Trick or Treat!!

Give me something good to eat!! Meet this year's trick or treaters!

Our Ferocious Lion and Proud Train Conductor!

The Thomas candy bag and Lion candy bag we made!

My incredibly handsome men:)

Coming in from the cold

Checkin' out their loot!!

And now they are slumbering peacefully in their beds, dreaming of candy, with their bellies full of breakfast for dinner (homemade sausage gravy, homemade biscuits, eggs and fruit!!) Yum!

Wednesday

I can't believe it's only Wednesday. It feels like it's next Wednesday. I don't remember being so tired since....well since I was getting up with a baby in the night! It's like I had my first week of school, too. And there is still one more day...

Home alone with my baby today. He talks a lot. A. LOT. It was so weird to be with just one. The house was so quiet (except for Z's chattering). I think he misses me since I have been gone so much with Samuel this week because he tells me, "Mommy, don't leave me again." I've missed him, too..

Samuel is doing fantastic! Ben took him to school today and left the room right after signing him in and Samuel stayed the WHOLE time as happy as a clam! As soon as he saw Ben at the end of the day, he said, "I didn't need you today, Daddy!" He's growing up.

But still so little. Not too old for cars and giraffees and nap pants. Snacks and hugs and oh-so-many kisses. Fights with his brother and making up. Tears when he's tired and bright smiles in the morning. No, he's still little. And I will treasure every moment.

The Carving of the Thomas Pumpkin

Steps to take to ensure you get a nicely carved pumpkin for the fall:

1. Marry a nice, strong, burly man...and have him do the carving for you:)

2. Make sure your adorable children are breathing down his neck and observing his every move...

3. Closer, Children!

4. Have your children do the dirty work and pick pumpkin seeds out of the slimy orange pumpkin guts...(don't worry, Samuel didn't fall for that long!)

5. Enjoy perfectly carved pumkin without doing any hard work!

6. Light a candle and place inside to thoroughly delight said children (and okay, yourself, too!)
7. Wash and bake product of children's hard work and enjoy the nutritional benefits of your carved pumpkin's seeds! (catch all that?!)

8. Take pictures of whole process and repeat next year.

First Day of School!!

Monday Post Part 2! (see below for part 1)

My mommy heart is happy tonight! The first day of preschool was a success! Samuel brought a lump into my throat when he stood in front of me in his school uniform SO proud to get his picture taken...

4 going on 20.....
I was extremely impressed with how well he did today! He was really hesitant when the rush of parents and kids came in, bustling about unpacking bags, hanging up coats, signing in....But he found his cubby and hung up his coat.

(see his name card in his cubby that he decorated below..)

Took his name card over to the sign in table and wrote his whole name on the page!! The "M" was almost a "W" but we salvaged it:) He participated in large group time, where his new friends welcomed him. He told them how he carved a pumpkin with his daddy this weekend:)

Then during "free exploration" time, he got so involved playing with one of his teachers, Mrs. Torres, and a new friend named Jose, that he didn't even look around for me! I sat unobtrusively on a bench at the back of the room behind the cubbies and just observed. Towards the end of our time there, he spotted me and wanted me to play with him. He got to help the teacher set the timer to let everyone (mostly for him:) know that clean up time was coming and helped clean up, picked out a book to take home (they have a little library system) and off we went!

He ate his lunch in the car that I packed in his new lunchbox and we headed off to find a bigger bookbag that will actually fit his folder (parent-teacher communications) and books in. He also got a little prize for being SUCH a brave boy today..

His very own "ambliance" with a back door that opens! (Thank you Target for your .97 cent toys!) He was really proud of himself today and daddy and I told him how very proud we were of him, too. Tonight before bed he said, "Hey! I go to school like you now, daddy! I will work very hard like you, too."

Such a big, sweet boy we have! Go Samuel!

Livin' up L week! (and the rest of K:)

Monday Post Part 1: L week!

Despite last week being incredibly busy, we still managed to fit in some fun L activities! Along with L, here are our K crafts:)

K is for Kite! (Z's kite)

S's kite (did you guess it was going to be red?!)
L is for:

Fall Leaves! I asked the boys to hold up their very favorite leaf they collected and Samuel held up the teensiest, tiniest little red leaf you ever saw that probably wouldn't even show up on the camera, so I said, "How about a bigger one?!"

