Birthday and Halloween

So Raymond had his first birthday party a couple weeks ago. I know, I can't believe it either. He seems to be growing much faster than Beka did, but probably not. We didn't have a big party or anything, since he won't really know what's going on, but it was nice to have family come in. My mother and father in law came and so did my mom. My mom was planning to drive up with my grandparents and aunt, but they had to turn around because my grandfather fell and hurt himself. He is fine now and I'm glad everything is back to normal there. So my mom ended up flying to Atlanta and driving down for the weekend. Well, weekend is stretching it. 36 hours is more like it. She came in Friday night and left very early Sunday morning. I am glad she was here though and able to share in the festivities and visit with her grandkids.

At the party, Raymond seemed much more aware of what was going on than Beka had. We got a free "smash cake" from Publix since we ordered a first birthday cake there. Kind of cool actually. He was in his glory, I think. We took some video of it and even though my grandparents, step-father, and aunt couldn't be there, they were able to Skype to see the mess that was Raymond's first cake experience. He just went right for it, digging his hands into the middle of the cake and dragging out entire handfuls to shove into his mouth. Most of the cake ended up on him and not in him though. He had to get a bath immediately after the cake fiasco and the water in th
e tub was quite filthy with cake. He then opened his presents and, as you would expect from a one year old, was really interested in the packaging. He did eventually get to the toys and he did like them.

After the party we took the family to the local corn maze (Barnhill Farms) to pick out a pumpkin and have fun getting lost in the corn stalks. It was actually quite a warm day for mid October in Alabama, but we had fun. Beka did great "leading" the family and using her map to navigate us out of the maze. She also enjoyed all the other activities they had like riding in cows fashioned out of 55 gallon drums pulled by a tractor and the "corn box" which is a sandbox, but filled with corn kernels. Raymond was tired and hot when we left, but the grandparents took good care of him while Jen and I enjoyed some time with Beka. It was a good weekend and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Jen and I went as Julius Caesar and his wife this year for Halloween. We needed costumes for the Wake the Dead party put on by the local Phi Delta Chi chapter (of which I was inducted as a graduate brother last Spring). That's what we decided on since it would be easy and didn't require me to try on a thousand different costumes. The Wake the Dead party was a lot of fun. We got a babysitter and we were out past 11 pm for the first time in a long time. Even though we don't drink, it was nice to catch up with some of my former students and see how things are going at Auburn since I left. As I've said before, that is the part of my former job I miss the most. Jen and I were also delighted to have some time to ourselves just to talk about whatever without being interrupted constantly by children. It was a late night and I was tired the next day at work, but it was worth it and we were both glad to have gone.


We also had the "Trunk or Treat" at church on Friday night. It is a great way to trick or treat in a safe environment where you know there aren't going to be razor blades in the candy. Jen was working so she wasn't able to go. Usually I would decorate my trunk and handout candy, but if I did that I wouldn't have been able to take the kids around. Anyway, Beka had fun and she had good practice for the main event on Monday. We were joined by a friend and his daughter for the trunk or treat and it was made that much more enjoyable. I was one of the handful of adults dressed up in costume, but it makes it more fun for me. Halloween is my favorite non-religious holiday. However, I was completely unprepared for the chilly night. Beka is dressed up in her Tinkerbell costume and Raymond was dressed up in his spider costume. I figured they would be warm enough while trick or treating, but I was wrong. Raymond didn't have anything on his arms, so he was cold and Beka didn't have anything on her arms or legs. Thankfully, our friend brought some extra clothes for his daughter and I was able to put some pants on Beka. I still had no coats on this blustery night for either child, so I should probably win father of the year. Since it was so chilly outside, we didn't stay very long, but Beka still got her fill of candy.

Saturday night we had a nice party at a neighbor's house. They have a daughter a little older than Beka, but she had a good time. She didn't really know anyone else there and she fell down the stairs leading to the back yard twice (she was fine), but she still enjoyed the games and hay ride. She was overtired though because she refused a nap earlier in the day. This tiredness is probably why she fell.

