Trick or Treat

James made sure people knew those were not his real muscles.  Luke almost skipped gleefully around collecting candy.  Mary watched with apprehension at all he litte ones running around.

The rain sent us home early, but it is probably for the best. We are sweet enough.

Happy Birthday Luke

5 years and ready to catch up to James. He is almost there!!

Costumes, pumpkins and cupcakes.  Such a big boy!

7 months and a Surprise

She is 7 months.  I may come undone when she turns 1.  Loving having a baby in the house !

And when cleaning out some old frames found baby pictures of the boys. They were bribed into this picture.  Totally worth it!

And it's costume season.  Here we are at a trunk or treat. The boys corrected everyone that it was "super girl".  It was pretty funny at times.

First (good) Joke

Knock Knocks by James

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Pizza

Pizza Who?

Would you pizza get me food?

A fine first work if you ask me.  So much better then the usual nonsense.

Rock Walls and Planes

Some pictures from our action packed weekend with Aunt Julia and Uncle Morgan. This dynamic duo taught both the boys proper repelling techniques, how to find proper hand holds, and got them all the way to the top of the climbing walls .  Now they can't wait to go back!!

We also took a break from climbing and flew a glider.  This plane was very resilient given our enthusiastic pilots.  

Great weekend was topped off with a trip to our favorite afghan restaurant where even the boys enjoyed the lamb and pumpkin.  A trip to Sweet Frog and we were living large.  

This morning the boys are missing everyone...the house is just too quiet.  Miss you guys!

Who does baby Mary look like?

Time for another installment of "break out the old baby pictures".  Not quite a fair representation because I could not find pictures of one of us.  But it was the best I could do for now.

What do you think?

Hint: Mary is in a super girl costume and holding a block.  There is 1 picture of James, 1 of Luke and 2 if me.  Can you tell who is who?

UPDATE: 

Top Left: Mary, Paige

Middle : Luke, James

Bottom: Mary, Paige

Good guesses!

William and Mary

Such sweetness between these two darlings.  Mary and her good friend William were so cute last night.  He was showing her hie to play with all his old baby toys.

She also got to play dress-up girlie style.  

So much fun!  The best part of the night might have been the "fashion show" and "dance party" the big kids put on.  Somehow I didn't get any pictures, but there was lots of upside down guitar playing, scarves, hats and random tools dangling from strange places. Use your imagination!

First Time in the Nursery

Before we left for church Mary was blissfully unaware....

 

...that I was going to leave her in the church nursery.  Neither one of us liked it apparently, because 30 minutes later when I went to check on her I was told she threw a fit .  And my sweet friend (who is also the child coordinator) was walking her around.  Apparently she was much quieter as long as they were moving.  But her little face was all sorts of red and blotchy. 

Well I scooped up that baby and didn't let go.  Maybe I'm not ready for this.  What can I say, she is my little sunshine.

Cox Farms

A delightful place tucked away in Centerville.  Goats to feed, animals and babies, BIG slides, apple cider, kettle corn, a corn maze and tractor rides . We took advantage of John being home and went on a weekday to avoid the crowds.

Not only did James insist he and John run through the corn maze twice, I purchased a bag of kettle corn bigger then Mary. 

Luke drank a gallon of cider and was the king of the slides.  Good times all around !

Soccer Saturday

Today's game was lots of fun.  Really, not a mishap or costume malfunction in sight.  James even dribbled the ball and almost scored a goal.  I almost cried I was so proud of him. Not really, but his team has come really far in 4 games and 3 practices!

Luke did his usual "can I play on your phone" the second we arrived.  Such a supportive soccer brother.  Mary, loved it now that she can sit on a blanket.  She had toys, water, grass and a lollipop to keep her happy.  She may even have squealed with delight at appropriate times, making big brother really proud. Don't tell him it was mostly due to a sugar treat she found after she dropped it.  Shhhh!

6 months and Soccer

Pretend it is 3 weeks ago: Today was James' first soccer game. Excitement was building and our family of five was ready to cheer on our budding star.

We arrived to the soccer field a little early to eat lunch. As I watched John load up like a pack mule I quickly realized I had packed way too much stuff. All I was missing was a case of water to make it appear we were preparing to take up residency at the soccer field for at least a week.

Game time was 1:00, we arrived probably at 12:25. Coach asked us to be 20 minutes early for warm up anyway.

And we needed a warm up because our team of first grade boys needed all the help they can get. Not one ounce of talent has peaked through yet....I am sure our coach may be able squeeze out some sort of team resembling soccer players, but it might take all 7 weeks of the season. All the parents of these mighty Green Dragons are fiercely supportive and are cheering on boys as the trip over their own feet, score for the other team, and prancersize across the field. My child may have even thrown in a cartwheel for good measure.

Things get really interesting when I mention that in my haste to get dressed this morning I put on maternity clothes by mistake....oh my goodness! So imagine me bouncing a grunting baby, pulling up saggy drawers, cheering a no-good team of misfits...and then the grunting baby poops all over herself and me. I almost died laughing at the nonsense of it all. Thankfully I had my sling, so her half naked self and my pooped shirt were covered and I could return to the baby bouncing, sagging clothing cheering sidelines.

I might get an F at being a soccer mom, but I get an A for effort.

Fast forward to last Saturday's game. Ready to admit defeat at this whole "dragging three kids to a soccer game" thing. Mary fell asleep right before kick-off and I refuse to wake a sleeping baby and drag her to a public setting where her grunting makes it sound like we are on the sidelines of Wimbledon. Especially given the fact that in game 2, my eldest announced very loudly during the game that he needed to use the facilities. As there are none available at this field, it required he and daddy to dash home for a quick potty break. So really, I was quite relieved I wasn't there for anymore bathroom mishaps this past week.

Luke, cheering on his brother. Poor kid dislikes sitting for hours watching James run around...he may never want to play on his own team.

Me and little missy cheering on big brother.

 

Can you spot him? (Hint, #3)

And, Mary is 6 months. Here is some cuteness to round out this mini novella of a blog post. Enjoy!