this time I say thanks to Mrs. Moffitt and her daughter Liesa for watching DT and Duncan, and for sharing Duncan's big adventure.

Behavior shaping and Pumpkins

We bought 2 pumpkins last weekend at Thistleberry Farms. The intent was to carve them into jack-o-lanterns and bake the seeds. DT was excited and counting down the days til Wednesday, the day we told him we'd "probably" be able to get to it. And as you can imagine, seeing these pumpkins whole for 4 days was not easy for a 5-year old. But we had a busy week and knew Wednesday would be the first possible day we could even think about them.

We've tried to be very consistent in our raising of DT. If we tell him "no" and he continues with an offense, we follow with some action that we feel appropriate. We want him to know that we mean what we say. So following through is necessary. Not just sometimes. Everytime. Consistency is key.

Behavior shaping works when a child knows what to expect. If you tell a child "no" and you consistently (without exception) follow through, the child learns to expect the response. And the child begins to makes choices, knowing that response will follow if he chooses the behavior again. He becomes less impulsive and begins talking himself out of the unacceptable behavior.

For example: DT throws a book. I tell him that's not acceptable behavior and to pick it up and put it where it belongs. Anytime he throws a book, I tell him the same thing. He always has to pick up the book and put it away. Eventually, the behavior is extinguished. He knows that if he throws a book, he has to pick it up. It's a natural consequence and he knows that's what will happen.

Well, there's another side to teaching consistency. If I tell DT we'll carve pumpkins on Wednesday and he's looking forward to it, we need to carve pumpkins on Wednesday. Even though we just got back from the barber shop and DT needs a bath. And even though it's 7:00 and we haven't started making supper. And even though tomorrow both parents will be at school for more than 12 hours because they're teachers and it's parent-teacher conference day, we need to carve pumpkins.

And so we did. And hopefully DT learned that we stick to our word.