Halloween 2008, Or CANDY, CANDY CANDY!

So to sum up Halloween I will quote Will. "When is Halloween again? Is it tomorrow?" This was asked on Saturday, November 1st, right after he woke up.

To say that Halloween was a success would be putting it mildly. On Thursday we went to Ursuline's Halloween Carnival. We had such a great time. And I feel SO old! Anna came and brought Camden for a little mommy/oldest child bonding time. The Will and Camden shared a cupcake - actually just icing and got LOTS of candy from the girls.



On Friday we went trick-o-treating in my parents neighborhood. I thought Will would want to maybe go to a handful of houses, get tired and want to go home. Unfortunately not so much.



We started off slow. He was a little afraid to talk, say thank you... All the things we had been practicing for months. Suddenly he had a light bulb moment and the running started. Yes I did say RUNNING! Will RAN from house to house, screaming "trick-o-treat" before he was on the porch. He would shove his little hand in the bowl or basket (if around), grab as much as he could hold, and take off with a "THANK YOU" tossed over his shoulder.

And of course Kate couldn't get enough of her favorite person's antics. On a normal day Will running around is enough to evoke peals of laughter from her. But on Halloween, with Will in his Super Why costume it was almost too much. She stood for most of her stroller ride, clapping her hands and screeching what has to be Will's name in baby talk.



When we finally talked Will into going home - which was very hard to do - he wanted to canvas the entire neighborhood, we headed home. Will ran into the family room and dumped his candy out on the floor. We cuddled up on the floor, watched "Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and ate candy till out teeth hurt.

We are already counting the days until next Halloween!

The Pumpkin Farm 2008

This past weekend we had some great times. On Saturday Will, Kate, Grandma and me all went to the Heritage Day in Blue Ash. What a great, free event. There was a petting zoo, pony rides, and circus acts. Will was especially impressed with the man who ate fire and the kettle corn :)

On Sunday, we made what has become our annual trek to Shaw's Farm in Milford, OH. The whole family had a great time enjoying the beautiful day. Even Grandma and Grandpa went along for some fun. We went on a spooky hayride where we saw all kinds of silly pumpkin heads. We were able to pet different barn yard animals, and we even picked some great pumpkins to carve for Halloween.

Will was most impressed with the front loader - seriously when we pulled in he almost had a heart attack as it drove by. Pumpkins, ehhh. Farm equipment, totally worth the drive in the car.

After the pumpkin farm we ate lunch al fresco at Sonic (doesn't that make it sound so much nicer if I say al fresco???). We then headed home for a lazy afternoon of napping and swinging.

Pictures to follow:

Too busy to pee

Ok, so maybe that sounds like TMI but literally that has been the truth for the past few months. School has been running me in circles. When I get home I am greeted by two screaming needy children who follow my every step. Until they are in bed I am being pulled in one direction or another. Being a mom is hard. But I wouldn't trade one minute of it. I love the screaming, the crying, the whining. All of it, every single second.

New National Holiday

August 4th is officially a holiday. Will wore "big-boy-undies" all day and...... He pooped on the potty!!! I couldn't be more excited except that I think it was a fluke (he made #2 in his "undies" every other time since then). But still no more wet diapers. He is so good about sitting on the potty and going.

Grandma and Grandpa took him out for his celebratory ice cream sundae last night - YUM!

Keep your fingers crossed that this good streak continues!

Boring!

So I haven't been very good about keeping this blog updated. Mainly because life has been fairly hum drum and BORING! We have been doing the usual stuff - the zoo, play class, the park. But nothing exciting has really been going on in these parts.

Here are some of the highlights:

* Kate has another ear infection. Yippee! The doctor said that if she gets 4 infections in 6 months she will need to get tubes. We have had 2 infections in 2 months so we are on that very exciting path :)

* Will went to the allergy doctor and we discovered that he is severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts! No PB&J's for us :(

* I am trying to plan 3 brand new classes for school. All of which I might add I have no experience or business teaching. If anyone has any special talents with English or Technology please let me know - I may be willing to contract your services.

Other than that boring, boring, boring! If you have an exciting ideas or things to share please do because I am boring myself right now as I type.

The Giraffe's

On Monday we went to the zoo with Uncle Nick to see the giraffe's. It was a very hot day so we went very early. Our main motivation for going was to see the newest addition - the giraffe's. When I asked Will what he wanted to see first there was only one answer - the giraffe's.

Thankfully the zoo was not crowded at all. Shocking after the busloads (literally 40-50 buses a day) of kids we had been fighting for weeks. We headed straight for the giraffe's and there they were. 4 of the 5 newest members were hiding in the shade, not looking like they wanted anything to do with the throngs of people waiting to feed them.

After the giraffe's we went off on a comakazi type mission to see as many animals as possible. We went to places we had not been before (the nocturnal house) and to places we have been what seems like hundreds of times (the manatees). After a yummy picnic lunch we all got a special treat - ice cream! We petted the goats where Will's shirt got nibbled a little.

Then we headed home for a nice long nap. To quote Will, "It was a wonderful day!"

The Little Things

Yesterday we went to the zoo with Unck (that's Uncle Nick for those of you who don't know). We had a great time and got very hot and dirty. Unfortunately we didn't get to feed the giraffe's (they are still getting used to their surroundings).

Last night everyone (and I mean everyone) needed a bath. As Will was in the tub Kate was sitting on my lap. She kept looking at her big brother and smiling. I asked Will if he would like Kate to "get in" with him - he said yes. I dunked her little toes and legs in and the sound that followed was magical.

Kate started giggling out of control. It was so infectious that Will started to giggle too. It was one of those moments that I want to burn in my memory forever. I was so tired and stinky and dirty, but in those few seconds none of that mattered. All that mattered was the giggling.