Halloween Season

 Covid is really starting to get to me. I think I've done fairly well the last 7 months, but recently I find myself getting more and more upset. We've missed out on events, we've missed seeing family and friends, we've missed out on things I wanted Isla to participate in, we've missed out on the fun things in pregnancy and sharing our baby, we've missed our mom's groups, we've missed date nights, we've missed so much. I know everyone else has too and it's getting harder and harder with no end in sight. I thought Michael was ridiculous when he told me last spring that this was expected to be a huge issue until 2022 or longer. And now I'm not sure we'll even be back to any type of "normal" by then. 

Halloween was sad for me. We didn't trick or treat (the plus side is this helped us ward off giving Isla her first piece of candy). We didn't get to watch her excitement as she ran door to door in her little pumpkin outfit. We didn't get to go to our mom's group Halloween parade or host a Halloween party. In the end, it's not a big deal as she won't remember any of this. But for me, I feel like she missed something momentous. And I'm just sad about it. 

But we've done our best recently to soak up Fall and all it's warmth and goodness. We've been baking, carving pumpkins, roasting seeds, exploring the nature preserve, playing with new birthday toys, and enjoying the Autumnal season. Here's what we've been up to:

Isla likes to take daily lavender sniff breaks :)

Michael finally told me I need to cool it on baking. We bake something every other day, if not every day. We both love it!

Isla found the recorded book my dad gave her last year for Christmas. And she listens to it on repeat. 

There is always a buddy at the breakfast table. Always.

"Smile Isla" and she gives me the first face. I crack up at her grumpy face and she gives me the second face.

Her fine motor skills amaze me! We beaded some fun pumpkins!

He is so squishy and so happy.

He's doomed to being the "little brother". Isla is so gentle with him, but I forsee him putting up with all her crazy antics.

Isla had her 2 year checkup and Ewan had his 2 month checkup on the same day. Isla is doing so well. She's average in weight, but short for her age. She's so smart and healthy! Ewan had a good check too, although we had to discuss the possibility of a helmet for his asymmetrical forehead. He is also having trouble holding his head up like a 2 month old should be able to do. The doctor wasn't too concerned, especially after we described his day. Ewan is a lazy slug :) He loves to sleep (during the day... however, nighttime is a different story) and eat. So when he gets on his tummy, he just falls asleep. He's meeting all his other milestones and gaining weight like a hippo. So we just have to encourage some more tummy time to get that head up! 

For the sake of everyone's mental health and sleep health, we are doing our best to get outside *most* days! Last year we adopted the Norwegian saying, "there is no bad weather, only bad clothing" and we plan on sticking to that. This year, I want to get wool base layers for everyone, lots of layers, and the right equipment to prep us for the best time outside this winter! Here we were having snack in the trunk at the nature preserve, while we waited for our friends to show up. It's also the best way I can think to socialize Isla while staying Covid-safe.

Her lack of fear and her strong determination amaze me! I am reading a book about teaching your child to love nature in a technology driven world. I feel the things I've read so far, Isla is already doing. She's so intrigued by the world around her. From the smallest bug on the ground to the large, blue sky (where she always points out the smallest dot of an airplane far, far away).

Wearing her Uncle Trevor shirt :)

We love visiting Nana and Pop Pop!

It's a good thing Nana kept all the Halloween Mcdonald's toys from Michael's childhood. Isla loves them haha

He smiles at mama's face, daddy's beard, and the clock on our wall.

We have tried so many good, new Paleo recipes this Fall. This pumpkin roll was our hardest one yet. Isla and I both loved it! Michael... not so much.

Sleep Update: Isla is finally back to sleeping 2ish hour naps and waking up at a decent time of 6:00. However, today is daylight's saving and our whole schedule got upturned again. So when she woke up at 6:00, it was suddenly 5:00 instead. That means she is napping a whole hour later. I'm currently typing this during her nap. We'll see how it goes. 

This picture was taken after her nap the other day. I panicked, thinking she somehow cut bangs for herself when she woke up like this. Her hair was just tucked funny. But boy, did I sweat.

We love going to the neighborhood park when it's cold. No one is there and there's a nice bench for mommy and Ewan to hang out!

Isla is obsessed with ballerinas lately. We even checked out a whole bunch of ballerina books from the library so she could learn more. I found this leotard at the resale store and we put on her tutu from her first birthday to make a Halloween ballerina. She loves to dance to the Nutcracker. I'm trying to find a ballet class for her to join in January that is Covid-safe and doesn't cost an arm and a leg for a 2 year old! I'm normally against organized activities like soccer and gymnastics until much older ages, but Isla is truly interested. I think she would just love it! 

Even though we didn't trick or treat, we still dressed the kiddos up. Ewan wore Michael's first Halloween costume (that's why it's slightly big). And Isla wore her costume from last year that we never actually used  because we had a snowstorm on Halloween (her outfit is still too big because she's so short!). They dressed up, got some pictures, ran around, and that was that.

This month, Ewan celebrated his two month birthday! He's a chunky monkey who sleeps all day, parties from 3:00-6:00 a.m., and smiles all the time. He is my favorite little guy. 

And because my husband loves me and knows how sad I was on Halloween, he allowed the tree to go up ON Halloween. A record for us. It still ended in a fight, as is our tradition :) We realized decorating with two littles is way harder than it seems. We had to finish decorating today as we were wiped by the time the kids went to bed last night. But now it's all up and it's officially Christmas season!

More pictures to come soon :)