The Great Debate

Let me just say that I know this is a subject of a lot of debate, even among Christians, and this is not me telling anyone what is or isn’t right. This is just me telling how we came to the decision that is right for OUR family.

I found out on Saturday night that Nathan’s mom wanted us to take Shane to trick or treat on Sunday with his cousin Alie. I didn’t grow up trick or treating, and neither did Nathan, so I’d never even thought about taking Shane. We talked about it for a while but didn’t really come to a conclusion. Something about the idea of celebrating Halloween really stuck in my conscience though, and I was really uncomfortable with it, so while Nathan went for a motorcycle ride I called my parents to ask why they had never let us trick or treat, and to ask mom to look up some information about Halloween on the internet. I decided to go for a little walk to clear my head and try to decide how I really felt about trick or treating. As I left the house I prayed that I would have clarity in knowing my own beliefs, and that Nathan and I would both come to the same conclusion. Fast forward about two hours to when Nathan arrived home.

“Can we talk a little about this trick or treating thing?” I asked him.

“We’re not going.” He responded.

After talking for a few more minutes we realized that we’d both come to the same conclusion, and then I told him about my prayer. What a God thing! I was so excited. We decided that we won’t be doing Halloween—no trick or treating or carving pumpkins or dressing up. The exception was this Halloween since he’d already gotten costumes—a monkey costume from his Grammy Vines for pictures with his cousin Alie, and a pumpkin suit from his Aunt Nancy.

We had a nice weekend together. Saturday afternoon we watched the Blue Angels from a blanket in the shade of our car. We’ll probably pay to get in next year when Shane will enjoy it more, but this year we just drove off the highway a little way to watch for free. Free is good!

On Sunday afternoon Melissa came over and we had a yummy lunch, then went over to her friend’s house to watch the trick or treaters and eat venison chili. They approximated they had 700 trick or treaters!!! And man alive, some people’s idea of a costume is just…um…skin. Yeah. We had fun, though, and everyone thought Shane was SOOOO cute. Because he is, of course!

P.S. In that very first picture, you can see the teeth!

4 Months

Here we are at almost 5 months old and I just realized I never did Shane’s 4 months post. My excuse is that we were in Ohio and working like crazy to get everything done for my sister’s wedding! The problem is that I can’t remember everything now, so this is my best shot.

-Rolls both ways

-Size 3 diapers

-17lbs 3 oz, 26 ½ inches (95th percentile) This was actually 4 ½ months, at his Dr. appointment. He got shots and, again, took it like a trooper!

-Smiles and laughs

-Got his bottom two teeth at 3 months, 3 weeks

-3-6 month clothes, 6-9 months jammies

-Still exclusively breastfed

-Still super laid back and happy

-Loves to eat his toes

-Reaches for his favorite people, especially Mumma
-Loves to talk, talk, talk!
-Enjoyed the excersaucer we borrowed while we were in Ohio.
-Loves to read—Clifford the big red dog was his favorite this month
-Thinks it’s hilarious when dogs bark.
-Thinks it’s funny when you growl and pretend chew his sides

-Has flown thrice and been in Texas, Ohio, and New York

-Sucks his bottom lip and finds it amusing

-Looks at you sort of sideways and under his eyelashes and smirks. We call it the “Ladykiller”.

-Seems to be developing quite a sense of humor. Sometimes it seems like he is trying to play jokes on you.

-Was the ringbearer in his Aunt Erika’s wedding. He wore a kilt!

Flying

Shane has flown three times now. The first time he was 2 months and three days, and flew from Ohio to Atlanta to DFW. The second time he was three months and three ish weeks, and flew from DFW to Dayton. The third time he was four months and 13 days, and flew from Dayton to DFW. After his first flight, when I realized that the kid was going to be doing a lot of flying, I found and ordered a Flight Passenger Logbook online. I wish I’d had one when I started flying! It’s really neat; it has places for all of the flight and plane information as well as a running total of miles and hours flown.

Our flight from DFW to DAY for Erika’s wedding was the first flight with the logbook and, as I providentially happened to be sitting next to a flight attendant on the terminal tram, I asked her advice about having the captain sign the book. She said that most captains are happy to see such interest in flying and suggested that I also ask for a picture with the captain on every flight. What a grand idea!

This is us in the DFW airport, waiting for our flight. I love my Moby Wrap! I use the thing all the time—seriously, one of my favorite baby purchases. I didn’t have to try to cart a stroller and carseat around the airport, and people are a lot less likely to reach out and grab him when he’s right up against me. A lovely british woman took this picture for me, even though she was in the middle of her sandwich!

This is the captain of our first flight. He just loved Shaney and was more than happy to hold him, although he said he had no kids or grandkids. He did a good job! The staff of the flight was awesome as well. They moved me to a row of empty seats, and loved on Shane the whole trip. They even gave him a certificate for flying!

This is the captain of our second flight. He was a little more gruff, but still happy to be asked for a picture with the baby.

I grew up flying and loving it and even planned to become a pilot. I think I inherited the love of flying from my Uncle Dean, who is my favorite pilot in the whole world. I love the whole flying experience, big planes and small. I enjoy watching people in the airport, and talking to them on the flight. The people you meet and the stories you hear are so interesting! And then there are the characters; one time when I was on a flight and we were stuck on the ground waiting for weather to pass I had a guy ask me if I wanted to share a hotel room and join him at the bar if we had to stay overnight. All because my lotion smelled good! Seriously. I’ve flown giving people fake names and using all different accents, just for the fun of it. Flying is s a rich and varied experience that I can’t wait to share with Shane throughout his life. I hope to impart in him the same love of flying and interest in watching and learning about people.

 Sleeping on the airplane on the way to Ohio.