I can't believe I'm still two weeks behind. I thought I could get part-way caught up last time and then close the gap mid-week. Alas, time continues to slip away, but at least we have fun stories and photos to share. (Speaking of which, I have no idea what is going on in this picture. Apparently it has something to do with Daniel putting the drill in his mouth, but John was laughing too hard to really explain.)

Our visitors from the Northwest arrived with a cold snap that resulted in breaking from Geraghty family tradition and turning on the heat in the first week of October. (Mom always said we didn't need it until November, and while I doubt we ever really waited that long, it definitely was delayed as long as humanly possible!) But for guests--heat! Aunt Janet and Uncle Denis arrived just as naps were ending on the first Friday of October. I was hoping to take a walk to the park to mitigate the butt-numbing four-hour drive they'd had, but it was raining, so we played at home. Anticipating the rain, I'd made some Halloween cookies for Ed to decorate. He was enthusiastic about the project for about eight cookies, but used enough frosting and sprinkles for a whole batch!

I thought Daniel might be wary of Denis because of his beard, but he happily trotted off to play with him after finishing snack. A few minutes later however, piercing screams from the play room. I thought maybe he'd gotten hurt, but no, he'd simply looked up at Denis, looked around the room and, unable to locate Edward or me, started freaking out. This did not last long, as Daniel realized he'd found a new cozy lap from which to enjoy his favorite truck book.

The next morning, after we'd waved good-bye as they headed off on the last leg of their Midwestern journey (to Wisconsin) we decided it was finally time for Daniel to meet the scissors. Haircut day. John would have done it months ago, but I was resisting (along with Gram, Grandma, Great-Grandma...are we sensing a pattern here?)

Since he kept trying to climb down from the chair, John ended up holding him. Even so, it was an aerobic endeavor for the stylist, who had to keep moving side to side following Daniel's swiveling head. Finally a pacifier was produced so she could finish the job. He definitely looks older now, but those chubby cheeks remain as a sign that he's still my baby.

The next big event was the University of Iowa Homecoming Parade a week later. Time for Daniel to bust out the Gamebibs, a gift for newborn Edward from Aunt Ann, who lived in Iowa just long enough to witness the insanity that is Hawkeye sports. On the way to our favorite viewing spot, we saw one of Edward's classmates who was with his family in the parade staging area. They gave us the pompoms and we promised to wave if we made it long enough to see them go by. (We did.)

One of the first people in the parade is always the University of Iowa president, who was riding on the t-top of a Corvette. John is serving on a committee with her and we've met her through our work with the March of Dimes, so when her car stopped right in front of us, she waved, pointed to Daniel and said, "Hey, he looks cold!" He'd taken his mittens off...again!

The parade tradition is to pass out heaps of candy and other items to the crowds along the curbs. One group this year was giving out plastic drinking cups. Although they try to hand items out or drop them in the bags the kids hold out, many are dropped. At one point in the parade, a pick-up rolled over one of the plastic cups--a direct hit that made a loud cracking sound and left the cup in smithereens. Edward completely freaked out. He started crying hysterically and John could not figure out what was going on. He finally got Edward to say, "I didn't want the truck to break the cup!" It wasn't that he wanted the cup, just that he couldn't abide such reckless destruction. It took several minutes to calm him down, during which we thought we might just have to leave. He finally pulled himself together and came back to enjoy the rest of the show (and collect even more candy!)

The boys only got to see a bit of the first quarter of the next day's game, as it was a rare 7 p.m. start. Happily, Iowa defeated Michigan in a chilly, 30-28 nail-biter to remain undefeated for the season. (And as I was writing this post, the Hawks were busy defeating Wisconsin!)

So I think that's all for our major activities to date. Some general tidbits and observations. The boys seem to be more and more able to play together without immediate parental supervision. This is not to say that there are no disagreements, just that the time between them is stretching long enough for me to get dinner started or even, (gasp) go to the bathroom without "help."

It's fun to listen to them from the next room as they navigate whatever world they happen to be inhabiting at the moment. Ed's swimming teacher was the lifeguard when we went for a Sunday afternoon family swim last week and ever since then he's been sitting on the edge of the couch playing lifeguard. He uses his stuffed animals as rescue rings and likes it if John or I pretend to swim on the floor so he can rescue us.

Daniel has slowly been adding more words to his performance of "Rock-a-bye baby," and I'd say he's up to about 70%. He may skip a word or phrase along the way, but never misses the chance to clap for himself when he reaches the end.

I continue the weekly challenge of taking the boys to church. Some weeks are better than others. Heavy bribery is employed. We have, on occasion, been known to leave early. However, the experience did produce this gem from Edward last week when we welcomed four new babies to the church: "Mom, how many babies are getting 'bath-tized?' " At least he's paying attention...somewhat. It's not what anyone might call a spiritual experience, but I see older kids sitting with their families and know there is a tiny glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel.

This week we are (finally) getting new windows installed in our bedroom. We knew when we bought the house last year that they needed to be replaced, but considered it a second year project since we had some major issues to tackle right away. It took more than a month this summer to collect bids and then additional information to make them comparable. Then it turned out that window manufacturers were backed up because there are tax rebates for energy efficiency improvements (like windows.) But we're finally ready, and not a moment too soon. The current windows are so bad they don't actually close all the way--a breeze most unwelcome in the coming months. It's more than a standard replacement because our old windows did not meet egress for the bedroom so we have to have a larger opening cut. We have been promised that the actual installation will be done in one day. Finishing the interior and exterior will take longer, but at least we we're not expecting a plastic tarp window.

Now that I'm back up to date, maybe I can stay on track for a few weeks. Look for the home improvement pics next time.