weaning... weaning... weaned (& some other updates)

So for the last twenty-eight days I have been weaning Wyatt. I eliminated one feeding, then another and another until I was down to just one feeding per day.

For the last week I have nursed him only before his afternoon nap.

And today was our last day.

It feels bittersweet to be done.  I am proud of myself for having nursed nearly 17 months and I will be happy to "have my body back", cliche as it sounds, but I am also sad that Wyatt's infancy is over, that he is already a toddler and his baby days are gone.

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In other news we had the Halloween carnival last weekend.

And it was so much fun!

Josh ran the basketball booth.  One ticket for three shots.

Jack & Logan's favorite booth was the "fishing" booth:

{I absolutely adore this picture with Logan's hand on Jack's shoulder.}

We tried each booth, saying hi to all the teachers.

Especially their favorite, Susan!

And Peter told us about the trade ins- if you got two shots out of three, you could earn a bouncy ball... And if you earned 16 balls (sixteen!) you could trade it in for the blow up hammer or sword in the right of the above picture.

Once Jack heard that, he was determined to earn sixteen bouncy balls so he could have the hammer.

The kid has an amazing arm.

Once he earned his hammer, then Logan wanted to get a sword.  

Jack was so sweet, helping Logan earn bouncy balls.

And Steve, the counselor, also helped Logan out. 

Giving him extra chances at the football game.

The rest of the weekend the boys kept telling me what a great time they had at the "chronicle". 

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Leah went into Anchorage last week and when she came home, she brought me a head of lettuce. Lettuce! I have been eating BLC's (cheese instead of tomatoes) and salads all week!

Yum!

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There's a winter storm warning in effect from midnight tonight through Saturday afternoon.  There should be lots of snow and about inch of sheet ice.  Although we have had a few watches like this since arriving in August, none of them have become "warnings" like this one.  I am curious if it will indeed come to pass.

Up to now the weather has been fairly mild (no rain or snow) but cold. Very cold.  Most mornings it is in the negatives when Josh leaves for work.  On the way home from the carnival the wind was so intense, I couldn't get a full breath in my lungs. I have been asked to try and describe the cold. Most people have never been in negative degree weather. I would say that it's like holding an ice cube against your cheeks. Usually only our faces are exposed, so that is where we feel the cold the most.  It is shocking and takes your breath away.  And if it's cold enough, like last year when it was -30, you cannot take a full breath into your lungs without coughing.

And the air is so dry.  We are all using chapstick and lotion like crazy. I am going to run myself out of lotion at this rate!  Our cups never leave rings, and wet washcloths dry within hours.  It's definitely a change from Washington State's moist atmosphere!

In addition to itchy skin and chapped lips, we are all suffering from shocks.  Like when I go to turn on a light switch, I get zapped. Or if I put on a cozy sweater, my hair puffs out around my head like a halo from the static electricity. At night when I am in bed, if I pull the blankets apart, I can see the blue electricity lighting up the room as they separate.  And when Josh gets to his classroom every morning and starts to put his key into the door, he can see the spark jump from the key hole to his key before they even touch.  I told him I want him to try and get a picture of it!

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The big boys caught the cold Wyatt has had all week, so we are all laying pretty low. Josh has been home for two days trying to help me out.  He took Wyatt to the clinic today to rule out an ear infection, and it is just so nice to have him home. We are all happiest when he's around.

We are both looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.  

It's nice to be together as a family.