Watching too much Law and Order leads to “Mean World Syndrome”

The second time around, Emerson got a little more into the spirit of being a dragon.

But I think he liked his regular Halloween clothes even more.

Remember how yellowjackets were stingy back in July?

Well, I ended up dowsing that chair with wasp poison in August, and finally cowboy’d up enough to clean out the deck chairs and make sure there weren’t any more nests anywhere. (And when I say “cowboy’d up”, I mean I was wearing gloves and long sleeves and a hat and using a long stick and waited until it was nearly dark and rainy. That kind of cowboy.)

What I found was a sad little graveyard:

If you look closely, you’ll see that their nestbuilding actually cut into the fabric of cushion, and the pulled out the stuffing to help make the nest. How interesting! Curiosity aside, we tossed the cushions and are starting our porch fresh, sans stingers.

One year? Already?

Sometimes it's hard to buy Emerson presents when the box is as fun as the toys.

Emerson's first night at Mom and Wood's cabin - he loved it up there!

He had so many smiles.

And he had lots of fun with Mom and Wood.

Petey wasn't so sure about Emerson.

Emerson did a lot of exploring.

And he watched TV

And he played with his new Legos.

But he didn't get to type.

Even if he reeeeeally wanted to.

Emerson had his first real excuse to wear his leather jacket, too.

We went out.

We went to a fair, but it was raining most of the time.

Still, there were fun things to do.

Especially at the petting zoo!

Plus, when we got back, there was a train for Emerson!

Trains are serious business.

But not everything has to be serious.

The next day we went pumpkin shopping.

And then it was time for Emerson's Birthday!

This is the card we made for him. Actually, one of two. The other one we sent to Sprout, but we messed up and it wasn't accepted.

Still, it was fun to make and it was cute.

I already posted the good pictures, but here's his cake!

It was tasty!

Very, very tasty.

Then we went home.

And Emerson had his first spaghetti!

And, sadly, turned into a pasta zombie. But just for a little while.

More recently, Emerson test-drove his Halloween costume.

Hmm… All of Emerson’s videos seem so good when I’m taking them, and so terrible when I go back to review them – they’re shakey and the audio is quiet and they’re flooded with light or too dark.

Still, here are a couple of my favorites from the last month:

Emerson eating birthday pizza.

Emerson test-driving his Halloween costume.

Emerson got to celebrate up at the cabin with Mom and Wood.

There was pizza...

Mmm... Pizza!

There were presents.

Though sometimes the bows and wrapping paper were more exciting.

Best of all, there was cake!

Cake!

CAKE!

Muahahaha!

There will be more pictures soon!

Here are a couple of videos from way back in May when we went to California:

And another of Emerson and one of his more recent obsessions:

And just a non-spectacular but pretty recent video so you can see how big he is!

Here are some pictures from the the last few months!

Hello!

Slam Dunks from an early age.

Mine!

The Emerson Wallpaper

As a matter of fact, officer, I haven't been drinking...

Really.

That flashlight's kinda bright though.

Oral fixations are cool, man.

This is daddy!

Pulling up!

Look at those arms!

At 5 Guys

Emerson likes it here.

Especially when he gets to visit Granmama Bopp

And Grandpa Wood

Guess who doesn't like surprise photos.

Hee hee hee

Gibbous Emerson

He's not sure he likes that.

Actually, he's sure he doesn't.

Another day, another smile.

Maybe.

That was the third take. I’m kind of a camera doufus sometimes.

Today I was stung by 4 yellowjackets. Or perhaps I was stung by fewer, but more zealous yellowjackets. I got four stings.

I’m kind of glad, actually. I wouldn’t go out of my way to be stung, and I would go out of my way not to be, but it didn’t hurt as much I remembered from when I was five. They hurt less than a tattoo, certainly. They’re really just a needleprick during the actual sting; a few minutes later when the poison really sets in and the stings begin to turn into weals is when they really get sore. I’m hoping the result of being stung is a little more courage and a little less manic arm-waving and girlish squealing when a wasp or bee is circling my head.

Also, a few stings don’t seem so likely to send me into anaphylactic shock as they did the last time I was stung, so that’s good.