The Christmas Tree is Here!

Below is our only Thanksgiving picture of Lola. We had such a great time at Thanksgiving with the grandparents that we forgot to take many pictures!


Lola had her hair cut on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. She likes to make faces for the camera, as you will see in the next few pictures.

We brought home a nice Fraser fir today. Lola is looking forward to the decorating.

"Is it for a Person?"

Surfing the internet mindlessly, Lola and I found a picture of this wedding dress. Lola wisely asked, "Is it for a person?" "Yes," I said. Lola: [pause] "Is it for a grown-up?"

An Eye for Detail

Lola wrote this shopping list (not the actual words, but the squiggles that are simulated words) as we dictated to her what we needed for Thanksgiving. We're very impressed by her artistic rendering of words.



Lola also applied Mommy's lipstick with an eye for detail. If you look at the second picture, I think you will agree that she knew perfectly well that it was an unorthodox job!

News Flash: Lola's Hair Officially Declared Difficult

Today I went to pick up Lola at school, and Miss Savannah had this story. When Lola woke up from her nap today, Mrs. Erni, the head honcho teacher, tried to put her hair back. Savannah said, "And it was all up on top of her head!," making the writhing motions with her fingers that my sister and I used to call "omelet hair" gestures. Savannah then gulped and looked worried that I would take offense at an implicit slight to my daughter's perfect hair powers. No chance. My sister and I had nightmarishly straight, fine, frizzy hair that could not be controlled or coaxed. I responded, "Yes, her hair is trouble." Savannah said hesistantly, "I've just known a few girls that . . . Well, it's thin." They used to call my hair thin too. What they meant was, "fine." Lola's hair is fine and thick and, as I told Savannah, has a slight wave to it that is just as difficult in its own way as my childhood greasy straight locks. I wonder what hair joys await Lola in adolescence.

Lola's Halloween Fun

Josh figured out how to cover the flash to get a good picture of our pumpkin.



Lola's first engagement was on Thursday night--Halloween story time at the library. Here she is with other regulars.




Friday night arrived, and Lola was rarin' to go with her new "I Want Candy" bag from the grandparents.



Our first stop was the retirement home, which puts on a great Trick-or-Treat every year.



This is the wig that Kathryn wore to teach her students on Halloween. Deep professor dorkiness.


Back at home, Lola goes crazy after consuming much of her haul. Here is her striped skunk back.

Pumpkin Carving and Lighting

We are ready for Halloween!

Pictures of Recent Adventures

Here are pictures from Lola and Leo's zoo jaunt--Lola is standing behind a "meercat" impersonation board. Leo has extremely long hair right now: it becomes him.




Here are pictures of our gas log and our new sofa. The gas log doesn't look as impressive as it does in real life, because of the flash effect from the camera. We hope the new sofa lasts as long as the old one (fourteen years). The old sofa is now comfortably retired in the basement.