Happy Halloween

The other day after I got home from work I mentioned that we could go shopping for Halloween decorations. Although Joseph didn't know what those were at the time, he heard me and started insisting that we go get Halloween decorations, so we did.


The next day, he insisted on wearing a Halloween shirt that his grandparents had given him - even though it is black, long-sleeved, and it was 100 degrees outside. So, I figured it was as good a day as any to decorate (even if it was a bit premature).

Joseph had a great time helping me.



He is really excited for Halloween. He loves the pumpkins and ghosts and other Halloween things, and I think he finally understands the concept of a costume (though we haven't decided on one yet -- any ideas???), and we've been talking about saying "trick-or-treat" and getting candy.

(He is just mad that we are trying to take his picture here.)

Yesterday we even spent some time playing in last year's costume, since he is so into dinosaurs right now and loves looking at last year's pictures of "baby Joseph being dinosaur".



Apparently he doesn't need the costume to be a triceratops, though, because tonight he informed me that he has horns.

However, even this excitement did not prepare me for the purchase that Todd made the other day.



Meet Ludwig the skeleton/skull. Todd didn't catch on about my "cute" Halloween-themed decorations, and instead went straight for creepy. I guess this is to get me back for getting Joseph a super-girly, hot-pink Valentine's Day playset.


But Joseph loves Ludwig. He plays with him, shares with him, hugs him, and gives him hats so he doesn't get cold (since Ludwig lacks hair).

It is a good thing Joseph is getting a sibling soon because obviously the poor child is lonely.

The Other Part of the Visit

We also spent some quality time with family in Utah while we were out for the wedding.



Mostly, it involved me playing with this really, really cute little guy:



Joseph absolutely loved his cousin Asher too. He liked holding him and cuddling him and making him smile and telling me how "cute" Asher is. He was generally pretty gentle with him (we just had to watch to make sure he didn't try to "share" his own food with Asher).

We also got to meet my sister's fiance, Devin, who immediately won Joseph over with his talent for making strange noises. Joseph loves talking about how Devin and Keegan are getting married. Inasmuch as Keegan is actually Lindsey's husband, Lauren and Lindsey aren't as happy with that arrangement, but hopefully Joseph will get things straight eventually.

Joseph also got to go swimming at the splash park, meet Keegan's horny-toads, and play with the kitty cat. (The other day he spontaneously told me that he "loves Kiki at Gramma White's house" and that she is "his friend.") He loved playing with his aunts and uncles and Grandma and Grandpa White. He was not happy about coming home.

Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post -- but I'm waiting for Lindsey to email me. Hint, Hint.

The Wedding

Last week we flew out to Utah to attend the wedding of our good friends Sam and Nancy.

Joseph, waiting for our airplane.

I think Todd and I would both rank Sam and Nancy's big day as one of the happiest of our own lives. Sam has been a dear friend to Todd for many years, Nancy has also been a good friend since law school, and the two of them are the most perfect, happy couple you will ever see. Also, on a completely selfish note, it was fabulous attending the wedding of people that we introduced because everyone wanted to meet us and thank us. It almost got embarrassing ...

Some of the other thing that made it so great were:

Nancy and Sam are both amazing party planners, so we knew this event was not to be missed. Sam is a professional chef and his boss, one of the best pastry chefs in the country, made the cake:

It tasted as good as it looks.

Joseph got to wear a super cute little outfit since he was part of the wedding party. Unfortunately, he did not cooperate very well with the pictures.

A beautiful Nancy, showing grace under pressure as the little children start falling apart.

Joseph, not cooperating with the nice photographer.

But, hopefully they got some good candids of him running around - he had a really good time.

I don't know who this woman is in the picture, but mostly we took this to show Joseph wandering far off in the background:

Hopefully he didn't end up in the professional shot.

Joseph especially enjoyed the live band and dancing. Seriously, he danced for most of the night. Everytime a song would end, he'd get mad and yell, "More music! More singing!" until they started up again, and he'd be back dancing.

Almost as fun as the dancing were the sparklers.



We got to catch up with some law school friends (most of whom we hadn't seen since graduation), and Todd was able to see lots of friends from his mission. Todd and Sam's mission president performed the ceremony and did a lovely job. It reminded us a lot of our own wedding day.

Law school friends, most of whom we hadn't seen since before Joseph's birth.

As you can see in this happy picture, all of us (even Joseph!) had a grand time. We are hoping for another inadvertent-but-successful set up soon. Baby #2 is coming in February, so we're thinking maybe he or she can fill Joseph's shoes and facilitate another marriage.

Dining with Joseph

For breakfast this morning, Joseph had a milkshake and a powerbar.

