The Halloween Party

This past week at school, Jonathan's class had a Harvest Party.  They decorated cookies, played games, made crafty things...lots of fun.  But Jonathan wasn't fooled.  He knew it was a Halloween party with a different name.

When he came home from school, he was inspired to throw a Halloween party for his siblings.  He drew pictures that would become decorations, he planned games, and he drew a treasure map to lead them to the "treasure" which was his stash of decorations.

When he broke the news of the surprise Halloween party to Benjamin and Grace yesterday evening, he told them (mostly Grace) that she needed to search for a rolled-up sheet of paper.  He gave her major hints about where to find it, and when she found it, he read it to her and explained to her that was a treasure map and that they needed to look for the treasure.  She was ecstatic.  They searched together for the "treasure" and found his party decorations in the playroom, which were drawings of bats, pumpkins, etc.  (Those of you who are familiar with Jonathan know that he doesn't draw very often, so drawings made this even more fun.)

Jonathan decorated for the party, which really meant taping up his drawings wherever Grace wanted them, and then he played the pre-planned Halloween party games with Benjamin and Grace.  The first one was really a game of chase - played around the circle in our downstairs.  (If you've ever lived in a house which has a loop where kids can play chase nonstop, or drive vehicles around and around, you get the idea.)  It was called "come get the pumpkin" and each kid had to chase Jonathan for awhile until they caught him and got to hold a pumpkin.  Benjamin got to hold the small one that Jonathan had decorated with stickers at school, and Grace got to hold an old artificial foam one that I let them play with.

After this, they played pumpkin bowling, pumpkin rolling, pumpkin soccer...Benjamin didn't really participate, but Jonathan and Grace had a GREAT time, and it was so much fun to watch them actually playing together, and to see how carefully he had planned out a fun time for his siblings.  I knew that the fake pumpkin would not likely survive the "party," but I was more than happy to sacrifice it for something like this.

It was hilarious and precious to watch.  I knew that if I didn't write it down, I would forget it once we get back to the normal busy of making sure everyone is wearing clothes, brushing teeth, combing hair, taking turns, etc.  I'm really thankful to see a glimpse into Jonathan's tender heart toward his siblings and see how responsive and grateful Grace was.

Christmas 2012...Already?

Christmas time is truly my favorite time of year.  Somehow, it's the busiest time of year, too, for just about everybody.  And in our family, we have been blessed with three December birthdays within eight days.  All the celebrating...and thank-you notes...make for a very busy time.  And really I just want to curl up next to the tree with some hot chocolate instead of hurry around doing anything.

Last year, we decided to skip Christmas cards for a year, to make things simpler and more sane, to recover from too many things that had been going on, and to focus on the Birthday that is the reason for all the celebrations.  This year, we are sending cards, but we made the happy decision to use a summertime picture in our Christmas card.  What a relief that I don't have to figure out coordinating outfits and get everyone to look at the camera at the same time in the next month or two.  And I can work on addressing cards in November, and then have some more time to enjoy the boys' birthdays and Christmas in December.  (And my birthday, too.)

I just ordered our cards, and Shutterfly says they'll give me $10 if I blog our card.  Yes, please!  Here's our card.  Thank you for reading our blog so I can earn $10.  And in two months, I hope you have a truly wonderful Christmas!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Look at Me!

Helping

When Jonathan is at school, Grace does her best to jump into the role of oldest sibling.  I still hear my share of screaming - from both kids - when there is only one particular toy that both kids want.  But, I also hear some kind words from Grace that warm my heart.

Before the weather cooled down, Benjamin wanted to play with Grace's (favorite) sparkly shoes.  After I persuaded her that there could be one shoe for each kid, she helped him put one on so that he could stick and unstick the velcro...

 over, and over, and over.

They are super cute when they are getting along!

Big!

 "Ta-da!"

"Hello?'

Proud

Grace's hair had been in braids overnight.  This picture screams "eighties!" to me.

 And she was so proud of her accessory choices.  The hat, glasses, and pink sticker were all "souvenirs" from Jeff's last trip.

Clearly...It Was a Good Nap!

Ribbons

This is the hairdo she requested on Friday, and the response it caused.  I know that, all too soon, she'll think she is too old for ribbons and pigtails, so I am enjoying how much she loves them now.  I do need to learn to French braid, though.  My mom is still an expert, but I can't get her to come over every day and do Grace's hair.  :)

Symmetrical

Jonathan lost another tooth on Friday - at school!  His top teeth are symmetrical again, and he'll have the distinction of looking a little like a jack- o' lantern for Halloween.  Also, notice the catalog on the bottom left.  This year's Lego catalog came in the mail on Friday, and since I kept it until his afternoon chores were done, it worked beautifully to help him get things done quickly.  I haven't seen him without the catalog since then!

At the Pumpkin Patch

Once again, we took our kids to a local pumpkin patch, went early in the morning so we could pretend that there was cool fall weather, and took in all the farm-ish (and free) attractions.  

Did people do this when I was a kid?  I don't remember the pumpkin patch tradition.  I think we just got a pumpkin at the grocery store, and my mother labored for many hours over our amazing Halloween costumes.  And now, we take our kids to the pumpkin patch and I hardly labor at all over their Halloween costumes!

Anyway, here are my favorite pictures of our morning.  Our kids are growing up!  We are so thankful to be able to spend these fun times with them.

She loves to jump...and jump...and jump.  This crazy jumper is the one who didn't walk until she was 19 months old.

I love this one of Benjamin.

TWO pictures of them smiling AND looking at the camera.  I have found the secret to achieving this amazing feat!  I'm not telling the secret...and it only works when I hold the camera and Jeff is assisting. He did an amazing job, obviously.

And here's one of me...doing what I usually do.  This one was taken on Jeff's phone.  It was a fun morning.

Enthusiasm

Maybe she's excited about the single day of fall weather we had. And now we're back to shorts!

Goofy Grins

My Cute Boys

A Visit from Cheryl & Lou

Lou (longtime family friend) and Cheryl (Jeff's mom) were here for a visit.  We had a great time, and they took some great pictures.  (You can tell that we had company because I am in some of the pictures.)  Thanks for the visit, Cheryl and Lou!  Enjoy the pictures, everyone!