Happy Halloween!

Even though Brian had to work late, and I stayed home sick from work today (which I never do), there was no stopping us from having a happy Halloween. The girls were ready and rarin' to go Trick or Treating as soon as they got home. Camryn was so excited she couldn't even eat dinner beforehand.

Once we were home, fed, and in PJ's, Camryn had to "sort" her candy. This was entirely her idea! The poor thing. She totally takes after me. The whole sorting and organizing thing is an illness. It really is. I ALWAYS sorted my candy on Halloween. And Easter. And Valentine's Day. And after the 4th of July parade. Nowadays it's not so much candy as it is towels, baby clothes, labeled Rubbermaid tubs full of whatever. It doesn't matter. They're labeled.

She was so proud of herself. She placed everything in the following categories, (and in perfect rows): suckers, smarties, chocolate, M&Ms (apparently she received enough that they needed their own category), chewy/fruity, and crunchy. Hey, at least her future Kindergarten teacher will be pleased that she can already identify common attributes and sort items according to their characteristics.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Fun Fall Weekend

One Fall Festival + A pumpkin party at the Olson's + Sleeping in until 7:00(!) + Staying in our jammies until noon + Carving the rest of our pumpkins + Popcorn and a movie after nap + Baking cookies + A trip to the park = ONE GREAT WEEKEND!

Swinging in the Olsons' back yard (a.k.a. "Fort Awesome!")

Decorating Pumpkins with Tyler

Yes, that is a binky in Aubrey's pumpkin's mouth

Can you tell who's pumpkin is who's?

Do we know how to cram our fun into two short days, or what?

Happy Birthday Papa!

October is a big birthday month in our family. In a two week period, we have four birthdays to celebrate! Today it's Papa's turn...

We wish we could be with Papa to help him celebrate, but we send him e-wishes instead. We love you, Papa! Have a great day!

Fall Festival

Tonight, while Brian worked, the girls and I attended my school's annual Fall Festival. It's a fun event where the kids can wear their costumes, eat goodies, participate in crafts, and trick-or-treat at the classroom doors. It's free, it's safe, and it's fun. All which sound great to me!

Tonight marked Camryn's fourth year in attendance, but we've had an especially good time the last few years when we've met our friends and wandered around with them. The girls seem to think they're already big enough to attend elementary school, and have no problem fighting the crowds to get to the candy. Go figure...

The obligatory front porch photo before we left. (P.S. I did NOT ask Camryn to pose that way. I think it was her attempt to appear sweet and innocent. Or something like that.)

Camryn and her friend Taryn, the bat

Our friends, Lori and Mia the monkey

The girls and monkey Mia

Happy Birthday Uncle Dan!

We had fun at your birthday brunch this weekend, and we hope you have a good day today!!! Enjoy your trip to Colorado! We love you!

Pumpkin Patch, Part II

This weekend, we visited another pumpkin patch with a group of Camryn's friends from her preschool and their families. The kids all wore their costumes to Lake View Farms, and enjoyed a train ride out to the patch, as well as a ride in the 'caterpillar,' a visit with some animals, and a view of the lake. Camryn of course, flitted around from friend to friend, like a true fairy, and refused to touch any pumpkins because, "I don't want to get my beautiful costume dirty," while Aubrey the ladybug calmly observed from the baby backpack.

Since we were already in North Plains, and in costume, we took the opportunity to stop by and trick-or-treat a little early at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They then treated us to lunch, where Camryn got to help the waitress make the guacamole for our table. What a fun day!

A warm autumn day

This afternoon, I picked the girls up a bit early, and we headed home where we got to spend some time hanging out in the backyard. It was so warm and pleasant, and I think the fresh air did us all some good. Camryn even found a fuzzy caterpillar friend to play with in the grass. :)

The Pumpkin Patch!

Never a dull moment

• 3:30 p.m. Leave work a little early since it is our "Friday." Yahoo!
  
• 3:45 Swing by the store to pick up a copy of Sleeping Beauty as a surprise for Camryn. (She has coveted it since we found out it was coming out on DVD.) Looking forward to a good, mellow movie night while Brian works. Ahhh....
  
• 4:00 Pull up to daycare during a mild sprinkle and find out Aubrey has been acting "not quite right" all day, and still can't seem to shake the runny nose
• 4:15 Call pediatrician after strapping kids in carseats in the POURING rain. Nurse advises us to come right in. "Can we be there in 20 min? Sure!" Ok, slight derailment to movie night plan, but I can roll with this.
• 4:30 Nearly to highway. Must make a detour pit stop at home, because Camryn "has to go poopy and can't hold it!" Will definitely be late to the ped's.
• 4:50 Arrive at Dr. D's. Definitely an ear infection. Great.
  
