Trick-or-Treat

Joshua's preschool had a "Creation" party this past Wednesday. Children were to come dressed up in their costumes related to this theme. You can see Joshua wore his lion costume, but he refused to keep the hood up. Here is his class all together, thanks to the mom of the little girl who came dressed up as a flower (to the right of Mrs. Ford who is wearing the cow costume).

 

When Joshua started playing with his lions a lot, I ordered him this lion costume on Ebay. I had already gotten Caleb's giraffe costume on Craig's List, and I thought the two went together. I thought of the animal theme from our various trips to the different animal places we've been to recently like Lake Tobias or the Philly Zoo. Caleb looked so cute in his costume, but Joshua recently had a growth spurt, so the 3T didn't fit. I decided to order another one in a 4T. Only, when it got here, it didn't fit too well either (length-wise in the torso), and Joshua was already anti-lion costume at this point from his traumatic experience trying on the first one. 

So, when I saw a Thomas costume posted for $5 the night before Halloween on Craig's List, I decided to go for it. I really wanted to see the kids trick-or-treat and be happy and not miserable while doing so. Joshua was thrilled to be his favorite train, and Caleb was happy once Joshua was happy. 

We walked around our neighborhood, making it to a dozen or so houses before the boys were done and asked to go home. Caleb walked at first and then decided he wanted to be held by Dadda. He LOVED his pumpkin bucket (as did Joshua) but he wasn't so excited to have people put things in it. Joshua, on the other hand, happily said "trick-or-treat" as we went up to the houses and then got super shy when people answered their door. He said it to about three people and the rest he just said "thank you" after they put candy (or pretzels, etc) in his bucket. I really thought it was nice when people had things other than chocolate for the kids. We also ran into the boys' babysitter who was out with her parents and her younger brother and sister. 

Afterward, we went to my mom's house to 'trick-or-treat' since we still had lots of time until trick-or-treat was over and we only bought three bags of candy (figuring the boys would be done before the rest of the neighborhood...we just didn't think it would be that early). Grandma gave the boys animal crackers in their buckets. :) Joshua begged to play in her basement, so Grandma said she would enjoy having him stay an hour and she'd bring him home. We handed out candy after we got back, and Joshua came home around 8 pm. We put both boys to bed and curled up to one of the most stupid scary movies we've ever seen.

Happy Halloween!

Falling More in Love

 

Friday night, our babysitter Miranda came over to watch the boys, and Shawn & I went out to dinner. All we ordered was soup, so it was a cheap & relatively healthy date, and the company was fantastic as usual. :) After dinner, we stopped in at the new Best Buy in town. Shawn had tried to go there one time with the boys by himself while I was at school, but he didn't have much luck since Caleb decided to give him a 'present' while they were there. Joshua told me all about the 'music store,' which is the back room with all the pianos, guitars and drums. It was probably the coolest section of the store, in my opinion. Daddy likes all the electronics, of course.  

On Saturday, I met a couple friends I used to work with for lunch in Berks County. Again, I ate relatively cheaply and healthily, but it was nice to catch up. The drive wasn't bad on the way there, but it was ugly on the way home with construction. That night after I exercised, Shawn made dinner. What a man! Even though it was pouring outside, he grilled on our enclosed back porch and it was tasty. :) [On a side note, I LOVE this picture of Joshua. How cute is he in mid-jump!] 

Sunday was a really fun family day. The sun came out and it was beautiful! I went for a run, and it was sooo nice! We also went to Home Depot to buy some miscellaneous items we needed for the house, and Daddy took Joshua to the potty there. The Bean was proud of himself for using the potty at the 'potty store.' Haaa!!! After we were done shopping and browsing, I suggested we take the kids through the Christmas section of the store. They LOVED it! All the trees were lit up and they have all the yard inflatables set up. Joshua found Thomas with gifts from Sodor, and he thought this was so cool! We think yard inflatables are tacky, but I can see why families buy them now since Joshua thought they were neat. (Still, you won't be seeing any in our yard anytime soon.) Caleb went down for an early nap and when he woke up, we decided to eat lunch at El Rodeo on Manheim Pike. I suggested it because of the bright colors, figuring the boys (especially Joshua) would think it was a hoot. Unfortunately, the Bean was pretty tired at this point and ready for his own nap. So, while they were both amazingly well-behaved there, we didn't get the reaction we had expected. They both ate nicely, though, and Joshua even ate some rice. They both enjoyed the special treat of fried ice-cream after their meals, which we all split (the first pictures from this post were taken at the restaurant).  

