Batman, take 1

Batman's smile says it all. Candy and SuperGirl all in 1 day.

Charlie's preschool had a Halloween Parade and Coffee for the parents. It was a really nice morning, the weather was gorgeous. Frankly, it was nice to get out of the house and meet a few other parents as well. Funny enough, both Jon and I ran into people from our high schools who have children attending the school.

Matt and Will thoroughly enjoyed it too. We started off as smart parents but after a little protesting from the stroller, we decided we could manage free rangers. Boy we were naive. Before we knew it, Will had joined the parade and Matt took several pictures with some other kids class. Hence, why I like the Director so much, I looked at her and said "we have no hope (of getting them back in the stroller and under control)" and she came through with fruit roll ups.
So sugar saved the day yet again.

Tell me why again it's not good to bribe your children?

Woody & Buzz

As in the movie, Woody and Buzz, often take in off in opposite directions. This was our Woody and Buzz's 1st attempt of the day to make an escape.

Buzz Lightyear

Buzz, a.k.a., Will dancing it up at Charlie's school Halloween Parade

Celebrate! We're 2!!!

Matt, Stacy and Laura getting the party started with a little snack.

Greta was thrilled to have willing parties to throw the frisbee in the backyard.

Matt kicking the ball around.

Paw joins in the soccer game.

Will swinging on the big boy swing!

Cousins being pushed on the swings by Papa

Umm cupcakes... Will
Yum... Matt

Let's open presents!!!


Big Brother Charlie inspects gifts

2 years old TODAY!

When I woke up this morning, I thought about my life 2 years ago and how far we have come since then. Being parents to 2 premies, being thrown in and out of hospitals and trying to figure out how to make an older brother still feel important were a lot to figure out. Although I am not sure that there is normalcy in our lives now, I do feel like we know what to expect and that is the unexpected. We can go from tears and knocking each other upside the head to laughter and hysteria all within minutes (it actually seems to happen more the other way around).

Since most days, I feel that these guys are thrown in as 1 entity, I feel like on their birthday of all days, it is important to recognize that they are individuals and both have their own personalities.

Matt can be quite the entertainer. One minute he can be super happy and the next can be screaming uncontrollably. At this point in time, Matt can understandably get so frustrated when he can not communicate what he wants. Matt likes to listen to books (sometimes momentarily) and points to pictures on the pages and often says 'Look.' He is very observant and my dad says, high on the social continuum. He wants to share and listens attentively. If we say, let's put on shoes, he brings shoes right over.

Will to me really does seem like the baby of the family. I think he would still be drinking from a bottle if we let him. He loves his milk and likes to cuddle. He is really into giving kisses now and will come and give you a hug if you ask him. He loves to throw balls, and is always doing something athletic. He was the 1st to successfully (w/o falling) and unsuccessfully (landing with a thud) climb out of his crib. He likes to stand on his head and jump. This kid likes to jump a lot.
Will can scream too, but he more or less just likes to let you know he's not happy with the world (while Matt usually is screaming b/c you aren't getting his message).

We are so lucky to have both in our world. Happy Birthday Matt! Happy Birthday Will!

Preschool

Charlie is at a new preschool this fall and I absolutely love it. I think he does too, as much as a 4 year old can really love school. I am so impressed with his teacher and Director. I think they are wonderful and really know what they are doing. At least they exude it...

Each week, a letter (and number) is spotlighted and kids can bring in a 'small' show and tell item that starts with the letter. So far, he has shared D = Dinosaur, P = Police care and the all time favorite B = Batman. This exercise has been great, because all day every day, we are now talking about the names of our toys and what letter they start with. He is also working more on coloring, writing, etc. This is not one of his favorite activities as he is much more of a mechanical guy, so hopefully with time, we will be able to write C h a r l i e! Jon always jokes this is why his mom and dad named him Jon, 3 nice letters. Why didn't we think about this? Each one of our kids has 7 letter names. I am not open to Chuck as a nick name either. Matt & Will at least can shorten when they are learning how to write/spell their name.

These pictures are from last week's Fall Festival which included animals, pumpkin 'picking' and fall games. Matt & Will also went with Dad.
Friday was a Pajama Party for "P" with popcorn, pears and other p snacks. This week we have a Fall Parade and coffee for the parents. Fun stuff.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch, joined by Laura, Tommy, Stacy and Tommy's sister and crew. It was a perfect day for picking out pumpkins, minus the line for the hayride.
Charlie, Matt & Will had fun roaming the fields. Matt did keep tripping over pumpkin vines though and Will kept throwing pumpkins (a ball player at heart?).
Stacy and Will kept our entire wagon full of people "entertained" by screaming the whole way back from the field. Lordy, those two are wide open! But we did make it back in 1 piece.

I read an article about how important traditions are in a family - and this is one of my favorites.

2010


2009 2 1 year old's and moving = didn't make it
2008 (Can't quite see all 5 of us, but we are all there)
2007

Our girl

Things are good in our household. Each day, I try and remember that there are people that have life a lot harder than I do. Sick kids or no jobs, and really I try to remember my life, in the realm of the world, is quite easy. It can easily be forgotten though... like when there are 2 almost 2 year olds emptying your bathroom drawers or riding their rocking horses in your bathroom while you try to get ready in the morning. Or someone is biting someone. Or someone else is getting clocked. But, I know that is small stuff, right?

Greta has been a wonderful teacher to us over these past couple of months. She is a dog, but she is our dog and our family member. Taking care of her has reminded us that life really can change in an instant and you can't take it for granted. Each day that she has been with us, we are reminded of how life can change and thankful for what we do have. It has been up and down over the past few months. The 1st month was the hardest - lots of yuck and scares. But over the past month, it's been almost easy to forget the Cancer. She has was in the best spirits at the beach and caught the frisbee like the frisbee champion that she is, she rode the waves in and ran on the beach. It has almost been like she was not sick most of the time.

It is hard to know what to expect. As of yesterday, she had her 1st 'episode' in close to a month. Today she seems to be feeling better. It's a day at a time.

8K here I come!

We had so much fun last week at the beach ~ It was an awesome 10 days with visits from Grandma K & Paw, Grandma & Papa Wood, our friends Judy & Dave and kids along with Meredith and her crew - it was busy!

I have been keeping up with my training for my running program and am now running 2 miles consistently. I was pretty impressed that I kept on track during vacation, but I enjoyed the change of scenery, the warm weather and the mental break. Saturday I had my high point so far, running 3.5 miles. It is funny how your mindset impacts the workout. I think I woke up Saturday knowing that it was a beautiful day and that 2 people (Judy & Mere) were coming to visit, who are both in process of training for the half marathon on Nov 13th. Knowing that, I just took off with my ipod nano and hit the trails.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the group runs though this Sat. 4 more training weeks and then the 8K on November 13th here in Richmond!!!

Yes, We love the Beach!

Will and Matt


Matt


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Hanging at the Beach

The crew is having an awesome time in Southern Shores. Since the weekend we've had great, sunny weather. Jon and I always wonder, why don't we make it down here more?


Will and Matt





Deep thoughts by Matt


My Boys





Will and Matt


Bruden bruden... Charlie


Matt



Greta

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Wright Memorial

We ventured to the Wright Memorial today for a kite competition. Of all our trips to the Outer Banks, this was our 1st visit for all of us.
It was a perfect day to fly kites (shall we say for the talented), as it was very windy!


Charlie and Matt bundled up on the sidelines





Jon got to try out a power kite, similar to his but a little bigger...


Big C


The "Crabbies"


Will


Matt


Ahh Brothers