Thanksgiving Prep 2014

Dexter caught Daddy making his famous deviled eggs and

Mommy setting the serving table. It was a lovely Thanksgiving meal (with Dexter's painted pumpkin centerpiece on the eating table).

My Bologna was thankful for leftovers on the plate.

Giving Thanks

My friend Alyssa made a Thanksgiving Tree with her family and I liked the idea so much we made one of our own on Thanksgiving. Dexter's first "leaf of thanks" was for "ice cream".

Opening Presents

As if Dex hadn't had enough excitement on his birthday party day (he had already gone to breakfast in Chicago with Grandma and Gunker, went to Daddy's church gig, had lunch at Pop's, and then the big birthday party), he got even more of it when he opened his birthday presents at home that evening.

 Grandma and Gunker gave him laser pegs (glowing legos with flashing lights) and an I Spy cartridge for his Leap Pad. "This is just the one I always wanted!" Dex shouted (news to us).

Dexy's friends also came through with some awesome lego sets, hot wheels monster trucks and race tracks! I'd say his friends know him pretty well.

Party On!

Ben scouted a perfect location for Dexter's 6th birthday party - a low-key Mom-n-Pop bowling alley. 

The kids got to bowl and have some silly sliding fun on the lanes!

Everybody then enjoyed pizza and a car-shaped cake in a separate party room that Grandma, Gunker, Mommy, and Daddy decorated.

The young ones sure know how to enjoy a party! Special thanks to Grandma and Gunker for keeping Mommy grounded during the excitement of it all!

Grandma and Gunker Bring the Excitement

Dexy had been looking forward to Grandma and Gunker's arrival for days and when they finally arrived, they did not disappoint! Not only did they play Dexy's favorite Mousetrap game with him...

But they also brought him some awesome building materials - an electrical snap circuit and

Some awesome wooden blocks!

Like Mother, Like Son

While Mommy's work consists of typing fieldnotes from jottings, Dexter's consists of learning games on PBSKIDS.org.

Matching Poses

Ben caught Dex and My Bologna by the back door - Dex was imitating My Bologna's pose and My Bologna was imitating Dexy's smile.

Big Boy Bed

Dex was looking a little cramped in his toddler bed so Ben and I went out a few weeks ago and picked out a nice new bed for the boy. He loves his "huge" bed!

Scoopie

Our local Culvers had a "Cat in the Hat" book donation drive and used their mascot, Scoopie, to lure in the kids. Ben, Dex, and I brought a few books to donate and got to enter Dexter in a raffle.

Scoopie was having trouble keeping his large Cat in the Hat hat on his big, round, scoopie head while making his grand entrance.

But Scoopie was eventually positioned in a chair where he could give high fives and wave (as long he didn't move his head around too much). Dex loved it!

Ben couldn't contain his laughter and I couldn't stop thinking about how filthy poor Scoopie's head was.

On the Lookout

After trick or treating and eating candy Dexy wanted to look out for more trick or treaters. The weather was so bad that he only got to see one.

Haunted Gingerbread House

For the first time ever, this year Dexter and built and decorated a haunted gingerbread house for Halloween and broke into it after trick or treating (like we needed more sweets!).

Trick or Treating Mishap

The botton of Dexy's trick or treating bag fell apart about halfway through trick or treating. Luckily, a friendly neighbor gave him a plastic bag for the rest of the trip and he was able to haul his candy home.

Trick or Sleeting

Neither snow nor wind nor sleet nor rain will stop him.

Managing to Maneuver

It seems like we always make Dex a Halloween costume that is tricky to maneuver up the steps up to the neighbors' front doors. Last year, he couldn't see the ground in his ghost costume so Ben had to lift him up and down the steps at every house.

Now that Dex is a bit bigger, however, he figured out how to get the job done all on his own!

Driving to School on Halloween

All the kids got to wear their costumes to school on Halloween and participate in a parade.

We knew Dex would have to take his costume off for most of the school day but he insisted on "driving" in it to school. Good thing he finished his license plate in time to get on the road!

It was a cold and rainy day so the parade ended up taking place inside the gym. Dex wore his hat, coat, and mittens because that is how he had dressed to come to school in the morning. He was sweating bullets but refused to take anything off.

Jack-O-Lanterning

We grew two small pumpkins in our backyard and bought one huge one to make into jack-o-lanterns this year. Ben and I each designed the face for the small ones and Dexter came up with the face for the big one.





Dex even helped with some of the carving this year!

Test Drive to Safely Spooky in the Park

Ben took Dex to the park for the pre-Halloween Safely Spooky costume event in the park. Our friends saw Dexter coming from down the street because of his headlights.

The race car was a huge hit (especially with the Dads!). Ben reported that lots of people asked if the costume was home-made to which he replied, "It's a box."

Parked next to a gator.

Halloween Costume Construction

The box that our new cabinet came in was the inspiration and Dexter, Daddy, and I collaborated on the design and construction. We used mostly recycled materials (except for the working headlights and tail-lights that are LED cabinet/closet push on lights) to build the car over a period of a couple weeks. Then we painted it according to Dexter's specific instructions.

The wheels are made from the round cardboard that comes under frozen pizzas.

 The grill is made from a Chinese food carton.

The dual exhaust pipes are toilet paper rolls.

Pumpkin Patching

We took Dex and his friend Tabitha out to a pumpkin patch where they had a blast.

Riding on bouncy ponies...

 Playing tag in a playground of recycled farm machine materials...

 Jumping on a huge bouncy...

 Taking a break to rehydrate...

 Sliding down a hillside slide...

 Racing pedal-powered go carts...

 And enjoying the corn maze at sunset.

It was so heart-warming to see Dexter and Tabitha having such fun together. A wonderful time was had by all. 

Silly "Brothers"

The other day, I came out of the bathroom to find My Bologna and Dexter sitting right there waiting for me - same posture, same expression. Luckily, they "stayed" until I got the picture. Such silly brothers.

Pumpkin Painting

While at the arboretum, Dexter also painted a pumpkin.

I'm going to use it for our Thanksgiving table's centerpiece.

Arboretum in Autumn

Ben, Dex, and I took a Sunday afternoon trip to the arboretum. We did the hedge maze and collected colorful leaves that Dex put in his monkey backpack.

 I made a heart in the pebbles - Dex immediately jumped into the center with a huge smile on his sweet face.

 Walking (over stepping stones) to the beat of his own drummer.

Dex loved the kaleidoscope that created amazing reflective images of the potted plants.

Dexy's climbing skills have improved (slightly). At least this time, Ben didn't have to go and physically help him - we just had to encourage him with words to climb back down a ladder.

Dex took his time but he persisted!