America!

While many of us have been preoccupied by the national election, the REALLY IMPORTANT election will be held at Alex's Daycare today! Who will be their official daycare mascot? I invite you to meet the candidates...

 

The Dog Party: Meet Clifford, the Big Red Dog. According to Aunt Jane, those who have chosen the Dog Party Candidate like his cute tail, his nose, paws, big eyes and red floppy ears. They also say he is a really nice dog.

The Dinosaur Party: Meet Barney, the Dinosaur. I'm told that those who have made Barney their candidate like that he is big and purple, a nice green belly, and a friendly smile. He likes kids too.

Additionally, their respective poll workers will be passing out treats in an attempt to sway last minute voters.

And as each child practices his or her right to a Daycare vote, the official Mrs. Davis' Daycare mascot will be chosen. Viva la democracy!

In related news, I'm told that Alex is a fervent supporter of Clifford. And as such, he's taken on the role of campaign manager. Joey's never been prouder.

Happy 'stache-o-ween!

Guess which one is mine?

Nerd alert.

Warning: this is a political post that has nothing to do with politics, I promise. Mostly because political rants and right/left soapboxes on the Internets make me want to punch a kitten in the face, but I digress.

But related to politics, Joe has commandeered a nerd fest amongst his group of homies called the "2012 Yard Sign Election." Basically, whenever anyone sees a sign, sticker or public display for (or against) any candidate, they email or text Joe. He keeps track of it in what I'm pretty certain is the nerdiest spreadsheet ever to exist.

Pie charts. Bar charts. Line graphs. Pivot tables. This thing has it all. It's nerddom at its finest. I get a wedgie and a swirly just looking at the thing. But the cool thing is, it's not really political at all--but it is cool to see which candidate has the most visible support on our local streets and roads.

This is real. And it hurts my brain.

Brave little boy.

You know how some little boys are "all boy"? Like, they run into walls full steam ahead and jump off the backs of couches onto stacks of pillows? Yeah. My kid's not like that.

I've referenced it before--he's very careful with his movements and isn't a fan of heights at all. He won't even walk down a flight of stairs if it's the grated metal kind where you can see right through them.

We're starting to see him becoming braver as he creeps closer to 4. In fact, at the park yesterday he went down the slides all by himself! Even headfirst! He told me he "went the fastest, Mom!" and "It was so amazing!" (Everything is "amazing" these days. I love life through a 4 year-old's eyes.)

Meanwhile, at Disney...

The Greg and the Joette recently took a 'lil pilgrimage to Orlando, where they've been basking in the glory of Disney World WITHOUT THEIR CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN. Rude.

Over the course of their little vacay, I got no less than 948 pictures and videos from my Mom, in what she believed to be "sharing the experience" with us, and what I actually just discerned as rubbing it in. Kidding, Mom, kidding.

Anyway, here is the funniest sequence of photos from the week, with captions direct from my Mom.

"See the big monkey with his leaf?"

 "This is how he looked after he finished it!"

Go Tigers!

The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series, baby! And the kiddos at Daycare are just as excited as the grown ups. Look what they did today - a parade!

Our Angel Tree.

Joe and I kind of always knew we wanted to get something rather special and permanent to remember our sweet tWIPs and precious bdub. Tattoos are extraordinarily painful and since I am the largest wussie on planet earth, also completely out of the question.

We had a lot of ideas, but ultimately the idea of something living--that we could see every day--was a requirement. And, as luck would have it, we've got a big ol' lot of sod just waiting for some life and landscaping.

And so, a few weeks ago, we drove on over to a nursery (ironic, no?) and got us a tree. Alex calls it our "angel tree" and I think that's rather appropriate. Here it is:

It's a sugar maple, so it will turn really beautiful vibrant shades of red every fall. I love it for all that it is and all that it stands for. It really is a tree of life.

And so this post isn't all sappy-wappy, here are some obligatory adorable photos from the weekend: a tractor ride at Franklin Cider Mill and trying on Daddy's new glasses.