Trick or Treat preview!

Just a little Halloween preview of the kids in thier costumes. They just *had* to try them on as soon as they got here so I took pictures just in case I didn't get any good ones on Halloween. I am going to atempt to get a good one of the three of them together on Halloween too. We have decided that even though we'll only have 5 days to enjoy the decorations, we kind of owe it to the kids to make the last ditch effort to decorate a little. So we're going to get the box of decorations out this evening when Brian gets home from work. We'll definatly do better at Christmas!

Will is a Clone Trooper, Ben is Obi Wan Kenobi, and Sam is Yoda.

Our scout

Will is now an official cub scout with the full uniform and everything. A couple of weeks ago he participated in the raingutter regata, where they raced little wooden sailboats at the park. Will's had a spiderman theme. Daddy was quite proud of the way his (um, I mean Will's) boat turned out. Then on Monday we all went to the new firestation here in Lake Forest and were given the grand tour by one of the firefighters there. He is now collecting canned goods for Second Harvest, a local charity that helps to feed the hungry around Orange County. So far scouts has been very good for him and he is enjoying it. Thanks so much to everyone who supported his pack by buying popcorn!

Jogathon pictures!

Thanks to everyone who supported Will in his Jogathon! He jogged last Friday morning. Brian and I were both there along with his brothers, to cheer him on and pass out water. They also had a dj encouraging the kids and playing upbeat music. The kids had a great time, got some excersize, and enjoyed the popsicles after it was over!

Pumpkin patch and painting pictures

Our trip to the pumpkin patch!

It's that time of year again. We are all still wearing shorts and t-shirts, but Halloween is fast approaching! The boys are doing the countdown and they tell me we have only 5 days left until the big day. I don't know if it's the candy or the costumes, but the kids just LOVE Halloween. Last Friday we went to Tanaka Farms with MOMS Club. It is a small organic farm in Irvine where they have a tractor ride, petting zoo, hay bale maze, vegetable picking, and of course, pumpkin picking. The kids had a great time petting the animals, jumping on the hay, and picking thier very own pumpkins. Then on Monday, our MOMS Club got together at the park to paint the pumpkins. Even Sam got in on the action.

We have still not managed to drag our Halloween decorations out of storage so I don't know if we will get to that this year. Fortunatly the boys haven't really mentioned it. We are planning on going trick or treating with a friend of Will's from school in his neighborhood, so we won't be home anyway. We are also going to a little Halloween party in the park this Saturday also with MOMS Club. There will be trick or treat stations there as well, so of course- more candy!!

Well, he's an official two year old now...

almost. He will actually be two on Nov. 14, but he has been acting very "twoish" lately. He has even thrown a full fledged temper tantrum, lying on the ground, fists pounding. I have to keep myself from laughing.

His new shtick at the grocery store is this: We get out of the car and he starts pointing and making that "ah, ah, ah" noise until we get to the front. He sees the car cart and goes nuts, attempting a daring leap out of my arms in order to get into the coveted cart. I buckle him in and we're off. He then points to the general direction of the bakery where he knows the free cookies reside. We grab a cookie and I race to do my shopping in the time it takes him to finish his treat. We then get in line, where he knows the balloons are. He gets his balloon, I finsh checking out, and I try to make my escape before he realizes that he's been cheated out of the free lollypop in the basket by the door. No such luck. The whining and pointing commence until he gets his sucker. It's amazing to me that one so small, with so few words can be so smart!

He did it!!!

I'm so proud of Will! After much struggle, he has finally learned to tie his shoes! It's so much fun to get to see things like this "click" with the kids. He does it the bunny ears way, which wasn't my first choice, but seemed to be easier for him. He stayed home sick from school today and with the extra time we had, I decided that he'd learn to tie his shoes if it was the last thing I did! So I think this turned out to be a day well spent. He's so proud of himself and can't wait to show daddy when he gets home from work.

Aren't kids kind and considerate...

The back story:

Will is sick with the stomach flu today. He had to stay home from school and is hanging out here in the playroom, alternating between watching t.v., playing video games, and wretching into a large bowl that I gave him.

So Ben asks me if we are going anywhere today. I tell him no, that Will is sick and we are just going to hang out here. He says, "ALL day? We aren't going ANYwhere?". I say no, Will is really sick, we have to stay home, sorry. He ponders that a minute and looks up at me and says, "Will can just bring his bowl and stay in the car while we go out". Jeez, what kind, caring children I am raising here, huh?! ;)

Get down Will!

Last Saturday we went to an anniversary party for Brian's uncle Gilbert and aunt Linda. It was really nice and we all had a great time (open bar, how could you not?!?). Will is not usually one for dancing. Even at home, he's pretty shy when it comes to singing and dancing. I don't know what got into him, but he was out on the dance floor for hours at this party. He was break dancing, he was doing a dance that can only be described as the "snow angel" where he got down on the floor and started moving his arms and legs. He was doing moves I'd never seen out there before! Of course we took pictures and even borrowed a video camera for the occasion. The best part was when he let me pick him up and have a slow dance with him.

The aforementioned taekwando pictures

For your viewing pleasure!

Sammy updates!

Sam is turning into a little boy right before our eyes. He's losing the last of his yummy babyness but it's being replaced with the cutest big boy mannerisms. He still isn't talking all that much, although he's gaining more and more words. Still not stringing the words together too much. One thing he does that is really adorable is when he poops and you ask him if he pooped, he nods his head and runs into his bedroom and stands by his changing table, waiting for me to come in and change him. He still has that little toddler shakey butt run, you know, where they don't really bend their knees, so they kind of waddle side to side really fast. I love that run. We'll be so sad to see it go.

He is really starting to respond to questions or requests that we give him. He will bring us a book if asked and can point to things that we ask him about on the pages. So even though he might not be saying much, I can tell there's a lot going on in that little noggin of his! Hopefully age 2 will bring some more speech his way!

Here's to the newest yellow belt!

Today when I picked Will up from Taekwando, he was proudly wearing his new yellow belt and carrying a certificate!! He tested in front of Master Choi and the judge on Friday afternoon. He was really nervous, but he did so well! I was so proud of him. He knew all of his fighting stances and his blocks and was able to demonstrate them in front of not only the judge, but a room full of parents and kids, most of who were twice his age.

The climax of the test came when he broke a board using his fist. He looked really surprised when it actually broke! Of course I took pictures, but I seem to have misplaced my digital camera so you'll all just have to close your eyes and imagine how cute he was until I can find it, then I promise to post lots of pictures of his testing. I wish I had been able to take video too, but we had run out of tape.