Happy Halloween

Love the tail!
We had a great time trick or treating with our friends Oliver, Gus, Johan, and Anja. The older boys ran ahead and chose the houses they wanted to stop at...they all gave a hearty "Trick or Treat" and even remembered "Thank you" quite a few times.

Sam made it out to Trick or Treat at a few houses tonight. He even ran a bit. I heard him saying "ribbit" a few times as he galloped between houses. It was nice to see him upbeat for awhile.

Charlie was Diego, an animal rescuer. Ben was his baby jaguar, and Sam was a frog..

"Where's my candy?"

Our conversation as I put Charlie to bed tonight:

"Mom, I had fun trick and treating with you tonight."

"I had fun with you too."

"I'm going to be six when I go trick and treating next year."

Turns over, covers himself up with a grin from ear to ear -already dreaming of next year.

Love this age. Charlie was an angel today! Everyone woke up way too early. Charlie's first words, "Ben, it's Halloween today. Sure is Ben." Everyone was back in bed taking naps by 7 this morning. Charlie quietly played legos for over an hour while we all slept. Ben and Sam were both very needy since they don't feel well and Charlie was so patient all day long. He helped Chris clean downstairs, helped rake leaves, and did some "really hard work" designing patterns. He was so excited about Halloween and was so excited about his costume, Diego. He helped color patches and make props for his costume. I expected a major break down at some point today since he got up so early and had to be last in line when needing something, but he was an angel. Thank you for your patients today Charlie....and thanks for all of the big smiles. We needed them today.

Poor Sam

Sam's flu turned into pneumonia this week. We spent 5 1/2 hours at Children's ER Wednesday night. He had an appointment early Thursday morning, but his little body couldn't wait. The next day, he seemed to be feeling better from his neb treatments and drugs, but Friday and today have been a different story. Lots of sleeping, lying around, and lots of crying. He just doesn't feel well. Being sick is never fun....being sick on both your birthday and Halloween is a even more of a bummer. Poor little guy.

Pumpkin Time

The boys had fun on Thursday carving pumpkins. Charlie designed his own face for Chris to cut out. The boys have been waiting patiently to carve all week and enjoyed every part of the process. Sam enjoyed drawing on his pumpkin. He drew numbers, his name, and letters on his pumpkin, at least that is what he told us.

Ben modeling with Sam's pumpkin.

More from Sam's birthday

Sam showing off his 3 fingers...on each hand.

Sam actually had the flu on his birthday. He was so sick he didn't feel like opening presents at first. It took some drugs and laying on the couch to get him ready. Once he started to feel better he enjoyed his cake and played with his presents.

Charlie's Outdoor Playgroup

A mom of one of Charlie's kindergarten classmates has put together an outdoor playgroup. We've tried to meet every other week to let the kids play outside. On a warm Monday a couple of weeks ago we had an impromptu meeting at a local park. We all had a picnic and then the kids played. It was fun to let Charlie get to know some of his classmates and make new friends. I really enjoyed meeting the new moms too. I look forward to our future get togethers.

Our first get together was at a nature center. We played in their outdoor playground. The kids all enjoyed making a beaver lodge with logs they collected.

October Fun

Ben was all smiles on a beautiful October day earlier this month. The boys decided to do a little rough housing with Pa out on the front lawn.

We took a hike out on Pike Island a couple weeks ago. The boys geocached and found the treasure hiding in a log.

It's been rainy and windy this past week. The leaves are almost all gone. It was nice to be able to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall colors earlier this month. I love fall.

Happy Halloween - From the past...

This is my favorite Halloween picture of Charlie. He loved zebras and dreamed of being a zebra once the leaves started changing color. We put this costume together and he was proud to wear it even if everyone thought he was a skeleton!

Click the link below to see more Halloween inspired photos at I Heart Faces.

Happy Birthday Sweet Samuel

Happy 3rd Birthday Sam. You are a sweet, silly, talkative little boy.

Sweet - Holding hands in the morning, watchful big brother, always thinking of Charlie when he is away, cuddler. You are such a sweet boy.

