October, October. The mornings are cooler, and start to give us a tease of the beautiful weather to come. The kids had plenty of opportunity to get into dessert fall activities, and were super into Halloween this year. They even got to wear their costumes to school one day! Silly me, to think I could get them to wear a matchy-twin costume of my own creation. They had a clear idea of the concept and wanted nothing to do with my idea. Since then, we have been allllll dragons and Cinderella in my house. Makes for some interesting imagination games around here-- "Cinderella, get dragon back in the castle!", and Cinderella casting dragon spells, etc.
Besides growing in personality, conversation, and play the only new concrete Ada and Will thing James and I could think of this month is their learning of the response "I don't know". Seems small, but we were very proud of their ability to admit when they don't know something and want to learn.
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| The month started out with James on single daddy duty as Mom took an 8 day (!) work trip to Montreal. He held down the fort like a pro, even if we did end up with two kids in the bed every night :) |
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| Super dad, teaching the kids about brain anatomy. |
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| Daddy's girl. |
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| Playing dress up with daddy. Here it has morphed into "sleep-time daddy", and he is getting tucked in. Note stuffed animals and books. |
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| Finished product. Kids long gone. Yes, a fruit bowl on James' head. |
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| Quick reading break. |
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| Turns into reading train. |
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| Kids school had a book sale, wherein Will obSESSED over this book until I caved (by like Tuesday) and got it for him. Will loves to read. |
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| Kids with their new books sitting right outside schools front doors to read them. |
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| One of Adas princess costumes. Also with new "fancy shoes" or "taps", a pair of used tap shoes I found at a second hand shop. |
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| Dragon! With one of his (many!) dragon "tools", a yard stick. |
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| Boo at the zoo with Grandma, Chip, and Lexi, the kitty cat. Dragon costume didn't last long there. As I said October is a TEASE of the nice weather to come. By mid day, its still 90+! |
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| We ran into Tia and AJ there at the zebras. There is a new baby zebra. |
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| But the most fun at the zoo is running around in circles next to no animals whatsoever. |
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| Except for the carousel of course. |
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| We transformed our backyard play fort into a fall-castle-rocketship. |
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| Here Ada piled up all these pieces of wet laundry in similar groups all by herself, "helping" mom put clothes in dryer. Not sure Wills role in this project. |
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| Pumpkin carving with Tia |
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| This year helping make the face, dig out the insides, and cut the Jack-o-lantern. |
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| Pumpkin patch at MacDonald Ranch. Horse rides! |
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| Tractor rides! |
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| Cowgirls! |
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| and Cow...goofballs! |
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| Will and Chase taking the gang to "Minnesota" in the trailer. |
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| Picking their pumpkins with dad. |
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| Boys playing in the dirt during lunch time. |
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| Girls hoarding a bag of potato chips during lunch time. |
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| Petting zoo at the Ranch. Here, force feeding a little goat who jumped in the hay tire. |
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| Looking at some animals with "uncle" Steve. |
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| This is how the kids left this snoozing goat--with a dollop of hay on his hooves for when he gets up. This cracks me up every time I see this. Every. Time. |
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| Making pumpkin chocolate covered pretzels with mom. |
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| Sneaking a taste. |
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| The main October event--Trick or Treating! This is one, of two, holidays that Mike and Linda Doneski adopt us for the evening and we go trick or treating after pizza with them, our buds Sofia and Leah, Hana and Chase. It is also the night, moms decided, that we can never get a single, all-around, good picture of any child! Too much excitement! |
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| Best we got. I love it. |
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| "Grandma" Linda telling a spooky story before we hit the streets. |
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| Kids all ears. |
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| Ada and Will LOVED trick or treating this year, running from house to house and yelling "trick or treat!", after each house "Next one!"-- they made it twice as far as last year. |
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| Cinderella losing steam. |
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| Will on a chocolate binge. Took me about four wrappers to realize this is also the Halloween they can open their own candy. :/ Afterwards he had a "sick belly". No kidding buddy. |
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| Adas favorite are the lollipops. |
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| Whistles in their Halloween gift bags from "Grandpa" Mike and "Grandma" Linda. |
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| Sleeping off the sugar... |
