We put up the Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving. We took advantage of Chad's few days off to spend some time as a family. The kids are always so excited when we bring the tree in the house. It is always fun to watch them decorate the tree. I'm sorry about the quality of these pictures, not sure what happened.
I have to say that Halloween was very low key at our house. Usually I get very excited and work for a month making costumes, but this year it just wasn't going to happen. So, we had hand me down, or made up costumes, and it was just as much fun. The kids were excited no matter what because of the . . . candy! We went Trunk or Treating at the church, then we went to a few houses with our friends Anjie and McKinlee. I wasn't to sad to go home when we were done. I think the kids would have gone out longer, but a 4 to 1 ratio with a 1 year old is not the funnest trick or treating experience.
Every year my preschool kids and I go on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. This year I decided I could take Ava and Grant, and it would be just fine. I was wrong. Right out of the car, I had Grant crying because he didn't want to wear his coat. Ava's new coat was waaaay to big, so she didn't even have one, and yes it was cold that day. Of course. We started out in the corn maze, and made it about 1/4 of the way with Ava and Grant crying the whole time (yes it was lovely). Thankfully the corn maze is made for little kids and they have emergency exits throughout it. By the end of the trip they were actually happy which is when I snapped these few pictures. I think next time I will wait and take them with the family, which means their dad will be there.
I decided that it was time for Owen to get involved in something. Claire started dance at his age, and I wanted him to have an activity each week that would get him some exercise, and get some of his energy out. After talking with a friend I decided tumbling would fit him just great. He loves tumbling. It is his favorite day of the week. At his tumbling gym they have a waiting area for parents which is above the kids so you can look down and watch what they are doing. The first week was great, the kids played, I watched no big deal. The second week was a little rougher because Grant cried the whole time. The 3rd week was a nightmare!! I couldn't get Grant in the car, and as clear as a bell (which is rare for him), he looked at me hit his chest, and said "I AM." I got the picture, he wanted to take tumbling. So I asked them how old they needed to be to start, and you guessed it Grant was old enough. I decided to put him into a class on a Friday afternoon thinking that he wouldn't be as tired, and then Owen could go with him. It was a much smaller class. Owen was fine with moving, for the most part. So off we went to tumbling. The first day Grant did great. He is 3 so he didn't listen as much as the other kids but he wasn't that big of a distraction. The second week, was well not so great. He didn't want to do anything, and finally I just had him sit by me. The third week he cried in the car before we even got out, so I just gave up. I wasn't going to force him to do something he clearly didn't like. Thankfully they gave me a credit to pay for Owen's next session of tumbling, and everything worked out just fine. Maybe we will try again next year, but we will see how he is doing.