Silly - You love to make us laugh and you love to make yourself laugh! You smile and laugh your way through most days.

Talkative - You LOVE to talk and we love to listen. You're ideas amaze us everyday. Please always share them. You and Charlie play and talk all day. It's so fun to listen to the make believe world you two create.

Thank you for bringing so much happiness to our house. We all love you. Happy Birthday.

3 Years ago I was in the hospital holding you tight so happy to have finally met you! Feeling your soft skin, stroking your hair, noticing your every move and breath.

Watching you grow brings me joy. Thank you for being you, Samuel.

I'll always have time to hold your hand. Please never stop reaching.

Charlie's family pizza night

Getting ready for the Robot Dance.

Charlie had a family pizza night at his school last week. His grandparents were in town and came along. Charlie sat by some classmates and Chris and I met some parents. After dinner the kids went off to play games so the parents could socialize. Then after the kindergarteners sang a few songs and did their famous "robot dance". Charlie isn't a big singer or dancer, but he did do a few motions, lots of waving at us, and a little dancing. Below Charlie is way to the right next to the
boy in blue stripes.

Ben's Surgery

Ben had hernia related surgery last week. It's not the easiest to hand over your littlest love to a stranger. A stranger who is going to fix your baby but will also make him hurt. A stranger who will have your baby's life in his hands for 45 minutes. We were the first surgery of the day...at the hospital at 6 a.m. handing Ben over almost exactly at 7:30. I didn't hold him again until 8:30. The hardest part was hearing him in recovery crying on and off for about 10 minutes right after his surgery. The nurses had warned me that I would hear him when he was waking up after his surgery. When they brought him to me after, he was still tipsy and having trouble holding himself up. I just held him tight for a half hour as he cried softly and complained. I could tell he didn't feel right. I was so thankful to be holding him. It was such a relief to have the surgery over. We were on our way home at about 9:30 and a few hours later is the picture below! Kids are amazing. Ben was crawling all over the house, smiling, and walking around the coffee table when we got home about 2 hours after surgery. He had a couple tough nights at first when he was needing his pain meds but I'm amazed at how quick he recovered.

Pure Excitement

This is one of my favorite photos of my oldest little guy. His face is filled with excitement and anticipation at jumping into the leaf pile he just had created. I love how his hands are in the air, his dirty jeans and red shoes! Hope you enjoy all of the "excitement" photos at I heart faces this week.

Catch Up...

September has been beautiful and busy. We are still getting used to our new school schedule. Sam and Ben have had fun bonding while Charlie is at school. Last Wednesday Ben followed Sam around watching him color then played in a pile of blankets with him. They both were giggling and smiling. It's fun to watch Ben grow into a playmate for his brothers.

We spent a Sunny Sunday afternoon at the Japanese Gardens at Como Park. We always enjoy the peacefulness of the surrounding and seeing the variety of plants. The boys enjoyed climbing on the rocks and walking across the rock bridges.

We've had such beautiful weather most of September. We decided to try some geocaching closer to home with our new GPS one afternoon. We put in our coordinates and headed to Minnehaha Creek. We never found the cache but we did have a very nice hike along the creek. The boys enjoyed playing in the creek and throwing rocks.

On one of the last warm weekend days we did some landscaping around the yard. Planted a new shrub and moved some grasses. The boys were all very helpful. Lots of diggers, dirt movers, and mulch dumpers. The boys love helping outside and being part of a project. I'm thankful because they really are helpful!

Ben had his first haircut! Chris was starting to think Ben was looking too much like the grandpa from the Adam's Family. Below is the before picture...

And just after below...you probably can't really tell, but I did take about an inch off everywhere. I'm happy his hair didn't loose all of it's curl. I love Ben's curls and hope they stay around!

Lastly, we went to a Raptor Release a few Saturdays ago. It was amazing to watch raptor's being released after their rehabs were finished. We learned about Eagles, owls, and many birds while we were there and also took a walk along the St. Croix River.