Happy Halloween?

    Halloween played a nasty trick on Connor this year by giving him tonsilliths. Tonsil stones. Yeah, sounds pretty nasty. And it is pretty nasty! It's like tonsilitis. Sore throat, coughing, sinus infection. He's been sick on and off for a month. He'd get a little break here and there, so I thought he just kept catching colds!! Poor little man. So he's on medication now. I wasn't sure if I should send him to school today or not, but school won out. It's Halloween! Everybody got to dress up and bring candy to school! I couldn't make him miss out on that. But I wish I had, because I got a call from them saying that he had been crying non-stop for 20 minutes and I needed to come get him. :( He's happy to be home now. He doesn't do well with change, and being dressed up and not doing normal 'school' things must have thrown him a little too far out of his comfort zone... Hopefully trick-or-treating tonight isn't a disaster!
   In the meantime, we enjoyed a little snow last week. Today is a record high of 75 degrees... Last night we carved pumpkins.

 

A few days ago I gave the boys an oceanic experience. I found a blog with lots of fun ideas for messy play! It was so fun! ...for me.

 

 

 I thought it was so cool! But the boys, while they loved the colored water and the fish, were not happy about the seaweed! (dyed noodles) Honestly, I never realized until recently how neat-freaky my boys are! They despise being dirty! Max avoided any noodles at all costs. Connor got a little better with time. By the end of the bath, he'd managed to stick half of the noodles to the walls.

In between the ocean bath and the REAL bath they had the best time! While I was busy cleaning up the noodles and refilling the tub, they were busy playing naked robot. Max found a plastic bucket to put on his head and chased Connor all around the house. All I could hear were squeals and laughter, and managed to get a couple of great photos!!

 

We had our pictures taken Saturday, so family members.. keep an eye on your mail in a few weeks!

And now, turn up your volume. We have a growler in the family. (Sorry it's sideways.)

 

Maggie

She's four months old! She's talking all the time, and is reaching up to grab things. Usually my chin. I've gotten a few tiny giggles out of her, but I'm anxious for a good laugh!

 

She's getting chunkier every day. And her smiles just keep getting bigger! Mostly because she adores me, but c'mon. Who doesn't?

 

It's just occurring to me now that I don't have as many pictures of her as I thought. Better get on that! We are having our family pictures taken two weeks from today. Hopefully the kids are cooperative enough for some good ones!

 

Lions, tigers, bears.... elephants, giraffes, clowns, etc

    The circus came to town!! I think I was the most excited out of all of us! Rob was unenthusiastic about going, and the boys were a little excited, but since they had never been to a circus before, they weren't jumping up and down with glee. Like I was. So I bought tickets. And we went. And it was FANTASTIC! It was Ringling Bros & Barnum and Bailey. The best of the best. We watched the elephants cross the city streets on their way into the building. We bought cotton candy that came with crazy hats.

 

I took a few pictures of the very beginning of the circus, where every act paraded around, getting the crowd amped up. And then my camera battery died. But it was a magical night! Maggie and the boys were fascinated, and even Rob left impressed!

 

 

A couple days ago Mom and I took the kids to the zoo. It was beautiful outside, about 75 degrees and breezy. The zoo is under construction, so it didn't take long for us to go through the whole thing. But we had a good time! We had some up close and personal time with a tiger and the polar bear. I didn't get pictures of the bear, but I got great ones of the tiger.

 

And we have a new baby giraffe!

 

So cute!

It was the most perfect day! The rest of the afternoon was spent outside, and then supper and a bath. The kids were all happy, there was not one fuss all day, and they were asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow! I couldn't have been happier!

 

As far as the house goes, not a whole lot has been accomplished since my last update. I did finish the main bathroom a while ago.

 

Rob has been working on the fence in our backyard when he has time off.

 

A few more posts and the pickets can go up! I can't wait until I can send the boys outside and not have to worry about them running off. Oh, the energy that can be burned off by them in the near future!

 

 

 

 

 

Slipperies

   There are some things I don't want to forget. Like Max calling helicopters 'helliloppers'. And saying, "Mommy, I have your slipperies!" while putting my slippers on my feet for me. I want to remember how he says thank you for everything. "Oh! Thank you for my kleenex!" "Thank you, thank you for my rice!!" He's an extraordinarily thankful and helpful little boy. Any little piece of paper/wrapper/junk I have in my hand, he immediately takes to the garbage for me. And he loves to clear the table and throw the dishes in the sink! I've had to purchase plastic plates from Target for that very reason.
   I want to remember Connor singing his new songs that he learned in preschool. Especially at night while they are lying in bed. I want to remember that right now, and probably only for a little while, he wants to hug me all the time. How he started our nightly (and now daily) tradition of monster kisses. That he sings Barney's Clean Up song every time he is picking up his toys. How he breaks out in sobs for the tiniest correction, while Max is stubborn and keeps his chin up instead of shedding a tear.
   There are so many things I know I've already forgotten. Time really does speed by! I wish I could hold onto every precious moment.