Halloween 2011

It was a little hectic. (OK, a LOT hectic), but fun was had and candy was received, so we'll call that a success.

Since this is (probably) the last year that we pretty much get to decide what they will both be for halloween, we went for Backhoe Loader (Dexter) and Helicopter (Desmo). Costume construction began on..... October 29. We're really dedicated to this particular holiday.

As with last year's Airplane costume, it all started with an empty diaper box.

Dennis is teaching the lab part of that bioreactor class at the Danforth Center again this year. He had class on Halloween night, so it was just me and the boys. It was an adventure.

Picked the boys up just before 5:00. We were going to Chili's for dinner, because tonight was 2 free kid meals with one adult entree purchase. Woot.

Except Desmond said no, he did not want to go to a restaurant. And he proved it by really fighting the whole thing, refusing to sit down in the high chair or in the booth, refusing to stay close to our table if I put him on the floor. He finally settled down and ate once the food got there, but it was a LOOOONG time before that happened, because they didn't even seat us for 10 minutes (no one in front of us & no big crowds for dinner at 5pm), then the server didn't come for another 10 minutes. I asked Dex if he wanted to go to a different restaurant, but he already had his heart set on his "popcorn" (corn on the cob), so we stayed.

THEN I took them to Krispy Kreme, where you get a free donut on halloween if you are in costume. Except Desmond wouldn't sit down in his carseat so we could go. THAT took another 10 minutes and screaming.

Did I mention you have to be in costume to get your free donut?  So yeah, we get to the Krispy Kreme parking lot, get them out of the car, and put their costumes on. I took some pictures with the good camera, even though neither of them would stand still and barely even stood close to one another.

Desmond's helicopter blades kept falling off (See them on the ground behind him in that last photo?), and the shoulder straps weren't working very well, so the whole helicopter was pitched backward, which made it pretty hard to walk. We got to navigate through an outer and an inner door in those costumes. Waited (forEVER) for our turn and got our free donuts.

Took the costumes and jackets off to eat the donuts. (Can you imagine trying to eat donuts in those costumes? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.

Dex had to use the potty at Krispy Kreme, which turned out not to be so terrible, since it gave all of us an opportunity to wash the donut off of our hands. A nice man helped me carry the costumes back outside, where Desmond refused to stay on the sidewalk and ran in front of a (slow-moving, but still there and moving) car.

Managed to get Dex strapped back into his car seat (who knew he would ever be the cooperative one?). Desmond climbed all over the car while I made parking lot repairs to the helicopter costume. Thankfully, I had brought clear packing tape just in case, and I used the hell out of it. I reinforced the blades and the armature and the headlight/spotlight (little flashlight) that was attached to the thing. The original goal was for the blades to be able to spin. But that just wasn't going to happen. So I opted for fixed, non-rotating blades over blades that rotated right off of the helicopter every 42 seconds.

While he was climbing all over the car, he found 2 suckers that were left over from some recent doctor and bank visits. He very kindly gave one to Dexter, but they were upset when I wouldn't let them have them, seeing as WE HAD JUST EATEN DONUTS and were about to go get more candy.

As I was buckling Desmond's carseat, I smelled poop. Awesome. So we got home, checked, and yes, he had poop. I changed him on the chest freezer in the garage. He didn't want to get up there, because he was playing with toys in the garage, and then he didn't want to get down - who knows why.

After THAT, we started putting the costumes back on to go trick-or-treating. Dexter was excited to wear his and put it right on. He then went to play with toys while I got Desmond into the helicopter. His shoulder straps were falling down while we were waiting at Krispy Kreme, so I had to tape those tighter, too, after I got the costume on him.

While I was trying to wrap 3 feet of packing tape around the shoulder straps of a moving Desmond, I hear "I fell down! I fell down! I fell down!" I finally realized Dexter had fallen and couldn't get back up because of the backhoe loader costume. It was pretty pitiful. So I went and helped him up.

Finally, everyone was ready, and I took a few more pictures with the good camera. Again, no one would stand still or together.

Dexter requested a switch to yellow construction helmet instead of the much more buff, white construction helmet. I think the goal was a better fit, but judging by how many times this one fell off, I'm not sure we came out ahead there.

That construction helmet with a string taped to it is supposed to be
his candy bucket. That didn't work out so well.

