Happy 4th Birthday!

Halloween Pictures

As our frequent readers may remember, we gave Malcolm a mohawk at the start of June for a fun summer one-time haircut. As things turned out, he loved his mohawk and asked us very sweetly not to cut it off. We're now in November, and every morning while I'm combing out the mohawk strip, "Mommy, please don't cut off my mohawk!!" Fresh out of the bath, oiled and combed, it's nearly an inch tall now!!

Ever heard the phrase "play to your strengths"? Well, if you're son thinks he's a rockstar . . . and it's October . . . what else are his parents to do?

Please note all the fabulous details . . . florescent red mohawk, tattoos, spiked metal bracelet, (ribbed jeans not visible in the picture), the Pez-candy rolled up in the sleeve (Matt's awesome idea) and the inflatable guitar (or as the little Rockstar calls it, his Air Guitar).

Halloween adventures included all sorts of fun. Such as the Al Sigel Center Walkabout at the Mall . . .

. . . including an impromptu guitar solo in the middle of the walkway . . .

We also enjoyed a Halloween Parade at his preschool . . .

. . . followed by a Halloween Party.

Sadly, Trick-or-Treating was called on account of rain, sleet, snow and hail (yes, all in one day! Thank you upstate NY!)

Happily, we continue to find all sorts of dress up fun.

Potty Training Update

Malcolm pretty much mastered potty training in about 24 hours. The key, as it turned out, was to let him pick which 24 hours . . . . and he chose just a few short weeks before his 4th birthday. Long time coming, but a short time mastering. He's still in pull ups at night, but during the day, he's got it down pat!

He Did It!!!!

This morning, after a series of successful moments over the last week, we launched our day with a pair of spiffy Big Boy Underwear! Malcolm takes pride in the fact that he can now dress himself in the morning without assistance, and asked that I fill one of the low drawers with Big Boy Underwear. He picked out one with cars, trucks, and a bright orange waistband.

I am sure you can imagine how proud we were of him, and how incredibly pleased with himself he was, when at bedtime, he took that same pair of underwear off, as clean and dry and when he put them on 12 hours ago!

Way to go, Big Man!!!!!!

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Pumpkin Fun

Pie Pumpkins are now in season, and Malcolm and I enjoyed cooking them up together. He wasn't too interested in sinking himself into the pumpkin guts up to his elbows, but happily picked the pumpkin seeds out of my handful of pumpkin guts.

The flesh we cooked up, mashed, then froze in ice cube trays to use for recipes: pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin smoothie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies . . . the possibilities are endless. Sadly, our pumpkin supply isn't. For those of you out in reader land who haven't cooked with real fresh pumpkin I highly recommend it. It is a very different experience than the canned pumpkin. A little more work, perhaps, but so very, very worth it!

Plus, there is nothing like fresh roasted pumpkin seeds. Malcolm thought mixing these up (stirring, spreading out on the tray, sprinkling with kosher salt) was glorious fun. Second only to eating them when they came out of the oven!

Saving the Ta Tas

Sunday was the Big Walk, and we had loads of fun, despite the rain. Malcolm alternated between riding on Daddy's shoulders, and walking by himself. It was crazy crowded, even in the cold wet weather. In the picture of Matthew and Malcolm on the sidewalk, look carefully behind them at the crowd walking. At the very top of the picture, you can see that the road slopes uphill a bit, and you can get an idea of just how crazy huge this crowd was! Despite the epic numbers of people, everyone was really polite - no pushing, rude behavior, etc.

One of my favorite parts of the walk was seeing all the fun shirts (lots of men in pink!) Here are a few of our favorite t-shirt slogans we saw . . .

• Save the Ta Tas
• We love the Boo-Bees (they were all in bumblebee costumes)
• Fight Like a Girl
• Save Second Base

Do It For All The Breasts You Know & Love

Dear Friends & Family,

On October 3rd, I will be Making Strides to help cure breast cancer. Would you like to help? This fundraising walk relies on the generosity of individuals to help raise the money to continue the research to find a cure, as well as support patients and their families in their fight against cancer.

If you'd like to donate, you can mail me a check (email me, or post a comment, if you need my mailing address), or you can donate on line by clicking here!

Think pink & help save the Ta-Tas!

Teresa