Trick or Treat

Although this was Rudy's second Halloween at home, it was the first Halloween he really understood and was excited about. He knew he had to say "trick or treat" at all the houses. He wanted the candy put in his hand instead of his bag so he could then look at it and place it in his bag. We only went to about 8 houses on our street then drove over the Gram and Grandmom's house. We visited two of their neighbors and Rudy got toys and more treats from Gram, Grandmom and Aunt Pat and Uncle Neil. All in all he made out very well. And once we got home, our little Cookie Monster did not want to take off his costume, so he played trucks and read books with the hat and everything. At bedtime, he took of the hat (and the socks) but slept with the rest of the outfit on. Note to self: Halloween costumes made out of sweatsuits make for a very easy bedtime on Halloween night!

Our Cookie Monster





Checking out gifts from Gram and Grandmom.





Rudy and Grandmom

FFF- Another Animal Friend

The only pet in our house that Rudy has never touched is our cat, Smoky. I sometimes think she's the smartest one we have since she knows enough to stay away from him! She is a very skitterish cat and will even run sometimes when Paul or I try to get near her. She's the kind of cat that needs any contact to be on her terms. Rudy has accepted that he can't get near her and really doesn't try anymore, although he does say hi to her whenever he passes her (as she runs out of a room that he enters).

One morning last week I heard Rudy talking and saw him sitting on the floor. I asked him what he was doing and he said "I talking to Smoky." I looked and sure enough, sitting under the table was Smoky. Rudy never tried to get any closer to her. He just sat on the floor about 4 feet away and talked to her until one of them eventually moved and the moment was over. It was a very sweet, and unusually calm moment so of course, I took a picture.

Thoughts from a Two Year Old

Coming home from a hayride tonight, Rudy was in rare form and had us laughing the whole way. The funny part is that except for the ride there, the time on the hayride, and the ride home, Rudy has been a total crankster all night.
Some of his random thoughts:

Demonstrating how everyone will sing Happy Birthday to him by singing the whole song. And then saying that he will blow out the candles.

Making a list of all the people he will invite to his party and including "You and Poppy" (so nice we're invited) and his friend Tommy "and her mommy and her daddy".(Tommy is a boy.) He said "I need".. and would list people's names and then several times after listing someone he said "I not see her in long time."

As we left the hayride he coughed. Then said "I coughing. I NEED my medicine and watch Einsteins." When we told him he only takes medicine three times a day, and he had already gotten it all tonight he repeated that he was coughing and he needed it.(He is on a nebulizer 3 times a day and has been for over a week. We let him watch TV when on the neb, which is a very rare treat so the medicine has become much more necessary in his eyes lately. he is also completely addicted to a Little Einstein's DVD we got at the library and Paul and I are anxiously awaiting a new one to be available!)

While on the hayride, which was geared for little kids so it wasn't really scary at all, Rudy kept saying "I need to see more scary." I am a little afraid of the horror movies he be viewing in the future.

Pumpkin After Sneeze

Tonight we finally got around to carving a pumpkin. Paul did most of the work while Rudy and I watched and directed. After it was carved and we all admired it, I asked Rudy what the pumpkin's name was. His answer after some thought... "Pumpkin After Sneeze".

Halloween, Take One

Here is our little Cookie Monster. About a month ago we started talking about Halloween and what Rudy wanted to be. He first told us Spiderman, which we nixed, so his next suggestion was Cookie Monster - perfect and easy to make. Yes, make. Now don't get excited, the most this involved was a hot glue gun. But all in all the costume turned out great. And my fears of it not being great were assuaged when we went to a party Saturday and everyone knew who he was immediately.



While at the party Rudy very quickly got the hang of getting candy (the kids trick or treated around the room)



and eating candy.




Here's a picture of his friend Thomas - an adorable Bob the Builder.

