didn't want to leave

Zak and I are still recuperating from our delayed-by-three-and-a- half-hours flight from North Carolina last night (in fact I'm doing this post in my sleep), but we'll have lots of pictures soon. In the meantime, here we are cavorting with Grandma in her big beautiful backyard.

no place to hang a "do not disturb" sign, either

As you may know, we live in an old house. And in old houses, things happen. For instance: doorknobs break and come out of their sockets. You may also be aware of the fact that Wyn and I love to open and close doors. So it was statistically inevitable that one or both of us would, at some point, lock ourselves in a room. Say, the bathroom. Say, at approximately 10:15 this morning. While Mom made a frantic call to the mechanical engineer in the family ("Jim! Come home! It's Wyn! Come home! He's locked himself in the bathroom! Come home!"), she ran downstairs to retrieve a pair of pliers from the tool bucket. Despite her hysteria, it only took Mom about 10 seconds to free my brother from the bathroom, where he was sitting on the floor sorting bath toys. Happy as a clam, I might add. The moral of the story? If you want some privacy in the loo, don't come to the Lipsey house.

P.S. We'll be on hiatus for the next few days as we fly to North Carolina to visit Daddy's side of the family. So...Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends. We love you!

semi-hostile playground negotiations

snow caps

It was love at first sight when we tried on Daddy's priceless heirloom hats last December. And let me tell you, the thrill is still there. It's a good thing, too, because it just became very, very cold here in Chicago. We're talking arctic. You'd think with how warm and cute we are in these caps, Mom and Dad would be rushing to take us outdoors at every opportunity. Alas, this does not seem to be the case. So we are left to wear them downstairs in the playroom while we go about our usual business.

goldfish!

It should come as no surprise that Zak and I love Goldfish crackers. Who doesn't? They're delicious, and you can bite their little heads off. So we were very excited to receive a package from Grandma Lipsey and Great Aunt Frances containing much Goldfish cracker goodness and these two fabulous Goldfish boxes. They're lots of fun, and you can throw them across the room.

penguins!

Daddy just told us that he heard a little boy managed to make off with a live penguin from the Shedd Aquarium. While the story is unconfirmed, it nevertheless merits a flashback from Grandma Betty's recent visit:

WYN: Hey, Grandma, do you think I could stuff one of these little guys inside my Halloween costume and take him home and keep him in the bathtub?
GRANDMA BETTY: Uh, no.
WYN: Drat! Now someone else will get the credit for thinking of it.

two portraits

ceci n'est pas une pipe.

they grow up so fast

Seems like just yesterday we met our friend Hunter for the first time. Now all of a sudden, he's one year old! He invited us over Sunday for his fabulous birthday celebration extravaganza, where he shared his brand new fire truck with Wyn! Imagine that, sharing his truck. Voluntarily. He's very mature for his age, that boy.

birthday surprise

Hmmmmm. Mom said this box came from Grandma and Grandpa Lipsey. I thought they might have hidden inside as a surprise. So far I haven't found them, but I'll keep you posted as I continue my search. Oh, and by the way...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA LIPSEY!

We love you very much, and we're counting the minutes 'til Thanksgiving.

halloweeeeeeeeeen!

Wow. We knew our first Halloween in the 'burbs would be exciting, but dude! We had no idea. People really go all out here, with fog machines and giant inflated spiders and creepy music. Mom and Dad gave out eight bags of candy in less than two hours before sprinting inside, turning out all the lights and cowering in the basement. We've never seen anything like it in all our days. And of course, once again, our costumes were a big hit. Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa Lipsey!


What big googly eyes you have, Elmo.


If you look closely, you can see Eeyore attempting to loot our neighbor's yard display. Bad donkey! Bad!


After a trip around the block, we headed back to the ranch to check out our bounty. Zak especially liked the empty candy wrappers that he picked up from the sidewalk. Now those are worth something. Halloween rocks! Only 364 days 'til next year...