Michael's Halloween Celebration

We headed to his preschool yesterday morning to watch the kids in a parade. Most of the kids in each class were dressed up and they paraded around the outside of the school/church. Michael wasn't too excited about the parade but he was excited to see us there. He kept getting out of line while we were trying to take pictures of him. He did like being dressed up in his costume and did an excellent job of keeping the whole thing on, even the mask.

After the parade, we headed back to his classroom for the Halloween snack. They had cookies, pretzels, and juice boxes. Someone had made some cute cookies that looked like witches hats using fudge stripe cookies and hersheys kisses. Michael ate that cookie first. Then we headed to the "big room" for the kids to play some Halloween games. One was fishing, in which they got a big sack of treats, another was bean bag toss through Frankenstein's face and they also had pin the nose on the pumpkin. This was a bit of organized chaos as they had 17 kids running from game to game, even though they were in groups. It was almost time to leave then. We went back to the classroom and the teacher read the book for the day. They sang the goodbye song and then we left.

It was really neat to see Michael interact with his classmates and celebrate Halloween. I know he can't wait for trick or treating tonight as well as the candy. And as he let me know, "I like candy, Mom!". What kid doesn't?

Boo at the Zoo

Last night, we went to Boo at the Zoo with some friends and their daughter, who is 8 weeks younger than Michael. It was an unseasonably warm night for late October. Of course, we are in SC where the weather seems to change daily from cold to hot to cold.

At first, Michael wasn't so sure about what we were doing there. He was excited to get some candy and had fun going around with Ava, who was dressed as a mermaid. They had stations set up around the zoo on the path and you could also see the animals out as well. Michael went up to get the candy and wasn't quite sure about saying trick or treat. He would put out his basket and wait for the candy and then say "thank you".

They also had a small maze there that had smoke and lights. Michael enjoyed this and was the one to lead everyone out of the maze. In the same area, they had a magician performing for the kids to watch. All around the zoo, they had Halloween lights on the trees to guide your way. And at the end, they have a big pumpkin that we got our picture taken in front of. They also have an area where they play Halloween music and the kids can dance. Michael enjoyed watching it but didn't want to dance. I think he was ready to go back to the car to eat the candy, as we told him he couldn't have any until then.

Michael was dressed up as Batman and Katie as a turtle, the same costume Michael wore his first Halloween. It was cute to watch them in their costumes and I think the adults had a good time too. The zoo surely knows how to celebrate Halloween.

A Halloween craft

Now that I am home with Michael and Katie, I have been taking the opportunity to do some things that we had a hard time doing while I was working. We have been baking quite a bit and I decided it was time for a craft. I came upon the perfect one for Halloween in Family Fun Magazine.

We started off with a box of tangerine orange Rit dye, a big bucket, and 4 t-shirts. I let Michael pick how many pumpkins he wanted on his shirt. He also helped me with Todd's t-shirt and he let me know that I could do mine and Katie's. Since it was raining, we headed out into the garage to dye the shirts. Michael and I took turns stirring the shirts in the bucket. After about 30 minutes, we brought them inside and rinsed them out. I washed, then dried the shirts.

Later that night, I drew the faces on the pumpkins. The shirts turned out great. We all wore our shirts one day this week and Todd & I will wear ours on Halloween.

Wordless Wednesday - So Sleepy

Through the eyes of a 3 year old

One of the things that Michael has been wanting to do recently is take pictures. He tries to get my camera and wants to look at every picture that I have taken. We have had to stress that he needs to use the wrist strap so he doesn't drop the camera. I doubt he will grow up to be a photographer but here are some of his samples.

Pumpkin Patch

We finally got out to the pumpkin patch today after scheduling several times and not being able to go due to weather or house issues. It was a gorgeous day. The weather forecast called for showers towards the end of the day but they were wrong. The sun was out from behind the clouds and it was actually fairly warm. Quite a change from earlier this week.

When we arrived there, they had a vintage fire truck right up front. Todd and Michael got on it and were playing in the front. I was getting Katie out of the van and when we got up to the truck, I noticed a paper that said to stay off the fire truck. I quickly snapped a picture of Todd and Michael so they could get down. We headed inside to get our tickets for the hayride.

We got there in time for the final hayride of the day. It takes you through the whole farm and on a haunted hayride. Todd and I were talking about how neat and scary it would be to take the hayride at night. He loves stuff like that and I get scared easily! Michael didn't want to get on the hayride at first but about 2 or 3 minutes into the ride he told us that he liked it.

After riding for 15 minutes or so, we arrived at the pumpkin patch. We didn't end up getting any pumpkins out there as we didn't feel like carrying them back to the car. We decided to get our pumpkins at a church near our house instead. So we just took some pictures and walked around the patch before getting back on the hayride.

Michael really enjoyed looking at the pumpkins and running up and down the rows of the patch. Katie was agreeable to walk through the patch with me or Todd. She was a little scared on the hayride of the music that was playing on the speakers. She quickly started laughing once Michael started dancing. She is so entertained by him.

We all had a really nice time and it was the perfect end to a beautiful fall day!

For all of my "sisters"

I took a few pictures of Katie yesterday wearing a Theta onesie that has been passed down from sorority sister to sorority sister for their little girls. It's been the first time that she has worn it and will probably be the last as the weather is turning cooler. I thought it was only fitting that she wear it because we were having lunch with Alexa and her son Braedan. She is one of my sisters and is pregnant with a girl. So she will be the next recipient of the onesie.

Here is my little legacy:

Wordless Wednesday

Rain, Rain, Go Away

For the past 2 Mondays, it has rained quite a bit. And while I know this may not seem like that big of a deal to some people, it is here in South Carolina. The rainy days are pretty few and far between so we get spoiled here with the nice weather. The kids and I had someplace to go on both Mondays so we couldn't just stay in and keep warm.

Yesterday was pretty bad and it was pouring down. After Katie, Michael and I all got soaked, we headed home. The rest of the day was spent enjoying indoor activities. Michael and I played trains while Katie watched us from her Bumbo. Later in the afternoon after she woke up from her nap, Michael built a huge block tower and Katie practiced her sitting skills.

The relationship between Katie and Michael is really developing. It's so neat to see them interact and Katie is so entertained by her older brother. And he really loves to make Katie laugh. And these times give me a glimpse as to what is to come. I can see that there will be a day in the near future when the two of them will play together and I can just stand back and observe.

Here is a picture of the tower that Michael built while Katie watches him:

Phone Photo Friday

This will be my first and most likely only time to post on Phone Photo Friday. Because while I take a LOT of pictures, I rarely take them on my phone. I don't even know how to upload a phone photo to my computer. So thanks to my sister, who emailed these pictures to me from her iphone from last weekend.

Michael at Fire Prevention Day



Katie waiting in the car



A sun beam on Michael and I

It's hard to get a smile

for the camera, that is. Katie smiles and laughs for Todd, me and especially Michael. She seems to find him and the things he does are hysterical to her. She can be smiling away or laughing the deep belly laughs, which I love. As soon as Katie spots the camera, she gets the deer in the headlights look. For a while I thought it was because of the flash but she does the same thing even when the flash doesn't go off.

One day last week, it was like a switch was turned off and Katie was just smiling away for the camera. I am not sure what it was that made her smile so much but I was finally able to get some great pictures of her smiling. The next day, she was back to her usual face that she always seems to make for the camera. The same one that says to me, "What are you doing and why is that thing flashing in my face?"


So here are some of the pictures from what turned into a mini photo shoot: