Books

Mr. Mister must have listened to the lecture I gave him when he was three months old and didn't like looking at books. I told him that his mom, grandma, and aunt are teachers so he has to like books. These days, he has a new found love for reading and it makes me very happy!

When we read before his naps, I usually end up reading the same book three times as he sits in my lap sucking his thumb (although I think this may be more of a stalling tactic.) Yesterday, we read or flipped through every book on his bookshelf. He just kept taking one after another off the shelf for me to read. And every once in a while if I let him play by himself, he'll sit down in a pile of books and flip through them without me. The cutest is when he reads out loud. He'll turn the pages of a book and say a bunch of different sounds, just like he's reading. It's music to my ears!

Nose

On Sunday after church, we were eating lunch with my parents and Uncle N and Aunt K. Towards the end of the meal, Mr. Mister showed us where his nose is. But instead of pointing to it, he put his finger up it, which he thinks is really funny. He kept saying "no" (for nose) and laughing as he put his finger up his nose. I would take his finger out, which made him laugh even harder until we had a cycle of him sticking his finger up his nose, me taking it out, and him laughing so hard it turned into a deep belly laugh. His laugh is, of course, contagious and he was soon leading us all in a good belly-aching laugh. Another entertaining moment brought to you by Mr. Mister.

Snowflakes

You can't see them in these pictures, but the snowflakes were falling yesterday morning. We bundled Mr. Mister up and went outside to play for a little bit before Daddy had to start working. Mr. Mister stayed warm in the new hat and mittens that Grandma and Grandpa T got him while they were here visiting. It was a fun way to start our day!

Just His Socks

We had dinner tonight at my parents' house. Mr. Mister kept us entertained the whole night with his usual funny antics. The funniest part, though, came at the end of the night when we were changing him into his pajamas before we left.

Before we put his sleeper on, he started walking around with just his diaper and socks on. Then, he started playing with the tab of his diaper and figured out how to make it unstick from the diaper. He found the other tab and did the same thing until he had completely removed his diaper! Leaving the diaper on the floor, he started walking around completely naked except for his socks! He marched around the house like nothing was different...exploring, playing with the washing machine, looking in the closets...all while the four of us just watched, unable to do anything because we were laughing so hard. I don't know which was funnier - Mr. Mister in just socks or the fact that he kept on going like nothing was wrong!

Future CEO

Mr. Mister is following in his daddy's footsteps already.

One of Mr. Mister's new favorite words is no. Thankfully, he doesn't say it that often in resistance. It's actually really cute most times he says it...I don't know if it's his voice or just him being able to communicate that he doesn't want to get out of the bath yet or be all done eating, but I can't help but laugh when he says no and shakes his head.

The funniest times that he says no are when he points to the garbage can, the outlets, the lamp, the DVD player, and other things he's not allowed to play with and says, "no. no. no." He knows that we have said no when pointing to those things, so he'll walk up to them and say no also. Sometimes he even makes a very stern looking face, similar to what mine probably looks like when I tell him not to play with them. He even said no to the garbage can at the babysitter's house the other day! He never stops entertaining us. I love him so much!

Fall Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

We had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa T who were in town for the weekend. Mr. Mister loved playing outside with them. One of his favorite things was throwing leaves...you can see the progression in the pictures below. Their visits always go too fast, but are always lots of fun!

PS...I know it looks like Mr. Mister is poking his eye out with the stick in this first picture, but it's not as close as it looks.

Boys and Girls

There was a moment at the park yesterday when I realized the difference between little boys and girls. After Mr. Mister had spent some time playing in the dirt and eating some, two little girls came over. One said with a disgusted look on her face, "Why is his mouth so dirty?" The other, holding her baby doll dressed in pink, said, "He wants to hold my baby but he can't because his hands are dirty." Oh man. If I ever have a girl who is really girly, I'm not going to know what to do! I loved looking at Mr. Mister covered in dirt, saying "Hi!" like nothing was wrong.

Indian Summer

We had four beautiful days this week with temperatures in the mid-seventies. It was a wonderful treat - our Indian Summer before the cold comes for good. We started the week with a trip to the zoo and spent the last of the great weather at the park yesterday. It was Mr. Mister's dream afternoon at the park - going down the slides, playing in the crunchy leaves, eating dirt, and petting a cute, white dog just about his size.

In defiance of the dreary weather that rolled in today, we spent some time walking around the Village Green that is outside our library. We found a statue of a dog, which Mr. Mister was really excited to pet. It wasn't soft and furry like the one he got to pet yesterday, but that didn't seem to bother him. He kept saying, "woof, woof" and "hi" to the dog. It was pretty cute.

Grandma and Grandpa T come to visit tomorrow. Even though it will be a quick visit, we're excited to see them and for them to see Mr. Mister in full action!

