All Hallows' Eve

Trick or Treat?  

Aren't they sweet?

Happy Halloween

from our Little Ducky and Wolverine!

Today is Grammy's birthday!

And so to a wonderful wife, daughter, sister, aunt, grammy,

...and even more importantly, to my mom:)  We love you!

Hope it was a good one!

Rainy Days with the Kiddos

Playing in the bathtub,

 splashing,

laughing,

cuddling up close,

taking long naps to the sound of the wind and rain,

staying warm by the fire,

getting caught up on laundry (I'm not gonna lie!),

reading stories and playing with toys.

Just enjoying being together with this extra time we've been given.

This is how we've spent our time as we rode out the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Is there any better way?

I think not.

Silent Sunday

{what normally happens when we attempt to take a family photo in public}

Zoo Trip

With the impending storm slowly creeping up on us, we decided to take the kids to the zoo while it was still sunny.  We had a really nice trip - the fall might be the best time to visit.  It wasn't too crowded, we weren't miserably hot, and the animals were all out and about.  We also decided not to overdo it, and only hit half of the zoo.  Jack was a little sad we didn't get to go to the bird house, but now he has something to look forward to when we surely go back in the spring.  We took lots of great pictures of all the animals and a few good ones of ourselves:)

 As many times as I've been to the National Zoo before, I've never seen the orangutan use the o-line before.  This guy was showing off!

 We walked the North American Trail - a new part of the zoo that only opened a month ago, and it was beautiful!  And downhill, so that's always good:)  We got to see the beavers being fed.

 Jack took this picture with my phone all by himself.  Pretty good catch, if you ask me!

 I just love when they are together and happy.  I still can't believe they're both ours - we're so lucky!

 See?  I told you - show off!

Hannah Bear was so happy to be looking at the animals and walking around on her own!

Jack always wants to go see the big cats first.  This was the first time that we saw the tigers when they were walking around.  Our kids were so excited that the animals were awake, and they started to squeal and make lots of noise.  The lions perked up right away, and this guy made direct eye contact with Jack and Hannah.  And then?  He had to make eye contact with me because the Mama Bear in me came out...tight grip on the littles for sure!

In my head...

Last Thursday, we spent time with this guy and his mama:

 {This is what happens when you try to take a picture of three kids under the age of five.  I cannot explain what my children are doing in these pictures.  Not at all.}

The boys did an art project that I found on Pinterest and their Frankensteins came out so cute!

*****

Having children has changed the way I watch TV.  I get teary-eyed at commercials of baby girls waking up with messy hair (Oh.my.word!  Have you seen it?).  News stories about kids who became heroes by calling 911 when something horrible happened make me wonder...  I can't watch TV shows where children go missing without getting a lump in my throat...  I don't like movies where to get to someone, they threaten the safety of that someone's children - I literally have to leave the room.  These things come out of nowhere - and take my breath away.  And not in a good way.

*****

For that matter - I don't listen to the radio the same way either.  Music about little ones and kids growing up too quickly...makes me a weepy mess.  Cried my way to work this morning, actually.  Anyone familiar with "You're Gonna Miss This?" by Trace Adkins.  That was all it took.  Suddenly I feel like kindergarten starts tomorrow and before I know it, we're dropping Hannah off at college.

*****

For the past two days, Jack has left Skinny Bear at home, and taken Baby Panda to school.  When I asked him why, he said, "Mama, Skinny Bear hibernates when the leaves change color."  Oh.  I see.  

*****

Hannah Bear came up and hugged my leg this evening.  I was checking the weather on my phone inbetween doing the dishes after dinner, and before I know it, these tiny little arms wrapped around my leg and squeezed.  Made my night, and I let her know it, too.  I scooped her up and gave her tons of kisses and said, "I love you."  And she?  She repeated back three little syllables.  She loves me too!

*****

I can wear jeans to work tomorrow.  I cannot even begin to tell you how happy this makes me.

*****

Hannah apparently loves donuts.  Her teachers were kind enough to share their breakfast with her, and she just couldn't get enough.  You should have seen how excited she was when they sent her home with a donut this afternoon - she couldn't eat it fast enough.

Wordless Wednesday

{because one is never enough}

A Perfect, Fall Day

Last weekend, I took the kids to a local farm for some fall festival fun.   

We had such a blast!

The place wasn't too pricey, and there was so much to do there.  

 I could tell Hannah was a little overwhelmed just because she was so quiet and busy looking around everywhere, but she had a lot of fun too.

It was a little crowded, but the lines moved quickly, and there was so much to see that the kids didn't mind the down time while we waited for our turn.  

We certainly wore Hannah out because when we got back to the car to go home, I quickly changed her diaper and she was about to fall asleep right there in the back of the Jeep.  

She was out before we left the parking lot! 

The weather was beautiful - 

blue skies and crisp, fall temperatures.

It was absolutely....

 a perfect, fall day!

Silent Sunday

{Hannah enjoys big-kid slides.  Can you tell?}

When he grows up...

About a week and a half ago, I had to take Gracie and Belle into the vet's for their check-ups and dental cleanings.  They had to be there early in the morning, but the littles were already awake, so I took them with me to drop off the puppies.

As usual, my trip was met with some "unexpecteds."  When the nurse took Gracie and Belle to the back, guess who burst into tears?  Miss Hannah Bear did NOT want the puppies to go away.  Poor thing - her big brother went right up to her, patted her on the back, and then told her, "It's okay, we're going to come back later and pick them up."  Then he looked up at me, as if to ask, "Right, Mama?"  My heart just melted...

But that wasn't all.  When the nurse came back out, she gave Jack a coloring book all about vets and a set of crayons.  We got back into the car, and he went straight to work looking at the pictures and coloring the animals.  As he worked, he chatted with me about how he wants to be an animal doctor when he grows up.  He talked about how he'd tell them they had "broken bone-itis" or "blister-itis."  These -itis endings are a little something he picked up from Doc McStuffins:)

I told Jack about how he'd be a really good animal doctor because he's so smart, and then I thought I would share the fact that Daddy also wanted to be an animal doctor when he was little.  Here's how that conversation went:


Me: Did you know that Daddy also wanted to be an animal doctor when he was little?

Jack: Yeah, but now he's just a worker.

Me: Well, you're right.  Daddy has another job - he helps people with their money.

Jack: Yeah, when I grow up I'm not going to forget.

Me: What do you mean you're not going to forget?

Jack: I'm not going to forget - when I grow up I'm going to be an animal doctor.

Me: Oh, Sweetie - I don't think Daddy forgot.  I think he just decided he wanted to do something else.  You could too, and that would be okay.

Jack: Yeah, but I'm not going to forget.


Alrighty then.  So...several years from now, perhaps you'll be taking your little animals to Dr. Jack.  After all, I decided I wanted to be a teacher when I was three - and here we are:)