I did that as quickly as I could, because by then it was after 7:00, and I was afraid people would start turning their lights off. So I said, "Let's go!" and Desmond cried "Off! Off! OFF!" Gah. So I went and got some scissors and cut the 3 feet of packing tape that I had so cleverly positioned to keep the costume on him. Got him out of it and taped that glowstick to his back so he would at least be somewhat visible. At least his sweatshirt had a crane on it, so, with a plastic construction hat, it almost looked like he was a very planned part of an overall "construction" theme.

It probably took 15 minutes just to walk to the first house. Desmond took a lot of detours and generally ran in every damn direction, to the point where I had to carry him against his will for a large part of the journey, stopping occasionally to pick up lost construction helmets, a fallen Dexter, another lost construction helmet, a lost candy bucket, and another lost construction helmet.


Right as we are finally approaching the first house, 2 cars of trick-or-treaters pull up and get out to walk up to the door. I'm sorry, but ARE YOU @#%$^&* KIDDING ME?! No one trick-or-treats on this street. That house probably hadn't had any trick-or-treaters for an hour, and these people pull up the same MINUTE we manage to get over there? I managed to be nice. One of the moms commented on Dex's costume (which was admittedly pretty cool with its headlights and brake lights). There wasn't room for everyone, so I told the boys they had to wait for their turn. Desmond took this to mean he should run around and crush the woman's plants.

The next house was across the street and a few down. It was a good one. Desmond was again being carried against his will, then decided he needed to play with their garage doors instead of walking with Dexter and me to the next house. So, yes, I had to go get him again.

At the third house, Dexter finally had his "Trick or Treat!" down (so cute!), and they gave him lots of candy. That house had a giant bowl full, and of course almost no one was trick-or-treating there, so they had plenty to spare.

I wish we could have tried for a few more houses on the cross streets, but I was done, and so were they, really. Desmond was happy but wildly misbehaving, and it was already 45 minutes after bath usually starts.

Got home, got everyone out of their costumes, told them they could have ONE piece of candy. Interestingly, they didn't fight that, though they each initially picked the "one" that was a treat bag with 3 mini candy bars in it, so I still had to repeat my instruction that they pick ONE.

Naturally, instead of getting in the bathtub, they started jumping on Dexter's bed. I finally got Dexter into the tub after probably 30 minutes of them running and screaming and jumping on the bed while I tried to keep my patience and cajole them into the (Orange! How fun! For Halloween!) bathtub. Dexter started crying and said he did not want that colored water. Fine. The water was cold by then anyway, since they wouldn't get into the tub, so I let him drain it and add new, clear, hot water.

When I went to get Desmond to put him into the tub by force (sensing a theme?), he pointed to the leftover pizza in the refrigerator and said Eat? Pizza? GAH!  The kid really didn't eat a lot of his dinner. His whole nutrition for the evening was french fries, milk, and a donut. Not that pizza is so nutritious, but I did think he was legitimately hungry. So I let him sit on the kitchen floor and eat it. Except he would take a bite, run down the hallway, wait for us to look at him, then run back and take another bite.  I finally said, "Last bite! Then we're getting in the bathtub with Dexter!" Somehow, that worked, and he got into the tub.

Bathed them quickly and got them out as quick as I could. That was probably 8:40? Cue more running around. Dexter wouldn't put on his underwear and pajamas. Desmond fought the diaper and the yeast cream. (Dealing with an interesting diaper rash - not very much improved in the last day or 2 & will be calling the doctor again tomorrow.) Then refused to choose pajamas, until I picked some for him, which of course broke his little heart. Dexter pointed to some digger PJs, and that sounded like a good idea to Desmond, so he picked those, then proceeded to run around the room and jump on his floor mattress.

Finally got Dexter into his clothes by threatening time out. The initial comment didn't work, but when I said I was counting to 10 and if he didn't have his pajamas on by 10, he would get time out, he brought them to me and asked me to help him put them on.

I started to put Desmond's shirt on, but he screamed bloody murder, gave me the pants and said, "Left foot!" (while holding out his right foot, so don't get too excited about that part.) Okaaaaay, we'll put the pants on first. Finally wrestle (literally, we *wrestle* their clothes on and off of them twice a day) the PJs on, get him in some socks, and say "book or night night?" Well, you know how Desmond is about night night, and it was 9:00. Poor kid had been rubbing his eyes since 7. He wanted to go straight to bed, so I let him.

