Catching Up : Halloween 2012

Here we are getting into the Halloween Spirit.

A little pumpkin carving. Guess who enjoyed getting messy?

We made sure to get those seeds out so we could roast them later. MMMMmmmm.

This guy is always happy to show me whatever it is playing with. In this case, a carving saw.



And this wumpkin is becoming quite the kitchen assistant. Dare I say 'Sous Chef?'



On the night of our Halloween party this is the type of mood the kids were in. Oh yeah. Tons of fun. Good thing we had plenty of well stocked (*ahem) coolers. It couldn't have been all that bad, though, because they are STILL talking about their Halloween costumes 2.5 months later!

Here we are as King Kandy and Princess Lolly from Candyland. Aaaaand now I remember why I grew out the bangs I had in grade school. Geez. Nobody copy and repost this, okay? But how great of a King does Trav make? It really bugs me when his half of the couple costume turns out so much better than mine, even though I made them. Remember Fred and Wilma Flinstone?

Halloween 2008

How heavy were we?! Guess that's what 30 and 55 extra pounds looks like. Please, nobody copy and repost this picture either, okay?

Anyway. Back to present day.

Here's all the Sectors that could make it. Totally awesome group costume, once again.

And the Jeziorskis! I promise Belle had a good time. She's just not a fan of posing for pics when there are toys to be played with.

(*Insert sad music here.) No picture of my other favorite princesses, Valerie and Wraylyn. How did I let that happen? Sorry, Gen.)

Look! Uncle David is wearing make up! Good job Auntie Laura! You were a very convincing Mad Hatter and Alice.

And here's the cutest niece ever! Cousin Kiera, you made a darling Minnie Mouse.

 And anyone else who came to the party but didn't get their picture posted either, a) Never had their picture taken to begin with because I got busy hosting or wrangling children, or b) I took your picture but for whatever reason, it didn't turn out well/ flattering. Either way, sorry about that.

On the actual night of Halloween Auntie and Uncle brought Cousin Kiera over to trick-or-treat with us. I was pretty excited to be able to see her first "real" trick-or-treating experience.

I just had a random memory I need to insert here because I want to remember it. When everyone was milling around waiting for everyone who was on their way, I walked out to the garage fridge to put something away and when I came back inside almost everyone was else was walking in the front door. I couldn't see anyone because I was still walking through the laundry room, but I could hear everything. (No one in this family has every been accused of being quiet.) Anyway. I heard so much ooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the kids and so many laughs and squeals from everyone it instantly made made me smile and laugh out loud. It was one of those everything-is as-it should-be and life-is-good moments. Love it!


 This little "skeweton" did not want to wear his hood, hands, or feet. But he was happy about the mask so I guess that's a win?



This little witch was all smiles and could not wait to go trick-or-treating!



Grandma and GG and Grandma and Grandpa joined us as well.




Oh, and Uncle Jeff and Kaeleb met up with us about half way through the trek. Kaeleb was a skeleton, too!



 It was a lot of fun, caravanning around the block together.



The end of the ghouling came soon after Ethan collapsed and screamed on the sidewalk, "I just want to see Haw-o-ween!" He really didn't care too much about getting candy. He just wanted to look at scary decorations. (No photo of that little moment in time. This picture was a little before the meltdown.)

 

But Katie? Well, she was a professional by the second house. A great teacher for little cuz. So cute!

Catching Up: Potty Training Ethan (Oct '12)

This is how Ethan spent the entire month of October and part of the month of November. Naked and on the little potty. Although he loved the naked part, he was not too excited about the potty part. Why is potty training such a huge hassle?!

Catching Up: Best Big Sister Ever (Sept. 2012)

Katie is so good at teaching Ethan how to use the potty. Lots of book reading and conversation was had in September. (About a month after we took this we REALLY started the potty training. Still working on it. He is proving to be just as stubborn as she was about it.)

Catching Up: Preschool (Aug. 2012)

Since January 2012 this little wumpkin has attended the preschool I teach out of our home once a week, but Daddy and I wanted her to have some classroom experience without me in case we decide to test her for early entrance into Kindergarten next year. So we decided on a parks and rec class (of course) on Mondays. 3 hours long! The best part: Mommy uses this time to go grocery shopping with JUST Kiera and Ethan instead of all three of them. Hooray! This was the first day. If I am honest, we are not all that impressed with her teacher. She is not a very enthusiastic or smiley person and is not very helpful as far as giving me specific info on Katie's progress. But the program is pretty much what we need it too be otherwise. It's a long enough block of time that I can leave and get other things done instead of waiting with two other kids in the hallway, there are transitions and routines similar to those in kindergarten, Katie is around new children, and her teacher is someone besides Mommy, you get the idea. Plus she enjoys going. 

This little guy also started a little parks and rec class once a week. We are quite happy with it and so is he. His teacher was Katie's dance teacher, so we already knew her. Very helpful because the first few weeks he struggled in class. Crying when I dropped him off, staying on task, etc.  Normal 2-year-old stuff. But tough for me to hear/ see. Thankfully he's an old pro now. Not with the staying on task part, but the saying goodbye at drop off.

Catching Up: Naked Napping (August 2012)

 Back at the end of the summer, when  Mr. E.was still napping (*Sigh.* How I miss nap time.), he used to cause all sorts of trouble up there in his room. This is by no means the worst damage I ever saw, but I just had to document the hilariousness of it. He would tears things apart, read some books, climb on the side of his bed and jump off, sometimes he would even strip off his clothes as seen here, then pass out on the floor. Always on the floor.

Catching Up: Summertime Fun (June 2012)

This is how Katie and Ethan spent the summer. Naked. Every time we played outside we either had the kiddie pool out or the water table full. When Katie gets we, she strips. And Ethan does whatever his cool big sister does. So naked kids were a regular thing. Which meant extra laundry for Mommy. Oh joy. I wish I could say that we have seen a reduction in load frequency, but we have been potty training Ethan since October. Not sure we are ever going to get back to a normal amount of laundry...

Catching Up: Almost Forgot... April 2012

Here's Ethan enjoying a few of his birthday presents in April.

Drilling away...

 ...without any pants. (Thanks, Sectors! This drill is still getting a lot of play time!)

 Ready for bed in our cool new Spidey pj's. (Thanks, Great Aunt Linda.)

And then there's this:

What? The dog kennel is not for kids?

Psha. It's fun in here.

Catching Up: Mother's Day Pool Party 2012

We have been learning how to jump off the side of the pool.

 

With a little help from our Puddle Jumpers, of course. These monkeys LOVE 'em!

 So much fun.

Catching Up: Dancing Girl (May 2012)

One of my goals for the new year is to catch up on this 'ole blog! And then to keep up with it the way I used to. (That darned move just screwed up my whole blogging schedule for the year.) There are quite a few little things I am afraid I will forget by the time I get around to scrapbooking them. (Also on that 2013 Goals List.) So here we go... The second half of 2012 in a nutshell. Starting with May.

 This was a fun dance class for Katie. It was also the last one she's taken because she started showing more of an interest in sports, so we enrolled her in sports class with Coach D. That's alright, though. The teacher, Miss Jennifer, is now Ethan's Tot Time Preschool teacher. (Pictures to come in August catch up.)

I do miss these cutie pie leotards. And watching her dance around the house after class. Maybe I will be able to convince her to take a class this summer?