Happy Halloween!

Today is the day... the debut of the complete Batman costume. There was rain in the morning, but the skies cleared by the afternoon, allowing Drew to play with his bestest buddies from next door. Drew had more fun handing candy out to trick-or-treaters than actually trick-or-treating himself. All in all a fantastic day!

Drew and the neighbors having fun in the leaves.

Drew and Isaac posing their matching skeletons.

BATMAN!!!

This Batman is all business.

The Dark Knight.

On the road, heading home.

Drew patiently waits on the couch for the next batch of trick-or-treaters to come to the door.

Blue Lake Park

Saturday was a beautiful day here in the Portland/Vancouver area, so we decided to go for a bike ride to Blue Lake Park. We started on Marine Drive along the Columbia River, we rode West along the bike path for a few miles and ended up at the park. I knew it was there, there is a Wakeboarding championship there every Summer, but we had never actually gone there. It was pretty cool (except for the unsafe water due to another algae bloom... what is up with the water around here?) Anywho, there were snack bars, 4 playgrounds, a closed off beach and hardly any people. It was a little eerie because it felt a bit like the abandoned amusement park that you would always see on a Scooby-Doo cartoon, but we had a great time while we were there. We will probably plan on spending more time there next time.

Here Jill looks into the water at some small minnows.

I like this duck because the sun was really making his green feathers shimmer.

Bi-Zi Farm

A week ago Friday, Drew, Grammy and Mom went to Bi-Zi Farm with Drew's preschool for some pumpkin patch action. I really wanted to go, but I had to work. Here are the pics. It was a cool foggy morning, making for a really cool (in more ways than one) atmosphere.

Grammy and Drew are ready to explore the farm!

Hay ride

The perfect pumpkin. The pumpkin was included in the price of the visit, but the size was limited to that which Drew could carry. Here it appears as if he is pushing the limit.

Here's one that's more like it.

Drew loved climbing on the big hay pyramid.

Drew and turkey spend some one on one time together.

Smile!

How do you teach someone to smile? We have been working on this for quite some time. We say "Smile!" then we model the perfect smiles. We then have to get him to tone it back a bit, and we get even more interesting facial expressions. Any ideas? Here is a series of four pictures from earlier tonight. We were trying to get a picture of his "Rock and Roll" t-shirt and his skateboard (also known as his hamper lid). What we got were four pictures with not quite ideal smiles.

Smile Drew!

"Use a nice face, Drew!"

I don't even know what he was thinking here.

His response to "Smile with your mouth closed"

"Skateboarding"

We watched about 5 minutes of the Dew Tour on NBC today. The event was Skateboard Park. It was only a couple of minutes, but it obviously made an impression. Here we see pictures of Drew "skateboarding". To you and me it was simply jumping off of the ottoman. No matter what it looked like, Drew was having the time of his life.

Michael Jordan tongue.

Dinner of Champions

Sometimes dinner doesn't happen exactly when you want it to, and to fill the void, the snacks come out. Here Drew enjoys the dinner of champions, edamame and peanuts.

Drew does know how to eat them both without assistance, but it tends to be a messy process. Both involve the same process. Insert item, chomp down, remove item and hunt for the bean/nut.

The next step for us is to teach him how to clean up that mess on his own.

Drew attacks a bean

Drew attacks a peanut

Drew and the presidential campaigns

I think it's funny that Drew knows Barak Obama and John McCain both by sight and by voice (t.v./radio). When asked to describe what they look like he says, "Barak Obama has a head, and black shoes, but not fire shoes (like Drew's Vans style shoes with flames on them). And, John McCain has a head, black shoes, and white fouffy hair around his neck."

Fouffy?

His newest enthusiastic remark is, "Look! It's Barak Obama... he's gonna run for my presents!"

Of course, it's all about Drew all of the time.

Mmmm... Coffee!

Ahhh, the morning ritual. Coffee. (Actually, weak Ovaltine, but Drew doesn't need to know that). He's grown outta those little cups with lids, so we get to witness some kick-ass moustaches.

Proud Mom and Moustache Drew

Chuggin' it down, Drew style

Buzz Lightyear!

Drew recieved some goodies in the mail yesterday (Thanks, Jen!). His favorite in the box was a package of Buzz Lightyear underwear. He insisted on wearing them. He chose to wear two at once.

Looking good Drew!

Razor Scooter

We got Drew a Razor Scooter about a month ago. We have been taking nightly walks after dinner to burn off some of his energy and to give us a chance to relax. He has become pretty dang good at the scooter. He is faster on it than his big wheel, his tricycle, or his bike.

Go Drew, Go!

Cruisin' on the sidewalk. He prefers sidewalks to the rough asphalt.

"Come on Dad... Hurry up!!!"