Boojama Time!
Getting very close to Halloween, so Seth wanted to acknowledge his black kitty origins and wish you all a scary Halloween. (*Fish or treat!*) He’s doing better, by the way. See this image larger.
October 22nd, 2009… What are boojamas? These are! See this image larger.
Don’t jump on the bed with your tongue out or you’ll get a surprise you won’t like! See this image larger.
My favorite shot of the bunch, look at his feet! He’s getting some air! Cute face too, worth taking a closer look via this link -> See this image larger.
Goofball kid. See this image larger.
Looking forward to trick or treatin’ with this little guy! See this image larger.
October 19th, Ian and I spend the day together and the usual mischief ensues. I couldn’t get him to wear clothes, but he would wear his oddball glasses… that’s picture worthy. 
Belly. 
Get your clothes on, goofball! 
*Get your red hot coasters here!* 
If he’s planning his next golf shot, I might owe Mr. Justin next door a new truck window. Probably not with his current ammunition of ping pong balls, however. 
*Yes, I’m still taking pictures, Ian. Could you pose and try to make it look dramatic?* 
*…Nice!* 
This ball, later found somewhere off the coast of Australia by a professional diving team, had no idea that Ian’s Dragon Kung Fu swing was considerably more deadly than his Tiger Kung Fu swing. 
Just a nice running shot… 
and another… love the way the light outlines his whole body. 
Always at his cutest shortly after brandishing a club and hitting the photographer “accidentally.” 
Daddy staged this one. 
Combination of light sources here worked out well, for a change. 
I faked a big-wheel injury here, earning a great big genuine smile. 
This has potential for the cover of Ian’s first country album. It was around here that Mommy came home. He left the big wheel behind and ran as fast as he could back to our driveway! 
Where he gave her a big ol’ hug of happiness! “Wewcome home, Mommy!” 
October 12, and it is a Monday with Ian… we watched videos in the office for awhile. He likes to watch Connor and Kaylee videos as well as a few of his own. 
Alright, alright, let’s go! 
At the library later that day, Ian gave the computers a whirl. He played a game starring Clifford, the big red dog. 
October 16, my two boys in the office, chillin’ together. The bruise on Ian’s forehead is from the examination table at the pet emergency hospital. Bonk. 
October 18th, a Sunday — we had really been hoping for an Ian nap, which we didn’t get. With work as it is for Melissa and I right now, it is amazing how screwed up things get if Ian misses his nap window. He needs the time to rest. We need that time to catch up on work, on the weekends and especially Mondays and Tuesdays. And he’s been missing it on a regular basis, unfortunately. (The day this was written (Saturday) I really tried to wear him out, and still no nap. The day this was posted (Sunday) Melissa went into his room and slept on the bed next to him, and he zonked out, following her example. Up until that point it had been a whole lot of crying instead of sleeping!) 
What happened here, you ask? Well… we got to try out a new restaurant around Ian’s sleepy head. He missed his normal nap time, and fell asleep in the car on the way to go eat later that evening. 
September 27th, Mommy snapped this image of Ian and I as all three of us awaited the dumping of thousands of paper airplanes from a nearby roof as part of the Grand Rapids Artprize experience. It was pretty cool. 
October 1st, Daddy had to work this particular Friday, and missed out on a lot of fun, judging from these pictures taken by the staff of Ian’s daycare! 
Wait, I didn’t tell you what they did. Does this give you a clue? Klackle Orchard Field Trip! 
When you look at this picture, you see moms and kids picking out pumpkins. I see moms picking kids from where they grow… the orange ones just aren’t ripe yet. 😉 
There’s a glow about him in this picture that I haven’t seen since his early babyhood. Must be the sugar! 
And the eats didn’t stop there. In fact he apparently ate this entire apple without throwing out the core. 
Maybe Jacob can’t read Ian’s body language like I can, but to me that says “My mom is sitting here.” Well that, and “Mmm, apple!” 
Who’s got the power, the power to read, who answers the call for friends in need? 
SuperWhy! 
I know, the mask is a little big. Luckily, Daddy went a little nuts and bought the gizmo that SuperWhy usually carries on his person for Ian to also carry with him. And THAT included a cape and mask that actually fit better. I have a hilarious video to share with you that shows when said gift was bestowed. Maybe I’ll save that for Sunday. 
SuperWhy! is that same show where they ask the viewer to put their arm in so they can do a sort of team cheer. “SuperReaders, to the rescue!!!” 
Can I get a closer crop, you ask? Photoshop, to the rescue!! That is one happy child, right there.
