These Are The Days...

Fall 2014

It's time for that post again - the one where I step back and appreciate all the little things that happen in our lives - those things that we take for granted unless we .pause to consider how really special they are.

Many Saturdays were spent at birthday parties - so many fun activities with friends. For Jordan's birthday, we watched the Boxtrolls at the movie theater. Here are Jack and his buddy Emma:

I think this party was the second one of the day. This is Olivia on party overload - she kind of looks like someone you might find on Bourbon Street at 3am after Mardi Gras. Ha!

Tag started at Kids R Kids at the beginning of the school year and he and Jack became fast friends. He had a Ninja Turtle party at a local park - I told you they were kindred spirits! His parents were so creative. They made this mutagen tank for the kids to "fish" in. His dad was in the box putting prizes on close pins at the end of the fishing lines. So cute!

They threw balls into these buckets to win prizes.

Jayden had a super hero birthday, I misread the invitation, so we showed up half an hour late for this one. Jack didn't like being late, so he decided to whine and pout for most of this one. Oh well. :(

Finally, a birthday party where Olivia was the main one on the invitation. Sophia, the sister of one of Jack's soccer friends turned one and celebrated at the Little Gym. Jack tagged along to keep Tristan company:

Random cuteness on a horse sculpture outside of Gloria's after dinner one night:

Miss Olivia's haircuts come complete with a mini manicure. This was her first one. She got to pick the color (pink, of course) and thought she was pretty cool!

I could never get Jack to eat my favorite breakfast, toast with chocolate sprinkles. Olivia, on the other hand, is a little dutch girl at heart:

Either that, or a yoga master. Here she is perfecting her downward dog while watching the I-pad:

Kids R Kids started sending us daily reports online. Sometimes, they include pictures. It is fun to get a glimpse into what they do at school all day. In APK (Advanced Pre-Kindergarten), they are following a kindergarten curriculum, so hopefully Jack will be more than ready when he starts in the fall. Here he is practicing his writing:

And a little math:

Presenting his show-and-tell on Friday:

Each kid in his class was given the project of disguising a turkey so he wouldn't get eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. Dad helped draw the Ninja Turtle clothes, but the coloring was all done by Jack. It was so fun to see how each kid had chosen to disguise their turkeys - there were princesses, minions, superheroes and many more. I love how Jack's turned out!

While Jack learned his letters and numbers, Livi was having fun of her own. Playing with shaving cream:

Doing artwork:

And having all kinds of fun on the playground:

One of my favorite parts of the weekend are the rare times when we get the chance to cuddle in bed in the morning. Here's Miss Livi hanging out with Mom and Dad:

And one of my favorite pictures, Father/son morning cuddle time. Does it get any cuter?!?

We got our last fall pictures taken at Kids R Kids. I know I say this every time, but I think these are the cutest ones yet. That big, open-mouthed smile expresses Livi's personality so perfectly, and I don't know how they are able to get such a natural smile out of Jack. The "tooting Elmo" that they wave in front of them as they are taking the pictures is always hilarious!

The Princess and the Ninja Turtle

October 2014

I have only one topic to write about for the entire month of October. We apparently spent the entire month in Halloween costumes or at some kind of spooky celebration. Jack was still loving the Ninja Turtles and I bought him a GIANT costume last year, so this year it actually fit much better! Olivia decided that she wanted to be a princess and given her obsession with pink, she picked out the perfect pink and purple Rapunzel dress.

Their first opportunity to wear their costumes was the Kids R Kids Halloween carnival. We tried to get a couple of photos outside of the house before we left. Even the princess was trying her best ninja moves!

 Finally - two smiles!

Each room in the daycare is filled with a fun activity - pumpkin bowling to a room with a bubble machine and black lights to this fun room filled with balloons.We spent lots of time here:

We took a break for nachos and lemonade. Princess Rapunzel has now turned into some sort of scary monster:  

 Normally, my kids aren't too wild about face painting, but both of them decided to get made up today:

Our princess became a beautiful butterfly:

While Raphael the Ninja Turtle got a mask to go with his costume:

 For her final trick of the night, our princess became a zombie:

 And so did her big brother. Whoever has the camera better watch out!

Jack and I headed to the Pearson Farms Halloween party one afternoon while Olivia was taking a nap. Jack wasn't really into wearing his costume, and we didn't stay too long, but he did get to get up and explore the fire truck!

Our next fun Halloween stop was the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch in Celina, Texas, about 20 minutes north of Frisco. We've been here several years, and the kids always have fun. Both of them were excited to feed the goats this year:

Of course, Mom made them pose in a pile of pumpkins and we actually got a few cute shots!

I just thought this was a cute picture of Miss Livi:

We ran through the hay maze several times:

 And of course we rode he hayride:

We all picked out a few cool pumpkins to bring home. I guess when we got home, it must have been tickle time. I love this picture!

My office had a really nice Halloween party. Everyone brought their kiddos and they trick-or-treated around the office. Here they are getting some treats from Ms. Laura (my boss):

Laura took a really good picture of me and my sweeties:

After trick-or-treating, we headed to the lunchroom and conference rooms on the 7th floor for games and food.

 

 We ended the day back in Mom's office, pumpkins full!

No Halloween would be complete without the carving of the pumpkins. This year, Jack really enjoyed getting his hands in the pumpkin guts:    

 Olivia was a little more careful:

 After the pumpkins were nice and clean, it was time for Daddy to work his magic:

Behold - Ninja Turtle and Rapunzel - pumpkin style!

After all of the fun leading up to Halloween, I don't actually have that many pictures of our actual trick-or-treating. Mom took the kids around a couple of blocks in our neighborhood, while Dad hung out to hand out candy. 

Rapunzel was excited1

Trick or treat!  Happy Halloween everyone!