Before you start searching for those nominations for "Father of the Year," let's reflect on some of the other dishes Joseph has requested (and usually received).

Guacamole

Dipping chips in guacamole is a favorite pastime at our home.


One of the hardest things about being two is that you can't always get enough guacamole all the way from the container up to your mouth using something as crude a tortilla chip.

Joseph remedied this by requesting a "green spoon" for his guacamole.


Who needs to bother with chips when you can just spoon the guac directly to your mouth?

Pico!

Joseph (and everyone else in this household) loves Trader Joe's Pico de Gallo. One day we tragically ran out, and for several minutes he kept yelling "Pico! more Pico! want more Picooooooooooooo! Pleeeeeaaaaseeee!"

Joseph loves his pico so much, he even dips his pacifier in it.


(Mental note to readers: Never eat the pico at the Goodsell house)

Gnocchi and Humus

Joseph doesn't always get what he wants. One morning, while trying to figure out what to give Joseph for breakfast, he asked for gnocchi. We didn't have any gnocchi, so he asked for humus. We didn't have any humus. So we had popcorn for breakfast.

Unfortunately, he didn't think to ask for powerbars or milkshakes.

Milkshakes and Apple Juice

Despite my love for chocolate milkshakes, it was actually Joseph's mother who introduced him into his latest beverage of choice.

Here's a photo from Erin and Joseph's most recent Saturday afternoon together.


This is Joseph watching some TV with his apple juice in one hand and his milkshake in the other.

A Very Belated Post On The Real Birthday

As noted, Joseph celebrated his 2nd birthday several times, only one of which (the party with his Brazier cousins) has been adequately documented on this blog.

His actual birthday started out with a cupcake and candles for breakfast, and he opened a present (a DVD to watch later that day).

Todd took me to work and then he and Joseph went to the airplane display.




After work, we went out for pizza (one of Joseph's favorite foods) and then took Joseph miniature golfing.

He had a grand time. He was only interested in golfing the first couple of holes, and eventually got distracted by the pond, but had a lovely time nonetheless.








Then it was back home to more cupcakes, candles, and singing.

Professor Goldsmith

During law school, I worked for Professor Michael Goldsmith, a dynamic and accomplished man with big ideas and a fantastic sense of humor. Many of our friends who read this blog also survived classes in Evidence and Criminal Procedure from him.

Recently, Professor Goldsmith was diagnosed with ALS (a.k.a. as Lou Gehrig’s disease), a disease for which there is currently no cure.

Although ALS does not affect the intellect, the disease takes away the brain’s ability to control voluntary muscle movement. Symptoms of ALS include muscle atrophy with sufferers experiencing impaired use of their limbs, as well as difficulty in breathing, speaking, and swallowing.

Last year, Professor Goldsmith wrote a piece published in Newsweek magazine (link) calling out Major League Baseball for having failed to do something meaningful about the illness that ended the career and life of one of its greatest players nearly 70 years ago.

Thankfully, Goldsmith’s idea of commemorating the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s historic farewell speech resonated with people.

Here’s a NBC news report from last Saturday:

A New York Times story quoted Professor Goldsmith:

“I have spent more than two decades exhorting law students to take a proactive ‘can-do’ approach to the law and life in general. And I have tried to lead by example, showing them how creativity and commitment to a cause can produce positive results. The success of this effort demonstrates yet again how the power of one can make a difference.”

To our classmates (and anyone who was moved by that video): here are some useful links--

https://www.als.net/join/donatenow.asp
https://www.alsa.org/donate/secure/default.cfm
http://www.als-mda.org
http://www.projectals.org/getInvolved/donate.shtml

Fireworks

Last night, we went out to watch the fireworks with Joseph's cousins. We figured he'd either be enthralled or bawling because of the noise and the late hour.

Turns out it was more the former than the latter. At first, the loud sounds bothered him, but he was riveted by the sights. He would watch quietly, but as soon as a a lull in the explosions came around, he would briefly let out a yell to voice his displeasure at the noise before being distracted and totally silenced by the next set of fireworks. That only lasted for the first few minutes, and for most of the show, he just stared up with his jaw half-open and a twinkle in his eye while giving a running narration of the colors and lights.

The Toddster's favorite Joseph comment of the night: Joseph looking up at the sky and describing the fireworks as "wild!"

Erin's favorite Joseph comment of the night: Before he zonked out on the way home Erin asked him who went to see the fireworks.

Joseph responds by naming one of his cousins.

Erin asks "who else?"

Joseph names his uncle.

Erin asks "who else?"

Joseph, realizing that this game could go on for quite some time, responds "people."