Fun?

The boys enjoying their gingerbread house this year. 

Or so we thought. Towards the end Luke looked at me, put a hand to his cheek, and said, "This isn't as fun as I thought I would be." 

Bummer. 

His Excellency Attends his First Ball

In style!

The invitation explicitly said "wear your fanciest clothes," so of course Luke immediately thought of his dress blues. And as Kenny reasoned, "well that is indeed what George Washington would have worn to a ball!"

Even better, he was one of only a handful of boys and the only boy who willingly danced.
 (Albeit rather stiffly. Perhaps he was remaining in character.)

Mt. Rushmore

I must admit, I was pretty skeptical about Ken's idea for Halloween this year. As was Luke, who had to be talked out of being a butterfly (?) and into being a president. However, the people loved us--we received two verbal "Best costume of the year" awards from our neighbors and had several pictures taken of the boys. In fact, this may have been the strongest reaction we have ever gotten (even including the man in the yellow hat, when children would come up and stare at Ken like he was their hero come to life), especially since no one really got exactly who we were. 

Ken was easy, of course, and even has a similar face shape to Lincoln when he has this awesome beard on (the most facial hair he will ever sport, so hopefully he enjoyed it).



Luke, who we thought would be pretty obvious, got guesses anywhere from a pirate to Benjamin Franklin to Paul Revere, and had a great time telling people "Guess. It starts with a George." (He also tipped his hat when he said trick or treat, which was adorable!)





Only one or two people actually guessed Derek's. But they still thought he was the cutest, of course, and it was made all the better when he was able to holler out "I'm Teddy Roobelt!"





Mine was pretty hopeless. Hamilton was a favorite guess, although Ruth Bader Ginsburg popped in there, too. (I'm Thomas Jefferson, btw)



And out of everyone that we met, ward trunk or treat included, the only person to guess who we were collectively outright with no clues whatsoever was Nate Tanner, Ken's bestie. Birds of  feather.

The Carving of the Pumpkin

Meaning, of course, that I emptied and cleaned and carved while Derek and Luke played in our friends' backyard. 

To be fair, they both tried their hand at using one of the little knives (Ken was working and so was unable to stop it) and gingerly touched some pumpkin guts (even without dad around they wouldn't dig in!). 

Unfortunately, given Houstons humidity and shocking insect population, carved pumpkins only last about a night outside. But at least we can check that one off the Halloween to-do list! 

Pee Everywhere (again!)

Ah potty training. The part of parenting that I honestly cannot find a silver lining for. Made worse because we don't have three days to just sit at home and wait for magic to happen. 

Saying goodbye to diapies!

So far I can't figure out how he's doing, really. He has yet to have an accident outside of the house and has gone on several "foreign potties", so that's a win, but he also rarely makes it to the potty at home. So that's probably not a win. He has woken up dry from his nap every day and has woken up dry in the morning once, so that's definitely a huge win, but after getting over the initial surprise of peeing his pants without a diaper for the first time he doesnt seem to mind being wet. So that's unfortunate. He also seems to have a bladder of steel--all of the apple juice and water in the house and he still holds it for hours.

While brushing up on my potty training techniques online I only ever found one written note of consolation: "Don't worry, no one goes off to college still wearing diapers." 

I feel soooo much better now.

Zoo Boo-tacular!

Always a favorite, the boys had a great time trick-or-treating, playing carnival games, and being admired by strangers in their awesome costumes from last year. Of course, we had to make sure we hit every candy station (per Luke's request) and spent the last half hour or so looking at the elephants (per Derek's squawking). 

The very first thing Luke asks about is the "Texans Zone", where they do a little presentation everyday. While waiting on the bleachers, Luke decided to do his own presentation and entertain other patrons by doing his imaginary football runs (plus commentary!).

Both boys rode the carousel (after Luke made sure that there was a bench he could sit on) and got one of those smooshed pennies (after Derek got hit in the face by the crank handle). But it hasn't stopped him from asking to go back everyday.

Pin the Tail

A yearly favorite for the boys (especially Luke), there were no complaints about pulling this activity out of the envelope! 

And lucky for us, Luke took it upon himself to draw the black cat this year!

The Imperial March

Best quote from Luke the other day: 

"Mom! I'm humming the imperial march and I'm wearing the imperial march, too!"

Costumes of Yore

This year was particularly awesome. 

Derek stayed in his operation costume for a full hour, even playing real operation at one point!

And Luke kept his chess hat on pretty much all day. Coloring, listening to conference, and humming the imperial march. 

Fall is (hypothetically) in the air!

It's that time again! 

Of course, they had to have a fight before tasting the suckers. 

 Booing friends, Halloween crafts, and lots of treats.

I don't think they remember Blow Pops. Derek took the blowing of bubbles quite literally. And swallowed all of the gum. 

Unfortunately, I seem to be losing my touch-after learning of the activity one day Luke said "we did this last year. Can we do something different next year?" 

Pinterest, you better up your game...

The Babes Goes to Preschool!

And loves it!

He ran right in, no hesitation, talking his teachers' ear off the whole way. 

I was *cough* the last parent to arrive (#secondchildsyndrome) and he took his sweet time finishing up with his stickers and giving his teachers high-fives before sauntering over to the door. 

In the car as we were leaving we had this conversation:

D: "Mama, I'm sad."

Me: "Why are you sad?"

D: "Because I want to go back to school..."

Me: "Well you get to go to school tomorrow!"

D: "Oh! Thanks mama!"

You're welcome, Baby D! You're welcome.