FFF- Ready, Set, Go

Just for an ironic take on this topic, here's a video from this summer of Rudy (and everyone else) riding bikes. Good thing it wasn't a race!



You can see more Favorite Foto Fridays by going to KisstheFrog4Me.

Pumpkin Painting

Tonight Rudy and I decided to paint the pumpkins that we picked. I painted part of mine first and showed him how I was making eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Knowing full well that there was no way he was going to do the same, I then let him paint. He started out saying "eyes, nose, mouth" as he painted....





but it eventually became just a fully painted pumpkin.



One side of our pumpkins



The other side

Roller Skating

On Saturday Rudy went to his first roller skating party. He did very well (with skates whose wheels were locked so tight it was just like walking) and had a lot of fun (except for a few meltdowns since it was the middle of the afternoon).
For Paul and I it was a blast from the past - the local skating rink has not changed at all since we were kids. I've seen it a few times over the years on class trips but Paul hasn't been there since he was in grade school - nothing has changed.
The room we had the party in had a floor the kids could skate on, but of course none of them were satisfied there for long so off to the main rink we went. Despite some close calls with other skaters, Rudy didn't fall once when we were out on the floor. They have family skating nights we may try to go to sometime since he did enjoy it so much.

Fun on the Carousel

A few weekends ago we went to a local Octoberfest. Rudy loves the carousel and of course had to ride it. I got a pretty good video of him on it (It even has sound - love our new camera!). What you can hear him say is "neigh hey hey" - his version of a horse.

FFF- Friends

This week Rudy was lying on the floor trying to be a perro like Lou. Usually this is the point that Lou gets up and moves, but this time he rolled onto his side as if he wanted his belly rubbed. And he actually stayed there while Rudy moved around him. I think Rudy was also a little surprised that Lou stayed in one place for so long!





For more Favorite Foto Friday pictures go to KisstheFrog4Me.

Where?

You always hear about 'why?' being the main question little kids ask over and over again. Rudy seems to be straying from the norm (as usual) and has decided that his question is going to be where. Some examples from recently:

I told Rudy that on Sunday we are going to Baby Sean's baptism and we'd get to see Aunt Vincie, Uncle Andy, Tyler Noah and Sean.
Rudy: Where?
Me: We're going to the iglesia (church) for the baptism and then hang out at Aunt Vincie's house.
Rudy: Where?
Me: In Pennsylvania.
Rudy: Where?
Me: At their house.
Rudy: Where?
Me: (I then gave their street name AND later their number but he continued to ask where.)


A common discussion on the way to school:
Rudy: Where we going?
Me: To school.
Rudy: Where?
Me: To the new school.
Rudy: Where?
Me: In M---- (name of town)
Rudy: Where?
Me: Up the street and over the bridge.
Rudy: Where?
Me: (turn the music up a little louder and try to distract him)

Fall Day

What better to do on a lovely fall day than to go pumpkin picking. Of course the weather turned out much warmer than we expected so we roasted in our warmer clothes. But we got to pick some small pumpkins for our front porch. For now we'll leave them unadorned but we may eventually paint them. And of course in the coming weeks we will carve a pumpkin too - can't wait to see Rudy's reaction to that!

Home for a Year!

Today marks one year since Rudy walked into our house. Here is the link to my description of that day.
It has been an amazing year. God really knew what he was doing when he gave us this child - he is goofy, crazy, and hysterical and fits right in with us. He is the perfect child for us - easy going, willing to go anywhere and do anything and very social ( after the first few minutes when he likes to play shy!).
It is still upsetting that it took so long for him to come home (I am going to start a counter of how long he has been home so we can mark when he's been home longer than not.) but the actual pain of that has faded. It is sad that Guatemala is not open for adoptions because if we could afford it (and find a GOOD agency), I would definitely do it again so Rudy would have a sibling with the same background.
Here is our boy getting ready to shake his groove thing and honk his nose:

Exercise

In our basement, we have an elliptical machine. Rudy has never seen either of us on it, but he knows we use it for exercise. Lately when he goes downstairs with me while I do laundry, he has been doing his own exercise. This is how he thinks the elliptical gets used:


First he pushes down on one side....





then he walks to the other side and pushes it down.





