Documented Halloween Cuteness

About a month ago, I asked EJ what she wanted to be for Halloween. She declared, quite certainly,

"A pink pig."

This was really surprising to us, because there are so many things that she is completely obsessed with, and pigs are not one of them. She does love pink, though, and we soon realized that she may have gleaned the pig idea from one of her favorite books, Cars, Trucks and Things That Go, in which a family of pigs travel to the beach and encounter every conceivable kind of vehicle. Who wouldn't want to be a pig who drives by a pickle-mobile, after all?

Regardless of her inspiration, her commitment to the pink pig costume did not wane, and today she got to wear it in all her glory to a Halloween party at one of her preschool friend's house, then for trick-or-treating. It proved to be a unique and highly complimented choice (Comments like, "Oh, what a sweet little pig!" and the like were said over and over by candy distributors, which may have improved EJ's quality of loot). In fact, we didn't see any other piglets out on the street tonight, and there were literally hundreds of kids on Harper Avenue in Hyde Park for the annual all-out bash (described in detail by me last year.) Happily for us, the hot pink costume stood out in the dark as well as her bright orange pumpkin worn last year, which helped us keep track of her as she forged ahead on her candy-candy-candy quest.

Please enjoy the documentation of this cuteness.

Pre-Party Pic (The Costume Is Still Clean)


Devilish Pre-Candy Grin


A Pig and Her Blanket


Sheesh, Mom, Can I Get Some Candy Already?


I Love Candy!


The Smile That Comes With a Bag Half-Full of Candy


Let's Keep Going, Daddy!


Classic Hyde Park on Harper Pre-Election

When a Girl Loves Lightning McQueen

I mentioned in my latest post that EJ has a new obsession, Lightning McQueen, the lead character in the movie, Cars. This love began late in the summer, when friends of ours came back to the Midwest from Virginia to visit family and friends, and experienced a parental crisis---they could not find their four-year old son's beloved Lightning McQueen matchbox car the night before their very early morning flight. Knowing that we would be seeing them the day of their arrival, I received an email and phone call from my friend, the boy's mom, asking if we could stop at Target and pick one up for her son on the way.

Being the auntie that I am, we stopped at Target on our drive and I bought him three sets of these cars, with several main characters from the movie included and three copies of Lightning McQueen (should more disappearances take place while visiting with his grandparents). EJ looked at them as interesting, but not too exciting, and we made our way for our visit.

Well, the moment EJ saw this boy's eyes light up when he saw what SHE was handing him (yes, we greased the wheels of preschool friendship with gift-giving), she understood that these cars must be AWESOME. Once they were out of the package and being cruised around the kitchen, forget about prior disinterest, this kid was hooked.

We spent a great day with our friends, and EJ cried in the car when it was time to go home. A few days later, I noticed that the movie was going to be on television, so I recorded it for a rainy day. Again, from the moment she saw the film the first time, she began declaring that Lightning McQueen was one of "her best friends." It didn't hurt that there is a "reporter car" within the first 20 minutes of the movie named Kori Turbowitz, and when EJ saw "Kori" on the screen, she declared, "That's you, Mommy! That's you with my friend, Lightning!"

Fast forward to this week. We went up to Kenosha this weekend, and while there, my mom and I did a children's shopping rampage at Kohl's, where everything is adorable and eternally on sale. Damn you, impending financial depression, we will buy fleece at 60% off! While there, I noticed a red Lightning McQueen long-sleeve shirt and a blue fleece Lightning McQueen hoodie in the boys section, and I decided to pick them up. When we got home, we showed EJ her new clothes---her winter coat and snowpants and boots, some new sweaters and corduroy dresses, a cute vest that looks like little coral roses---and she thought that they were nice. When we took out the Lightning McQueen clothes, though, she went crazy with excitement. She wanted them on that second, as soon as possible, and she began stripping her shirt off and begging for us to cut off the tags on the new things so she could GET THEM ON.

She wore them the rest of the day Sunday. She took off the fleece once in our warm condo Sunday evening, but kept the shirt on with pajama bottoms for bed. She wore the shirt to school on Monday, and again that night for bed (negotiations on our part were pointless, so we let her have her fun). She cried mightily the next morning when I had to strip it off her after she coated it with her morning bowl of yogurt---lesson learned: if you want to wear your dirty shirt forever, eat cereal. Oh, the love of Lightning can be cruel when you are separated, even for one cycle of laundry.

Today was girl's show-and-tell day at school, and we were all asked to find something that started with the letter C. What did EJ choose? Her empty Lightning McQueen bubble bath bottle, shaped like a car with working wheels and everything. What did she wear? Her Lightning McQueen shirt and hoodie, this time with a warm, homemade pink hat from Nana underneath.