After we came home, we were completely impressed by the weather. I don't think you could have asked for a nicer day. We raked leaves into a pile and let the kids jump into them. Then we tossed leaves onto each other and giggled away. Joshua thought this was so much fun. Caleb wasn't completely sure, but he liked being outside and walking through the leaves and kicking them around. Joshua rode his tricycle and is doing really well with pedaling. I helped rake the backyard, too, and we put the leaves in front of our house for Manheim Township to come and collect this morning. It was a really fun day, and the boys were in great moods, and so were we. Sunday was one of those moments that you wish would last forever. I think the boys are at great ages, and we have so much fun as a family. I'm so thankful for my husband and my sons. I also appreciate our house and the beautiful fall weather.

Later, I took a meal to our friends from life group who just had a baby. She was precious! It was great catching up with them, and I'm bummed I forgot to take in my camera. Doh! When I got home, I took the boys for a walk around the neighborhood to let Daddy get some things done like changing our shower curtain. :) :) :) 

We had a great weekend!

Happy 37-month birthday, Joshua!

 

Joshua turned 37-months old on October 18. In the meantime, I was having issues with blogger. First I ran out of picture storage, which Shawn purchased more room for me, and then I said to use the new software which puts my pictures in weird places and I can't seem to be able to type (as you may have noticed). So, I haven't posted as much lately. But, I must get better! I want this to be a little tribute to my babies, so I'm pressing on!!!

On Joshua's actual 37-month birthday, we did pumpkin carving, as I already blogged about. But, I didn't give an update on him. He has been completely enthralled with trains ever since our Day Out with Thomas. He LOVES his new Thomas books he got for his birthday, and my absolute favorite "new" thing he's been doing is reading them back to us, almost word for word. Now, he's not actually reading, mind you, but he memorizes the words on each page from what we've read to him and can pretty well re-tell the story so it looks like he's reading. His little mind never ceases to amaze me!

We also LOVE his singing. He's singing even more of the words to songs and sings pretty well in tune. So, if a song gets really high at the end, he does, too. We love it! There was a song on one of the Thomas shows that talked about sharing and after listening to it once, he was able to sing along with it. It's seriously the cutest thing we've ever seen.

And, while I always thought Joshua was skinny and small for his age, now that I've seen his pre-school, I think he's pretty average. He's also been eating us out of house and home this past week, and I think he & Caleb both have had a growth spurt recently. I'm going to have to take out some of the adjustable waist pants and re-size them, and I think it will soon be time for 4T shirts for the Bean and 18-month for Caleb. Both of them have really long torsos compared to the rest of their body, I think.

I also love how Joshua thanks God for everything. He prays and thanks God for very random things like triangles, trains, people (and he remembers folks we don't always think of!), nice days, etc. It's very sweet to listen to his heart. He'll also tell us he loves us without us saying it first, which is also heartwarming. He tells Caleb "I love you, Caleb" all the time with no response from the little guy quite yet. But, we tell him what a good big brother he is.

One of my favorite memories from his birthday was when he kept trying to eat the pumpkin insides. YUCK! He kept asking and asking and then said "there's watermelon in pumpkins!" Shawn was the first to realize that he meant "cantaloupe" (we always buy watermelon and cantaloupe together, and he must have gotten the two mixed up). He kept trying to eat the orange insides, thinking he had discovered cantaloupe, which he loves. We giggled. Silly Bean!

