These are a few of Gus' favorite things...

 

"Drizzling" (we are working on not throwing ANYTHING) rocks, pepples, sand, nuts, leaves, etc. into storm drains, is one of Gus' very favorite things to do...he can do it for hours (I can tolerate it, depending on location, for the maximum of time it takes to read the front section of the New York Times...we make quite a pair out there. Him crouching on the crate, me camped out on the curb.

 

These are the sweet moments. Sometimes I find myself turning off the faucet or snapping shut the dishwasher and suddenly hearing Gus high voice talking quietly for his own entertainment and amusement - that's always a bonus for a child, to whom talking and communicating is not second nature - when I round the corner, I find him splayed out with a book or watching something out the window, while using every memorized phrase he can connect to the subject at hand. He does not want to be disturbed, and I try hard to respect that.

Eventhough he always looks extra cuddly in these moments.

A walk in the woods

 

It's a long, sunny Saturday sans Daddy, so we headed out for a long, lazy walk behind our neighborhood, that Gus' OT (and my good friend) Anna turned us on to. So funny how we sometimes forget that the beautiful woods and vistas begin, quite literally, in our backyard. So here we are walking up Burrell Mountain.
Wait, what is Gus up to while I'm snapping away?

 

Gotcha! He loves to bombard me with leafes (or is it leaves, I can't remember and, for the moment, I don't care)

 

The view off Burrell Mountain, just as the morning fog lifts. Gus calls it "smoke" and thinks it is "spooky"...but he thinks my hair is "spooky", too...which just goes to show you that he has a way with words.

 

Heading down toward the creek, where we sit and throw rocks in the water...what an idyllic moment.

Biking ahead...

 

Can you see him? Well, I can, just barely, just enough to know I'm in trouble, because in the time it took me to close the hatchback on the Subaru and grab my newspaper, Gus has managed to get way far ahead of me on the bikepath...he is on a two-fold mission: To go "very fast" and to go to the playground with the "twisty slide"

 

Gus poses impatiently for me. Cute but focused on his goal - "very fast" and "twisty slide"

 

This is why I run. I have to keep up with a kid, who doesn't slow down even on the uphills.

 

A reminder, that posing for pictures - at least in his mind - is a waste of time. The playground is THAT WAY, Momma!

Boo!

 

A bit belated, but here is the proof, despite a general disinterest on our family's part in all things Halloween, I managed to dress Gus up "spooky" for preschool and a subsequent brief trick-or-treat outing in the evening.
The monster-face hat was the only compromise I could think of that Gus would tolerate (he has absolutely no interest in dressing up as anything) yet wouldn't make me feel like a complete party-pooper...I felt a bit better after dropping Gus off at preschool, where exactly all girls were dressed up in store-bought princess/mermaid/fairy outfits, and the remaining boys split about even between (store-bought) superheros and (store-bought) draculas...

...at least I didn't spend any money for something that means little to any of us three.

....we are still eating the candy Gus got (he went to four houses and was done) for after meal mini-desserts...Boo!

Make a bed, and lay yourself in it

 

 

 

Jacob had a rare day off yesterday and got inspired to build the bed of my dreams...a copy more or less of something I had spotted a while ago in an IKEA catalog...it's a simple design, nothing fancy but the shelves hidden behind the headboard are ingenious...they keep clutter that tends to accumulate around beds (especially those inhabited by book and magazine readers, noseblowers, hand-creamers and etceterares)out of sight. I've been wanting our bedroom to be an oasis of calm and simplicity...now we got it...my vision is almost finished...

...it's so wonderful to have a handy husband...I spout off things and point to internet pictures...he goes to Lowes, comes back with boards and a few hours later, voila...I have my own custom-built, Swedish (actually, Alabama)-designed bed.

I slept well last night.

Bigger than Big-Boy Bed

 

 

The transformation is complete. Gus' digs - save for his baby quilt - is completely void of all nursery touches. Everything is big-boy now...actually the bed is bigger than big boy, at least in my mind. Full seems huge to me and making this bed will require daily acrobatic acts of me...just hope and pray I won't have to do it too many times in the middle of the night...

