Happy 5th Birthday Max!

Max celebrated his 5th birthday on November 8.  He is sooooo happy to be 5!  He got a new twin bed with mario sheets and blanket as his birthday gift from us.  He loves sleeping in his big bed and rearranged room.  On the actual day he had a day of eating out.  Jason took him to Bob Evans for breakfast where he got macaroni and cheese and a chocolate chip cookie.  I took him to lunch at Wendy's.  Then we all took him out for dinner to California Tortilla followed by Yogi Castle for dessert.   All his favorite places - he was a happy boy!  Then, the Saturday after his birthday we had his party at Chuck E Cheese with family and friends.  He played games, played in the play area, ate pizza and cake, and even got to go in the ticket blaster to collect extra tickets.  He had a great time and kept saying "Isn't this just the best day ever?!" 

Harvest Festival

Last night we went to the Harvest Festival.  We've gone every year for the past 4 years.  Church of the Redeemer hosts this annual event at the Germantown Soccerplex.  Kyle went as a ninja again this year and Max was James the train.  It's always very crowded, but the boys had a great time.  They play lots of fun games for candy prizes and there were many bouncy slides to play on as well.  They each filled up their buckets in about an hour and a half and then we headed home. 

Kyle's School Halloween Party

Yesterday, we went to Kyle's school in the afternoon for his annual Halloween parade and party.  Max was thrilled to be a part of this day.  The kids had a parade outside the school to show off their costumes.  Then they returned to their classrooms for a party.  The kids had pizza, cupcakes, donuts, and cookies.  They also got to make goodie bags, play limbo, and dance.  They had a great time!

Max's Field Trip to Homestead Farms

Max had his field trip to Homestead Farms.  I had a MOPS meeting that morning so Jason was able to take him on this trip to the farm.  He got to enjoy a hayride, pick two pumpkins, have a snack, and see lots of animals.  You'll notice his best friend at school this year, Hammie, in most of the pictures.  Jason said they weren't more a few inches apart the whole morning.   It was a fun morning for them! 

Halloween Party

Kyle and I attended his friends' Dante and Jaden's annual Halloween party again this year.  They go all out with their decorations and even had a DJ this time.  There was lots of yummy food and Kyle danced the night away with his friends and had a great time!  We both dressed up . . . Kyle went as a ninja again this year and I pulled out my Dorothy costume from my teaching days.

Halloween Picture

We went to Ma and Pa's house last month and they surprised the boys with a fall scavenger hunt.  They had little pumpkins with clues inside which led them to other clues around the house and eventually some wrapped presents!  The boys LOVED it and had a great time.  We brought some of the ghosts, pumpkins, spiders, and cats that the clues were written on home with us and Max decided he wanted to use them to make a spooky Halloween picture.  Hope you enjoy his handiwork!

Zoe

Here is the little girl I watched for 2 1/2 weeks the beginning of September.  She turned one during her time year and had just started walking.  Overall she was a very good little girl, but quite a handful as any one year old is.  She thoroughly exhausted me by the end of each day (we had her from 8am-6pm).  She was mostly very happy and napped well, but was into everything when she was awake.  Clearly our house is no longer baby proofed so I had to watch her like a hawk. It was difficult to find things to play that she wouldn't immediately mess up or grab, but the boys did enjoy playing with her when they weren't at school.  It was an eventful couple of weeks and she was a very sweet little girl.  But I'm very happy with my two older boys and realizing I don't miss the baby stage as much as I thought.  :)