This was a VERY distressing turn of events for (overtired) Dexter, who wanted to read Desmond's book in Desmond's room. I mean, very distressing - tears and hysterics for at least 10 minutes. Dennis came home about then and managed to distract him with some pictures on the phone. Then there was drama because Dexter didn't want Dennis around for books. Then there was drama because the book he wanted wasn't in the room. Dennis brought it to us, and that was OK for a while.

THEN he wouldn't put his books away. The same damn fight we have had every night for what, six months? A year? Lately, we've been making the connection:
Me: Dexter, what happens when you don't put your books away?
Dex: Mom puts them away.
Me: And how does that make you feel?
Dex: Sad.
Me: Do you want to feel sad?
Dex: No.
Me: So what do you need to do?
Dex: Put my books away.

And then he puts them away. That's worked for the last week or so, almost, but tonight it just wasn't happening. He wouldn't put the books away, laid on top of the books to prevent me from getting them to put them away, pretending to walk to the bookshelf and then walking away and holding on freakishly tight to the books and saying he did not want to put them away.

Naturally, when I did finally put them away, he was again distraught. Major hysterics again for another 10 minutes or more. Distracted him with a story I made up about a boy and a dog. Partway through, he put his head down on the bed, then cried "I don't want to lie down!"

Got him to sit in my lap with his head on my chest, but even after that he didn't want to get into his bed. It was 10:07 when I finally left the room with him asleep.

I was exhausted. I was exhausted at 7:00, more exhausted at 8:00, and now I'm dead. And I get to keep them both at home tomorrow! And Dennis has firefighting training tomorrow night! And Dennis teaches his class again Wednesday night! Somehow, we will all live through it.

If you made it to the end of this, you can have a piece of their Halloween candy. :)

The Bath is So Bright...

...they've gotta wear shades.

A Tiny Surprise

Perhaps I should have expected this.
Desmond also (quite proudly) put his socks in the trash can today. Little stinkers.

Desmond is 23 Months Old!

So big!

And happy! Most of the time, anyway. Being almost 2 still has its inherent challenges.

Teeth: Still 16. No sign of those last 4 molars yet.

Height: Tall. Judging from the way he fits into the clothes we've pulled out for winter, he's considerably taller than Dexter was at 23m. He's also the tallest in his class (and the oldest, so maybe that's not so surprising).

Weight: If anything, he's lost a few ounces this month, thanks to what we hope is just a standard toddler-esque finicky appetite. (see below)

Sleep: Much better than last month, maybe because that last canine is mostly through now. He has now realized, though, that he is able to climb out of the crib. Mostly, he only does this in the morning when it really is time to get up. On two occasions (so far), he has gotten out because he didn't want to nap. The most recent time, I put him back in his crib, and he just stayed there, upset, until he fell asleep. Please, if there is a god, let her keep the boy in his crib longer. A lot longer.

Food: Still hit or miss. He eats a good variety of food, just not too much of it, and not on our timetable. He will wander the house while the rest of us eat dinner, and be fine for the rest of the night. The next morning, though, the first thing we hear when he wakes up is"Behfist?" in his cute little squeaky voice. Waffles are still a favorite. He will pull them out of the freezer himself and eat them cold. (We do offer to toast them, but he apparently prefers them cold.) French fries ("Foo Fize") are also a big draw. We try to limit these and/or do baked ones at home so his arteries aren't completely clogged before kindergarten. But if he hasn't eaten much in a few meals, Foo Fize are a good bet to get him to the table.

Words: Desmond is dazzling us with his exploding vocabulary. He throws around 3-word sentences like there's no tomorow, often with very clear subjects, verbs, and objects. ("Alligator... bite... yooooouu" or "Not nice, Dehter!" or "Mow waffuh peese?")  "No!" is still very common, now often accompanied by a sincere stomp of his right foot. Interestingly, he isn't much on saying, "yes," even when the answer is yes. He'll just repeat what you say in a little high-pitched squeak and smile. ("Do you want more milk?" "Mouh meelgh?")

