Happy Birthday, Grandma Linda!

Yes, my mom was a Halloween baby. :) While it must have been cool as a kid to have a birthday on Halloween, I always felt sorry for her over the years (or maybe since I've grown older and am now a mom) that we can never celebrate her birthday ON her actual birthday. Still, we were able to celebrate the other night with the whole family and then got to see her when she stopped by to see the kids before they went trick-or-treating. Mom, thanks for all you do for our family! We love you!

Carving Pumpkins

Reese was all ready to carve a pumpkin! (Actually, she colored a picture while her dad used the knife. But she was a great cheerleader!)

Helping her dad take off the top.
Ryan loved scooping out the seeds.
I finally coaxed him into sticking his hand in there.
His reaction? "Ew! Disgusting!"

P is for Picture

I promise I did not intend to dress my kids in these shirts today, but I had to smile when I realized what both of them said.
If you can't see it, Reese's shirt says, "A is for Awesome" and Ryan's says, "T is for Train."

Fall Break Fun!

Since I had Thursday and Friday off this week, we decided it would be the perfect time to visit our good friends, Jen and Jeremy. They recently had a new baby and moved into a new house, so we couldn't wait to visit them! The kids did a fantastic job on the trip there and back. (It was a little over 6 hours with all of our stops we made.)

Jeremy and Jen have 3 kids: Carter (4), Leah (2), and Elliot (4 months). It was great because they all played so well together. Sometimes the 4-year-olds were paired up, and the other times the girls paired up while the boys played. It was hard to tell who had more fun: the adults or the kids!

I just loved this picture of Carter giving his baby brother a little kiss on his hand!

Jen (holding Elliot) is such an amazing mom--so patient, positive, and energetic!

Leah was constantly cracking us up--she has a vivacious personality!
The kids loved this little playhouse in the backyard.
Reese and Carter kept themselves entertained for quite awhile raking leaves.
Oh--and then jumping in them, of course!
Elliot is such a good little baby!

On Friday afternoon we went to a local farm to have a little fall fun.

Jeremy had the stilts thing down pretty well. The rest of us, well--not so much. Thank goodness Joel didn't get a shot of me wiping out!

Thankfully Reese did better than her mom. :)
They had these really cool slides in the woods that the kids (and the dads) loved!

Reese and Leah had a great time racing down the long slide.

Carter is such a fun-loving kid!

Leah was Joel's little buddy. :)

Jen and Jeremy, thank you so much for letting us come to visit you guys and feeding us so well while we were there. Carter and Leah, thank you for sharing your toys with our kids (and Joel, too). Elliot, thanks for letting Ryan crash in your crib. Indy, I'm sorry you had to leave your comfy house because of Ryan's allergies. :( We can't wait to visit you guys again soon!

Kids Say (and Do) the Darndest Things!

One of Ryan's new phrases is: "What your pro-bem?" (What's your problem?) He'll lovingly cup our faces with his hands and get face to face and ask in all seriousness: "What your pro-bem?" But I just had to laugh when he was looking at the fish in the grocery store aquariums and pointing to each one saying, "What YOUR pro-bem? What YOUR pro-bem? What YOUR pro-bem?" (By the way, my 3rd Graders think this is hysterical and have now started using this phrase constantly. It's hilarious!)

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Reese was asking about birthdays and whether or not kids would go right to kindergarten once they turn 5. I was trying to explain to her that even though she turns five in March, she'll wait until August to go to Kindergarten.

Me: So, after you turn five in March, you'll still stay in Junior Kindergarten--

Reese interrupted: --Which I looooooove---because I get TWO SNACKS!

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For the past couple of months, Ryan has been walking around with his hands in his pockets. He'll be waiting on something or just cruising the toy aisles at Target and it just looks like he's chillin' out. For some reason, it makes him look SO BIG and I just can't stand it. Here's him waiting for his milk.

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I was tucking Ryan into bed tonight and told him we were going to visit Carter, Leah, and Baby Elliot. I then told him their parents are Miss Jen and Mr. Jeremy. He looked at me with an inquisitive look and asked, "Who Mir Jer-my?"

