Happy Halloween!

We had a busy but fun Halloween. After going to church to hear Lori sing (we missed Lani), we had lunch, and then Mara and I met up with the Girl Scout troop to watch the Plano Symphony.

Then, Mara's choir had a Halloween party. After singing for about 30 minutes, they ended practice by having a costume parade for the parents.

We then headed back to Mike & Myra's for some food, Mike and Mikey's birthday celebrations, and trick or treating.

Jack had a lot of fun going around trick or treating. He babbled and blew raspberries the entire time. When we got back, he really got into the candy sorting. He thought he should have some too.

Even when we would try to move it out of his way, he would use his new crawling skills to get to it.

And here is our pumpkin all lit up.

Army crawl

We've know for a couple of days that Jack can move around on his own, but today was the first day we witnessed him doing the army crawl. He even attempted to get up on his knees. Before too long he'll be crawling along for real, and I am definitely not ready for that.

Pumpkin Carving

We usually don't carve our own pumpkin, but Mara had been asking to do it this year. She knew the size of the pumpkin and everything. So, we went out and bought a pumpkin last night, and then we carved it before John went to work today. Mara help draw the face on the pumpkin, while Jack had fun playing with its "guts." He even helped Mara scoop out some of the guts.

Mara also went to her first school party today. It was at the park right beside the school (and just down the street from us). Both of the kids had a lot of fun, and I got several really good pictures of them.

Jack recently discovered his tongue, so it's hard to get a picture of him without it sticking out. I remember Mara going through this same stage right around Halloween too. Makes for cute memories. :)

Countdown to Halloween

Monday, October 25

Jack's school had a pumpkin patch today, so we asked his teachers to take a couple of pictures for us. For some reason, he doesn't like smiling for the camera when he's outside.

Tuesday, October 26

It's Red Ribbon Week at Mara's school, and they have to wear something special each day. Yesterday, they wore red, while today was a team jersey/shirt. I tried to convince her to wear her OSU shirt, but she wanted to wear a jersey that she had. Tomorrow is hat day, followed by favorite color day and school spirit day.

Wednesday, October 27

I really started watching Rangers baseball back in 1992 when I broke my leg. We got Dallas's KTVT Channel 11 up in Oklahoma (channel 4 for us), and that was the Rangers station (before it became a CBS affiliate). When my parents first moved down here, we would try to go to at least one game each year (usually when they played the Royals). Over the years, I stopped watching them as much, but I still casually followed them. It's fun to see them finally having a great year, and we've been watching them again in the postseason. Tonight was the first game of the World Series. While it didn't turn out so well for the Rangers, hopefully they'll be able to bounce back.

Thursday, October 28

We had a Halloween party at the Girl Scout meeting tonight. The girls came dressed in their costumes and modeled them for us. They also decorated bat cupcakes.

Friday, October 29

Jack wore his costume and helped hand out candy at his school while the older kids went from class to class. Mara's kindergarten class didn't wear their costumes, but she had a party at her after-school care (same place Jack's at). John met her there so she could wear her costume for the party.

We have teeth!

After being sick all day yesterday (he couldn't keep any formula down), we discovered that Jack's bottom two teeth finally broke through yesterday. We've been attributing all of his "unwellness" to teething recently, so hopefully he'll start feeling better now. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more teeth come in before he's back to his normal self.

Fall is in the air

I'm glad that fall is finally here because it's my favorite time of the year. With Halloween and Thanksgiving as well as the anticipation of Christmas right around the corner, what's not to like? Now if we can just get the cooler weather that is supposed to come with fall...

Monday, October 18

Mara decided to design her own pumpkin that she got at the pumpkin patch yesterday. She took a Sharpie and gave her pumpkin a face and hair.

Tuesday, October 19

Mara really likes pickles. She recently discovered that she likes to eat her hot dogs with dill pickle relish on them. She even asks for a little relish on the side that she'll either eat with a spoon or on chips.

Wednesday, October 20

Mara's been having issues at school this week, so we've been making her write letters to her teacher apologizing for what she did wrong. I think it's helping her to stop and think about what she's doing.

Thursday, October 21

We made baked potato soup tonight (see recipe here), and Jack got a taste of it. He seemed to like it, but he especially loved the slice of Italian bread that we gave him. I figured he would just gum it a little, so I was surprised to see he kept biting off pieces.

Friday, October 22

My dad bought Jack an outfit, and that's what he wore to school today. I had John take pictures before they left since Jack hasn't had much success in keeping his clothes clean throughout the school day. He also  has figured out how to give zeberts. Tonight, he was giving John kisses, and then he would blow a raspberry against John's cheek. (Excuse the naked baby. His clothes got soaked from a glass of water and we didn't have a change of clothes for him.)

Saturday, October 23

Mara went to a birthday party today for one of her friends from her old daycare. It was nice to see old friends and for them to get to spend some time together. It's amazing how much Mara loves those inflatable jump houses  now when she wouldn't go near one of them when we first started going to birthday parties at them.