Books: Books are falling out of favor slightly, in that he isn't much interested in reading them during the day, and now he's so tired at night that he jumps at the chance to go to bed even if we've only done one book. Also? He likes to sleep with some books. Doesn't even really look at them, but he just wants them in the crib with him. If there are no books, he might climb out of the bed, get one, put it in the crib, then ask you to put him back in his crib (since he can climb out, but not back in). Fascinating.

TV: Yep. Still loves TV. "Watch... panda?" "Watch... fish?" "Watch... Yo Yo Gabba?" <-- that last one should be "Yo Gabba Gabba." Fun.  We'll just throw his love for iPhone games and videos on the computer in here, too. ("Mommy phoam?" "Daddy... phoam?") And yes, these things usually need to be fought over with his big brother.

Colors: Refuses to learn pink vs. purple and has regressed on white. (Black things are now "white.") Red and green are getting better, though.  We've tried to do some sorting by color, but he won't even sit still long enough for a demonstration. Stubborn.

Bikes: He still LOVES his tricycle! He and Dexter take turns on the big wheel and tricycle. Desmond still refuses to pedal with his feet. Apparently this is developmentally appropriate, but it's still frustrating because I really think he could do it if he would just listen to us for 10 seconds while we show him how. There was a lot of outdoor biking this month, and the basement is perfect for it on bad-weather days. I hope that continues to be a worthwhile activity as we go into winter.

Other Likes & Dislikes: Making messes, mostly. If he sees a neat pile of something, he can't resist scattering it about with whatever force necessary. He likes playing with the wooden trains and train tracks. So much so that he and Dexter sometimes get their own mini-loops, since taking turns is excruciating for both of them. He also loves driving cars around on the furniture and flying airplanes around the room. Very cute. :)

Jumping on Dexter's bed before bath and running around in his hooded towel after bath are both also seriously fun. He has a favorite bath towel - an alligator taking a shower. (Apparently it's actually a crocodile. We aren't going to correct him.) It's pretty sad when it's dirty, because flashing it will get him to cooperatively get out of the tub every time. And when you DO show it to him, his little face lights right up.

Another long-favorite? The penguin bath toy from this set. He's loved it for a loooooong time, but the toys are starting to get icky. It's going to be sad when we have to say goodbye to penguin.

Dislikes? Nothing specific. Hates everything when he chooses to (bath, diaper, dinner, trains, tv, shoes, whatever) and loves them when he chooses to (again, bath, diaper, dinner, trains, tv, shoes.)  Sometimes we actually work up a sweat wrestling a diaper onto the kid because he's trying so hard to get away. Other times, he says, "New diapuh?" in that squeaky little smiley voice and lies perfectly still while we do the change.  It's the same for bath, food, various toys, getting dressed, everything. Part of being (almost. ALMOST!) 2, I guess.

Zoo!

Since, from these posts, it seems like we never do anything fun on a "regular" day, here are some photos from our trip to the ZOO!!! 

It was a gorgeous day, but - thanks, we think, to that night's scheduled "Boo at the Zoo" activity, it wasn't very crowded. Double-win!


We got off to a bit of a slow start, as Desmond insisted on pushing the stroller. We had parked probably 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the zoo.

Eventually, we reached a compromise to help get us there in a timely fashion.

No way did these little people have enough stamina to see everything, but we did pretty well. One of our first stops was the hippopotamus tank. There are some hippopotami just off camera to the right, but the fish were pretty fascinating.

Zebras!

We also saw some of the other usual suspects - lions, giraffes, and primates, among others. We had lunch by the flamingos. The gorilla statue was pretty fun.

The highlight of the day, however, was the train ride. We need to find a place where you can pay a single fee for unlimited train rides. THAT would be an exciting day.

Desmo waved to everyone he could see.

New Shoes!

If that title sounds familiar, it should.  It was just 31 short days ago that we bought Dexter some new shoes, since he had worn holes in the last pair.

Today, that pair looked like this:

Yep. 31 days, and there's already a hole.  Cheap shoes aren't so cheap if you have to replace them every month.

So we went to the real mall, to (unnecessarily expensive) Stride Rite, where they actually tried shoes on and will (one would hope) refund or replace the shoes if they get a hole in one month.

The new pair (Stride Rite "Walker") seem a bit more durable, though they aren't waterproof (a desirable quality, since we are hoping these last at least a little bit into winter).

Desmond *also* had holes in his shoes. He got more than 31 days out of them, though, and he was going to need new ones soon anyway because he's growing so fast. 

