Arrrgh! Happy Halloween

My two little pirates had one great Halloween. I was so surprised that Colby would wear his costume because every time we tried to just put his hat on he would immediately pull it off. But once he saw Austin all dressed up with his shoes on then he was ready. Austin scares very easily regardless of what his Halloween shirt says. He was so scared by Sean that he kept crying and crying. Thank goodness we did not see any SCARY people or houses or he would have been done for the night. We did have Shrek with our group and Austin didn't like him either. Heather was a huge help as always and was not only out trick or treating with us but was the photographer. Once I get the photos from her I'll put them on our blog.

Sean was also a pirate and a very handsome one I might add. He of course went out with 2-3 boys that live on our street and they brought back a LOT of candy. Colby and Austin actually let people put candy in their buckets. I guess since they had their pirate hats on they didn't feel the need to wear the buckets on their head but first thing this morning Colby had his bucket on his head. That's been the best $.88 I've spent yet.

I was in charge of Sean's school party yesterday for 23 4th graders. Only one mom out of 4 that signed up to help actually showed up. Thank goodness Pat was nice enough to take off work to go and help. They painted pumpkins, made Halloween bracelets and decorated sugar cookies. We played a Halloween memory game and of course what would a Halloween party be without the Mummy game with toilet paper. Sean's team won the mummy game both times. We had a good time but man did they have a lot of energy and I can't imagine all of them last night on a sugar high.

Ok well I wanted to just get a few photos out but I will have a lot more to post later. I hope everyone had a nice Halloween and got lots of candy. I will say now that have moved up to NSL Trick or Treating is not as easy but it's all HILLS. No need for the gym yesterday after all the walking we did.

Pumpkin Picking

We took the boys on their very 1st hayride and pumpkin picking trip. It was a beautiful day and we also had Natalie and Sean with us so they got to pick out their pumpkins too. Austin was so cute. I took him over to the little pumpkin patch and he went for the 1st one he saw. He picked it up and then looked at me with the expression "can I have it". Then he looked around and saw all the other ones. He put it back down but decided the original one was the one he wanted so he picked it back up and headed back to the wagon. Colby was so cute on the hayride out as we approached the pumpkin patch he started saying "ball,ball,ball". He was very excited to pick his pumpkin and he picked the one right beside Austin's.

We are getting ready for the 1st "trick or treating" experience. I just hope they will let people put candy in their buckets since they have been wearing them as hats for the past week. We'll be sure and post photos of them in the costumes.

Crazy boys in crazy bucket hats

So this is what the boys have been up to lately. They have been wearing their candy buckets for Halloween as hats. Should make Trick or Treating interesting. Austin has his new word of NO down to a tee. In fact he tells me that for everything. They are both getting very good at mocking a monkey, maybe because they act like one.

Enjoy the photos.

Getting cuter by the day

Some days I look at the boys and wonder where is time going. They seem to be growing so quick and everyday they amaze me in some way. This weekend Colby learned to act like a monkey. Yes, I know he already did in his own way but now when you ask him what a monkey says he'll rub his hands on his side and say whooo, whooo, whooo. Austin learned the drink sign in sign language and both have learned to drink from a sippy cup with the built in straw. We just have to remind Colby to sip slowly or he'll choke.

Aunt Abby came to see the boys on Friday and they were very excited to see her. They were quite the performers especially Austin. Austin is so funny when he has an audience. He'll do something funny then get very embarassed and lower his head with the cutest smile.

Sean had a football game on Saturday and they won. His team is undefeated and will be going to the playoffs for sure. I just wish he would be become a little more agressive, but maybe with time.

I'm sure some of you are wondering if they boys are dressing up for Halloween and yes they are so be looking for our Halloween post coming soon. Can't promise great pictures as the boys don't want to sit long enough for a photo shoot and they kind of make a funny face when they see me coming with a camera.

I have more photos and videos to post so hopefully I'll get to that soon.

Double Trouble

I just have a few minutes to start an update. I expect the boys to be awake any minute from nap time. Pat is currently in Wyoming with my family deer hunting. Opening day is tomorrow and they are always there for it. My Dad has been going for probably almost 30 years. Let's put it this way I can't remember him not going.

The boys are doing great but becoming more and more curious about everything. As you can see from some of the photos they are not scared of anything. Austin in particular is becoming quite the climber and faller. He is trying to pull up on anything he can get ahold of . I think it's about time to take out the crib bumper or he'll figure out how to use it as a step stool. Colby is usually only one step behind Austin. This morning they were both trying to fit into the laundry basket. Because it was a tight fit I got another one out for them to each have their own. Needless to say they both still wanted in one together.

Colby finally has 4 teeth. Ok well the two on bottom are for sure in and the top two have actually broken through but aren't all the way in. I will say they are in far enough for it to hurt when he bit me yesterday. I have to figure out how to break them of biting because they will stick their fingers in the other's mouth and of course that leads to biting. Austin is hard biter too so I really need to work breaking him of that.

