2. Ralph and Kara had a Halloween party on Saturday night.  Their decorations and food were CRAZY good.  In fact, we all decided that their party needs to be an annual thing now — no one can compete!  Case in point — this meat head.  Apparently it was just BBQ sauce and ham that Kara put on a skull.  But I couldn’t do it.  Too icky.

3. Another picture from the party.  These shots were called Brain Hemorrhages.  Peach Schnapps, Grenadine and Baileys.  Looks pretty bad, but tastes worse.  The Baileys was chunky.  Needless to say, no one had seconds.

4. Our costumes!!  Mine wasn’t all that exciting.  I was merely the accessory to Nick’s costume.  Me = Housewife.  Nick = Mr. Clean!  He had the shaved head, the earring, the white eyebrows, and all white outfit — including women’s tight stretchy pants.  Pretty sure I was more amused than he was at his outfit.

5. The only thing better than a blue lollipop is a blue tongue!

6. Hitting the streets at Nana and Grandpa Monte’s house!  Jak wasn’t sure what was up, but with the promise of candy, he was game.  Maguire made it about half a block before he was done.  They made a cute pair in their wagon while it lasted! 

7. Mr. Independent.  Love this shot.

8. Post trick or treating.  After the first house he said “mommy, I want to eat this”, and I said that he had to wait ’til we got back to Nana’s house.  So after every house we went to, he asked me “Back to Nana’s house now??”.  He was thrilled that he got to have a whole box of Smarties! 

9. Nick’s pumpkin.  He attempted to do it with Jak, but Jak ditched him to play ball outside with Grandpa Monte. 

10. This was the third (maybe fourth?) year that we went to Monte and Olwyn’s place for Halloween.  They have a great street with tons of decorations and lots of kids.  Two years ago they ran out of candy when they hit around 200 kids.  Last year they had learned their lesson and were prepared for the 250+ kids.  This year, however, was a new record high.  This picture was taken around 8p, meaning this was not the final tally.  At times the kids came so fast, it was hard to keep track of.  The door stayed open all night because they just kept coming!  Monte furiously filled bags while Olwyn attempted to count all the ghosts and goblins.  Despite the chaos, it was a fun (busy!) night for everyone…and I think we are already wondering what will happen next year…

2. Party One was on Saturday with Jak’s Calgary grandparents.  We wanted to do something low-key, but something we knew he would enjoy.  The answer — a trip to the park!  (Thanks to auntie erin for suggesting Helicopter Park…it was a hit!)Jak’s favourite part of the park wasn’t the swing.  It wasn’t the slide.  It wasn’t the merry-go-round.  It was a ramp.  Yes, you read that right.  He spent the majority of our time at the park just going back and forth, up and down the ramp.  Crazy kid. 

3. Here are some “behind the scenes” shots of our time at the park…

4. Maguire was at the park, too.(I promise he’s under that blanket…)

5. One last round of photos from the park — boys being boys!

6. We had dinner at our place after our park adventures, and I made sure to have a giant chocolate cupcake for Jakzen for dessert.  In preparation for what I assumed would be a messy experience, I stripped him down and plunked him back in his chair, all ready to dive in and get dirty.  First, he was unsure what to think of our singing…and even more unsure of the sparkly candle.Once the sparkler had burned out, he picked up the cupcake and we were all ready with our cameras to capture him attacking it with gusto.  No such luck.  He took one lick, and put it down.  Apparently there really is such a thing as too much chocolate…

7. On Sunday, it was Olivia’s birthday.  Crazy that this weekend marked her FIRST birthday.  Already!  She’s such a happy little girl — and a total ham for the camera.

8. Yesterday we had a party with some of Jak’s best buddies…and of course, more cupcakes.

9. Maguire, the party animal.

10. Jakzen got the obligatory cupcake with a candle in it again…and once again, he wasn’t sure what to think.

Thankfully Jak has good friends like Ronan who *tried* to teach him how to blow out the candle. 

Jak made a couple feeble attempts at blowing, but in the end, Ronan saved the day and blew out the flame — and Jak was grateful!Of course, Jak didn’t want anything to do with eating the cupcake, and opted instead for a chocolate cookie.  Which he LOVED…and his mommy finally got those messy birthday shots she was looking for.   

Here is Olwyn’s email and the photos she sent me…

Here is Grandpa Monte and Jak hanging out at Prince’s Island.  Cost of parking: $5.25 ,  hot dogs and drinks:  $10. 25 —  building precious memories with our grandson —— priceless!!!

Doing a little girl  watching – who wouldn’t fall for these cuties?

Mom doesn’t do it this way but  I have a good view of Grandma!

How’s the water Jak? Don’t get those fancy orthotics wet – your Mom will kill me!!

Pretty cute!!

Hey, Grandpa – the water is great!!

What an amateur – I could fasten this thing up faster myself!!

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa (and Granddad, too!) for taking such good care of our little guy while we were away.  PS – if you would like to “borrow” Jakzen a few more times in preparation of the addition of TWO more grandkids in the next couple of months, you just let us know! 

Olwyn’s top 2 choices so far (because apparently Nick told her we were looking at “K” names) are Kingston and Kade.  I like both names, however I already know 2 sweet little boys with each of these names.  That strikes them off the list. 

My mom continues to send her thoughts via email.  Her latest list:  Chase, Cash, Chance, Denver, Gage.  Chance, Mom??  And Denver?!?  (No offence to the Chances and Denvers out there that might be reading this…)  Keep ‘em coming, Mom!  At the very least, your lists are entertaining.   

erin, however, wins the award for “Most Creative” potential names.  Here is the list she emailed to me yesterday:  Juice, Flow, 10-4, Asteroid, Phoenix, Felix, Red, Rudder, Derick, Rick, Rice, Road, Farrington, Ashmore, Ashton, Applebee’s, Panorama, Daniel, Street, Pavement, Pierre, Pieter, Yodeler, Yale, Vale, Victor, Torrent, Love, Adventure, Music, and Baby.  I particularly like the sounds of Rudder Blakeney and Yodeler Blakeney.  Catchy.  Ooh!  How about Catchy Blakeney??? 

Regardless of my reaction (Mom!), I welcome any suggestions anyone might have.  It’s a daunting process coming up with a name that another human being will live with for life.  Heavy stuff.  I promise to review any submissions carefully…if perhaps only briefly. 

*Note: in all fairness, my mother’s concern might not totally be unwarranted…after all, the most recent names I taunted her with were Viper and Venom.  I wasn’t serious, Mom!