Preschool Pumpkin Carving

Last night we headed to Abi's preschool for Pumpkin Carving Night. It was fun to see Abi "in her element"- smiling and waving to all of her little friends. We carved pumpkins, ate treats, sang songs and celebrated the unveiling of the jack o' lanterns!

When I asked Abi to make the face that she wanted Daddy to carve on her pumpkin, this is what I got.

Hurry, Hurry Daddy!
(we only had 20 minutes to carve)

The final product

...and the unveiling of the pumpkins!

It's Almost Halloween!

We have been busy getting ready for Halloween. We are going with an "Under the Sea" theme this year - Abi is going to be Ariel (big surprise!) and Brady is going to be a lobster. Every day Abi asks if today is the day she can go trick-or-treating. Not surprising considering her love for candy!

Playing Dress Up
Thanks to Aunt Peg, Abi got an adorable waitress costume. She loves to dress up and be our waitress while we dine in her bedroom/restaurant (which she named "The Eggplant Restaurant" - which is kind of ironic because the only things she serves is hot dogs and pizza!) Her favorite part is the fake money which she tries to give away to her customers and best part is that usually the meal is free - when I ask how much I owe, she always says, "We're good".

The problem with having a three year waitress is that it takes quite a while to order food. First, she needs to get comfortable with her order pad and pencil and then proceeds to ask how to spell all of the words of the food that was just ordered.

Brady as a Mummy - Actually his little hands and feet are ALWAYS cold so I bundled him up in a blanket to keep him warm one cold afternoon. He was so comfy, he actually fell asleep sitting up.

Haunted House
Abi and I made a gingerbread haunted house this year. It didn't exactly turn out like the pictures on the box but we still had fun. Of course, Abi's favorite part was eating the candy while we were decorating!

Before...check out that instruction manual!
During...
And it's done!

Pumpkin Patch



Picking out the perfect pumpkin

We found it!

As soon as Brady saw the pumpkin, he immediately tried to put the stem right into his mouth!


Graveyard
...and we couldn't forget the front yard

Fun With A Feather Duster

Who knew a feather duster could be so much fun?

Hangin' Around The House

With Abi starting school, the anticipation of a busy holiday season and the family coming down with colds, we have been spending a lot of time hanging out at home.

I've discovered that one of the great things about slowing down a bit is it gives you the opportunity to witness and celebrate all those little moments in life that may otherwise be overlooked. A perfect example happened today - Brady is the most impatient eater I have ever seen. He cries if the spoon is not waiting for him with another bite as soon as he swallows. As you can imagine, this has created some tearful and loud mealtimes. To help with this, I have been trying to buy myself some time by teaching Brady to pick up his own finger foods. Today Brady actually picked up a small piece of cracker and managed to put it in his mouth (along with his entire fist). It only happened once but I was so excited. As I was clapping, cheering and carrying on, I looked next to me to see Abi celebrating right there along with me. She was just as excited by his accomplishment. It made me realize that my little girl is growing up so fast and one day she won't be at home to share in all my little moments.

Abi is adjusting really well to preschool. She seems to be having a great time although she is pretty tight lipped after school, only sharing the most important information with me such as who was absent or who got in trouble. She loves hanging out with her little brother and is quite helpful when I have my hands full. I recently resurrected some of Abi's once-retired toys from storage for Brady. Both kids have enjoyed the change of scenery and it has kept them busy for hours. I think I forgot just how many loud, battery powered toys we own (or maybe I am just getting older). Of course, these are Abi's favorites and she likes to play with them all at the same time!

Abi learned how to do a somersault all by herself this week...

Visit to the Seattle Aquarium

Brady is doing good as well. He continually tries to "talk" more every day. He has his two bottom teeth and recently discovered his tongue so he has it sticking out in every picture. He is also becoming much more interested and interactive with all of us, which is fun. He is rolling over and sitting up unassisted but still loves to be held all the time so there is not too much motivation to crawl or walk!

Some of the good moments...

...and some not so good moments...


Here is what I found in Brady's crib when I went to check on him during his naptime. It must have been comfortable since he took a four hour nap!

First Day of Preschool: Take Two

Today we headed back to school for Abi's second day of preschool. This time around, Abi did great. No throw up or tears - just a happy girl excited to meet her teachers and classmates (and, of course, the pet turtles). When I went to pick her up, she was just as excited as she showed me all of her artwork and I got a play-by-play rundown of her potty and snack times (must have been the highlights of the day!)

I am still not sure whether her little episode on Tuesday was due to nerves or sickness. Over the past few days, she definitely hasn't been acting like herself but also did not have the flu or a cold - just feeling a bit under the weather, I suppose. In an attempt to not stir up any unnecessary anxiety, I didn't take any pictures this time around so I am glad we had the trial run to capture the moment.

Hopefully the remainder of the school year will go just as smoothly!

Happy 6 Month Birthday Brady!

Hard to believe that my little baby boy is already 6 months old. I am often amazed how kids from the same parents can turn out to be so different in personality and temperament. This is definitely the case in our family. Brady is the polar opposite of Abi in many ways but also brings so much happiness into our lives.
He has taught me about balance & patience; and often gives me a new appreciation for the little things in life. His simple smile can brighten my day and I can't imagine my world without him.

First Day of Preschool...Well, Almost...

We made it to preschool but quickly ended up leaving as Abi's first experience at preschool was her throwing up all over herself, me and the bathroom floor (thank goodness we were in the bathroom rather than the classroom!)

Josh and I woke up this morning to Abi complaining that her tummy hurt. After she ate her breakfast, she said that her tummy felt better so we got ready to go. We took pictures and headed to school. As soon as we got to school, she mentioned that she needed to go to the bathroom. We hung up her bookbag and coat and headed to the bathroom. As soon as we got to the bathroom, she proceeded to throw up EVERYWHERE! After she was done, I told her that we needed to go home today and we could go to preschool in a few days. She then burst out in tears because she wanted to stay at school. I am sure the other parents were staring at us as we walked out to the car with one unhappy (& smelly) girl!

I am not sure if this episode was due to nerves & anxiety or if she is really sick...I guess time will tell. Regardless, we will try again on Thursday. Wish us luck!

Here are some pictures from our trial run this morning:

And then it all went downhill about 30 seconds after we took this picture...poor girl!