Gotta Love Toddlerhood

I bet you didn't know that toddlers can absolutely LOVE something one day, and HATE it the next!!! Well, here is my case in point.  I gave the kids some kind of Spaghetti O's and Reese almost ate the entire can.  She even started crying when it was gone saying, "peas mommy, peas more, peas, peas, peas." Look at her sad, sad face.  (I'm surprised she didn't lick the bowl!)

Since she loved this so much, I decided to give it to her and Will for lunch again the next day.  I leave the kitchen for just a few minutes and when I returned, I found this mess.

Yeah, they weren't loving it so much here.  I even think they enjoyed flinging it off their spoons at each other.  This will teach me to leave the kitchen when they are eating lunch!

Romp in the Leaves

It has been absolutely gorgeous here the past week. The temps have been in the mid 70's which is perfect outdoor play weather.  The best part is that the leaves are falling from the trees, so we were able to rake them up and jump in them.  (Although all I could find was a garden rake, and that is really hard to use for leaves!)  We have pretty small generic neighborhood trees so the leaf pile was pretty small - Olivia didn't care though.  Here she is having the best time.

Right?

Reese has another new saying.  

For the life of me though, I don't know where she got it from.  

This time, it wasn't from me.  (Even though it took me awhile to figure out that "watch out" and "stop it" was from me.  I would just laugh when she said those at the exact time they should be said!)

Her new saying is "right??" (or as she says, 'ight) at the end of almost every sentence - correct voice inflection included!  For example, "Eecee feet cold, 'ight???" or looking at me, "Will Will, shoes off, 'ight??" She also says very frequently after telling me something, " 'ight mommy, 'ight??"  

I can't wait to see what she starts saying next. ;)

Happy Halloween

We hope everyone had a great time trick-or-treating last night!!  Here are a few pics from our evening. Olivia had tons of fun at her school's Halloween Parade.

OK, I know Olivia won't be happy that I am adding this picture - but I couldn't resist!! For the life of me I can't remember why she was so upset! :)

Reese and Will LOVED the candy.  I tried to hold them off as long as possible, but the suckers won in the end.

Well, maybe the chocolate won in the end.  Will was bound and determined to get to the candy, even if it meant eating through the paper!

Random Pictures

I have been a neglectful blogger.  I admit, it has been a week since my last post.  The terrible 2's are zapping all of my energy and getting on the computer has not been my first priority.  This is why today's post will be a hodge podge of things that have been happening at my house.

Number 1 and to me the most exciting...

We have gotten rid of our high chairs!! We are all now sitting together at the table for meals.  It really has opened up the kitchen, not to mention one less "baby" item in the house. **smile**

Number 2... Olivia loves dressing up Reese in her old princess costumes! Reese seems to really like it too.

Number 3...  Pumpkin carving time!!  Who else out there LOVES to bake the pumpkin seeds after carving your pumpkin???  I do think the seeds are the best part - great snack. I was very apprehensive about the mess, but it turned out not to be so bad. The kids did love playing in the squishy guts of the pumpkins!

My pumpkin is on the left and Greg's pumpkin is on the right.

Number 4... Lunchtime!!  My friend Renee and I took all of the kids (her 3 and my 3) to lunch and I had to snap a picture of all the kids.  5 total high chairs!!  It's craziness!!

Number 5... Cute pics of Reese and Olivia.  Even when Reese is upset, she still is cute! Olivia just loves to pose for the camera.

Number 6... OK, lunchtime again!!  This time the kids all had their costumes on.  We went to lunch right after music class where they wore their Halloween costumes. Notice the HUGE iced teas in the picture.  This restaurant has the best sweet tea in the state!  Giant glasses plus free refills - now that will put anyone in a good mood. :)

Number 7...  Reese, at 2, is picking out her own clothes.  Today - it was big head Dora.  No matter what I did to sway her pick, she always went back to big head Dora. The girl sure does have a mind of her own.

My Sweet Little Boy

My sweet little boy, who is so calm and layed back, has turned a corner this week. (Look, isn't he so calm and layed back!!!)

Isn't he sweet - just sucking his thumb!

Oh, this corner he has turned is not a very good corner!  All of a sudden, the boy in him has decided to come out.  Personally I think he had the best teacher with Reese - I know she taught him everything.  He's been slowly watching, taking notes and has finally gotten up the courage to act. 

"Hmmm, now is the time to show them what I've got!"

My sweet little boy has been in time out more times this week than I care to count. He has been climbing on furniture, getting in the trash, standing on the dining room table swinging the chandelier, hitting his sisters, ignoring me when I tell him no, and laughing when he gets into trouble!  (And that's just scratching the surface.) The only saving grace for me is that he stays in time out when I put him there.  I really think he likes it. So, when does the terrible 2's end???

Family Fun Day

Olivia's preschool had their annual Family Fun Day this past weekend.  They do such a great job organizing a fun couple of hours for the families of the school to hang out and have fun.  This year we weren't able to stay very long due to Reese and Will's nap schedule (and boy did their crankiness show in full force!) but we did get through every station.  

When we arrived, there was a fall scene set up with a photographer so we could get our pictures taken. I tried to have just the three kids in the picture, but no such luck - I ended up in the picture with them. After the picture was taken, we were off to the woods behind her school to see the "outdoor education" spots. They had a spider web made out of ropes that the kids had to climb through.  Reese and Will really loved trying it even though it proved to be a little difficult. 

Next, we hiked on the path to get to the campfire, rope swings, tree swings, and game area.  The kids were able to roast marshmallows and play for a little while. 

After that we walked back up to the school where the kids were able to pick out a small pumpkin and decorate it.  The last craft was making a bird feeder to hang in our tree.  

Reese was getting so tired that she was able to get Grandpa to carry her!!