May Des’ Fourth Be With You

What was certain to be a good omen, Desmond starts his birthday party day with the season’s first snowfall. On a trip with dad to nab folding chairs, Des also gets a special birthday hot chocolate

All warm

A young Jedi recreating a scene in Star Wars

Eleanor is in a phase where any material, regardless of how small, is either spread out as a blanket to lay on or cover something that is “going sleepy”

Ella is as surprised as everyone else that the snow is sticking and begins to accumulate

What dad thought would be just a nice background (while Beatles played on the speakers) ended up being an early focal point of the birthday party

Getting pigtails with aunt Megan, who is significantly more skilled than mom and dad

Snack picnic

When originally prompted for birthday theme ideas, Des, almost without thinking, replied “Star Wars and Rainbows.” Safe to say, mom and dad’s baker friend nailed it. Mom took to the next level with action figures.

Ella and pa negotiating terms for sharing chips

One can only assume he’s wishing to watch Empire Strikes Back. Or for real-life dinosaurs…

Ella showing off her fork skills for great-grandma Jan

Action figures rivaling cake and ice cream for attention

When you’re so cute, everyone offers you a bite of cake

Desmond solicits help from Liam reading cards

Making the rounds

Mom demonstrating how the R2-D2 candy dispenser works

Hug pile with ma

And the party inevitably ends in some sort of balloon-oriented mayhem

(Mom gets award for best birthday installation)

A New Hope

Eleanor susses out the new crow on ma and pa’s front porch

Literally years in the waiting, Desmond finally gets to watch to watch Star Wars on the eve of his fourth birthday. In all of history, there has never been a more well-informed pre-schooler on the primary and more subtle plot points. Beyond general knowledge, Desmond and dad had even been re-reading/studying the stories before bed in preparation. With Eleanor spending the evening with grandma, and having borrowed a subwoofer from pa, it was finally time for the opening score and crawl- 

A boy first seeing R2-D2 and C-3PO landing on Tatooine 

Ok, the first scene or two with Darth Vader may have been a bit intense…

…but there’s comfort and support

After the first intermission, reinforcement stuffies arrive

“The Force will be with you. Always.”

October 12th, 2018

Everyone piles in bed for a Daniel Tiger story while mom’s at an Edgar Allen Poe reading at Joslyn Castle

October 8th, 2018

Desmond amidst nap-time acrobatics

Upon the first piece’s successful extraction, one thinks, “there was surely no way he was going to pull that off, but wow, he got it. Maybe he has the hang of this…” Second turn, reliably, “yeah, that’s what I was expecting.” Game over.

Leave it to Eleanor to find entertainment in not applying stickers, but attempting to remove prior installations. She hears dad’s logic to the contrary, but just doesn’t care.

October 7th, 2018

Post-nap felt board creations on the theme, “Tigers Everywhere”

As if with sheer instinct, Eleanor knew just where the felt socks went

October 6th, 2018

After morning plans changed, it seemed like just the right cloudy, autumn morning for a movie at the zoo’s IMAX theatre. Not only was this Eleanor’s first non-sleeping-infant movie experience, the concept of 3D glasses was especially perplexing

It’s like it’s coming right at me… ready.

Dad may have been a sucker while running out the clock in the gift shop before the movie seated. Des introduces his new Nemo to real-life Dory

The littlest fishy, getting taller

Deep

Rewatching Finding Dory for the umpteenth time, much to dad’s approval. No you’re crying…

October 4th, 2018

Eleanor, puzzle master

Des finally picks the forklift (?) candy as his treat from the prior weekend’s trip to the Asian Market. First you eat, then you operate toy machinery.

October 3rd, 2018

Walking into preschool, dad finds that Desmond has begun his modeling and advertising career

Des just chilling with his new grasshopper friend