One more...

More halloween pics

Trick or treat

My kids are so damn cute

The Pumpkin Patch

Claire went on her first "field trip" on Friday. All the parents and kids met the teachers at a local nursery for a trip to the pumpkin patch. The kids enjoyed themselves and we learned all about the various types of pumpkins.

Facts:

• Fairy-tale pumpkins are the most sought after by chefs.
• Cinderella pumpkins are the most sought after by 4-year old girls.
• When making a jack-o-lantern, cut the bottom out, not the top. Not only will the seeds come out with the cut bit, the risk of kids lifting the lid and peering in only to get burned is eliminated. (We were told the grisly details of how often this happens each year, but I blocked the number from my mind)
• A&M developed (grew? mutated?) a white pumpkin, allegedly because of their aversion to the color orange. They are working on a maroon pumpkin.
• Umm...more interesting (??) pumpkin facts can surely be found on Wikipedia.

Cutest. Peekaboo. Ever.

I know I have to be biased, because I just can't imagine anything more sweet than the following photos. (Sarah...yes, that is the stalker hat...sorry)

Bumper Swings

Swinging

Playing in the tunnel

Handsome in his highchair

Toe-zilla

Gavin is still scooting around using his right toe and left elbow. He gets around quickly, so he may never bother figuring out how to crawl. Shane noticed a side-effect to his method, however. His right toe is huge compared to his left! It's not freakish or anything, but it's pretty funny! Hard to capture in a picture, but you get the idea.

Paging Dr. Scott

Claire got a Doctor's Kit for her birthday. She wore the glasses for about 3 days straight. I only just managed to convince her not to wear them to school! She enjoys giving Daddy lots of shots and checking his temperature etc. It was good timing as her 4-year old check up was so miserable and the kit helped her get through it...pretending to inflict pain on others as the nurse did to her seemed to help! She got 3 shots; the first 2 weren't bad, but the last one really hurt. The nurse said that always makes them cry because it goes into the fatty tissue instead of the muscle. I couldn't help but wonder where on earth her fatty tissue may be located! She is still in the 10th percentile for weight and height and is perfectly healthy...just smallish. When they asked me ahead of time whether I had any concerns, I mentioned that I thought her number/character recognition might be behind where it should be. The doctor wrote some letters down and Claire recognized all of them! Of course they were A, C and G, ones that she is most familiar with, so when Claire identified them, the doctor probably thought I was a bit crazy. I know you aren't supposed to compare children's development, but it is hard not to. Dr said she is just young and that there were no signs of any issues and she will "get it" when she is ready. In the meantime, I have backed off a little, because forcing practice down her throat was making her very resistant. As her glasses in this picture indicate, she is destined to be a doctor, so I shouldn't worry so much. (I am pretty sure that's my job though.) One last doctor-related thing: she told me she didn't need a flu shot because "I have winter clothes".

Games and the cake

The Party

We had 11 kids to the party. We started out doing play-dough and an arts project, then decorated pizza with 'seaweed' (spinach) and cheese cut in the shape of sea creatures.