Halloween 2009

I have always enjoyed Halloween and it is especially fun now that I have children, but man oh man it can be a lot of work. Noah talked about being a 'Scary Green Monster' for the past two months and I looked for a pre-made costume for some time...without any luck.  There also doesn't seem to be a demand for patterns for monsters...so after close to TWENTY 'mom-hours', most of the time spent at the sewing machine pulling black fur out of the needle, I managed to put together a green monster costume that he was happy with and that withstood the test of two days at school and an evening of Trick-or-Treating.

Noah, the one-eyed, scary, green monster...ready to scare his classmates.

I volunteered in Noah's class on the day of their Harvest Party.  It was so fun to see how he interacts in the classroom setting...even if it was a little crazier than normal that day!

Millie was a little neglected this year when it came to the costumes. I had great intentions of making her an owl costume, then I was going to use the extra fabric from Noah's costume to make a matching monster costume to Noah's but with pink fur instead of black...

...and as you can see, in typical Tonya fashion...she is not an owl or a monster.  She is a ballerina, that I threw together at the last minute.  Sorry Millie, next year can be your year!

We walked around the neighborhood with our neighbors and each of their girls - a ladybug and a pony (both adorable!) - and pulled them around in our wagon.  Noah walked with Lilli (one of his 'best girls').  My parents were in town so my dad came along and helped corral the two big kids.  It was pretty chilly, but still very fun.  After about an hour we headed back and Jon and my mom had made a delicious dinner for all of us!  Yum!

Needless to say, things got a little crazy with 5 kids and 8 adults in the dining room.  Toys and candy were scattered everywhere, but it was just a sign of a good time.  In the midst of the chaos, Millie enjoyed playing with her treat bag.  She hasn't eaten any candy (exception: one sucker), but she loves to dump it out and put it back in the bag.

I hope everyone had a very happy Halloween!

My little pumpkins

For the past three years we have driven to County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana to choose our pumpkins and to pick apples. I love that we have continued this new family tradition so far. It is one of my favorite days of the year. We started going mainly for the pumpkins, but now I think we enjoy the apple picking just as much!

The first year we went Noah was 20 months old and it was exciting to see his reaction to the big pumpkins (they were all big compared to him!) and to watch him try to roll them. Last year was definitely not the best year, but memories were made nonetheless. It was Millie's first year to go, she was just 2 months old and I spent most of the time feeding her while Noah and Daddy stomped around the pumpkin patch. It was also very hot and buggie that year and we found ourselves losing patience with the mud and mosquitoes.

This year was different. Noah and Millie are now both at such an adventurous age it made this years trip the best yet!

The visit always starts the same...with pumpkin and apple spice doughnuts and hot apple cider. (I didn't say anything about it being a healthy day, but it is quite a treat for all of us!) This year we went through the petting zoo. The kids loved feeding the goats, piggies and cows. Once through the zoo we hitched a ride on the wagon to take the ride out to the pumpkin patch. After trudging through a little mud and picking our perfect pumpkins we headed back to the apple orchard to pick (...and sample) our apples. It always proves to be a long day, but the fun we have and the memories we make always make it well worth the trip. I can't wait to go back next year...

Noah being a good big brother and giving Millie a ride.

He did a great job and she surprisingly sat still and enjoyed the ride.

Noah searching for the 'perfect pumpkin.'

It had to be 'hu-uge' he said as he stretched his arms out to his sides.

Millie was determined as ever to pick one up.

She went from pumpkin to pumpkin trying to lift each one.

Family picture in the patch.

Millie liked taking bites out of each apple she picked.

"Mmmm, apples! My 'bays-rite'!"

Millie sharing her apple with me.

As you can tell we filled our wagon with lots and lots of autumn goodies!

Noah's Turkey Craft

Noah and I made this fun turkey today after his nap. It turned out to be a great project for him! For the tail feathers, we traced his hands on construction paper and he cut them out mostly by himself...I had to help guide his hand and the paper. We used bamboo skewers to attach the feathers to the pumpkin. Next we glued the face pieces on...I think his favorite part were the google eyes!!

Last trip to the park??

Today is also just as beautiful as yesterday! I LOVE that the leaves
are falling and it is nice enough out to go for walks and 'crunch'
through them. We walked all the way to the 'far away' park today.
Millie slept all the way there and all the way back! Noah did a great
job of listening and stayed on the stroller's boogie board the entire
time.
Here is a pic of Millie at the park.

Last Ice Cream of the year!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! It was 70 degrees and sunny...in
November!! Noah, Millie, Bowman and I all took a walk to the polling
station so I could vote. That was an event of itself! On the way back
the ice cream truck pulled up, so we decided to have one last outside
icecream for the year as I am sure beautiful days like this are
limited. We truly enjoyed our treat...as you can see. Millie had
some too...on her head!!! She was strapped to the front of me in the
baby carrier and I accidently dripped on her. Ooops! Guess we know
where Noah gets the messy gene.

Tree Watch 2008

Every fall I look forward to watching the trees outside change
color...particularly the large tree in front of our house. I thought
it would be fun to track the changes here. So far, there hasn't been
any color change as you can see, only a few lost leaves from some
heavy winds last week. The trees across the street (on the side of out
house) are now bare - two weeks ago the turned a beautiful bright
yellow. Maybe this one will have some changes for my update next week??