Halloween Seventeen

Halloween in the Weinstein household pretty much starts percolating in January. Talk of costumes. Reading Halloween books (Little Boo, Jerry Seinfeld's Halloween, Little Critter's Halloween, and Where's My Mummy? are year-round favorites). Candy consumption (that actually carries over into the fall..in fact, I think you guys still have Halloween 2016 candy as of this writing). Pumpkin/zombie/skeleton obsessions grow.

You guys went to the Arboretum (sorry I missed it!)

You both expressed your inner-pumpkins and spooky specters in art:

By Aidan

by Julia

By Aidan

By Julia, based on the Pumpkin exhibit we saw at the DMA

Aidan (L) and Julia (R): 2017 Jack-o-Lanterns

So...it was time to costume-up... who were you?

This year you guys watched "The Corpse Bride" for the first time...and Julia, you decided then and there- and never wavered- that you were going to be a 'Spoooooooooky Ghost Bride."

Mission Accomplished:

And Aidan, you had all sorts of big ideas of what you were going to be... a Tarantula... Sonic the Hedgehog. But, ultimately, when I took you to the Halloween store, you knew EXACTLY what you would choose to be the second you saw the costume:

In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. You have been going through a Pokemon thing!

Who was I?

Costumes- check! 

Then it was time to GET THAT CANDY from those fools who are just GIVING it AWAY!!!!!!

Family Trick-or-Treating was on Sunday:

And then...the MAIN EVENT on Halloween EVE itself, with your buddies Zoe, Molly, and Kate!

And now... one more treat for you. I put together a little video!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

I look forward to the discussions of Halloween '18 beginning in 3...2...1...

Aidan at 7: A Snapshot

Aidan,

Being 7 is tough. Being 7 with a bunch of challenges thrown in your way can be even tougher. You've got to contend with sensory processing disorder, mixed expressive responsive language disorder, and occupational or speech therapy 2 - 3 times a week. Your brain is just very special and works differently than others, and sometimes makes it difficult to figure out what people are saying and why they're saying it.  And yet, you persevere. You always have been a strong, resilient, amazing boy, and you're growing more and more each day. You have progressed so much in the past few years, and you are a testament to what one can do with enough will power. 

You. Are. Amazing. 

Nature Boy/Whisperer

You persevere with a smile on your face. You're quick to be sympathetic to others, you truly, deeply care about a lot of people and are passionate about your interests. 

Determined. You sewed this Baby Groot all by yourself!

It gives us great joy to just soak you in and watch you grow into yourself and be just a boy, as you begin to triumph over the hand that was dealt to you. 

Spooky and Loving

You love animals. You are almost a bug and critter whisperer with the way you can easily catch and pick up critters that would slip away from others.

You are a lover. You love your sister. Your Mama. Even old stinky me.

You are a dreamer- you get lost in books, and legos, and mazes, and find-its, and stories, and movies.

Proud

You are a story-teller- you love to tell stories to anyone who will listen and you exude creativity.

You love music and have quite a singing voice and a helluva lot of dance moves.

Sweet

You are strong. You are growing. You are amazing. And we love you. To the moon and back. And we are so proud of you.

Big Brother

 

Helper

"I'm a Spy" 

Sewing

Fearless

Method Actor

Jolly Trolley Ride

On a sleepy Sunday, after a rousing morning of Legos, Learning and singing "Les Mis" (One Day More!) all together, we decided to hop on the Uptown Trolley and head down to one of our favorite parks downtown!

Waiting for the Trolley to come was fun! It was delayed, but we talked, played some games (like Rock, Scissors, Paper and Hawkeye) and I even told you both the whole story of Les Mis.

But then- ding ding! Our ride arrived!

As soon as we got down to the park, the two of you knew you wanted to get wet- so you changed into your swimsuits and got splashing!

You splished, you splashed, you climbed, you ran. We ran into some old friends, and you played with their son Brooks while we chatted. Then we got Popsicles, played soccer with Brooks and his dad, and then we decided to dry off and eat dinner out of the Food Trucks at the Park.

Hamburgers, fries, bahn mi, pizza. Yum yum!

And while we waited for our Trolley ride home, Julia you 'gabbed' on your 'phone' with Moana and Maui.

Aidan, you played Pokemon- your newest interest!

And Snuggled...

and then our Trolley arrived!

Except it was full...and we were nearing bedtime...so we started off on a mile-long walk back to the car. We walked, skipped, rode shoulders, talked, held hands, took breaks, and then -ding ding- another trolley came from behind us and took us all the way home!

What an adventure!