Happy Halloween!

Happy  (late) Halloween!

We had such a great holiday this year! There is something especially amazing when a holiday falls on a weekend, and you don't have to worry about staying out late or having to work or go to school the next year. The is year the boys dressed up like animals. I was a little bummed I couldn't get them into any of my matching costume ideas, but I figure this is one of my last years to get the older boys into cuddly animal consumes, so I'll take it!

L dressed up as a monkey, L2 as a koala bear, and R as an elephant. These were all especially fitting, since L's nickname has always been monkey, L2's has always been the bear, and R has always had a thing for elephants! My sweet little animals!

We trick or treated with our friends again this year, and we also brought our neighbors niece along with us, so it was six kids in total!  They all looked adorable though, and we well behaved (well, as well behaved as six kids on a sugar/excitement high can be!)

R had so much fun trick or treating. It was adorable. And he seemed to be under the impression that everyone that opened their front door was offering him a personal invitation into their house! L2 and L also had a blast, and lasted much loner then I though they all were!

(I even got into the dressing up spirit this year!)

We stayed out late, and when the little kids tuckered out the other mom and I took the older kids out for another half an hour or so. It was a great night!

At the end of the night we walked our kids home, and they were all so beat they had to be pulled in the wagon! 

Pumpkin Carving

Coming in a few days late, as usual! But, hey…. here we are pumpkin carving for Halloween! The kids love doing their pumpkins, and this year L was really into getting to do the carving himself. Mommy was not to keen on the idea of my six year old handling a knife, but S helped him and he did a good job!

And, when you live in a house with all boys, sometimes you have to carve yourself a princess pumpkin. I have to get my girly in where I can!

The were so proud of there creations!

Fall Festival and pumpkin painting

Want to know what one of the best things about having a kindergartner is? It's getting to go in and volunteer in the classroom. Absolutely one of my favorite things is seeing how my boy interacts with his teachers and his friends, and I love getting to meet all of his little classmates and get to know some of the parents.

Since I'm the homeroom mom for L this year I've had a few opportunities to volunteer at his school, and yesterday I got to go help out for their "fall Festival". I spent the morning running one of the centers (We hammered tee's into a pumpkin and used chopsticks to move candy corn to different bowls!) and then I got to have lunch with L.

(L and one of his friends! They are so cute!)

After our fun day at the fall festival we continued our yearly tradition of painting pumpkins. We will carve our big pumpkins before Halloween, but every year I like to get a few small pumpkins and let the kids paint them. 

Here's the thing…. I have a love/hate relationship with this tradition. I love it, because it cute and fun and the kids think it's fun. But if I'm totally honest, the pumpkins hold their interest for about ten minutes and I end up with a huge mess to clean up! Oh well, such is the life of a mom I suppose. It didn't help that this year it poured so we had to do the painting inside!

We also had one of L's friends and our neighbor over to paint, so there were a lot of kids in our house! This was pretty much the only picture I got, and my fingers in the shot!

Oh well… Happy Fall!

L2 turns four!

L2 is four!!!

My baby. My little sour patch kid. Man, this kid can throw a tantrum that could bring down a nation. He is stubborn and opinionated. If he doesn't want to do something, he will not do it. But, he is also the sweetest cuddled. He loves to hold hands and to give hugs and kisses. If you sit next to him on the couch he will fold himself into your body and rest his head on your shoulder. He has the biggest, sweetest brown eyes, and he knows how to use them to his advantage.

He's taught me a lot. He often tests my patience. His speech delay is hard on both of us, him when he gets frustrated that I don't know what he's saying, and me when I can't figure out what he wants. But he is smart beyond his years. He's taught me how to fight and how to advocate. He's made me a better mom, and I can't imagine my life without him.

(This picture is blurry, but his face says it all!)

By far, the best present L2 got for his birthday was Daddy being home. We weren't sure if he would make it, but he did and L2 was the happiest I've seen him in a long time. We spent the whole weekend celebrating him: dinner out on Friday, a movie (Pan) and cupcakes and presents on Saturday, and pizza with friends on Sunday. He's a lucky kid to have so many people that love him so much!

Happy birthday, L2. I love you so much. Never lose you fighting spirit, and you gentle soul. You make this world a better place.

Daddy's home!

Welcome home, Daddy!!!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been ten weeks… and I kind of can't believe we survived! S got home for good last Friday and we are so happy to have him back and to be getting back to normal!

I have to say, I'm kind of proud of myself. I think I handled this separation better then I thought I would. The boys and I got into a pretty good routine, and overall things went smoothly, even though we missed S so much. And as hard as it was for us, I know it was hard for S too. It can't be easy to be away from your home and your family for almost three months, and I'm grateful that he is always willing to work hard and do what needs to be done for our family!

Anyway…… he's home! He's home! He's home!!!

Kindergarten Pictures!

Have you ever seen a more handsome Kindergartener? Look at the hair! Those eyes! That shy little smile!!!

Man, I love this kid.

L's 6th birthday party!

Hi everyone! So, we just had L's 6th birthday party….

Oh wait… that was almost a month ago! Oops, I have been the worst at posting lately! S has been gone just about 8 weeks (Yay, only 2 weeks left!) and I'm not going to lie, it's been hard. And unfortunately, one of the first things to slip was the blog!

But… better late than never, right?

L's birthday party was great. We invited his kindergarten class and I think we ended up having about 18 kids show up. It was the perfect number, enough so it felt like a good party, but not too many that we felt overwhelmed.

It was great getting to know a lot of L's little kindergarten friends, and also nice to chat with their parents. The kids went crazy playing in the park, and the fact that it was hot didn't bother them at all! And of course, the cupcakes were a big hit!!

I can't believe my little man is 6 years old. I can't believe he's in kindergarten and has a little group of friends! He's so grownup!!

Happy birthday, L! We love you so much!