He did manage to snag something that should be better in winter's slush and snow. Sadly, these did not come in Dexter's size.

So yes, we hope we are done with shoe-buying for a little while, though Dex might still need something to keep his feet extra warm this winter.  They both have room to grow in there, so as long as the shoes actually hold up (please!), we should be good for at least a few months. (I hope.)


Bonus: They were both pretty good (That's a relative term - it was a kids' shoe store, after all, so their usual shenanigans were more acceptable than usual.), so they got treated to some "m cookies!" afterward.

Serious shoes...

... call for serious cookie eating.

Desmond peed in the potty!

YAY Desmo!

He's been sitting on the turtle potty (for about 2 seconds) before bath lately.  Tonight, he sat there a bit longer and peed in the potty!

We were all very excited for him, and he got 2 m&m's for his accomplishment. We still don't know if he really understood what happened, but he did say "Emmen pee pee POTTY!" for a while afterward, so maybe.

If he follows his brother's pattern, we only have 14 more months of diapers!  (Here's hoping he catches on a little sooner than that.)

Seriously. So proud, little buddy.

Look, Mom! A biiiiiig oval!!

(That would be dry-erase marker from one of Dexter's birthday gifts. And, just in case anyone was wondering - no, dry erase marker does NOT come out of microfiber, even if you attack it immediately with rubbing alcohol, laundry stain remover, or regular ol' 409.) Oh well. we bought the thing fully intending to re-cover it someday. We'll let them keep dirtying it up for a while before we do that, though.

Dexter is 3!

Dexter is THREE!

So far, he hasn't turned into the horrible monster everyone warned me about. Being 3 is still pretty tough sometimes, but with maturity also comes (some) ability to reason. It's like a giant fog occasionally lifts, and he can get a clear view of cause and effect.

He is still a very tall boy (40 inches, 88th %ile), and crazy wiry (36.4 pounds, ??%ile). You can see just about his entire musculature. He has six-pack abs, visible head separation in his calves, pronounced quadriceps (not cut there, though - that's about the only spot he has any fat left on him), clear deltoids and lats, and firm little cheeks from laughing all the time. He can put his forearms on the counter - JUST his forearms - and lift himself up enough to get his knee up there and climb up. (Yes, I discovered this when I walked into the kitchen and found several things from high shelves sitting on the countertop. He was happy to demonstrate his technique for me.)

We get a lot of "Don't kiss me!" often followed with a big snuggle and a kiss not long after. Once it was, "You can only kiss me in the garage." Ha!

His favorite activities are still physical ones. Riding bikes is a lot of fun. The weather has stayed good for a while (even a month beyond the birthday, when I am actually writing this), so he has been able to ride outside often. Naturally, Daredevil Dexter can't just ride them on the large deck we provide mostly for this purpose. No, he has to go backwards down the hill by the basement door. Or, if his mean parents force him to stay on the deck, he is power sliding all over the place.

We've officially entered the "Mom! Watch me! Watch me do this!" phase, which is still pretty cute. Most of the time.

His second favorite activity is probably watching YouTube videos on Mom's phone, Dad's phone, the computer or the TV, roughly in that order. He has (finally) learned to use the mouse and can control his own video selection. We just check back occasionally to make sure he hasn't landed on anything inappropriate. Most common requests are "big boom boats" or "big boom trains." "Crashing trains" is another. We try to throw in slightly more educational things, like volcanoes or sea turtles, but I'd be lying if I said he's asked for that more than a handful of times.

Moving things of all kinds are still incredibly exciting. Diggers of all kinds - especially when they are moving - must be viewed for a few moments if we pass one. Airplanes, trains, boats, buses (school and city), dump trucks, jeeps - you name it. It. Is. So. Exciting!

He and Desmond play together a lot now. They will laugh and laugh and jump and run and laugh some more, until someone accidentally bonks heads or lays on top of the other for too long. Then there's drama and tears for a minute until they start laughing again. They're mostly good about taking turns, though Dexter is pretty sneaky about the way he goes about it - offering Desmond a different toy so he can play with the one Desmond has. Pretty transparent to us, but not yet to Desmond. As long as they are both happy, we are not going to complain. Desmond is starting to hold his ground more, though, so it should be an interesting few months coming up.

