Over Holiday-ing

Nolan accuses me of "over holiday-ing" all the time. This means that I like to drag the kids to all events associated with whatever holiday is going on. Halloween is one of my favorites. So here are some of our October festivities.

Kids Halloween Party

This year is the 3rd year we have hosted a Halloween party for all of the kids. This year we had it on the only freezing weekend of October, so we set up shop in the garage. We decorated pumpkins, played pin the nose on the Mummy,and a fishing game and ate. So much fun and the kids are just adorable.

Pumpkin Patch

We met the Jewkes' for pumpkin hunting, also freezing this night. We were there for 10 minutes tops, but got the job done.

The Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point

Tara and I packed up fthe kids for a Friday of fun at this event. The kids had a blast. They played store, got in a big box full of corn kernels, jumped on a trampoline, took a hayride and poor Josie was horrified by the inflatable "Beast" that her mean mom dragged her into. My kids wanted no part of it. We also saw our friends Linsey and Shanon with their girls there.

This is the Place Park

My parents and I took Grandma Mary and the boys to this activity the third weekend in October. The boys made crafts, rode a train and gathered treats. It ended up being an extra special meeting. My grandma suffered a heart attack the next week, giving us quite a scare. She is doing great, but the time spent together is all the more cherished.

That's it. That wasn't so bad. I had wanted to also do Boo at the Zoo, Frightmares at Lagoon, Garden after Dark and the Corn Maze. We will set our sights higher next year. So we are finally to the week of Halloween, can't wait for the trick or treating. I am most excited for Cy's parade at school (first parade) and class Halloween party. I made some cute rice crispy treats that look like Frankenstein for the occasion. I thought it would be good family fun. I made them alone. No one else wanted in on it, they were labor intensive. Then I found out that you cannot bring homemade treats anyway. So much for the hard work, it was fun anyway.

He's such a tender heart

I have been meaning to publish this little story forever. After my best friend Tara had her cute little baby, Olivia, Cy asked me if he could give her the dollar that he had in his pocket because he thought that she "did a good job" and was "proud of her." He went over and offered her the dollar, she kindly refused. He's such a nice boy.

Big Boy Bed

We finally got Cole into his "big boy" bed. I know, it's kind of ridiculous, he's over 3. But the confines of the crib are very appealing to me. He got the cutest bedding from my mom and dad for his birthday. We are still working on getting the bedroom completed, accessories and such - but it is so precious. I cried after I tucked him in, his last ties to babyhood slipped away. He has done pretty good in it. He doesn't get out, however, he wakes up occasionally in the night and always says, "I don't like my room, it's scary." And now that his bed is by his window he spends a lot of time with his head under the blinds looking outside. This morning I thought he was still asleep but he was watching the garbage man.

Looking at this last picture, I can't help but laugh. We have long speculated that Cole was switched at the hospital because he doesn't look like anyone in the family. However, he looks just like photos of a young Nolan in this picture, seventies hair and all.

Aren't they handsome?

These are some photos we had taken to commemorate Cy and Cole's Birthdays. I have finally got around to posting them. Here are some of my favorites.

Gross Boys

My boys are on a very similar schedule with everything. This is the way the spend bathroom time. Cole turns his little potty towards Cy and they visit.

Cole started Pre-school

It was Cole's first day of pre-school yesterday. I was not a bawl baby as per usual, I was actually just really anxious for him. He is just barely three and many of the kids are closer to four years old, which appears to be a big difference. I went for the first half hour with him. He did great and did not seem to mind when I left. I asked him what he had learned at school and he told me "I learned fruit snacks." It truly is one of life's great lessons.

Swim Lessons

We finished up a summer of swim lessons. After Cy scared me half to death early this summer by almost drowning, we enrolled the next day. My boys were not water babies, but they have learning to be. They had the cutest swim teacher, Chad, whom they are they are smitten with. They think he is so cool. Here are a couple of their pictures. The last one is Cy trying to talk Cole into going of the diving board. He never did.