Christopher Makin' da Pizza

 Nonna's Pizzaria in the Levittown area is a location we've been somewhat frequently since we discovered it next to the newly constructed Super Walmart.  The food is good, the prices aren't too bad, and, most of all, the people who work there are very nice and friendly.  We actually love going there.  There's a pizzaria in the front, and behind that is a very small, quaint dining area.  It's rarely crowded in the dining area, as most people just come in for pizza dine-in (there are tables in the front as well, but they're not "served" so to speak) or take-out.  The man who makes the pizza, I think he's one of the owners or managers or something, but I'm not really sure, has befriended Christopher (professionally, of course), gives him high-fives and what-not when we come in and when we leave.  Very nice, man.  A few weeks ago, he offered to allow Christopher to make his own pizza and told us to bring our camera so we could take pictures.  Of course, we came back the following week, camera in hand, and they were very, very busy making pizzas (baseball playoffs were on and the Phillies were playing that night, so it made sense, but we didn't think about that, of course) so Christopher wasn't able to make his pizza.  We had neglected to remind him that he'd be doing that, so it wasn't an issue.  We hadn't been back since (this was a few weeks ago now) until last Thursday.  Nonna's wasn't too busy and Christopher was able to make his pizza.  At this point, however, we'd forgotten about the promise and, thus, forgot to bring our camera.  We got pictures, but they're grainy and a bit out-of-focus, but Christopher had a blast making his pizza and eating something he got to actually "make". Don't worry, the Garbage Disposal (a.k.a. "The Nudge", a.k.a. "Prader-Willi Boy") Matthew enjoyed eating Christopher's creation, too.

Pumpkin Carving

This year we opted out of the annual pumpkin carving that typically involves everyone in the extended family meeting at one location, showing off the kids' Halloween costumes, and the family giving out candy to the kids for an early Halloween treat.  We had the meeting for costume display and candy doling, but by the time things had gotten settled and everyone had arrived, many of the children were in "melt down" mode, so the pumpkin carving got bagged for this year....at least the "extravaganza" version.  We decided to carve as a nuclear family instead, which was great because it gave the kids a bit more of a controlled environment and, thus, freedom to use some tools that otherwise might not be allowed given the "craziness" of the usual gala affair (distractions being what they can be for kids and parents alike).

This is Christopher's "SPOOKY" face...

Christopher's Pumpkin

Daddy's/ Matthew's Pumpkin

Papas and Pumpkins at Christopher's School.

Emily Christian School has an annual event around Halloween they call Pizza, Pumpkins, and Papas.  One evening before the festive holiday, the student's fathers bring their child/children to the school to eat pizza, drink juice/tea/milk, and decorate pumpkins.  It was a pretty neat idea.  We were able to pick from an array of materials ranging from felt, cloth, ribbons, buttons, glitter, and other such scraps.  It was fun, but a bit crazy as it was completely packed and a man of my stature can have a hard time navigating around and between tables and chairs.  Christopher started off well, but checked out about 20-minutes in (after the pizza and juice and gluing buttons as eyes on his pumpkin)...but he said he had a good time so I suppose that's all that matters.

His "Creation"...with Daddy's help, of course.  2 of the pumpkin's eyes had already fallen off and we lost two more on the way home from his school.  Below is the final cut.

 

Class Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

These are pictures from Christopher's original trip to Styres Orchard's pumpkin patch.  This was also Christopher's first bus ride and first time on a "farm" of any kind. I was one of the chaperones on the trip, which is pretty dangerous in and of itself really.  Everything worked out perfectly.....until....

The weather on this first trip of the year was not our friend as the trip was cancelled half-way through because of the terrain (tractor stuck in the mud -- pictured below) and the onslaught from Mother Nature! (2 pictures below the stuck tractor...thank goodness Mrs. Gahr, Christopher's teacher, had brought tablecloths, for some reason, maybe the potential of inclement weather, or the people in the rear trailer would have been drenched!)

 They rescheduled Christopher's original trip to a local pumpkin patch last week.  Colleen was not able to attend, so I took the day off and volunteered to be a chaperone.....again.  The original trip to the pumpkin patch was marred by our hay-ride getting stuck in the mud, the driver of the tractor on the hay-ride basically spooning with his girlfriend on the tractor during the hay-ride itself, and a torrential downpour.  This trip, although very windy and a very cold, was a much more pleasant experience for all of us.

Here are the photos from the field trip...I actually had a good time with him and, more importantly, it was good to see him in action while at school.  He did pretty well.

(Pictures clockwise from top left - Christopher and his buddy, Evan -- Evan showing Christopher his hood...Christopher looking for his hood (he was going to be looking a while since he didn't have one) -- Chrisotpher's class getting a lesson on apples before they got to pick their apples (which they didn't actually get to pick because the yield was so low due to inclement weather that the Orchard had to ship apples in from another Orchard Farm to supplement their dwindling supply.  They got their apples from boxes.  All the kids seemed to be okay with it.)

 (Below: Clockwise from top left: Christopher and his friends picking their apples -- Christopher and friends selecting their gourds -- Christopher with his selection -- Christopher -- and Christopher bringing me the pumpkin he selected from the pumpkin patch)