From the start, our kid has loved cars. She had a car-themed second birthday party, for goodness sake. But as I watch her go to school, and I see how kids seem to naturally form gender-based groups, I love the fact that she's happiest in a shirt from the boy's section, not informed that these items aren't made for girls. Why not, for goodness sake? That movie is fun.

Of course, she is a girl, and here is how you know it is true. It was easy to find her Lightning McQueen bubble bath bottle today, because it was right where she left it last night: on a pillow, blanket pulled up to his windshield, all tucked in by EJ like a doll. That is how she plays with this car---as if it were a baby that needs to eat, nap, and occasionally go on adventures with her. No vroom, vrooming around the room, no racetracks. I imagine that will come later, when we visit our friends in Virginia next month, and EJ is reacquainted with the boy that introduced her to her oil-guzzling love. As she is quick to point out, that boy is her "real friend" and Lightning is "a pretend friend." I figure a few common pretend friends are a good enough foundation for a real friendship---I've certainly based friendships on a lot less to start.

So Much

I realize that it has been a long time since I have posted a meaningful entry about what is going on chez nous. I have drafts of summer posts lined up in blogger---the wonder of renting a space in our community garden, the joys of being able to comfortably walk anywhere we want (or need) thanks to the weather and our location in a great neighborhood, the struggles to get my capstone (thesis) project going, then finally, the prep before our first weeks of preschool. It is a lot to cover, with any one week worthy of seven daily blog posts.

To say that EJ is a big kid is the understatement of the season. She is so independent, so inquisitive, so able to express herself and have interesting conversations---the combination of age and exposure to school has helped to shape her into quite a lovely little lady with whom to spend time. This could not have come too soon---just before school started, the two of us were suffering from too much summer togetherness---she was clingy and whiny, I was impatient and grouchy. The shift in schedule and development (on both our parts) has made a remarkable difference.

Case in point: EJ made her first pun a few weeks back. Ever since seeing Bee Movie on television, she has been obsessed with Barry the Bee. She is almost as obsessed with Barry as she is with Lightning McQueen, but not quite. Anyway, we were walking to her school in the morning, and EJ mentioned that Barry was going to come to her school and "buzz" the door. Now, I didn't think anything of this at first, because we have many discussions about door buzzing. EJ is afraid of loud noises, and gets rather upset when she thinks that we are going to an apartment where we need to be buzzed in, as the noise can be frightening. Her school has key card entry, which creates a muted buzz sound which she has not reacted to, thankfully. When she brought up Barry, my first thought was, "Oh, no, she's become afraid of the buzzer at school." Nope. She just put together that Barry buzzes like a bee and the door buzzes to open and Barry could "buzz" it to get in.

How do I know that she was not afraid, that this was genuinely a pun? When I went to pick her up from school, I was told that she and one of her cohorts had gotten out of the classroom, down the hall, down the stairs, and to the doorway during class time. I sat down with her right away to let her know that she could not leave the classroom---that is is not safe---and she calmly explained that she needed to bring her friend with her to go see Barry at the door. Ah, imagination.

That is just one example, among so many, that describes how EJ is thinking and acting these days. Personally, I find her mischievousness delightful, even if it does make me nervous at times. When I get to school, and I find out that she has left the easel with tempura paint in hand and painted every serving bowl in the snack cabinet, I have to chuckle. When I get the report that, before story time, she told her teachers she would try to sit down nicely for story, but might need to get up, I shake my head and smile. Sure, I talk to her about it. Of course, we are working on listening. But honestly, in the gamut of three-year old behavior that is normal but in need of correction, this kind of energy is just something I can't be that uptight about.

Last year's long, cold, hard winter left me so grateful for summer, and I find myself sad to see that it is now clearly gone. Autumn has always been my favorite season, but this year, the chill in the air makes me project to a few months down the road, and feelings of dread hit my gut when I think of that cold settling in again. As much as I love our condo, a fourth-story city walk-up with an overactive radiator system is not the most pleasant place to be cooped up for hours on end, especially with an amped up kid. Thankfully, EJ keeps me grounded in the moment---this morning as we walked through the yellow leaves to school, as she requested to "ask the secret service all by myself" to get into her preschool, as she said her immediate goodbye the moment she saw her friends on the playground equipment---she reminds me why it is important to love the life you are in while you are in it, and not worry about winter may bring.

My Friends Are Smart

Carrie is as smart and eloquent as always as she writes about McCain's air quotes and their impact on your health. Pass it on.

My Funny, Funny Family: McCain: "Women" and "Children" Last