Dear Cousin Matthew,

Can you come to my house on Halloween?  I am going to dress up as Mario, and if you want, you can be Luigi.  Then, we can go trick-or-treating and collect lots of candy from my neighbors.  What do you think?

Little Ted's Halloween costume arrived in the mail on Thursday.  Long ago, I learned that you have to shop early if you are going to find the costume you want.  Somehow, Little Ted knew exactly what was in that nondescript package, and he was more than a little eager to see it.  

I've had real trouble peeling him out of that costume.  He wears it as much as he is allowed and becomes very sad when it is time to change.  He even slept in the hat most of last night.  Needless to say, we'll be lucky if the costume survives until the holiday.

Ever get a Case of the Giggles?

Sometimes, it can be overwhelming!

Alfalfa?

It seems to me that Little Ted is destined to have this Little Rascal's hairstyle for the better part if his childhood:

Another Year . . .

Last Tuesday, I turned 32.  The celebration, however, took place this past weekend.  Ted's parents came up and treated us to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  One of my favorite things about this restaurant is that they seem to value listening skills and a good memory.  We've had the best servers there - and they never write anything down!  That makes this English prof happy.

We also enjoyed a very yummy cake that Ted picked out for me - almond flavored cake with mocha filling, chocolate buttercream icing, and berries on top.  TASTY!

Little Ted got into the celebrating this year.  Last year, he didn't want anyone to sing to mommy, and he tried to dive into the cake before anyone else could.  This year, he helped Grandma and Grandpa pick out flowers, and he told me "Happy Birthday" without a prompt from anyone.  He also wanted mommy to blow out candles . . . poor child; he doesn't realize that mommy's cake can't handle that many lit objects!

All in all, it's been a really good year, and we have been blessed as a family.  I look forward to what 32 has in store . . .