Scotty: more amused, James: less
We left Washington late October, stopped in Folsom, CA to visit a day with Jer’s sister Jen and her family, then to Vegas. Here's Scott and California cousin Henry sporting matching undies: 
After we said goodbye to papa again (but happily the last time for a long leave) Jer’s sister Emily and family whisked us away to Disneyland! Woohoo! Here's Grandma and the teacups, Scott's first ride:
Scott and his cousins, Adam (6) and Ethan (3) had a blast, of course. My personal favorite part of the trip was California Adventure. What a sweet park! King’s Dominion? Anyone? Almost exactly the same. Scotty’s report of the trip to Jer on the phone: “I destroyed bad guys.” Yes, Buzz Lightyear was his favorite. Since the trip, he introduces himself as “Zurg” to unsuspecting kids at the playground and walks around with his pointer finger outstretch saying "piu piu" at anything that moves. He also now commands my mother in law’s silk flowers to sing. Anyone else experience this after the Tikki Room? We were there for Halloween, which was awesome. The crowds weren’t bad and there seemed to be lots of special occasion things to do. The boys dressed in their costumes for the after dinner round at the park. Can you tell they wouldn’t last more than an hour? Scotty was “Boga” Builder, James was my punkin.
The second day I had to get very creative without a double stroller. Those of you who know Scotty well: can you BELIEVE this?? Stroller naps happened three times that trip – three of four times in his entire life. Poor tired puppy. 
James has come a long way these last 2 weeks. He's weighing in right around 20 lbs. now(!) He rolled over many times from back to tummy and *then* learned tummy to back. Silly goose. He also learned how to gag himself with his toes and grab at my spoon during dinner…alas. 6 months is my favorite baby age though. I love watching him kick his feet up to his face and stare at them, then go roly poly all over the place. We never know how far away from his playmat we’ll find James next…or under which piece of furniture. He LOVES his big brother, and grins from ear to ear every time he’s near. He is thriving on this constant-doting atmosphere, as is Scotty. Hooray for grandparents.
and here are some raspberries: 
here he is admiring his dad:
Scotty’s still obsessed with the day he’ll “grow into a daddy,” probably because of all the rides he could almost go on at Disneyland. He’s also very interested in shadows these days. When he catches sight of his own, he raises his hands above his head and gives a fearsome rarrr. We went to the Nellis AFB air show last Saturday which Scotty loved, of course. Highlights: posing with the cargo plane “eating” his head, sitting in the cockpit of a WWII bomber, and, of course, the Thunderbirds. They were amazing!
On a more frustrating note, I knew this would happen, but somebody please tell me there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Scotty is suffering some serious lapses in his potty training. Not number 1, just number *2*! Ahhh! I’m all ears if you have ANY advice. I’m about ready to go back to diapers…Jer is in Allentown, PA, enjoying his program. He already made a trip to Philly to see one of his favorite jazz bands play, and he’ll be in NYC next weekend for another. Moping about without us, I know. He volunteered to spend Thanksgiving Day with my brother Ben in MD before he heads to Detroit for a week. Nice of him, huh? I think they’ll both have fun despite being away from family. I’ve always wondered what a Thanksgiving dinner out would be like…they might go for Chinese.
As for me, the only thing I’ve accomplished since coming here aside from further lardification is bangs. Yes, I have bangs, at the urging of my mother in law’s stylist. I’m very glad I waited until I know absolutely no one besides family to try them. Today I have a mullet. No joke. Mostly though I’m feeling spoiled by Jer’s parents. I’m really digging having some adult conversation every evening and having a more people around to shower my boys with kisses and compliments. I miss Jer, but he’ll be here in no time for his month off. Yaya! Life is good.