Some good news for our family is that I passed the Real Estate exam. Once I have transitioned out of the Army in 2008 then I'll be all set and ready to start to work. I am very excited about working with Pat and I truly believe with our work habits, personalities and organizational skills we'll do really well as a team. We always had lunch together when we lived in Alabama and we've missed that since we've moved here so that is one small thing I look forward too again. I also look forward to not making that hour drive to work and back everyday.

Sean is still playing football and his team is undefeated. Sean is struggling with being aggressive. Because he is smaller than most of the boys playing he tends to hesitate to tackle and get scared if he is put on offense. Pat and I have tried to tell him if he would use his speed because he's the fastest kid on his team he wouldn't have to worry about getting hit because they have to catch him first. It would help if all the adults in his life would understand that football is an aggressive contact sport and players that aren't that way are usually the one that ends up getting hurt or not playing. Sean is doing great in school is quite the excellent speller. Pat and I are the class spelling Mom and Dad and we give the spelling test every Friday. So far this year Sean has missed one word.
Natalie is still all about CHEER, CHEER, CHEER. Which is ok and Pat and I are trying very hard to relate, but we grew up only knowing sports. Natalie got her 2nd set of braces this week and hopefully this will be her last set and they will leave her teeth a little straighter and the way she wants them. Natalie is doing great in school with all A's. She finally had her 4.0 picture taken at school and it will hang in the entrance for this whole year. We are so proud of her.

We took a quick trip to Texas last weekend for 4 days to celebrate Jerry and Gloria's (Pat's parents) 50th wedding anniversary and Gloria's 75th Birthday. It was great seeing everyone again and meeting family members that I only knew by name. The boys were good on the plane and I think everyone enjoyed seeing them. I'm not sure when we'll be back in TX but we'll be in AR for Thanksgiving.

Believe it or not,which is why I am posting a photo it snowed here all day yesterday. The boys thought it was funny as they would look outside every once in awhile and they would just giggle. I know this photo probably doesn't do it justice but this when it first started snowing. I still had snow on the yard this morning. It's gone now and I hope to take the boys out in a little while to swing. They are both sick with colds so we won't be out long but a little fresh air might do us all some good.

Just some snapshots

I still can't figure out what the hang up is on downloading my slide shows but here are 3 links that will take you to them.

Hopefully I'll get an update completed this week about our trip to Texas this past weekend.

Hope you enjoy them.

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/patnlex/?action=view&current=452a6688.pbw

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/patnlex/?action=view&current=d6e2ad6e.pbw

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/patnlex/?action=view&current=62d06c58.pbw

Neo-Natal appointment

We've had a busy week for the boys. On Monday afternoon, Austin graduated from the Early Intervention Program. He is doing so well that they see no need for home visits any more. If something were to change in the future, which we don't expect he could always be re-enrolled. Our home visits had pretty much just turned into a playtime with the ladies.

On Tuesday we had our neo-natal appointment which I really hate. It's 4hrs of just rotating through to see different doctors. The boys get very tired because they miss their morning nap and they get tired of everyone touching them.

With all that being said we got good reports from everyone. Eyesight is good as well as hearing. We also saw neurology, psychology, nutrition, pediatrics, and one more that I can't remember. Everyone was so impressed that they are walking, talking and interacting as well as they are. None of the doctors had any concerns for us. The nutrition doctor said they are still both on the small side but because they are still growing she wasn't alarmed. She said just keep them on whole milk and balanced meals. She also says it's very common for toddlers who begin to feed themselves to not gain as much weight because they lose most the food before it gets to their mouths.

The doctors all said they would say they are pretty much at their actual age vs corrected age. Of course they still can't measure learning but we don't see any issues in our future with that. The fact that they are able to learn things like body parts, sign language and words leads me not to worry. The one thing they did say was to keep reading to them a lot. He said there is no doubt that has helped them with speaking and comprehension.

I can now tell the boys to go get me the ball and they will both go find a ball to bring me or I can tell them to give Beevo love and they will both go over and give their stuffed Beevo a hug. It's sweet. I can also tell them to come here or stop what they are doing and they just smile and keep right on. That's the challenging piece right now.

Natalie and Sean are doing great. Sean's football team is 3-0. He is doing really well if we can just keep him focused and interested. Others that he is around are NOT into football therefore they don't talk it with him or encourage him to hit hard and to be physical. He weighs 42 pounds and at least 2 kids on the other team Saturday were over 150 pounds. Natalie is all about cheerleading. That's all we hear her talk about. She is doing really well in school which is what we are more proud of. Sean is also doing well in school. He really enjoys his teacher as she is young with a lot of energy. She probably needs with a room full of 4th graders.

Pat was busy this past weekend making a swing for the boys. They love it too. For some reason I am having trouble downloading my slide shows and videos....I know you're disappointed. Once I figure out the problem I'll do another post. Until then hope you are doing well.
Alexa and Family