Happy Halloween!

The boys had fun trick-or-treating. Of course, their favorite part was eating candy. We went to a neighbor's house for a great Halloween party. The kids had so much fun, and we adorable in costume! Some of the parents dressed up too! It was great. Here are some highlights...

Davis's Halloween Party

Davis had a Halloween party at school yesterday. The kids put on a show for the parents and preformed 4 songs, dancing away on stage! Davis decided he after the first song that he wanted no part of that, which suprised us all, as his teacher says he is the "star dancer" and LOVES to dance. He has decided to give up his naps, and this is posing a challenge for us all, and he is incredibly cranky! I think this is why he decided not to participate. He did cheer up when he had time to play with his best buddy, Buzz Lightyear. They even got to swing at a pinata. Too cute! The woman in the picture with the boys is Davis's assistant teacher. He adores his teachers!

Free Flying

Davis has always been free spirited. Yesterday, he was cooperative enough to help me out in my photography hobby and let me get some more pictures of him. When we went to the backyard, searching for better light, he found the swing and began to play. I hope that he will always keep his free spirit!

Halloween Bingo

We went to Jackson's school on Tuesday night for Bingo. You buy pizzas and bingo cards from the school for the fundraiser, and then the kids get chances to win prizes. Jackson was so excited and won a football. Davis and Drew tried to play, but their attention span just wasn't long enough. Instead, they took turns running back and forth in the hallway! The kids also had to dress up in costume...this year we have a Panther's Football Player, a Pirate, and a Jester. Drew likes to wear the football helmet, and sometimes even wears it backwards!

The GREAT Pumpkin

Tonight, we had a visit from the Great Pumpkin! The children were so excited to see a basket of goodies on our front doorstep tonight! When I asked them who they thought it was from, they didn't know, but once they saw all the Halloween Goodies, they knew that it was from the Great Pumpkin. Jackson said he must have known where we lived b/c he had visited us last year. They had silly teeth, a pumpkin spider kit, suckers, a cake, book, and much more! Here are some photos and video from tonight. Thank you GREAT Pumpkin!!

Photography

I have been trying out some new techniques and photo editting software today...the boys haven't been so happy to be my subjects, but did bear with me for a little while!

Glasses

We found out last week that Jackson didn't do well on his vision screening at school. We had a follow up appointment at the opthamologist. He was nervous going to the doctor, and said he'd be embarassed to get glasses. Once we were in the waiting room, we wandered next door to the optical center. He got to try on several pairs of glasses while we were waiting, and then quickly changed his mind and said that all he really wanted was for Dr. Fritz to tell him that he needed eye glasses! He did really well at the appointment, and even had his eyes dialated. Dr. Fritz said he definately needs glasses, and has to wear them at school, for homework, and watching tv.

Later that night, we went to Costco to pick out some frames. Jackson looks adorable in the glasses, and the sales clerk at the office told him he looked like a 2nd grader with them on! He was so excited. Drew was dying to try them on too, and was such a ham! Too cute! We can't wait to pick them up later this week! Although you can't tell it from the picture, Jackson is really excited about his new glasses!

Tree

Davis has been doing some cute artwork at pre-school. Here is what he brought home today!

Backyard Camping

Last weekend, the boys camped out with our neighbors for their 3rd annual backyard campout! They had so much fun all afternoon playing outside, helping with the tent, and searching for sticks to use to roast marshmallows on. As usual, their favorite part was making smores. It took a little coaxing to get Jackson to sleep outside, but they made it through the night, and through the cold! It got down to about 40 degrees that night.

Bed Time

It's been a busy few weeks since my last post! We went out of town on a cruise, without the boys, last week. It was a nice vacation with a lot of our friends. B & B'pa were nice enough to come and keep the boys. I know that they all had a great time, but also were so very worn out! I've been told that there's a reason you have kids when you are young, and I believe it!

This week, Ashley's been gone a lot for work, so things have been a little crazy here. We went on a walk tonight, and the boys all rode their bikes. Drew can reach the pedals, but chooses to push the bike along with his feet. Jackson and Davis like to go "off roading" and "mountain biking" down the undeveloped lot next door. They wear their helmets and go flying down the hill. I know it's a matter of time until they get hurt, but they are boys! It's only natural to want to play in the dirt and ride bikes, right? Drew pushed his bike all the way up the hill too, and was upset when I stopped him from riding down with the big boys. He sure wants to keep up!!!

Now, they are ready for bed...and there will be some much needed quiet around here. These are some pictures that I took of the boys wrestling and Drew brushing his teeth. Sweet dreams can't come too soon tonight!