I explained, "Mr. Jeremy is Carter, Leah, and Baby Elliot's daddy."

He thought for a few seconds and then asked, "He have big muscles?"

"Yes, Ryan--Mr. Jeremy has big muscles." I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but hopefully it will make Jeremy feel good!

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My mom and dad have been ANGELS the past couple of days, watching Reese while I had parent/teacher conferences. My mom and Reese baked cupcakes yesterday, then sent 6 of them home for us to share. Tonight after dinner, she went to get the container and noticed one was missing. She became very upset and put her head down on the container and sobbed, "Oh...these cupcakes were so special to me!"
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We were talking about babies one day with the kids and asked Ryan a few questions about them:
Joel: How did you get here?
Ryan: Mommy picked me up.

Me: Where were you born?
Ryan: (pointing to the TV) On the TV. (We had just recently watched home videos of him as a baby.)

Joel: Where were you before that? In Mommy's belly or her toes?
Ryan: Mommy's tummy.

Joel: How did you get in there?
Ryan: I cwimbed in 'dere. (I climbed in there.)

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Mommy: Reese, did you have a good day?
Reese: Not necessarily.

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After the visit to the pumpkin patch last Saturday, we returned to our house and plugged the camera into the TV to look at the pictures. After we were finished Ryan said, "My favit part was popcorn!" Then he walked over to Reese and asked, "What your favit part, Weese?"

She gave her answer and he said, "Okaaaaay." Then he walked over to Grandma Marsh, sat right in front of her and asked, "What your favit part, Gwandma Marsh?" She gave her answer and he said, "Okaaaaay." He proceeded to go around and ask each of us the same question (2 or 3 times each) until we ran out of answers.

Grandma Marsha said he'd make a great news reporter someday...though hopefully he would learn to ask more than one question during the interview!

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I love that even though Ryan mispronounces many words, he doesn't let that affect his spirit. He now tries to teach US how to say words. Tonight he earned a marshmallow after going on the potty. He squealed with delight and said, "Yay! Mar-ma-whoa! Say, Marsh-"
Me: "Marsh-"
Ryan: "Ma-"
Me: "Ma-"
Ryan: "Mow."
Me: "Mow."
Ryan: "Mar-ma-whoa!"
Me: "Mar-ma-whoa." (I know, it doesn't make sense to me either.)

But he will also correct you if you say it incorrectly. If he says "si-wee" instead of "silly," heaven forbid WE say "si-wee." He will make us say it over and over until we say it the right way.

Si-wee boy!!!

Countdown to HSM 3!!!

Only 3 more days until the premiere of High School Musical 3! Is it sad that I'm just as excited (if not more) than Reese??? We've been enjoying the new music from the show for a couple of weeks on Radio Disney and have even checked out some of the music video clips on YouTube.

If you're not familiar with High School Musical, it follows lead characters Troy (the basketball star) and Gabriella (a math/science whiz) as they decide to try out for the high school musical. Sharpay (the high school diva) and her twin brother, Ryan, aren't too thrilled about other people trying out for their musical, so they try to prevent them from auditioning. But in the end, Troy and Gabriella auditioned and won the parts in the school musical.

I know some people might think it's odd that a 4-year-old girl (and her 2-year-old brother) watch a movie called High School Musical. But I'll tell you what, it is very clean and innocent. Reese gets very scared with normal Disney movies such as "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "Finding Nemo," etc. If there's a villain or a scary part in the movie, forget it--she won't even watch it. In HSM there are no bad people or scary scenes, which means no bad dreams at night for Reese!

We also love HSM for its awesome musical soundtracks. So this morning after dropping Reese off at school (I have the morning off due to parent/teacher conferences), Ryan and I headed to Target as it opened to buy the HSM 3 soundtrack! We surprised Reese with it when we picked her up from school. I know what we're going to be listening to nonstop for the next few weeks!

