Andy's Fall Fun Party

Apparently we picked an exciting preschool. In 3 days of classes he's met the fire department and had a Fall Fun party. This picture came in my email and was titled spider catch. Andy refuses to give me any additional details. He says we can't talk about it because I wasn't there. Alrighty, then. We'll just speculate that it captured his attention and he was probably glad they weren't real spiders.
His second favorite hobby = eating

All the classes lined up and paraded down the sidewalk. Luke and I had a great time watching.

The cute little clone trooper in the middle refused to look at me.

I love the teacher's costume. I wish I could be a crayon for Halloween.

The kids sang "I'm a Little Pumpkin" to the tune of I'm a Little Tea Pot.

The kiddos didn't seem too impressed by the whole event but all the parents and siblings oohed and ahhed appropriately.

The Bees, the Fair and a Little Beaver

Life keeps movin' right along for the five bees. This particular bee is a little disgruntled. Our new Pediatrician said the binky needed to go. Pronto. So we cut them up and threw them away. This picture sums up Andy's feelings about the whole situation. He has actually done really well, but struggles in the late afternoon and asks me to go buy some more. Nope.
We promised the boys a trip to the state fair. Eli didn't seem too excited about an outing, so Steve took Luke and Andy. They had a great time and Luke did a nice job of choosing rides that Andy was tall enough to ride.

Of course they chose all the motorcycle and monster truck rides. The weather was beautiful and apparently it was quite crowded, so they came home after lunch.

I was pretty content to stay at home and enjoy some time with Eli. I think he might be part beaver. If we don't keep an eye on him, he heads straight for the kitchen table and starts chewing on the chairs. It's a little pathetic. He has more toys than he could possibly chew on in one day, but he prefers the furniture. Great.

First Day of Preschool

When we first moved here, every mom I met felt compelled to tell me about her favorite preschool. I nodded and smiled politely, thinking there was no way Andy could have his whole world turned upside down and start a new preschool. After several mornings of nearly tearing my hair out as he followed me around the house, observing my every move and begging me to take him somewhere, I began to question the wisdom of my decision. I don't think I could have been more wrong. I marched us right over to the YMCA and signed him up. Here he is, in his official first-day-of-school Spiderman shirt.

When I checked my email this morning, I was so happy to have all of these wonderful pictures in my inbox. I was glad Andy felt brave enough to go to school by himself, but I drove away feeling a little sad that I didn't stick around and take a few pictures. So glad his teachers took plenty. He is very concerned that we don't have this pumpkin painting in our possession. I'm sure they kept it so it could dry, but he is convinced that someone is going to swipe it.
Is there anything more awesome than climbing in the fire engine on your very first day of school? I'm a little concerned about what will happen on day 2 when there isn't a fire engine...

Helping the fireman with his helmet. This is supposed to teach the children that if a firefighter ever comes to your house they should remember that it is someone very friendly and helpful inside the equipment and not to be afraid. Well, I guess they will already be afraid if a firefighter is coming to their house for an emergency, but no additional fear necessary...you get the picture.
Hooray for a great first day of preschool. He is already very eager to go back. In fact, a little disappointed that he couldn't go this morning.

One Quick Trip

We piled everybody and almost everything we owned in the car yesterday and zipped off to Charlotte for a whirlwind visit with Steve's family. Andy and Luke actually sat still for 3 minutes without hitting each other this afternoon and now I have the picture to prove it. They were very cooperative for our impromptu photo op, such sweet boys. Sometimes.

Eli was able to meet his grandparents for the first time, what a treat. Given our adventures this last year, we didn't come to any family gatherings. Someone mentioned this was the first time in more than 2 years that we were all together. Wow.

The cousins chased each other almost non-stop. Mariah was in a musical so the chasing ceased for a few hours so we could see her performance. My boys were up at 6am today, begging to wake their cousins up. The festivities began again once the sun was up. We intervened with aunt Holly's famous chocolate chip pancakes and a full spread for brunch, then they were back to their usual tricks right away. What a joy to have a wide variety of ages that play so well together. Can't wait to see what happens when Eli is in the mix.

Ten-Ten-Ten

On this tenth day of this tenth month in the year two thousand and ten, what better subject to blog about then my favorite ten month old? He likes to sit up and take it all in. And let me just say there is a lot to take in around here. He laughs and squeals, enjoying the sound of his own voice, I think. I've started signing with him at meal times but I'm making about as much progress as I did with his brothers: zilch. He just tilts his head sideways and giggles. He is still crawl-resistant but manages to log roll across the room if he so desires. His brothers went camping yesterday and so we enjoyed some one on one time. He charmed all the ladies at Target. They were impressed with his mellow personality, I suppose. Really I think he is just in awe of riding upright in the cart after spending 10 months reclining in a car seat or stroller. It's a whole new world! He is one delightful little fella.

Bloggers and Bookworms Unite!

One of my favorite blogs Callapidder Days is hosting a reading challenge. I've never tried it before but I love to read and I'm always up for a challenge. Particularly if it involves something I'm pretty good at, anyway. Ha! So here's what's on my nightstand for reading material and also lurking, unfinished, on my Kindle. The ultimate goal is to finish everything on the list by Christmas. If nothing else, I'm certainly an optimist.
1. When Life is Hard
2. Charlie St. Could: A Novel
3. Boys Should Be Boys: 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Boys
4. Sun Stand Still
5. Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope
6. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
7. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

If you want to see what approximately 200 other bloggers/bookworms are reading or to take part in the Fall Into Reading Challenge click here.

Green Acres Is The Place To Be

Farm livin' is the life for me!

Not really, but sitting in this gigantic tractor sure makes you want to be a farmer.

We took the boys to the pumpkin patch this afternoon. We such a great time that we never even got to the pumpkins...

We gave in to the numerous requests for face painting. The artist was very fast and friendly. Luke was quite pleased with his Spiderman.

Andy kept saying he wanted a pumpkin face. I'd say his wish was granted.
So cute! He bounced around and giggled the rest of the day, singing: "I'm a happy pumpkin, I'm a happy pumpkin!"

I guess all those cheerios and tall glasses of milk are paying off.

Andy and Luke went with Steve on a long hay ride. Eli and I stayed behind to do some people-watching. Poor Eli spent the afternoon in the stroller because there wasn't anyplace for him to go. He never complained, just reclined and took it all in.

We also played in the sandbox, bounced in the bouncy house, rode ponies and investigated the corn maze.

What a great day.

Can I just point out that it wasn't raining, we didn't have to go home because we were cold and we didn't have to slog through the mud all afternoon. Just sayin'.