A very mellow yellow party

 

 

 

 

 

Gus' belated birthday party went off without a hitch on a beautiful early fall day in Dupont Forest, where we met with a handful of dear friends to eat yellow cake cupcakes, drink syrup and play on decommissioned forest fire-fighting equipment. Gus had a great time with his friends and we all enjoyed a sunny afternoon outside.

Happy birthday, Gus. Now it's on to fall.

One Fast Pair!

So, I do mean to brag...about us running the inaugural Asheville Airport Runway 5K...

...Jacob ran a lighting-fast 22:22 in blisteringly-cold headwind...keeping up with a handful of leggy guys, with important looking watches and other unnerving gadgets...coming in an overall 9th place and winning his age group!!!

...I missed the podium by two in my age group but finished with a strong 24:13 (or a pace of 7:59)at 46 place overall. Very happy considering my running has been erratic at best as of late.

...I'm pretty sure we were the fastest couple together....didn't see another matching set of last names that high up on the result roster...so I'm claiming that title before anyone else tries.

That was a lot of fun, Gus got to sit in a helicopter and we got two cool (and actually useable technical) race shirts.

Ahh...I love a good race now and then.

Me, Myself, Mommy and I

 

Gus and I are rarely in the same picture together, reason being that Daddy doesn't know we own a camera, plus the man so wholely lives in the moment, he doesn't ever see the necessity to capture anything for posterity. Most days I am happily employed behind the camera, but today our neighbor landlord snuck up on us and took this picture of the two of us, lazying on the swing on the front porch.

He e-mailed it to me an hour later and now here we are...even if everyone always tells me how much Gus favors Jacob...he's got a bit of me too...the proof is in the big grin.

Photo Shoot

 

 

 

 

While waiting for pizza at our favorite hip eatery in Hendersonville, Gus and I amused ourselves by playing supermodel and photographer. A new outfit (though stained already, 4-year-old boys are NEVER stain free it seems)against a pictoresque fire escape on a mild sunny day and voila we are getting Gus' portfolio ready.

He's got the pout. He is working on Blue Steel, next.

For a Rainy Day

 

Gus' expression nonetheless we are excited about our birthday present from Granna & Pap, a brandnew very cozy, water-proof rain jacket that has plenty of room to grow into.

Paired with his rainboots (a present from Aunt Leah last year) Gus is armed and dangerous to any rain puddle out there.

Evening Out

 

Gus and his Swiss Grandparents (Osi and Grosspape) had a great time Monday night sitting out front the garage apartment, enjoying a late-late summer evening that was just the right kind, breezy but not chilly and almost free of mosquitos.

The tan is brought to you by Destin Beach Florida by the way. The loved the white beach, restaurants, shopping, hotel and everything else and it shows.

FOUR continued again

 

 

 

 

Presents...presents are a lot of fun with Gus, he is always so excited and so happy to make a new friend....for this special day we picked a super-sized, maximized, giant-sized frontloader...ask Gus he knows exactly what they do...

FOUR continued

 

Conveniently, we gave birth to Gus on a balmy September day that always happens to always fall onto Western North Carolina's Fair week schedule...so every since he was two, he thinks we throw him a REALLY BIG party that everyone is invited to...and until he is 18 I won't tell him any different...here he is visiting one of his favorites - the fire prevention helicopter...

 

All alone and very brave making his way through a maze that I thought he was too little for...his Dad sided with Gus, so it was 1:2 and I lost out...he had a great time, puzzling his way through it...

 

Coming off the finish of the maze in style...on the second and third run-through he decided to come down alternately on his belly and back...

 

Riding another - smaller - helicopter with a tiny co-pilot, who was two and couldn't be trusted either...so we all just clenched up and stood ready to catch our children while they went in circles...

Ahhh the fair is a great place...Gus loves his party every year!

FOUR

 

Hmm...that's not cereal...

 

I like this sweet breakfast by candlelight

 

Fine Momma, I'll blow them out...but please stop singing, OK?

Happy Fourth Birthday, son. We love you!!!