Thank you for making me a father. And thanks for letting me be your dad.
I got just what I wanted: time with both of you and Mommy; and time with my Dad and our family too!
Saturday morning you both woke up SUPER early (like before 6 am!) I guess you were so excited that you didn't want to miss a minute of the weekend! So, around 7:45 I was going to go for a run, and Julia you asked to come with me on your bike...and then Aidan, you asked to come too.
Of course!
So while the weather was still crisp and cool, we headed out and zipped through the neighborhood and up to the elementary school playground, where you guys played and pretended and (after I did a few laps on the track) we did even more playing!
It was a brilliant way to start the weekend off right!
We ran some errands, hung out, played games, listened to music, did a little shopping, and soaked in the nice weather in our backyard...which was about to be changed forever.
On Sunday we all slept in...and then you both took turns helping me make pancakes. Then we went kayaking on White Rock Lake!
I've been itching to do this for a long time with you and Mommy. It's been quite a while...and it was totally worth it! We saw turtles and cranes and we raced and got wet and had so much fun!
The day continued with some fun-in-a-box, playing (and errands) with sleep masks, and drawing and playing games at home.
Aidan, you worked really hard on this stencil art and gave it to me for fathers day "To Dad from Aidan227"
Then we met up with Mimi and Pops and Holden for special sushi dinner and bakery dessert happy fun times.
This was such an easy-going, no-stress fathers day weekend. But, to be fair-even though I know it's cheesy- pretty much every day is 'fathers day' when I'm with you! You guys always make me feel special and loved...and I always aim to return the favor.
On a beautiful day, I packed some snacks, got out the bike and chariot (which both of you are getting too big for!) and we rode around the neighborhood until we landed at the Hexter Elementary School playground.
We had a marvelous time, and the two of you explored and showed how much you've grown with every step and obstacle climbed.
Julia, you proved that you can climb in ANY type of shoe...
You swung on "big kid" swings:
You posed together:
...including Aidan's new pose "Like the Fox..."
...and, Aidan, you flirted a lot with some girls. At first you heard them talking and said "I'm going to go check those girls out!" But then you came back to me and told me that you were too shy to say hi. Eventually- like a few minutes later- you got over it and introduced yourself by yelling "Hey Girls! You want to play with me?"
They were super sweet and said "Yes!"
When they left, you told me "They're going to come over to my house later and my mommy will be SO happy!"
Well, the girls didn't come over, but Mommy was SUPER happy; happy to hear about your accomplishments, your funny stories, and to see the "like a fox" face!
Aidan, you had literally been counting down the days. Last year's Halloween was such a big hit that you remembered it...for the entire year. So this Halloween was the most-anticipated holiday event EVER.
You were counting down the days without really knowing what a calendar looks like, so we had to institute a calendar.
Every day we put a sticker to mark off a day. And every day you tried to skip the remainder of the month by putting a sticker directly on the 31st. "I want to do this one! Halloween day!" But, we stuck with the sticking and counted down the days.
What did you want to be?
Well, sometimes it was a lion, or Captain Hook; sometimes it was grasshopper or Tinkerbell. Sometimes it was "the biiiig dinosaur!" or "the bass dinosaur." Sometimes it was Hulk! But mostly, it was Peter Pan. Or at least it was Peter Pan by the time your Mom and Yaya had to start making costumes.
And so the felt and the sewing needles came out, and you continued counting down the days.
Finally, we were close enough to start Halloween in style! So we showed you your costume, and you were very impressed!
And what an awesome, handsome Peter Pan you were!
And then your Mommy put on her costume...and you knew immediately who she was: "You dress up as Wendy, Mommy!"
And then I put on my costume...and you knew immediately who I was: "You are John, Daddy!"
And then, Miss Julia, we put on your costume...and you were not too pleased with the costume. You were a very temperamental Tinkerbell. Perhaps it was the length, or perhaps it was too constricting, or too much fluff. Or perhaps there wasn't enough pixie dust. But either way, it wasn't making you want to fly to the moon. But, my oh my, did you look adorable in it!
But, we had no time for costume adjustments just then, because we were on our way to your future Elementary school for a Halloween Carnival! So, Tinkerbell's got to wear her 'active wear' outfit, the rest of us suited up, and we headed off to the Hexter Howl!
You both had so much fun on the playground, on the rides (bounce houses, super slides, and carousels!), walking around, eating sausage on a stick and getting a few treats!
But, the biggest hit of all, was the stage they had set up for kids to dance on. Aidan and Julia, you both took to the stage, and we had a hard time getting you to come off!
And so many people just LOVED your costumes. Unfortunately, they didn't get mine. I think the beard through them off. "Peter Pan...Tinkerbell...Wendy and... you Amish? you Rabbi?" Oh well! At least my smart son knew who I was dressed up as!
Another plus: Aidan, you are very excited now to go to school! You've asked- and we've granted- 3 times now since that day to go to the "School Playground" to go play. The first time, you were a lot disappointed that there was no stage for dancing, but we soon found other fun to be had.
We rocked the Hexter Howl until they shut it down, and then came home to have our very own Halloween Costumer party with your friends Brady and Asher. Your Mommy had just enough time to tweak your costume, Julia, so that you wouldn't trip all over it and the results were more satisfactory. You were a much happier Tinkerbell.
So, the boys came over, and we had much costumed cuteness and a lot of fun!
You guys bounced, pounced, bathed and squirmed so much that we couldn't even get a good picture of the 4 of you together. But it was very adorable.
The next day we got to don our costumes again and go show them off for Mimi and Pops (Trick or Treat!)
... and then Yaya and Baba (Trick or Treat again!)
Finally, the big day arrived. The day we had been counting down to FOREVER! It was HALLOWEEN DAY! We suited up again...
We grabbed our bags and started to canvas the neighborhood, door-to-door with Zoe, Molly and Kate from down the street. It started to get dark, but Peter Pan wasn't afraid of any darkness, so the Darlings, Tink and Peter continued their quest for more houses and more candy.
Aidan, you were very polite and said "Trick or Treat!" and "Thank you!" You weren't as impatient as last year, and didn't say "Next House!" to anyone's face. But you did have a chat with a very nice neighbor who remembered you from last year. She said "Oh! Hello! You were Buzz Lightyear last year!"
You replied, "No. I'm dress up as Peter Pan!"
You exchanged some pleasantries and received some candy. Then you looked at the nice lady and asked "What you dress up as?"
She said "These are just my clothes."
"Ohhhhhh!" You said!
Julia, you were perhaps a bit more confused about Trick or Treating and started to get a bit cold. Luckily, your dear old Dad was wearing a queen-size bed sheet and I was able to bundle you up!
It started to get later and later, and it was time for Julia's bed. We walked back to the house together, Aidan your candy bag was so full that you had to drag it behind you. I was ready to go to more houses with you, son, but when we opened the door you marched inside, sat down at the kitchen table and poured out your loot...and you began to pillage. You tried some of everything.
Sometimes you tried three of one type of thing.
I was worried you were going to be so tired that you'd never fall asleep but, after a much needed bath to rid you of the stickiness of sampling 10 pounds of candy, you quickly fell asleep.
It was a wonderful Halloween, and the holiday has proven to be your favorite, Aidan. You randomly bring it up sometimes: "Mommy you are Wendy, I am Peter Pan, Julia is Tinkerbell, Daddy dress up as John."
"I like.....Skeletons and Punkins!"
"It's Halloween time!"
As we moved on to try to celebrate the next holidays, you decided to make them your own: "It's ThanksHalloween Day!"
So, it looks like we are counting down the days to Halloween again....and -ding dong- the Halloweinsteins will be there!
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