Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Tricks and Treats

In the middle of October, Colson had her 'spring' break.  We had no plans that week, so I decided it was time to potty train Connor.  I totally forgot how UNfun potty training is.  Fortunately, almost our entire house is tile or wood flooring, so messes were fairly easy to clean up.  He's done pretty well, and we still definitely have accidents, but he loves picking out his undies in the mornings and is so proud after he uses the potty.  And at least when he pees on the floor he comes and shows me so I don't accidentally step in a puddle later.  (Unlike a certain puppy I know, Mom.)



(Ignore the headband.  One of the hazards of having an older sister.)

Last week at Colson's school was Artists and Authors week.  On Friday they were supposed to dress as something from the garden.  After much deliberation, Colson decided she wanted to be a tree.  And it just so happened that she had clothes that would work, well enough.


 She never poses serious for the camera for long.


Halloween isn't an actual holiday here, but with so many expats we still got to celebrate it!  Some friends in another compound invited several families over to trick or treat in their compound and then stay for dinner.  Colson called an audible and decided to be Merida, instead of the witch she has said she wanted to be for weeks.  Connor isn't much into keeping costumes on, so for trick or treating he was Batman - as in he wore a Batman shirt and called it a day.  The kids had a blast trick or treating.  Dinner was fajitas, and they were amazing.  Mostly because the meat was from America (HEB, yeah!) so it tasted like home.  Someone even made queso!  Explaining to people from other countries what queso is is pretty funny.  'A loaf of processed cheese melted and mixed with onions, tomatoes, and peppers.'  But whatever, it's amazing.


 She did wear the witch's hat with her Merida dress for a short time....
 






 Connor figured out pretty quickly that as long as the bowl was out there he would keep grabbing.  And people just let him!
 

The next night we went to a costume party.  Colson was Merida again, Jon was Tiger Woods, Connor was his caddie, and I was a hippie.  I have caught a cold, so I didn't have the energy to put in much effort.  And, you have to get pretty creative with what you have here.  It was another fun night with friends!


Colson and her friend, Riley.
 



Here are just some cute pics from the last few weeks...







 Sitting in laundry baskets watching cartoons.





 
 Step away from my daddy's food!
 



 His latest obsession - his hat.

 At a superhero birthday party.  The masks and wrist bands were the party favors.  Super cute.
 
 

Just having fun. 
 
We are doing well here, although our vacation to Bangkok over Christmas is MUCH anticipated.  I've even started playing the Christmas music and will begin 'decorating' soon. The days here are long for all of us.  The weather is getting hot, which is really weird since all of my Facebook friends are commenting on the awesome fall weather they are experiencing.  We did get a bit of rain one afternoon last week.  Actually it was quite a down pour for a long while.  And because of that rain it took Jon 5 hours to get home from work.  15 miles people, 15 miles.  But the city has no drainage, and everything except the street pretty much is dirt, so you can imagine.  Colson is liking school, and even rides the 'bus' in the mornings.  It's actually a 15 passenger van.  It was rough for a few days, several tears, but now she feels like such a big girl.  And I don't have to wake Connor up every morning to take her.  So things are going ok.  We have our rough days and moments where we really miss home, but we are adjusting and trying to enjoy this 'adventure'.  
 
Tchau!