Dexter still doesn't sleep well. Really. 20 months and counting of this. Can you imagine how smart he would be if he got enough sleep? He wakes up once or twice a night, probably 6 nights a week now. Comes into our bed and usually falls back asleep quickly, but not always. Potty use at night is not as consistent as we would like. He'll go a week, even 2, with no accidents, then need to change pajamas at 2:00 a.m. three nights in a row. We had one freak daytime accident a couple of weeks ago, but he's been 99.9% with daytime potty use, even during nap.

His brilliance continues to impress. He's a counting madman, not even needing to do "1, 2, 3..." for small quantities. He'll just glance and say "There are three of them." He knows every set of opposites we can think of. He's doing 24-piece puzzles with incredible ease, but doesn't have the patience to sit still long enough to do anything much bigger. So we're trying to find new ways to challenge him there.

We are still working on left and right. And nose-blowing. But hey, some gradeschoolers don't have those down, so I think we're still OK there.

His imagination is really taking off. That's not necessarily a *terribly* new thing, but probably just within the last couple of months. Every night at dinner, some new piece of food is a boat (sailing around his spot at the table) or an airplane or whatever. He'll also tell you *he* is (a lion, a dinosaur, etc). Again, fun.

Aaannnddd....  That's about it. He is still the same Dexter he has been basically since birth - the first and loudest laugher (hiccups are HILARIOUS!), the energetic daredevil. And ridiculously brilliant and handsome, too. :)

Dexter's M Party!

Ever since Dexter started receiving m&m's ("two m's!") as a reward for successful potty usage, they have seen a dramatic increase in popularity around here. While we were visiting Tootsie and Pop in August, Tootsie, Dexter, and Desmond had an "M Party" - siting on the sofa eating m&m's together. It was then that Dexter enthusiastically decided that his birthday party should be an M Party, too.

Easier said than done - would you believe there is almost NO m&m-branded stuff out in the world anymore? Just big things like towels or boxer shorts - not really stuff for a 3-year-old's birthday party. Somehow, though, we managed to pull it off.


The invitations:

The day started off with his "big" present - a big wheel from Tootsie & Pop. We wanted him to have a chance to enjoy it before the party craziness started. Desmond also got his big birthday present - a tricycle - a couple of months early so he could enjoy some time with it outside before the weather got horrible.

While they were riding around and having fun, party setup began in earnest.
There was an m&m bar, featuring eight different varieties of m&m's  - plain, peanut, peanut butter, dark chocolate, pretzel, dark chocolate peanut, coconut, and almond.

Favor bags were set out - just a small m&m plush doll and some fun size packs.

We had a couple of games. Memory with m&m images and "Guess how many m&m's in the jar" - with 3 jars (plain, peanut, and peanut butter).

Paulina tries her hand at m&m memory.

At the end of the day, Mary Klein won 2 out of 3 with an exactly correct guess of 333 m&m's. Emma won the third, but she didn't really want to brag about it.

Given the lack of availability of branded merchandise, decor was quite a challenge. We burned through a LOT of ink on the home printer, making all of these little cards with the m&m characters on them.

But what mostly saved the day, as you can see in many of the photos, was Granddad's lending us his m&m dispenser collection. The one next to the cake (within reach of many little fingers) saw the most use.

Other than the m&m sampler bar, the food was unremarkable. But we had to throw in the theme just a little bit anyway.

There was fruit punch. Dexter rrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyyy liked it. Can you tell?

People! Lots of people came to the party! We had a lot of fun turning everyone into a walking m&m.

Dexter opened a BUNCH of presents!

CAKE!

And ice cream!!

And m&m characters made out of rice krispy treats! (They were better than Desmond makes it seem. Pretty much every kid gnawed on one for a while.

OK, some kids ended up taking turns gnawing on the same character. Sharing is good, right?

HAVE to include this picture.

He wouldn't let us put the m on the front of his shirt, so we sneaked it onto the back. Desmond also lost his left shoe very early in the day, and it never made its way back onto his foot.

Dexter wound down post-party with some of his new toys.

And we managed to get Thank You notes made, written, and sent within about 2 weeks. Woot!

All told, it was a great party. People had fun, the cake was delicious, and there were a LOT of m&m's left over. But most importantly, Dexter was happy. :)

But really. From now on? Only parties with themed merchandise easily available. Geez.