*Alright Ian, what do we say to our neighbors on Halloween when they give us an apple?* 
You can tell he’s pretty much convinced that he has super powers at this point… 
…which should really not surprise anybody — he’s had super speed since he learned to run. (This shot almost looks like he just landed from flying around the room, doesn’t it?) 
I love the casualness of this shot: *Yeah, I’m a superhero, what’s up? Your name’s Lois Lane? Awesome. You like PB-J’s?* 
We got a great reaction when we decided he should see how he looks! Can’t wait for Halloween now! 
On September 26th, we had one of the worst dining-out experiences in our lives together. The service was slow enough that Ian almost ate this crayon. Actually, come to think of it, he generally tries to do that under any conditions. That reminds me… some weeks ago, Ian made a face and pulled a tiny wheel out of his mouth, it broke off of a cheap toy plane that he (ironically) got from the dentist. It reminded me how great it is to be able to communicate with Ian that I was able to tell him to spit out the wheel, explain to him that the same piece (an axle, maybe a half-centimeter in length, and the diameter of a pencil lead) jutting out of one side had a matching brother on the other side. “Is it still in your mouth?” (his eyes kind of rolled up thoughtfully as he searched and prodded with his tongue) “Mmm hmm.” “Could you spit it in Daddy’s hand?” “Mmm hmm” (ptooi.)
It was the 2nd of October when we went to Halloween USA to check out trick-or-treat costumes for the little man. Thomas the Tank Engine was a cute possibility. 
Still we didn’t go with this one. What did we go with, you ask? You’ll have to wait until next blog entry for the “costume trial run” entry. 
This was pretty awesome. On the 4th of October, Ian worked his way around behind me and draped over me in a lazy hug while I read him a bedtime story. 
Thank you Mommy, for taking these pictures! 
On the 21st of September, Grandma Sue and I took Ian to Playworld again… we got a few photos out of the deal, and a movie clip I hope to share with you all someday. Here Ian learns to share in a two-seater fire engine. He was a very good boy. 
Later we came home and played with the train set. 
Technology is going to be a part of this kid’s life… I don’t think he has any options there thanks to my little obsessions. Sorry, kiddo! Here Ian plays with a Nintendo DS. 
Apparently somebody’s been watching Mommy and is willing to try out his nail filing skills! 
Here the Ramblin’ Chapmans make their musical debut on the Nintendo Wii, playing WiiMusic… and just like the rest of Grandma Sue’s stay, fun was had by all! Thanks for the visit, Grandma Sue! We look forward to the next! 
Deciding that Ian hadn’t had nearly enough fun, it was time to head to Robinette’s Apple Orchard, where there’s a cider mill and a really big apple! 
I didn’t take too many pictures of the slide, but there was also a slide. Ian reminded us of this as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, actually! (Without seeing the slide.) 
It was great to have Grandma Sue there with us! We checked out the sights on a perfect fall day. 
Grandma Sue takes a turn as photographer — thank you! 🙂 
And just when it looked like Ian was about to crash… it was time for donuts! 
The next night, the 20th, we ended up at Target, like we always seem to. Ian let us take some pictures of him in a cool “Sinatra”-style hat. 
and another…
and another… 
and another! 
Little house of pillows. He sits so still when watching TV, I couldn’t help myself. 
September 18th, and Ian and Grandma Sue enjoy a book together during some down-time. 
*Lightning McQueen, Gramma! Kachow!* 
On September 19th, and we decided to venture out into the world and have some fun. Melissa had heard about a series of shops having a kid’s fair, so Ian got to enjoy Gymboree… we’ve been paying a little extra at daycare so that Ian can enjoy a mobile version of Gymboree that comes to Ian’s school… but this is their “home base.” 
Looks like fun! And I know you might be thinking that this activity might wear him out, but trust me, he keeps right on going. (I’ll remind you when we finally got back to the house, and you’ll see just how long he lasted!) 
One of the Gymboree employees asked Melissa if our little boy was Ian, and it turned out that she recognized him from the daycare class… she went on to say extremely nice things about Ian, about how he’s a great listener and helper. I thought this picture might be a good time to reflect on what she said. (Hey, these captions don’t write themselves, you know!) 
It is always great to hear from somebody that Ian’s being a good boy, particularly from somebody like the Gymboree employee, who had nothing to gain by telling us this. 
SCOOOOOORE! 
When there’s nothing better to do, why not run in a circle on the mats!! 
And heck, why not jump on them while you’re at it! 
And then maybe get back up! 
Down. 
Up. Shew! That’s a lot of work! We left Gymboree, but we went to the cider mill next, that’ll have to wait for next entry. 