Zakkai's favorite leaf!

Samuel's collection:
Zakkai's collection:
L shaped pancakes with sprinkles!!

A trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo, where we saw

and Afghanistan Leopard..

And a Black Leopard...

An Amar Leopard (who knew there were so many leopards!)

And of course, Lions!! Pretty crazy how close we were to them!
So we made our own lions for our notebooks:)
And Grandma sent the boys their own lions!!

Our Alphabet wall now sports K's on kardboard (just kidding, I'm not that cheesy; I know it's with a "c":) and Lollipop L's!

L is also for: A fun trip to the "big" library downtown with our favorite friends!! where we got LOTS of books like "Lighthouses" and "Leaf Man"; we also read "Love You Forever" ; L is for lights, lips, legs, Lightening McQueen (S is becoming a "Cars" fan!), legos (boys also big fans!), laughter, love, the lake, lollipops, and lots more!

The Tooth Fairy

Another good, productive day here! This school business has me running around like a...well, like a school-mom, I guess! In the past 2 days we have: gone school shopping (part A), enrolled officially in preschool, made lots of phone calls, gone to the dentist, the post office, the dr.'s to get forms signed. I'm tired just writing it!

Really, though we are feeling at such peace about this whole decision and that feeling is made even more apparent by Samuel's overall acceptance and even excitement over going. He reminded me today that there were only three more days before Monday when he starts! It makes me happy to see him excited.

We took him in to meet his teachers, see the classroom and officially enroll him yesterday afternoon. He had a GREAT time. He picked out his cubby to hang his bookbag and coat, decorated a name card to go in his cubby, played with toys with Zakkai, got his picture taken, got to choose a book to take home and cried when we left. I'd say that's a good sign! I feel like he will do really well once he adjusts. I know the adjusting part is always hard with him but we are prepared to deal with it and praying for a smooth transition.
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The boys had their very first dentist visit today! Sure...you're supposed to take children when they are one (right-o.) but due to the sensitive nature of my eldest, that didn't happen in this house! Zakkai actually did really well! He turned his head away and got a little moody but once we got him to open his mouth, he did great! Samuel was really scared. We started with him, didn't get anywhere, switched to Zakkai and then came back to Samuel. They couldn't use the toothbrushy thing that spins because it really scared him so they resorted to good old-fashioned techniques: a regular toothbrush and gauze to wipe the flouride and cleaning stuff out instead of the suction tube. He did well once the pressure was off and I left with two cavity-free boys who were happy with their stickers:)

I, on the other hand, had to go to the dentist, too, today and came home with good and bad news. The good news? According to my dentist, I have "really nice teeth and no cavitites!" Woohoo! The bad news? I brush too hard (never thought I did...) and the gum has eroded so far away from one of my bottom front teeth (I only have less than a millimeter of attached tissue) that I have to have gum tissue harvest graft surgery. Or something like that....I am scared to death! It sounds horrible! But, of course, in the end could it be worse than constantly having sore gums and the risk of infection? sigh...
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Well, I am off to carve a pumpkin with my hubby and push the distressing tooth issue to the back of my mind on this cozy, rainy Friday night:) Happy Friday!

Hey hey, We're the Monkeys..

"And people say we monkey around!" We sure do in this house! See exhibit A....

I found these ginormous bananas at the produce market and thought I would split one between the boys the other morning but.....this little monkey decided he wanted the whole thing! He ate all but the very end:)

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There are some busy monkeys in this house! I had to run "school preparation" errands today. We had to get Samuel a uniform. Isn't that so cute?! He is going to look adorable in his navy blue pants and white collared shirt:) He's not too sure but I am! He also got a lunch box (and Z had to get one, too) and a red folder. I still can't get over the fact that my little boy is school age. It struck me that these are my last few days of just being home with both my boys all day. It will only get busier from here on out. What will I do next year when both of them are in school???!!!

Ah! I can't go there yet!

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Partial K week and more:)

We did finish "K Week", I just haven't found the time to post it yet or upload all the pics! So here are a few from our week last week...

K is for:

Auntie K!!! We love you!

Kings!!