Stonycreek Farm 2008

Every year we go to Stonycreek Farm to pick out our pumpkins. This is the place I always went to as a child, so it's very cool to be able to now go there with my own children. Joel's parents, Doug and Marsha, were able to come and join us for the day. They just returned from a 10-day trip to Ireland and England, so it was nice to spend some time with them.

The big favorite: kettle corn! And who knew? Ryan is not allergic to it!

Reese and Ryan posing for a picture by the big barn.

The kids with Grandpa Doug and Grandma Marsh.

After polishing off the kettle corn, we took a hayride to go to the pumpkin patch.
Once we got off the hayride, Reese searched for half a minute before exclaiming, "This might just be the perfect pumpkin!" Wanting to spend at least a few more minutes in the pumpkin patch, I encouraged her to look around for a pumpkin that was even more perfect.
Grandma Marsh helped Reese find THE perfect pumpkin.
Ryan was on the search for his "perfit pun-kin." He had the most fun trying to pick up the biggest "pun-kins" he could find.

It was about an hour past Ryan's naptime, and the kids were coming off of their kettle corn sugar highs. I chose the wrong time to ask for a family picture. Ryan's face just says it all--"I'm not smiling until I get more kettle corn."
We headed back to the main gathering spot and let the kids play in the haystacks a little more. Ryan had a blast climbing to the top and then jumping off onto the hay below. That boy has no fear!
He also enjoyed rolling around and covering himself in the hay. Hey--another thing he is not allergic to: hay. Whoo-hoo!
Reese took the more graceful approach to the bales of hay: using them as a slide.
That's my girl, Reese!
I had to dig Ryan out of the hay so we could leave.
But before we left, Doug tried out the pumpkin slingshot. You had three chances to fling the tiny pumpkin and hit the boat floating in the water. I think two out of his three landed very close and then skipped across the water and hit the side of the boat. It was very impressive!

If we have a chance, we may try to go back before the end of the season. I don't think I can wait a whole year for some more kettle corn. :)

Dancing Dolls

Reese had her dance recital this week. (I use the term "recital" loosely here.) :) The girls all wore their own princess costumes (ours was courtesy of Grandma Linda--thank you!) and performed several dances. Kelly, Grace, Clare, and my parents were able to attend. Joel couldn't make it since it was during the day, so I videotaped it for him. So I apologize for the pictures--I had to keep the videocamera going and couldn't really do anything spectacular with my still camera.

The girls reviewed some basic steps before the show.

"You can dance...You can jive!" (Dancing to "Dancing Queen.") It was just too cute for words. :)
The girls did a little princess medley that even included a little waltz.
After the show, Ms. Kelley gave each of the girls a little gift--ballet stickers and a ballet pencil. It made Reese's day!
Reese and Faith (Faith is not only in her dance class but in her school class as well.)
Reese with Grace and Clare

I'm not sure if she'll continue with dance or if she'll want to try something new--it kind of changes every day. :) I don't know anyone else who's indecisive like that...or do I?

Our Visit to Build-a-Bear :)

On Saturday morning, Reese earned her 35th sticker on her chart. Yes, she had to earn 35--we're tough around here! :) She earned one almost every night for sleeping in her own bed. Sure, she still comes in for a little reassurance, but I just walk her back to her room. The main point is--I'm no longer getting kicked in the back or getting pushed off of the edge of my own bed!

The happy girl after putting on her last sticker.

We didn't waste any time and headed to the mall that morning to go to Build-A-Bear.

Reese picked out her heart and made a wish...probably that she could go back to sleeping in her parents' bed. Ryan made a wish and then put the heart inside his monkey.
He got to press the pedal to make the stuffing go into the bear.
Reese making her wish. ;)

Reese got to help stuff her bear, too.

Afterwards, Reese and Ryan went to "groom" their new friends.

Ryan could've done this all day. :)

After picking out her new friend's outfit, Reese got it dressed all by herself.

Joel helped Ryan name his new monkey, Mitch.

Reese named her little bear, Kayleigh.

Ryan wanted to carry (or drag) his box all the way to the car.

We are very proud of Reese and Ryan for earning their new friends!