IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS

I hope that thinking is still accepted.

See, we wanted to welcome our new cousin Thomas Christopher Byrne, born on October 27...



Luke was in charge of the sign. I was on pillow-duty. We wanted to reinforce the "Thomas" theme.



Welcome, Thomas! You are beloved by millions of children everywhere! I can't believe we're related!



Wait. You do sleep in a shed and run on steam, correct?

AUTUMN IN NEW JERSEY

Isn't that a Willie Nelson song?

Anyway: suburban autumn means TONS of leaves.



Dad met the problem head-on - with a new toy to blow all the leaves around!



That thing is as loud as Mom's hair-dryer, Dad.



I'm gonna burrow in the leaf bag.



I'm a suburban groundhog!



I could have a party in here.



SURPRISE! Happy Leaf Season!

HALLOWEEN 2009: Exclusive Footage from Animal Planet

RAWWWWRRRRRR!!!!



Halloween 2009: WILD KINGDOM!



Follow the story of a fruit bat from the dark hills of New Jersey...



And a surly tiger cub on the prowl for candy and pretzel goldfish...



(Is this the Turtleback Zoo or our living room?)



WARNING - EXPLICIT FOOTAGE: Baby Tiger attacks the documentarian!



Observe how the tiger cub ignores the bat, and hunts for candy prey in...



...The fireplace? Silly tiger!



Happy Halloween, everyone!

SUBURBAN BLISS

Listen: no one was more skeptical than me.



Me - the original NYC kid - marooned in the suburbs?

Lonely. Disoriented. Looking for a cab to take me back to the Upper West Side.



Turns out, the suburbs are better than I could have imagined!



Pumpkin parties - BIG ONES - with cool stuff for free!

Facepainting...



Custom balloon-designs...



And then there's my little brother.



If we were still in the city, he wouldn't know the difference between a pumpkin and an Ollie's take-out container.



Now he's a full-on Backyardigan!



And he's loving it.



Believe it. Carrie Bradshaw had it all wrong.



There is life and happiness beyond the Big Apple!

PUMPKIN SEASON

The other weekend we went pumpkin picking! What a blast.



We were joined by Aunt Barb, Uncle Mike, Chris and Matthew...



The Donohues x 2! Uncles Greg and Barry, Aunts Jenny and Kristen, and Lily, Ryan, Bobby and Sean.



The hayride was a real highlight.



It was George's first wagon experience.



He was a little wild and free without his car seat restraints, so I was a human barricade.



Here's my favorite lunchtime partner, Lily - and her family.



And my buddy Christopher, who is so happy I'm finally a Garden State resident!



George is all anxious. He keeps asking me when we hit the Pumpkin Patch.



Plenty of pumpkins for everyone, George - they never run out.



George thinks Bobby and Sean are hatching a pumpkin-plan to scoop up all the best gourds. The kid needs to relax!



Our gang's all here... (Almost! Ryan must be in the hay bale maze.)



Me and my main gal, Lily.



So, Lily - I was thinking we should maybe be exclusive lunch-partners...



What? Him? But Christopher doesn't even GO to Parkside.



I can't believe it! Chris is moving in on my girl!



He's a wily charmer, that Mariniello...



WHAT! George?! I can't even trust my baby brother. Lily is inspiring crushes left and right.



George wisely suggested we put aside our romantic pursuits and head for the hen house.



Best to just give Lily some space.



Of course, if I have all the baskets, a certain red-haired girl may need to borrow one...



And finally: in the patch.



George is blown away. There are pumpkins EVERYWHERE!

PAPA DAVE ROCKS

Special birthday wishes go out tonight for Papa Dave!



We love you, P-Davey!



Papa Dave: Some win this weekend, huh? GO, IRISH!

HOUSE PARTY!

Last month, we hosted our first big bash at our new home - in honor of Grandy's birthday, Boppa's birthday, and Aunt Liz's birthday.



It was my first hosting experience...



And I wanted everything to be PERFECT.

(I made Mom, Dad and Luke change outfits three times.)



I appointed Luke the Balloon Manager.



That kept him occupied for a good hour and a half.



This freed me up to greet guests, test out hors d'oeuvres, and play DJ!



I confess that I fell prey to some minor social stress... what if no one came to the party?



Thankfully, the Birthday gang arrived right on time.



And so did honorary Birthday Girl, Genevieve!



Luke likes to call her "Geeve" - but LOOK! She's turning away! She's totally not having that.



Isn't she the cutest?



Hey little cousin!



Guess what, Evie? I'm your BIG cousin! And this is the first time I've ever used "big" to describe myself.



Later, we played party games, like "Ride the Luke"!



Personally, I prefer the slightly more stable version of this game - "Ride the Uncle James."



But as the night wore on, "Cuddle with Grandy" was the nicest game.



Even though I personally didn't receive any presents, I was really happy that Aunt Liz and Grandy and Boppa got some great gifts.



What a blast!

(And N.B.: someone went to sleep right on time...and some crazy toddler stayed up three and a half hours past his bedtime. But I'm not naming names.)

FALLING FOR FALL

Happy October!



Do you like our Halloween pajamas, courtesy of Uncle Chris?



And the best part is: we glow in the dark!



Which is especially helpful, mom says, when we decide to creep around in the middle of the night...



Let the countdown to Halloween begin!

DEAR SANTA

Dear Santa,

Greetings from your old friend, Luke Skinner!



How was your summer? Mine was great. Here's a highlight reel.



I turned 3. That felt good. I was ready.



George and I kicked it with the cousins out East.

George really held his own with us big kids. I was proud of him.



I got my last licks at all my favorite Central Park playgrounds...

Hot Damn! Summer in the city!



George spent the 4th of July charming -- a.k.a hogging -- Ama and Papa Dave.



Yankee Doodle Cupcake!



While George and Papa Dave and Bear Bear enjoyed the sunset...



I romanced two lovely Langers! (Two girls this cute? Are there more of you?)



And we watched some spectacular fireworks!



My mom spent much of the summer putting George and I in striped pajamas.



We spent a blissful week in the Hamptons...



And then vacation was OVER.



But the fun was just starting in New Jersey!

We moved into a new house...



It rained a lot, so George and I had indoor fun together.



Oh, and George had his first birthday, said his first word ("sit") and started walking.

Big whoop, guy.



Anyway, me and George were super helpful with the unpacking, and the furniture construction. I know my way around a wrench - make no mistake.



Late summer found us back in Westhampton...



I perfected my Bathtub Backstroke!



And George... well, according to the prepared language he asked me to use:

"George just kept getting handsomer."



We hit a great petting zoo with Ama.



Hello, little fella! How are you today?



Hmph. Do they make pull-ups for baby chicks?



And in typical Francescani-Skinner fashion, we ended the summer with a rockin' Dune Road house party.



Santa: I'm EXHAUSTED!



I'm going to sleep.

xo Luke



P.S. I still take naps so I'm well-rested and ready to start my night! Have a good one, Santa!