• 5:00 Rain is coming down in BUCKETS as I strap girls BACK into carseats for the third time. Approach highway 217. Both girls are hungry and fussy. Scratch that. 217 is a parking lot. Will be slow and miserable ride home. Detour!
• 5:15 Arrive at Outback Steakhouse restaurant. Nurse baby in car, while Camryn eats carrots left over from my lunch to keep her busy and tide her over. Walk through the rain to stumble into the restaurant, with one baby, one toddler, one diaper bag, and one blanket in tow. I'm also still wearing my "Templeton Rocks!" tshirt. The hostess looks at me with pity.
• 5:20 I've gotta have some sort of baby food in this bag somewhere. Aha! One container of baby applesauce. But...no spoon or bib. Feed baby using burp rag tucked into shirt as a pseudo-bib, and a GIANT Outback spoon. Remember during dinner to call Dad and wish him a happy birthday. Allow Camryn to use cell phone to do the honors as I SHOVEL applesauce into the baby.
  
• 6:15 Tummies are finally full. Drag kids across parking lot to Rite-Aid to pick up antibiotic prescription. Must wait inordinate amount of time while check out girl processes insurance. Camryn plays "hopscotch" in the tile squares on the floor. Baby on hip. Is that nurse SURE she only weighs 17 pounds?
• 6:30 Drag girls BACK across the parking lot in the POURING rain, and strap BACK into carseats. Cross fingers that traffic has cleared up on 217.
• 6:35 Sitting in parking lot on 217. WHY AREN'T YOU PEOPLE AT HOME EATING DINNER LIKE NORMAL HUMANS? (Starting to lose patience.)
  
• 7:00 p.m. Arrive at home. Executive decision: no baths tonight. Jammies, meds, milk, bed for Aubrey. Sink bath, teeth brushed, homework (X words????---good thing we brainstormed the other night) and abbreviated movie night for Camryn. (We'll have to watch the rest tomorrow.) Advil, chocolate, and online therapy (a.k.a. blogging) for me.

Perhaps we should try movie night some other time?

Happy Birthday Gwampa & 'Mas!

A happy birthday wish today to both my dad and my brother-in-law, Tomas (a.k.a. 'Mas). The two of them actually share quite a bit: the same sense of humor, the same unending knowledge of random facts, the same enjoyment of obscure films, AND the same birthday! It seems fitting. We celebrated last weekend with a family dinner at Pause, and had a great time. We hope they enjoy their day! Happy Birthday Gwampa and 'Mas!

Brought to you by the letter "X"

Since school started this fall, Camryn has had homework to do a few nights a week. Usually this consists of choosing something to bring for show and tell, or finding pictures of things that begin with a particular letter. She truly looks forward to her homework nights, and we've had fun trying to find creative ways to help her with her work.

Well, this week's letter is "x." So last night, we were brainstorming words that have an 'x' in them before we went searching.

"How about 'box'?" I suggested.

"Or, 'exercise'?" Brian offered.

After a moment's pause, Camryn responded to our suggestions with, "How about 'accessories'? That has an 'x'!"

Um. Well. Not quite. But she certainly did have the right idea. At that point, I wasn't sure whether to be more impressed with the fact that 'accessories' DOES sound like it is spelled with an 'x,' or with the fact that a word like 'accessories' even popped into her head! I mean, how did THAT happen?

Either way, I guess 'accessories' clearly beats 'box.' I sure do hate it when my three year old is smarter than me...

Uh Oh, Somebody Left Their Password Out...

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Melanie left her password lying around and I've decided to do my first post ever. You'll soon see why she didn't post this video...

Enjoy,
Brian

So close

Aubrey's latest goal is crawling, and she's getting closer every day. She can now get her front end and back end up in the air at the same time, but only for a moment. Often, she'll end up pushing so forcefully with her upper body, that she slides backwards instead of moving forward.

We can tell she's intent on moving though, because even when sitting up to play, she has started to rock back and forth, like she's trying to get somewhere. She also gets very upset if we walk away from her, and leave her to stay put in any given place. She wants to MOVE, people, not be stationary!!! I for one, however, can wait a little while longer for her to be mobile, because I think it's at that point that my life becomes exponentially more complicated... :)