Missing the Boys

I am such a dedicated librarian that I gave up 2.5 days with my precious boys. I was a chaperon at Sky Ranch with the 5th graders from my school. Well, as they say,"when the cat's away...the giraffe will play??" ...maybe that's not the exact saying, but Andrew and Daddy sure had fun at Andrew's Halloween party today. And Andrew was the cutest giraffe around...at least the Shackletts think so. Here are some shots that Daddy took. Hope

From left to right:

Pic #1: Andrew got to Trick-or-treat at daycare. All went well until they told him he couldn't have the candy anymore. Chris got to be the proud papa as Andrew threw himself down and failed while screaming madly to get his candy back. I wonder why the iPhone wasn't clicking pics for that moment.

Pic #2: Andrew finally settled down to enjoy his Halloween feast. I got to see this picture in real time. At first, I was so excited to see my sweet giraffe enjoying his party and costume. Then I realized he was drinking orange juice... from a cup... with no lid... while wearing his costume. Awesome. Luckily there was minimal spillage (shocking), so the costume would be ready for Halloween.

Pic # 3: Eventually, the fun of the hood wore off, and Andrew finished his meal of cookies as a headless giraffe.

Yay, Halloween fun. Bring on the Trick-or-treating with the Clarkes tomorrow!

:)

Anne

Lover or a Fighter?

Hmmm....

Wow. Andrew apparently has a fighten' streak in him. Is it the Italian or the Irish that makes him box? Will we ever know?

Either way, I picked Andrew up yesterday, and his teachers were VERY upset. Apparently, Andrew (overnight) has become a serial biter. Awesome.

He bites everyone... at least once... even the teachers. (FYI: Poor, sweet high school girl who is doing a part time gig with kids... this is what toddlers are like.)

We had a"heart to heart" with Andrew last night about biting. I know what you're thinking, "a heart to heart with a kid who eats dirt, how does that work?" I get it, and Chris gets it... and we feel like idiots having "a talk" when Andrew is so young...and still occasionally eats dirt. Either way, we did and thought it might help.

It didn't.

Here's how it went down: After recess, Andrew stalked his prey all the way back to the classroom. Once alone, he bit the crap out of the victim. The victim was ready (after yesterday's string of attacks- who wouldn't be?). He grabbed the closest board book and whacked Andrew across the face.

Here's the beginning of his shiner... that my bully of a son fully deserves.... what a jerk. (When you're looking at the picture, it's the left side of his face, or his right eye.Yikes)

The funny part is everyone still loves him because he's so super cute... jerk. I love my little fighter...

:)

Anne

Sick Mommy

Dear Andrew,

I know you don't understand, but Mommy is sick. She doesn't feel good and she has a fever. Trust me, you don't want to feel like this, so that's why your getting less snuggles and kisses. You really just need to play by yourself.

:(

Sadly, in an attempt to occupy your time without Mommy, you managed to pull the highchair down... on your face... on picture day. At least now, we will have professionally made pictures of the trouble that little boys get in.

:)
Anne

Proud Math Mommy

So, I have to brag... Do you know what this is a picture of? Andrew does!


When Chris and I took Andrew for a walk on Monday, and I took him for a jog on Tuesday, he pointed something out to us. As we passed the yield sign, Andrew sat up in the stroller, pointed, and yelled "triangle"... or at least his approximation of the word, which currently sounds like "unga". He also knows square (skare) and circle (no clue how to type what he calls it but he can pick a circle out of any line up!).

Yay, math-y baby. He may not know what yield means, but he sure knows the sign is shaped like a triangle.

:)
Anne

The Busy Fall Beginning

First, we got a new addition to our backyard a few weeks ago, and we all love it... It's Andrew's Sport Climber. It's a five-in-one play thing that includes a tiny rock wall, slide, football goal, soccer "net", and basketball hoop. He LOVES it. You can throw a football through the hole in and keep score. You can shoot the soccer ball into the plastic net, and it bounces back to you. You can dunk on the super tiny basketball goal. Of all theses awesome posibilities, Andrew just jams the soccer ball in the basketball goal and then slides. He'll figure it our eventually.

Anyway, the day it arrived, we put it together, and it started to rain. Boo! So, like any good parents with a new outdoor toy, we moved all the living room furniture and let the fun begin.

Here's what it looks like when it's outside.

So, yay for the fun of climbing and sliding... and although they have VERY clear weight limits, you better believe that Chris and I have spent our fair share of time on it.

Along with work and the sweet baby, Chris and I have been participating in Corporate Challenge, which is like Olympics for different companies. Each division has 8 companies, and Chris and I have been competing with his company, City of Richardson's City Slickers. We ran the 5K (our team won bronze), I played volleyball (won silver), Chris played flag football (won Bronze), and we played softball together (Chris coached and we won gold). With all the events, we had practices, and I had a pre-tournament league for volleyball. We have been super busy, but we have had so much fun... Sadly, because of the busy schedule and running the Race for the Cure, we chose to drop out of the Corporate Challenge bowling. :( Maybe next year!

In the midst of all the sporting events and sporty things in our backyard, I had my 10 year high school reunion. I had SOOOOOOOO much fun. In fact, I had so much fun at the pregame happy hour Friday evening, we never even made it to the Homecoming game. It felt like high school all over again when I overdid it and wound up playing in the softball tournament the next morning with dark sunglasses and a box of saltines next to me in the dugout. (Yikes.)

Saturday night was a more formal night downtown with dancing and pretty dresses! It was so good to see friends that I haven't seen since high school. Chris finally got to put a name to lots of faces and now I have like tons more Facebook friends... I'm moving up in the world for sure. We stayed out with the Leglers and Barnicles until the wee hours of the morn. We had tons of fun, and the boys developed quite the "bromance". Those three boys are never allowed alone together from this point forward... They think they are hilarious, which is scary.

So, fall began with a bang, and right now Andrew has a stomach bug. He is on day four, so we are hoping he feels better ASAP. The bug doesn't seem to slow him down though. The pictures from above and the ones below are all from his sick days.

Right: Who says pool noodles are just for the pool? They are great for chasing dogs around the yard...

Below: In response to my question Andrew says," No, no, Mommy". Awesome.

Bottom Right: Although it's not the best picture, it's the first time that I have asked Andrew to smile for a picture and he actually did it. So, i guess this is his cheese ball smile.

That's all for now. Hopefully after these past few busy weeks, I will be able to post more regularly... It's almost time to hit the pumpkin patch again! I can't wait.

:)

Anne