I see Joshua getting older and older, and I think I appreciate it more because I see the differences between him and Caleb. Joshua knows the boundaries to our yard; I trust Joshua playing with certain toys or books that I would never let Caleb have on his own without direct supervision, Joshua eats nicely with his utensils, and he's staying dry for the most part with his potty training. It's amazing to see a little baby grow to three years plus one month! I am honored God would allow me to see this transition and learn so much about His love in the process.

Happy 37-month birthday, my little Bean!

Cowboy Cuties

Here are the boys dressed up like cowboys. I saw the vest with the sheriff's badge for $3 on Craig's List, and I couldn't resist. Aunt Missy had given Joshua this hat a long time ago for a holiday, and Caleb's little shirt says "Cowboy Tigger." So, when we woke up and it was rainy out, I thought it would be a fun day to play dress up.

I realized that I haven't been posting much on happenings. Now it's hard to remember. Our life group started back up, and we're studying Discipline by James Dobson. I may have mentioned that before. Not sure! We're hosting our group on 11/1.

MOPS is also back up and running, and this past Tuesday I got my flu shot at MU and then went straight there. We had a really nice time. The group was smaller since several folks couldn't make it for one reason or another, and I actually preferred it that size. There were two gals I knew and two gals that we got to know better. It was a nice morning out. 

On Thursday, we went to Pumpkin World (which I already posted about) and then that night our neighborhood was shut down for the annual Costume Parade. I LOVE our development. The kids got ready at the school behind our house, and we got our chairs out and sat with our neighbors to watch the little parade go by. We saw Mrs. Ford, Joshua's preschool teacher, and my sister and her crew along with other neighbors and children. The kids (and us adults) really enjoyed it. For dinner, Daddy ran back and bought us some homemade chicken corn noodle soup from the various vendors for the fun night. Yum! We also learned that two houses in our development had been broken into during the day, but thankfully our house was protected. We've heard of lots of crime in Manheim Township lately, but this was the closest it's been. We thank God for His guarding of our home and lives.

 

Jen had asked me to pick up Faith on Friday at the elementary school since she was on a field trip with Emma's class. We walked back to get her, and she & Joshua giggled at each other the whole way home. She begged for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (sure! that's easy!) and I realize it's because they don't have anything with peanuts in their house because Daniel is allergic. She also asked to play hide 'n seek, but just about that time, her mom was there to pick her up. Next time! After she went home, we played cowboys.  

They played 'round up' with their loot, a new "toy" that Daddy got them. This is our version of an indoor sandbox. It's a plastic bin with a lid that Daddy filled with a mixture of dry corn, peanuts and seeds. They have their shovels, scoops & bowls and enjoy playing in it. Now, Caleb tends to get it everywhere but Joshua is very careful with this fun toy. We also are concerned with Caleb not eating it. But, they highly enjoy it!

Pumpkin World

This past Thursday, my friend Julie asked if we would be interested in going to Pumpkin World with them. This display of pumpkins is located behind Funk's Farm Market in Millersville near the University. We said yes! The first stop was to see the "big pumpkin" as Joshua called it. Here are Joshua, Jude, Caleb & Kate. 

Next we drove the "cool bus"...  

And we determined who was tallest... 

Fun times with friends... are we corny or what? Julie said she liked that my pumpkin sparkled. Haaa!!! We took the pictures ourselves. :)

  

Next Joshua drove the Funk's Express Train... he LOOVED the train.

I tried to sit with him in the dining car and he got up too quickly, leaving me by myself. 

The playground area was so cool with play houses and Noah's ark and slides and things to climb on and a sand box, etc.

Next, we checked out Big Bird, who looks like he was choking on a gourd.

And we looked at the various pumpkin displays... they were very creative! From Old MacDonald to BINGO to the Big Bad Wolf & Three Little Pigs to Mother Goose and just about everything in between!

 

Hay, boys! 

Driving the tractors was another fun moment for the boys (and girl!) 

We checked out the Farm Market and then headed to Jack's for lunch, which I haven't been to since I actually went to school there. It was a fun afternoon! Thanks for the invite, Julie!