Reflecting on this Historic Moment

This will probably be my last post having to do with politics and then I'll get back to cute stories and pictures of Mr. Mister.

Yesterday morning, I saw part of the Today show as they reflected on Obama's victory and the momentous occasion that it is for our country. As they showed footage of the crowd at his victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago, I saw an elderly black man with tears in his eyes. All of a sudden, I found myself in tears as I thought about what that man has seen and what this day must mean to him. And what it means to our country as a whole. Political parties and voting preferences aside, the significance of the first African American president is astounding when considering the history of our country and the events that occurred not that long ago.

As I thought about it, I realized that someone's race, either black or white or anything else, is not the reason to vote or not vote for that person. But now that Obama is our president, the significance cannot be overlooked. Multiple African American people have said in interviews, "I can now tell my child honestly that he can be anything he wants to be."

In our local paper this morning, I found the following excerpt from a Nov. 5th Washington Post article. This segment really reflects what I've been thinking about. The message transcends political views and celebrates the milestone that this is for our country.

"When we endorsed Mr. Obama for president, we did not mention race, for the simple reason that race played no role in our decision; Mr. Obama was just the better of two good nominees. But race is hugely relevant to this moment. The stain of slavery and discrimination can never be obliterated, and no single day can mark a nation's progress into some mythical "post-racial" era. Yet how could Americans not be moved by the reality of an African American president? Mr. Obama was born at a time when numerous states would have prohibited the marriage of his white Kansan mother and black Kenyan father, before the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had outlawed the worst of Jim Crow, when the Supreme Court's order to desegregate schools was being fought at every turn. Hardly anyone then - in truth, hardly anyone even a few years ago - would have predicted this day..."

Voting

I know this is my third post tonight, but I just have to say that this morning as I walked out of my polling place after voting, I felt excited, empowered, pumped up, a little giddy, and even kind of teary-eyed. I'm not huge into politics. I like to know what's going on, but I can't tell you all of the details and I tend to lose interest about half way through presidential debates, but today I had a new sense of thankfulness for our right to vote. Maybe it's the high level of anticipation surrounding this election or the four years of maturity I've gained since the last election. But I now see what a real privilege it is to live in a place where we have a voice and where everyone's opinion is considered significant and equal (at least for this day), no matter their gender, race, socioeconomic status, social position, occupation, or political views. That's pretty amazing.

On the voting note, I am also thankful that God's agenda is not political. While our country's president and politics are important, and God does care about the details of our lives, the president of the United States is not God. It brings me a great deal of peace to know that whoever gets elected, God is still God and His agenda is not Republican or Democrat. His agenda is His kingdom. He appoints kings, rulers, and authorities. Nothing surprises Him or catches Him off guard. Nothing thwarts His plans and purposes. He is the ultimate King and His kingdom is everlasting.

tortas..mmmm

Last night, we went out to eat at a new Mexican restaurant near us. We had tortas, which are a delicious Mexican sandwich that we ate a lot when we taught English in Mexico City. We asked the waiter if we could practice our Spanish. He was relieved and said we could speak Spanish as much as we wanted to. It was so fun to talk with him and we surprisingly remembered a lot. It made us miss Mexico and the people...there's something familiar about anyone from Mexico, even though he was from a city far from where we worked. The food was delicious, too, even though Mr. Mister didn't think so. He mostly played with his rice and beans, which made for a very messy meal. But it was well worth it.

Small World

Today, I participated in a market research study in a different part of town with a group of six other women. We were assigned a partner and had to introduce ourselves. As I talked with the woman next to me, I found out that she:

• lives in the neighborhood across from me
• works in the school I taught at and in the field I worked in.
• has a 17 year old son who happened to be the one who handed me my "I Voted" sticker at the poll this morning.

Crazy, huh?

Halloween

Here are pictures of our little chicken on Halloween. We didn't have any trick-or-treaters come to our house last year, so we went to our friends' house this year. (These are the friends whose house I bring Mr. Mister to on Tuesdays and whose son I watch on Wednesdays, so the boys are good friends. Or at least as good of friends as a 14 month and a 8 month old can be.)

We sat on the driveway with a fire in the fire pit and handed out candy. Then we took the boys to about 5 houses (to get candy that Mr. Mister isn't allowed to eat...is that bad?) It was a lot of fun and Mr. Mister looked very cute in his costume. He didn't seem to notice that he was dressed like a chicken or that everyone else had funny costumes on. It was a very fun evening, topped off by free burritos from Chipotle for dressing up like a burrito.

This is Mr. Mister telling the big ballerina that there is a dog over there. He was so focused on the dog that he wasn't at all interested in her costume!