Toothless cheetah

Trick-or-treating was fun. And it didn't even rain this year!!! Emilyn lost her first top tooth. A few days later, she'd lost the second!

Allen was a good boy, even though it was a long, chilly walk and he got cold hands. He got his first real tastes of candy, so it was totally worth it.



And here are the jack o' lanterns Steve and the kids carved with Uncle Pete!

Halloween 2006

Hartmans head south

Hartmans? Or is that Hartmen? Either way, they're all cute as heck.

Pete, Kim, London and Cecilia all came down this weekend for a visit... Too bad I'm working all weekend and in Jazbox HELL! Anyway, everybody else had fun, I hope. They bought pumpkins and carved them, and they look cool! Sorry that Emilyn and I had to run out today to her horse-riding party... We didn't get to adequately say goodbye! Thanks for coming, everybody! See you on Thanksgiving.

"We shocked the world" -- WORLD CHAMPS!

That was the quote from Jim "Hollywood" Edmonds, our superstar centerfielder, on Friday night as your Cardiac Cardinals won the 2006 World Series in beautiful downtown St. Louis! There are all kinds of neat images to see, and I hope you all take the time to look at some at my paper's website, and at the Cardinals' home page.


I heard some of Cardinal Nation got a little crazy downtown after the game... Climbed all over Stan the Man (the statue, not the Man himself) and poured beer on him... Trampled the flowers around the stadium... Way to riot, St. Louis!

What an amazing October! I won't say it was an amazing season, because it really wasn't. It was one disappointment after another. But it was a total turnaround from 2004, when we had SUCH high hopes, and then got manhandled by Boston. This year, we didn't know what to expect! I said here that they could go all the way, and here, they did it! Congratulations, world champs!

Happy birthday, Emilyn!

We brought Miss Niles' class special birthday treats -- Krispy Kreme! -- today, and Emilyn got to say the Pledge of Allegiance over the loudspeaker! Mrs. Norman says Emilyn should have a career in public speaking. For her kind words, she got a donut. So did Miss Niles, Miss Beim and Mrs. Sevier.



Remeber, Emilyn: You may be growing up, and you may have a baby brother to take care of, but you'll always be my girl. Happy birthday, Weet-o.

I'm a star! (at DropShots)

I was reaching the limits of my free membership at DropShots, so I went ahead and ponied up 5 bucks a month for "star" status. I really encourage all of you digital users to join me! Even if you join for free, you get space for 500 photos and 10 videos. People who view your pictures can leave comments right on the site (thanks to Phil and Ellen for being the first to try out this feature), and you can add new users to your "friends" list. Then you'll see what photos they've posted recently, in case you missed anything. And, now that I'm a "star," you can leave audio and even video comments for Emilyn and Allen! Who's got a webcam?

It's a bouncing good time at SkyZone!

Since Emilyn got kind of gypped out of a birthday party last year, thanks to her still-recovering mommy, this year she got the golden ticket: Anywhere you want, kid. So, she picked SkyZone, a trampoline center in the Valley. Hey, it's the only birthday invitation that comes with a liability waiver!





She and six of her friends bounced their butts off Sunday. For an hour! Then, it was time for pizza, cake and presents.



I hope everybody had a great time! I know the birthday girl was happy! She got some great presents! Thanks to everyone. Enjoy these photos... (They have some challenging lighting there at SkyZone!)

Emilyn's birthday party at SkyZone

Help! There's a shark in my trunk!

And he's got candy!

Today was Trick or Trunk, Sorrento Springs' annual Halloween extravaganza. All the kids line up behind our friendly neighborhood police car, then march around the school in their costumes.



Then, they come roaring back for trick-or-treating out of everybody's trunk in the parking lot! It's a great idea!



We tried to have the scariest trunk, but Allen wasn't really striking fear in anyone's heart. We got a lot of fifth-grade girls going "AWWWWW!!", and moms doing the same. If there was a prize for cutest trunk, I guess we would have won that hands down.



(Notice how we were the only ones with an actual trunk, instead of a tailgate? Even though we caved and bought a microwave, I think we're still the only ones without a minivan.)



Thanks to Sarah's mom, Mandy, for taking Emilyn on the parade and trick-or-trunking. I had my hands full with my land shark! Here's Emilyn and Sarah after they loaded up on booty:



It was a fun, if exhausting, morning. Enjoy!

Trick or Trunk

Cardiac Cardinals, your NL champs!

A big shout-out to the St. Louis Cardinals, your National League champions! It was nice to have all you Yankee fans (and Mets-haters) behind us this go-round... Could it be the hand of Betty Lou Sanborn Critchlow at work this postseason? Her Redbirds sure do seem charmed.

The celebration photo above was shot by Chris Lee of the Post-Dispatch and comes courtesy of STLtoday.com -- which, by the way, will be an excellent place for all of you to follow the Redbirds in the Series. If they've come this far on so little, who knows what will happen next?

Catching the 'wave

OK, let the jeering begin: The Crabbe family has finally caved. We have purchased our first microwave.

I know, I know. I'm still convinced we don't actually need one. But two things have come to a head recently... It's tough for Steve to handle dinnertime for Allen and Emilyn simultaneously... This makes it easier for her to deal with her own dinner. AND, Emilyn's undereating has become a serious point of concern. We're encouraging her to eat what she wants, when she wants, since regular meals to her seem to be out of the question.

And she is fascinated with the microwave, so that's at least having the desired effect. And so, we bought one. What's next? A cell phone? Perish the thought!

Dobre chutnani!

Today was homecoming at the American-Czech Educational Center in south St. Louis. We had a wonderful lunch of roast pork, goulash, sauerkraut and, of course, kolache and knedlicke. (This Western European mongrel LOVES the knedlicke! I think Dutch is as far east as I get. But my mom was a big bread-and-gravy fan. That must be where I get it.)

Here's Allen trying out a prune kolache...



Our reviewer says, "Yummy! And it really helps you fill your diaper!"



Allen, of course, ate like a pig. And Emilyn ate and played games, and bought a "Kiss me, I'm Czech" button!



We missed the music, sadly. We got there right after the accordion ensemble and left right before the Czech Express took the stage. Rats. But it's a fun place for the kids to go and explore their Czech roots! Until next time, na shledanou!

Czech homecoming