Fall Fun: jack-o-lanterns, trick or treating, birthday, and more!

We took advantage of a warmer day in October to carve some pumpkins.  Emerson was all into the digging of the "guts" while Landon preferred playing in the grass!  But they turned out pretty cute!  

I also got to celebrate my 34th birthday this week!  I got surprised at school with a bouquet of flowers and had homemade beef and noodles with mom and dad.  The next night, I had a surprise dinner at the Chubby Trout with the fam and a night of "sparkly" presents.  Because, according to the kids, "Mommy likes sparkly clothes."  Where they got that idea, I don't know! :) 

 

Our little trick-or-treaters

We had two fall parties (on a very cold Sunday, as you can see!).  We went to Trunk or Treat at the Davis' church.  This was our first time at the event and we'd definitely go back.  The kids had a great time playing the games and trying to find their way through the John Davis corn maze.  We arrived at the same time as the Frye's, so we got to enjoy the afternoon with them.  Then, we went to our Sunday School party at the Schmucker's.  We had a great time decorating pumpkins, on a hayride, and terrorizing the cats! :)

And one more picture of a cozy time watching the Bears game!

He Grew Some More and Now He's 4!

Landon kept talking about his birthday and all the things he could do when he was 4. ("When I'm 4, I will like pasta."  I'm still not sure that was a true statement!)  We let him open gifts from us on his actual birthday (soccer goal, new church clothes, birthday book) and he always has to take a picture by his birth tree.

Then on Saturday, he had a Team Umizoomi Birthday Party.  It's his favorite cartoon to watch. The characters (Milli, Geo, and Bot) go on adventures and have to use math to solve their problems.  Really cute show! 

Grandparents Berger and Hahn, Davis', Fryes', Great Grandpa Stan and Shirley, and for the first time all Uncles and Aunts came to his party.  We started with an Umizoomi Scavenger Hunt and then moved on to presents.  He was very thoughtful and polite, except when he opened a game that he already owns: "BOO!  I already have this game!" he said! :P  Amos and Grace tried to do headstands throughout the present opening (I think Grace won!!).

 Then it was lunch and cupcake time.  Cupcakes are the way to go!  Much easier and quicker than decorating an entire cake!!

After the party, Landon introduced Tyler to Dinosaur Pop-Up (a clone to the game Trouble) and we COULD NOT get those boys to stop!  They played at least 5 games in a row.  They loved it and did so well playing together!

Landon is such a sweetheart!  We are so blessed to have him in our family.  He catches on to things really quickly.  He loves numbers, can add and subtract, recognizes several words, loves playing with cars, and throwing balls.  He tries his best and doesn't like to disappoint.  We are so excited for the wonderful adventures God has planned for him!

Sleepover Fun!

Well, apparently September has come and gone and I have yet to write a blog entry!  We spent most of the month trying to get back into a school routine.  We also managed to stick in a few fun things for the kids.  Since staying with their Grandmas again, both kids have been really good at taking naps.  So after they brush their teeth and get ready for bed at night, the kids have been each working on a quiet box (the tower of boxes behind Emmy in the 1st picture).  And every night they've been BEGGING, when they put their boxes away, to sleep in our room.  One Friday night, after "Charlotte's Web" and popcorn, we had a sleepover with the kids in their sleeping bags.  They were SUPER excited as you can tell by their faces in the pictures below! :)

This picture cracks me up! :)

Also, in the month of September, they had a "real" sleepover at the Frye's along with the Davis' kids.  They had a great time and LOVED every minute of it.  They keep asking when their next sleepover is.  I think we've created some sleepover monsters! ;)
And in an unrelated note....Emerson is POTTY TRAINED!  She finally decided that she could do it all in the toilet and we got rid of her Pull-Ups.  Congratulations, Little Miss!
We're still working on Landon and trying to motivate him by telling him that when everyone is potty trained, we can spend the night in a hotel with a pool.  All he has left is staying dry when he sleeps.  We're ALMOST there!