Fight for Preemies

November is prematurity awareness month for the March of Dimes. As you know, Margot was born at 28 weeks, 1 pound and 15 ounces, and spent six weeks in the NICU before coming home. We are so lucky that she doesn't have any medical issues related to her early birth, but most others are not so lucky. Visit the March of Dimes to learn more about prematurity and how you can help.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Last Soccer Practice

This afternoon was the final soccer practice of the fall. Time is flying by! Margot was hot and cold on soccer this season. Some days she liked it, and some days she didn't. Today was one of the days she enjoyed it. The practice started sunny and crisp and then got called on account of rain; the rainstorm came out of nowhere and was cold and miserable.

(Sidenote - not to brag, but, well, that's what I do here, right? So it started raining HARD and all the parents and kids and nannies scattered, leaving the soccer equipment on the field. Since there was only another 10 minutes left to the last practice of the season, most people just sprinted to their cars and left. But Margot walked around the field with her coach - at no one's request - and picked up cones and corralled soccer balls until the field was clear. I was so proud of her. To be honest, I wanted to sprint to our car, too, but watching her help made my sopping hair and wet wool sweater completely worthwhile.)

Here are some photos I snapped before the rain:

Halloween Photos

So I am a little behind in posting these photos, but that's because I am teaching two sections of Effective Essay Writing (in addition to my day job). That leaves me with no time (or desire) to be on the laptop.

Halloween 2009 was a really fun day. We trick-or-treated twice. The first time was in the late afternoon on Connecticut Avenue, where all the shop owners distribute candy and hundreds of children swarm the sidewalks. Margot headed to CT Ave with her friend Emma but, once there, they paid little attention to one another and focused mostly on getting as much candy as they could. They saw a lot of classmates there and it was really a great time. That kind of neighborhood feel is exactly why we switched Margot to our neighborhood school. It was like Sesame Street, minus the Muppets.

After those festivities were done, we played at Emma's house for a bit and then returned home to eat some dinner and wait for dark. Once darkness fell, Min trick-or-treated on our street. My friend Jenn came down for the fun, and so the three of us walked our street in a steady light rain until Margot had enough. Then we got Thai take-out, pawed through her candy, and sent M to bed. A perfect day!

Pumpkin Carving Contest 2009 - Vote for Your Favorite!

Here are the results from our 2009 pumpkin carving contest. I won't say which pumpkin belongs to which person. Since Margot is not yet big enough to wield a knife, she dictated her artistic vision to Brodie and he carved her pumpkin based on the instructions.

Vote for your favorite!

Shenandoah

This weekend we camped in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. It was spectacular - cold, crisp weather, changing leaves, the rain ended before we arrived, and Brodie even saw two baby bears (but Margot and I did not).

This year's camping trip far surpassed last year's camping trip. Last year, we were unable to reserve a campsite and so drove out hoping to snag one of the 'first come first serve' sites. By the time we got to the ranger station in Shenandoah National Park, there was a long line. We got in line, and when we got to the front the couple in front of us got the last available campsite. It was terrible. We drove around until dark, trying to find somewhere else to camp, but ended up driving back to DC and camping in the living room. Margot savored that memory, though, and honestly thought that camping in the living room was so much fun.

Until she got to do some real camping, that is. Now that she has a real taste for outdoor camping, she's hooked. She loved sleeping in a tent, loved watching the campfire, and loved toasting marshmallows and drinking cocoa. I'm not sure she's ready for backcountry camping yet, but I bet she will be in a few years. For now, car camping is a ton of fun with her, especially because of the ear-to-ear grin she wore the whole time we were there.