iWog

The Wog's father had many pictures stored away on his iPhone and just downloaded them to the computer. So here are a few!

At the playground on a perfect fall morning:






The Doodle, making a friend at the toy store:


Sporting his cute, new-to-us, hand-me-down coat from Mac and Hannah:


Helping Daddy out with his "rig":




The Doodle LOVES slides, and this was a new one for him at a nearby children's museum:






He refuses to sit in any cart except for the giant cars at the grocery store. I chose this battle because I hate those cars, but I lost anyway:


More soon!

HAPPY HALLOWOG!

We attended multiple Halloween parties and parades, in addition to traditional trick or treating. The Wog enjoyed herself while The Doodle tolerated it then spazzed out: he's not used to being let out at night! He wouldn't let us put him in the stroller, carry him, or even hold his hand and walk; instead, he insisted upon strutting around the streets of North Conway all on his very own, which resulted in Minnie having to take him back to base camp.

The Doodle chills with a soy-based popcorn ball at Party #1:

The Wog's posse:

Playing with the cash register is fun!

Hanging out with Minnie between Halloween fetes:

At the library's Halloween parade, The Wog's (mutant) Miss Piggy costume had her towering over all of her friends:

It's not just Halloween around here lately. The Wog also showed off her ballet moves...

...while The Doodle sported a red baseball cap, but NOT a Yankees cap. We're Mets fans around these parts in honor of the original Joey West:

Minnie read to a very eager audience:

HOPPY POLLOWEEN!

You can expect more of Halloween (or as we celebrate in our household, Polloween!) over the next couple of days but for now, I give you an advance preview of Miss Piggy...


(Can you tell how delighted she was by herself?)

...her baby brother, Kermit...

(The Doodle's signature nose scrunch returns!)

...and their friends Belle and Tinkerbelle:


We kicked off Polloween with the library's annual parade. Tomorrow is a day of rest, and then Friday is chockful of Polloween activities!

THE WOGIVORE'S DILEMMA

If you've read The Omnivore's Dilemma then you already know that the corn industry is the cause of many of today's societal ills in America and the root of all evil in the world. (Well, maybe that's an extreme interpretation, but the book is certainly eye-opening.) Over the weekend we put that out of our minds and headed off to the Corn Maze at a local farm.

At play in the "Corn Box:"





The Doodle chilled like this for a good few minutes:


Thw Wog sees how she measures up this year:


On her way through the (muddy, muddy) maze:


The always-popular Moo Express:


This was The Doodle's first (and second!) spin on the Moo Express. He loved it right up until he lost his cushion-y hat and his little head started banging up against his seatbaçk:


The Wog carefully selected pumpkins...




...including one for The Doodle!

WOGGEY ROAD

The town in which The Wog attends preschool is currently hosting the Return of the Pumpkin People--an event in which local businesses, restaurants and residents create scenes featuring "Pumpkin People." I'm sure it's no simple task to erect and maintain a "person" from just a pumpkin head (as evidenced by the rudimentary appearance of many Pumpkin People, but Lord knows I couldn't do better) but one local inn created a scene that's been receiving a lot of press, and rightfully so! (And nearly every time we go by, tourists are stopped doing exactly what Marc and The Wog are doing below.)

The 5th (and 6th!) Beatle:


The Wog got the boot because she couldn't get the pose down. (We didn't even try with The Doodle):



For reference, the original Abbey Road cover:

(Isn't Pumpkin John UNBELIEVABLE???)

When I went by today, Ringo appeared to be suffering from a mild case of rot, so here's hoping he recovers!

(Speaking of recovery, our Mac is headed off to a Mac Genius tomorrow, but I quickly got on to download a few pictures...more coming tomorrow.)

HELPING WOGS WHO HELP THEMSELVES

We are experiencing technical difficulties here in the form of a broken computer (warrantied, yay!); a camera that refuses to download pictures to the old laptop I'm currently using; and an old laptop with an apparent aversion to Caps Lock. Considering that things go in threes, I think we're getting off easy. While we may be temporarily without pictures, I have a little story to share that captures The Wog in all of her little Wogness.

Last night was not a good night for The Wog. She padded into our room around midnight, snivel-ly and coughing. I had a bit of this bug last week, so it was only a matter of time before it made its way to her and The Doodle. The Wog couldn't sleep because her nose was running, and she couldn't put that into words; instead, everything else was wrong: too cold, too many covers, the wrong pacis (there is a distinct hierarchy of pacifiers--known only and absolutely to her--amongst her collection, and yes, I know, she is too old for pacis and we are working on that but as a wise person recently told me, "No one goes to college sucking on a pacifier," so I'm going with that until a medical professional--or university admissions officer--tells me otherwise). After much tossing and turning and squirming and wriggling and kicking and punching and shucking of sheets (it's like sharing a bed with an angry octopus), she burst into her signature high-pitched wail. We asked her what was wrong, but the wail continued to escalate as we repeatedly explained that we couldn't help her until she told us what was bothering her. Finally, she warbled that she had to pee. Marc offered to take her down to the bathroom and they both got out of bed, but The Wog just stood at the top of the staircase sniffling, shuffling her feet, and rubbing her eyes, despite our best encouragement to move things along. As parental patience rounded the corner into sleep-deprived exasperation, Marc asked her one last time if he could help her. She yelped back at him with great frustration, "I'm just trying to help myself!!!"

And that--right there--is The Wog. She does not often wallow or stew; she moves forward and up however she can. The Wog wants more than anything to be happy, and everything she does is a means to that end.

Clearly The Wog needed some time to work it out-- or to help herself, as the case may be. Minutes later, she was cheerily tucked back into bed working on her LeapPad while I read a book. (Poor Marc got bumped to the guest room.) The octopus was no longer angry, and we turned off the light and went to bed.

FORGET THE CASTLE; IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TENT!

The Wog received a pink, bejeweled, twinkle-lit princess tent from some very thoughtful friends for her birthday. When she opened it she exclaimed, "I can't even believe it!" Last night, she insisted on sleeping the tent; the packaging says it holds six (giggling, wriggling, squealing) little girls, so I suspect it will be the locale of many future sleep-overs!