So now we get to do the main event on Monday. We are just going to go around our immediate neighborhood, but it should still be fun. Raymond still won't know what's going on, but Beka will enjoy being able to dress up one last time before we retire the costume. She'll get her fill of candy yet again. The only problem is that she doesn't really like a ton of different kinds of candy, mostly just chocolate in all its various forms. It's a problem for Jen and I since we end up eating WAY too much candy.

One last thing. A plea for a Miami Dolphins win. I mean I just watched them blow a nice lead last week against the Broncos and this week again against the Giants. Seriously guys, get your stuff together and win one game. That's all I'm asking; just one. As a lifelong Fins fan, I can't stand to see them lose week after week after week. I guess maybe if they continue to lose, they'll get the first pick in the draft and hopefully they'll draft a quarterback. I like Andrew Luck from Stanford, but I don't really have a say. Again, my plea is to win just one game. Thanks, Your loyal fan Ray.

Various updates

So, I have been strangely silent on the blog lately, mostly because there isn't a lot going on and I've been busy. Now you're probably thinking "how can you have nothing going on and still be busy?" Well, the answer is pretty simple, I've been busy doing every day things that aren't necessarily blog-worthy. But in the spirit of being true to the blog, I'll provide some updates.

We've been to a couple Auburn games this year already and had a good time at both of them. That means we've also been doing a lot of driving. And a lot of visiting with my in laws who watch the kids while Jen and I go to the game (thanks!). It's nice because we are able to spend some quality time together without the kids to talk about adult things. The games we attended were the Miss State game which went right down to the last seconds and the FAU game which didn't. The next game we go to will be the Samford game and we sold our Florida and Ole Miss tickets. Then I get to go to the Iron Bowl with a good friend who, unfortunately, is an Alabama fan. We should have fun though.

Speaking of driving, my car finally had to have some major work done on it. I was telling a friend a couple weeks ago about how my car was low maintenance, didn't need a lot of repairs, and was generally a great vehicle. Well, the next day, it completely died on me. The air bag light had been on for a little bit, but I didn't really think anything of it. Well, I had gotten home from work and needed to check out a doggy day care place around here for my mom when she comes to visit for Raymond's birthday in a week. So before I pick up the kids from person day care, I stop by to check it out. I come out only to find that my car won't start. Battery is dead, alternator is shot, etc. Well, I am stranded, but I need to get the kids from daycare. So Jen sends her pharmacy student in her car to jump me. Turns out the jumper cables I had weren't big enough to jump my car, but Jen had bigger ones in hers. After successfully jumping my car, I had to leave it running when I went to get the kids and it died again once I got home. Well, I take into the dealership and everything gets fixed, but it was so expensive we had to spend our Disney vacation money to pay for it. Which sucks. But I need a vehicle to be able to get the kids from daycare. Then the check engine light comes on the next day I try to drive it. Yeah, ridiculous, right? Nothing was wrong with it, I guess they forgot to reset the computer or something. But I did have to take it back to the dealership to find this out. What an ordeal!

The new job has been going well and I am enjoying it. I really like using all my clinical knowledge more and actually being able to focus on some research.

We are getting ready for Halloween around here, my favorite non-religious holiday. Every day Beka comes up with a different character she wants to dress up as for trick or treating. One day its a princess, then a cowgirl, then a punk rocker, then a fashion model, then Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba. We are probably going to make her choose something in the next week, so I'll keep you all posted. Any suggestions for my costume this year? We also don't know what we'll do with Raymond's costume, so any ideas there would be helpful. Speaking of Raymond, he is so close to walking I think he can taste it. Cruising all over the place.

We have a really fun weekend in store coming up. Dinner with friends, bowling, the circus, and a ton of other things. Can't wait, and maybe then I'll actually have something interesting to blog about.