Meet King Samuel

and King Zakkai

Knitted Hats! I let the boys pick out their yarn (Samuel chose red, surprise, surprise!) He also requested ear flaps:) (He had a cut in his nose, that's why it looks funny)

Zakkai's favorite color of the week was orange! Appropriate for fall:) Don't his eyes kind of make him look like a husky in this pic? strange...K was also for: Hershey's Kisses, Kiwi, Kisses, Kids, Kangaroos, Kites, Kick, books: "Kitten's First Full Moon", (hard to find "K" books! I need to go to the library more often!).

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I took the boys on an outing for "L week" today and on the way Samuel said to Zakkai, "Someday we're going to get a bigger car so LOTS of kids can fit in it!" And of course, Zakkai agreed:) So I asked Samuel whose kids these were and he said, "Ours! Two boys and two girls that are twins!"

It's been a recent thing in the past month or so for him to keep talking about babies and having twin sisters and now that we have a good friend expecting twins, he'll think it's possible! Yikes!

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I had just finished reading Zakkai his naptime story, he was all tucked in, sucking his little finger and then he exclaimed, "I have to go potty!" What?! I am thinking, "So go in your diaper!" and "Why does he all of the sudden have to go potty right at naptime?" and "Can I just ignore him and maybe he'll forget he just said that?!"

But no, I decided if he was really going to tell me that, I should take him. So I hoist him out of bed and assume he's going to sit down on the little green potty but nooooooo, he wants to go on the big potty for the very first time! I get him in the bathroom, get pants down, super-hero underwear down, diaper off, potty seat on the toilet, Zakkai on the potty seat......he unrolls a little bit of toilet paper, grinning happily and says, "I don't have to go potty."

Two year olds!!!

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Funny pic of this two year old coming tomorrow!

Changes

After much prayer, sadness, agonizing, prayer, talking, researching, prayer, advice, and persistence.........

Our Samuel is going to preschool!!

I am excited, scared, nervous, anxious, hopeful....many things! It was a "random" God-opened door, we feel. I was doing research on the internet and came across a site about schools in your community and clicked on Chicago and the first question that came up was "What are the best preschools in Chicago and why?" My curiosity was immediately piqued and I found my heart beating with excitement when I read about Samuel's now future preschool which has an immediate opening! He starts on Monday.

Today I spent a lot of time with the teachers at the preschool, observing and asking lots and lots and lots of questions:) This isn't just a case of first time school-mom syndrome (although it's that, too:); it's finding the right fit for my little boy where he can thrive, grow and work through the tough obstacles he has faced in his little lifetime. I know I haven't shared much, if anything, before and I still want to be careful because I never ever want my precious son to be labeled by me or anyone else but Samuel has struggled with sensory issues from the time he was a baby. He received the help he needed last year through an official diagnosis and occupational therapy and grew tremendously. We were (and still are!)incredibly proud of the hard work he did!

But as he enters the "big bad world", my overprotective mommy heart needs to know that my baby will be taken care of. I can only hope and pray that good things will come out of this and that it will only heal and strengthen not only my heart but his as well.

My big boy is growing up. Sniff.

A Plethora of Pumpkiny Pictures

The Anatomy of Zakkai getting dressed by himself: Note the big boy underwear!

(This is after I pulled his legs out of his sleeves and helped him get started:)
I'm not sure how this makes it easier...

Cute little tooshie in big boy underwear:) He has peed on the potty 3-4 times since last night! And on the floor twice...
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Moving on to Pumpkin Party! We went to a friend, Eli's, 4th bday party today at a Farm. We started with a Hay Ride....

"Mommy, the sun is in my eyes!"

Some of our friends on the hay ride.

Bright Eyes
The Look says it all....
Moo.
"That cow is absolutely fascinating."
Jumping with friends in the blow-up thingy. (For lack of a better word:)

I know the sign said, "Do Not Climb on Pumpkins" but...how can a mom pass up a good photo op?

A Plethora of Pumpkins!The boys got "treasures" from the party. Scary Teeth!

Settling in for an afternoon rest after a busy morning:)

Hey, Pumpkins need baths, too!! (Don't worry, it got a pre-wipe down first!)

Two highly entertained boys during bathtime.

It was a fun busy day and ended with two extremely tired, happy boys. Zakkai fell asleep sitting up tonight:) Here's to dreaming of pumpkins!