He continues to repeat this until we go upstairs. Once he told me "Mommy and this side and Poppy on that side."
I want him never to realize that we stand on it because then I will have to worry about him climbing on it when we go down there!

FFF - Octoberfest

When I think of Octoberfest I think of hayrides and pumpkin picking. These pictures are from last year since we haven't gotten our pumpkins yet this year.





For more FFF pictures go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

ONE YEAR!

One year ago today Paul and I flew to Guatemala and Rudy met us at the hotel for the last time. In the past year he has spent just one night away from us (Aunt Patti was dying to have him to herself!) and it has been the best year of our lives. I truly believe that the adjustment was harder for Paul and I than for Rudy and that Rudy came home at the best time and age for him. He adapted to english very quickly and accepted us as Mommy and Poppy from the beginning (although definitely more so to poppy at first). I won't rehash our trip again but if you'd like to reread it here it is.
Here is a picture of us in Guatemala last year





and on vacation last month.

Jumping

Rudy loves swimming lessons and he loves to 'jump' into the pool. Here he is 'jumping' in. As you can see he was very eager to do it, although he doesn't exactly jump in himself.





If Rudy (or either of us) had a different personality, these swim lessons would be horrible. But it doesn't phase him to be tossed into the water and I really believe he is learning a lot. This was the first time he jumped in without his floatation belt on.

FFF- Summer Memories

I am actually going to post just one picture this week - the epitome of our summer memories. The best part of our vacations is spending time with my brothers and their families and my dad. This was our second vacation all together and we have survived both with 7 adults and various amounts of kids all living in one house together for a week. My only regret is that my mom's not with us because she would have loved these vacations - family, relaxation, swimming- what would be better? So here's a picture of all of us.

Trust and a New Trick

How do you trust a two year old? It is very hard to do but sometimes you just hit that point where it has to be done. And we were actually very successful. Now we are probably a little crazy, overly cautious, whatever word you wnat to use, but this week is the first time either of us have ever taken a shower when we were home alone with Rudy. For the past year we always coordinated our morning schedules, I would get up early even if I wasn't working so I could shower in the morning. Yesterday Rudy and I were off (Happy Rosh Hashanah) and I completely forgot to plan ahead. We had plans for the day so I knew I couldn't just be a bum. So after Paul left for work I told Rudy I needed him to play in his room while I took a shower. The shower is on the same level as his bedroom and I brought the monitor in so I could hear what he was up to. It worked well and Rudy stayed upstairs the whole time. So today we're off again (Happy 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah) only this time he protested when i suggested he come upstairs. His exact words: "No, I play downstairs." So I decided the time had come to put some trust in our little monkey. I bolted the doors, even though I don't think he can quite open them, made sure the basement gate was solidly locked, closed the dog in our bedroom, and went upstairs to shower. Once again it went well. As I got out of the shower he was coming up stairs calling me but he seemed to just be checking on where I was because after peeking in to say hi, he went back to playing. Another parent hurdle safely crossed!

As for his new trick, yesterday we drove to meet Vincie, Tyler, Noah and Sean at a coffeehouse/ indoor play area. As usual, in the car Rudy told me he was taking his shoes and socks off (he is a rare Guatemalan who prefers to be barefoot). After driving for about an hour, I stopped at a traffic light and decided to turn around and look at him to see what he was doing. This is what I found:



For some reason, only in the car, when he takes his socks off he puts them on his hands like mittens. Very impressive since he hasn't yet mastered putting socks on his feet but apparently putting them on his hands is easier.

And here's a picture of Rudy reading a book to Noah.




And Tyler, Noah and Rudy all playing together.