To Be Exact....

The following is part of a conversation Abby had with my friend, Kathy, at church today while coloring a picture.....

Kathy: This crayon is black; it matches my dress.
A little later...
Kathy: This crayon is orange; it matches my jacket.
A little later....

Kathy: This crayon is green; it matches your dress.
Abby: My dress is chartreuse.

Oh, boy! Can you imagine what her Kindergarten teacher will go through in a couple of years?

Trick-or-Treating in the Village

Yesterday, we went trick-or-treating in the village with some friends. (Every year, the Village of Webster has trick-or-treating for the children in the community about a week before Halloween. Most of the businesses in the area participate.) The weather couldn't have been more perfect! Trick-or-treating on a beautiful fall afternoon is the best way to go!

Here's our group of happy trick-or-treaters.

Abby loved walking down the street with Hannah!

While walking down the street, we saw lots of fun costumes, but here are a couple of our favorites...

The driver of the car told him, "These are not the droids you are looking for," to which the storm trooper replied, "These are not the droids we are looking for. Move along."

These costumes were beautiful! They could have easily starred in a Star Wars episode just as they were dressed.

Michael is two weeks old

Here are a couple of pictures taken a few days ago when Michael was two weeks old. He is a very sweet baby and VERY snuggly! When I lay him on my shoulder to burp him, he wraps his little arm around mine. I love it! He is sleeping well; usually he only wakes me up one time in the middle of the night. I certainly have no complaints about that! We feel very blessed with the new addition to our family.

"I'm a princess, and my friends are not!"

By Coley

A couple of months ago Abigail said to me, "Daddy, I'm a princess, and my friends are not!" She used a firm, declarative tone that made it clear this was not simply a matter of opinion.

I replied, "Sweetheart, this is something that I think you should keep to yourself. I am not sure that your friends will react well to learning that they are not princesses." She repeated her point several times.

I asked, "Which friends are you talking about?"

She answered, "Robert."

I said, "Robert will be OK with that. You can tell Robert that he is not a princess. I am sure he will not mind. Are there any more of your friends that are not princesses?"

She said, "Alyvia."

"Now, Alyvia will have a problem with that. I would not tell Alyvia that she is not a princess. She will not want to hear that. Telling Alyvia that she is not a princess is not going to go over very well."

Daddy's Girl!

Click on this picture to enlarge it. The bigger it is, the better it looks. Chet Scerra took this picture on Saturday, 16 October 2010 at our house in Webster, NY. He had come over to take newborn pictures of Michael. We had tried to get Abigail to cooperate for pictures of her wearing her "Big Sister" shirt and Michael wearing his "Little Brother" onesie. Abigail was simply not going to do anything that we wanted her to do. We finally gave up and turned her loose to color. Michael then wanted to be nursed which request (if you can call it a request) Tara addressed. I was sitting talking to Chet when Abigail came and crawled onto my lap. I told her that we were not taking pictures then, that she had a chance before but had not wanted to. My tone was pleasant, but matter of fact. I was trying to use the experience as a teaching point. Chet started clicking pictures, and I decided to drop my teaching point and let Chet run the photo session. Abigail has taken many excellent pictures although this is arguably her best ever. I, on the other hand, have a more difficult time taking a good picture. I know that I need to feel the right emotion to take a good picture, but trying to force the right emotion feels dishonest to me and I rarely get it right. I guess I am just trying too hard or have a self-consciousness that Abigail completely lacks. As Chet was clicking away, Abigail pulled my arm tightly around her waist. She is no doubt a Daddy's girl, but that gesture communicated her love for her father and elicited the response of my love for my daughter.

Michael Coley Duncan is here!

We are so very pleased to announce the birth of our second child and first son, Michael Coley Duncan. He was born 6 October 2010 at 12:09 AM. He weighed 9 pounds 4 1/2 ounces (4.205 kilograms) and was 22 inches long.

Tara was induced for pre-eclampsia (or toxemia). She only needed prostaglandin. Once she got going, she went from 3 1/2 cm to baby in 1 hour 39 minutes.

She and the baby are doing great. Tara is excited to have a new baby. She also likes the fact that she can now see her toes.

Abigail loves her baby brother and says that he is beautiful.

Coley is very proud of his new son.

Baby Shower

Last Thursday, September 30, 2010, some friends from Church threw a baby shower for me. It was a wonderful evening. There were lots of yummy cupcakes that were almost too cute to eat. We also played a couple of really fun games. My friend, Necia, created a trivia game about Coley and me that kept everyone pretty entertained. Here are just a couple of questions that were on the quiz:

What food did Coley crave during Tara's first pregnancy?

a) Hot dogs

b) Lemon anything

c) Chocolate covered almonds

What is Tara's current exercise regimen?

a) Walking the dog and praying that she doesn't get tripped
b) Walking on the treadmill while watching John Adams

c) Abdominal crunches, also known as Braxton Hicks

I also received lots of darling baby boy clothes for our new little guy.

Here is the front of the invitations for the shower.

Sooo cute.... and they tasted really good too!



Now it's just time to wait for him to decide to come! No one is more ready than me!!