A Halloween Tradition

This is the third year that we've spent Halloween with our friends Jessica and Mike. When Aidan was about 5 months old, I joined the Moms Club. It was a great experience and I met some really cool friends. Jessica joined the club at the same time as I did. Her son Jacob is about a month and a half younger than Aidan. Those two have had many playdates with eachother, and for their first Halloween we celebrated together. That year we went over to their house, Jake was a pirate and Aidan was a scarecrow. That year I was also pregnant with Rylan



The next Halloween we celebrated at our house. Jake was an Indian, Aidan was Diego and Rylan was Baby Jaguar. That year Jessica was pregnant with Ashlyn.




This year we continued our rotation and celebrated Halloween back at their house. Jake was a Caveman, Ashlyn was a Cavewoman, Aidan was a mailman and Rylan was a Letter. I suppose to continue the tradition strictly I would have had to have been pregnant, but we passed on that this year. As the kids get older, we are able to go farther and last longer at this whole Trick-or-Treating business. And every year it's neat to see how much more they understand about the holiday. Jessica and I are both big fans of making the kids costumes, and I have to say I think we do a pretty darn good job! Yay for home-made halloween costumes! Can't wait to see what the kids will be next year!

Mamapalooza Halloween Party!

Today we went to another Halloween Party, this time hosted by Jenny from Mamapalooza. We had a great time. Jenny's kids have so many toys! Her whole house was like a kidzone. Now I know where to bring the kids when they get bored with their toys! All the little ones were dressed up so adorable. Towards the end of the party I went to change the boys into their regular clothes and both had a meltdown...good thing we were leaving. Thank you Jenny for hosting the Halloween Party, it was great!

Tyler the scarecrow hanging out in the Jumperoo

Liam as Spiderman

Wee ones just relaxing

Tate the skunk

Stacy and Kaylee

Rylan and Aidan at the train table...shocker!

Sweet Ava as Dorothy

Rylan and Tate in the Haunted House

Lucas and Ava taking all the books off the shelves

Aidan's First Fishing Trip with Pa Pa

Yesterday Aidan went on a very special fishing trip with Pa Pa, and I got to spend the day reminiscing about what it was like to only have one kid. I have been noticing Aidan's behavior getting worse and worse as the days go on. He's been whiny, won't use sentences, mumbles things and points and when he doesn't get what he wants will start crying uncontrollably and then the past few days he's been getting pissed at me and going to his room where he slams the door and lays in bed. I started feeling really bad about it, and thought that maybe he was feeling neglected and needed some one-on-on time. So I asked him if he would rather spend the day with just me or just pa pa. He of course picked my dad. So I made sure it was ok with my dad and planned for Aidan to be picked up Wednesday after the gym. He was so excited. When we put the carseat in my dad's truck, Aidan crawled in without hesitation and said "Bye Mommy, Hug and tiss". My dad took him on his first fishing trip to Lake Trafford. They had planned to go out on the boat, but it was too cold so they stayed on land. I gave my dad my camera so that he could take pictures of Aidan's big adventure. My dad didn't know how to use the camera so he ended up taking a whole bunch of videos instead of pictures. I made a little movie out of all the videos that were taken. Keep that in mind when you start to get dizzy from the camera movement! Be sure to turn the music playlist at the bottom of the page off so you can hear the video!
It looks like they had a great time. Aidan just adores his Pa-Pa, and although my dad loves both my boys equally, he has a very special bond with Aidan.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Rylan spent the day with me. We met up with some friends and had lunch at Jason's Deli with Julie & Chase and Leah & Jason. Then we went home for a nap. After naptime we went to Gulf Coast Town Center to get Rylan's hair cut at Great Clips. I FINALLY found a lady who did a great job cutting his hair and it didn't cost me a fortune (Bye-bye bowl cut). And just to sweeten up the experience, there was a $2 off coupon on the bottom of the receipt for the next hair cut. So Aidan will be going tomorrow to get his done too! I forget how easy the day can be when I only have one kid. It was a great day for all!!

Botanica Lakes Halloween Party

Saturday evening after we got back from the pumpkin patch we got the boys dressed in their costumes and headed over to the Botanica Lakes Clubhouse for our Halloween Party. Everyone was pouring into the clubhouse from all angles of the neighborhood. When we got to the gate, we stood in line and waited to have our pictures taken. There was a professional photographer set up in the aerobic room with a cute little Halloween backdrop set up.

After we had our family picture taken, we headed to the main entrance of the clubhouse and headed into the fun. Karan, our Lifestyle director did a great job coordinating everything. The community kids and parents helped out with all the decorations and the place looked Great! There was a live DJ set up, catered food provided by Fowler Street Grill and Catering Company, and tons of enthusiastic residents who were all having a great time. We made our way to the buffet tables and filled our plates up with hamburgers, hot dogs, mac & cheese, tator tots, and chicken tenders and then headed outside by the pool to eat our dinner. After we were all finished eating we went back inside and got our groove on. Everyone was having a really awesome time. It was a big hit, and FREE which is always great! Towards the end of the party Karan called up several kids and announced them the winners of the costume contest. My sweet little boys were among the winners and each received a prize. The won a cool spiderman puzzle, a light up yo-yo and a clip watch. It was a fantastic party and we had a blast!

The boys were not excited about putting their costumes on

but candy seems to work magic
The Mailman
What a pair!
getting ready to head over to the Clubhouse
And what are the odds that a black cat would cross our path??!!!
We have the best luck, huh?
Heather and her daughter the door greeters
Buffet line


Liam and Kylie getting their groove on
mommy and Rylan cutting a rug
Costume contest winners...mailman and letter!
Jill and sweet Lily the ladybug
Happy Halloween!

Doing the Limbo
of course Rylan put something on his head
Botanica Lakes Halloween Party 2008!

...And here's a short video of my little dancing dynamos!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we took the boys to the pumpkin patch at the United Methodist Church. Of course I really wish we could have gone to a REAL pumpkin patch, but unfortunately our great town of Fort Myers is lacking that experience. I've actually never been to a real pumpkin patch so it will be a new adventure for all of us when we finally do get to go one of these years.
The boys had a great time though. Rylan thought they were so cool and kept yelling out, Mommy look a "puhtin". Aidan was more interested in attacking the bugs that were flying around. At one point I saw him throw a small pumpkin at the patch to try and hit the bug. Oh, he is such a boy! We had already decided that the boys could pick out a small pumpkin to take home and we would buy our large one at another location. I've seen the huge sized ones on sale at Publix for $5.00. The large ones at the church were anywhere from $18-35! That price is just crazy to me. Besides, for me it's all about the pictures.
On the way home Aidan started saying, "oh no, Ry is a mess". Sure enough when I turned around, he was covered in pumpkin pieces. First I have to say that our little Rylan is a picker. He picks at everything he can. It sounds gross, but he picks at his scabs, anything sticky on the floor, He's picked at a foam board before making a huge mess, really just about anything that he can dig his little nails into. He had found a soft spot on the pumpkin where it was bruised and picked at it until he made his way to the inside where the seeds and goo are.
Here's some pictures of our time at the pumpkin patch!

Walking to the Pumpkin Patch

Aidan throwing some pumpkins

Rylan in pumpkin heaven

That One!

Picking out their baby pumpkins

Showing Daddy the baby pumpkins

Pumpkin Patch Sweetpea

Our boys don't like taking pictures these days

Aidan Schmaidan and Mommy

My Guys

Aidan helping Rylan with his sticker