Breathing Treatments

I took Drew back to the doctor yesterday. His croup is better, but the cough and congestion are in his chest now. He has to do breathing treatments 3x a day. He has done them so much, he now wants to be independent and do them on his own! It's too cute to see him hold the mask to his face. Davis thinks it's funny too!

Baby Drew

This week marks one year from the time that I went part time at work. It has been such a perfect transition for me. I do love my job, but have truly enjoyed my time home with the boys. Monday and Wednesday mornings, Davis and Jackson are both in school, and I just have time with Drew. I love these mornings together. He is such a sweet boy, and it's fun to have this time with him that I didn't have with the others. Here are some pictures from this morning. His favorite thing to do these days is to color...anywhere and everywhere. He likes to grab a pen, crayon, or marker, and color away!

So sleepy!

It's been a long few days, or should I say nights?? Drew woke up in the middle of the night with Croup on Monday night. My boys seem to be prone to it. We went to the doctor on Tuesday and got him some steroids. He also has a sore throat, cold, and is cutting at least 2 teeth. Poor little guy! It has made for some rough days and nights. He's up at least once a night, last night from 3:00-4:00 am, and then wakes up crying around 5:30 am. It's way too early for me! He finished his steroids tonight, and went to bed at 6:30. I'm hoping that he'll wake up a happy boy tomorrow!! (hopefully, after 6:00 am!) Here's a photo from the week. He sure is growing up!!

Really TALL BOYS!

Today I got an email from Parent Center with a height calculator in it to estimate your child's adult height. The child has to be at least two years old for it to work, so I couldn't use it for Drew. I was able to plug in the kids information and found that Davis will be 6' 8" and Jackson will be 6' 3". I will be very interested to see if this is correct. There is a 90% probability that they will be within 2" of this height! Pretty amazing. I think that Ashley is tall at 6' 5", and Davis will probably tower over him!

Here is the website address if you want to try it out for your kids!

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/child-height-predictor?scid=pcbulletin_20080909:2&pe=alH5AA

My little cowboy!

Drew has found a cowboy hat, and loves putting it on and wearing it around the house. Even cuter is that he loves to say "Yee Haw" while he is marching around the house in it!!

Busses and Babies

Jackson rode the bus for the first time this year, and he loved it. He has a buddy on there that was so kind to look after him and sit with him. When I asked him if he liked it, he said that it was more fun than last year because they are on the bus longer, so the get to back up a lot!!

Aunt Dana, Uncle Matt, and baby Ellis are staying with us for a while, and it's amazing how quickly Drew has "grown up" after seeing Ellis! He just looks so much older, and he really has started talking so much more. He adores his uncle Matt, and walks around calling "Matt Matt" so he'll come play hide and seek with him! He also has taken a special liking towards Ellis! He loves to follow whoever is holding her around the house and hold him arms out and say "hold hold hold" until he can sit with you and hold her. He gently will pat her arm or leg and just smile. When you try to take the baby from him, he gives a death grip and doesn't want to let her go! It is hilarious!!!

While the baby is staying with us, I have had a great time taking lots of adorable photos of her! She's just a doll and sleeps through most of them! Here's one of my favorites!

Baby Ellis

It has been a busy week this week! School has started for Jackson, and is going great! His favorite thing about first grade so far is getting to play on the "big kid" playground. They have moved up from the K5 playground, and he said that there is lots to do. He also told me that they can't do the big wheel that you hold on and kids spin you around on, because the after school kids said that they get really big blisters from holding on too long! His teacher gave him two treats yesterday, because his table was the first to clean up, and because he stayed at school all day (apparently he kept saying that he wanted his mommy and wanted to go home!). He was nervous about car pool, but Ms. Bunchman sat on the ground with him outside waiting for the car pool line, until I came--she's so sweet! On the way home, we beat the bus, so we waited at the bus stop with the other moms, and he got to meet his new bus driver, "The Twizz," as he likes to be called. He seems very nice, and Jackson is excited about trying out the bus again this year.

Last night, we went to the hospital so that the kids could meet their newest cousin, Ellis. She was born 8/19 and weighed 10 lbs, but still looks so tiny! Jackson just wanted to hold her the whole visit, and Drew was so interested in her. It was hilarious to see him checking her out and looking at her toes and fingers. He would look really close, and then pet her legs. He cried when we were leaving and just held out his hands saying "hold, hold." Davis was able to hold her too in my lap, and did such a good job being gentle. Welcome to the world baby Ellis! My boys are looking forward to playing with you and can't wait to see you again!