Halloween Parties

We had a jam-packed weekend full of Halloween festivities!

Friday night the junior high where I work had its 2nd Annual Boo Bash. Stephanie and I are the Student Council sponsors and were in charge of organizing it.
The kids decided this year that they wanted a haunted house, so with the help of an amazing parent we worked some magic and made a Haunted Hallway that lead to the dance. Some of our students, teachers, and parents helped out by acting in the house and scaring our students! (I'm hoping to have some great pictures from a mom and our yearbook staff soon!)

It was fun to see everyone dressed up in their costumes and having a good time. We were able to get a picture with our staff too.

Last night our friends parents had a Halloween costume party equipped with a dj and amazing decorations. It was held in their huge garage, and the weather was nice and cool for sitting outside. My sister had Carson over at her house and Brian's parents kept Deacon for his first night away from both of us.

My friend Lindsey (on the left) is 8 months pregnant with her 2nd boy, so she let her belly hang out and went as a white-trash man. I wish I would have gotten her belly in this picture.

Brian and I had lots of fun in our matching costumes. I had to explain mine to a few non-gamers, but was excited when people guessed mine correctly.

Brian thought he would be funny and scare the homeowner by pretending to fish in her pond. Our friends Corey and Stacy came in their homemade plug and socket costume.

We are dorks and had to get one picture of Brian hitting the box to get a coin...

We must be getting old because by the time midnight came we were both partied out and ready for bed, and also so excited to go home and sleep in this morning!

Ren Fest

Brian's dad used to take him and his brother to the Renaissance Festival when they were kids. When we started dating, we also started a tradition every Fall to make a trip out there as well. We typically take a new group of friends there with us every year and take them to the funniest shows and yummiest booths we know. The way it works is you pay an admission (around $20/person, the boys were free) and then all of the shows (and people watching) are free. Other booths and activities are at an additional cost.

This year we took the boys, and although they were free to get in, we spent a fortune for Carson to do all the activities. We may alternate taking them every other year, and make a grown-up trip the other times.

When we entered the gates, Carson set his eyes on this sword, and of course talked us into purchasing it. He had so much fun just swinging that sword around out there.

Next up, face painting:

Pillow fighting with Dada:

We made another attempt to take the boys pictures together in one of the garden chapels...

They were so adorable in their matching shirts

Carson also tested his strength:

They had a booth for the kids to throw tomatoes at this heckler. He called Carson a girl.

...Carson proved him wrong by throwing like a BOY, smacking him right in the face with a tomato!! Look at Carson laughing!

Our favorite show is the Mud Eaters, where there is lots of audience participation. The crowd getting rowdy scared Deacon, so he and I walked outside of where the show was to hang out in the grass. I didn't mind a bit, since we see the show every year...I could about recite the whole thing.

Deacon didn't mind either because he got to stand up and stretch his legs.

Before we left, we saw this box and had to participate.

One of the vendors had given Carson a pet rock, he used this box to exchange it for a AA battery...lol I'm sure it is a dead battery, but that was what Carson wanted. Who says nothing in life is free?? haha

36 Weeks

We have been so busy this week I just now had time to take and post your picture! You were ready for bed, so this is the best I could get...you are still completely adorable even when your tired.

My Mario Costume

When we were deciding on costumes for Halloween this year for the grown-ups in our house, Carson convinced us to go with Super Mario Brothers. Brian already looks kinda like Mario, so that was an easy plan to make. We went shopping last night and bought his hat and gloves; he owns a long-sleeved red shirt, so this week we just have to hit up some thrift stores to locate the overalls.



Carson suggested I be Princess Peach, but the costumes are goddy and I didn't want to spend the whole month hunting down a fluffy pink dress. I decided to go for the coin box instead.



After a little brainstorming, we came up with the easiest and cheapest make-it-yourself costume.

Free box from Brian's job

1 can metallic gold spray paint, 1 can glossy white spray paint


Gold glitter and spray glue

We sprayed the box gold first, then sprayed the glue and sprinkled the glitter when it had dried:

I googled an image of the coin box online, blew it up in Word, then printed it out. Once it was printed, I cut the question mark and traced it on poster board. Using an exacto knife I cut the stencil out of the poster, layed it down in the center of each side of the box and sprayed it white.

Here's how it turned out:

We kept the flaps on top and just pushed them inside so that we could run black ribbon through it without it showing the knots. The folded edge also helps the box from rubbing against my skin.

I have more accessories to add to the costume, but will save those until my pictures on Halloween weekend.

Sk8ter Boy

Meme recently bought Carson a mini skateboard and Tony Hawk jacket. Carson was so excited to test it out when he got home, and even though it was over 80 degrees outside, he insisted on wearing his jacket because he said it helped him skate better.
He somehow got skateboarding logistics confused with surfing and wanted to demonstrate how you lay on your stomach first and then hop up on your feet to skate.

He was so adorable I didn't even want to correct him.

With a little practice he will be skating up and down our street before we know it.

Jumping the Shark

I'm sure I will be posting tons of pictures of the boys in their Halloween costumes next week, but we tried Deacon's costume on him last night to see if he would like it and he is so stinkin' cute that I HAD to share!
We actually bought this for Carson's first Halloween, but he refused to wear it...so it has been in the attic waiting for our next baby to wear.

I have been considering purchasing/making a costume to match Carson's Mario costume, but as time started running out we decided to stick with this one. Next year we will plan earlier so that they can coordinate...

I'm thinking Deacon doesn't mind too much, since he kinda loves this one! :)

Don't you just want to kiss those cheekies?!?

Bobcats

Carson just started his second season of soccer and is a Bobcat! He is doing really well and enjoys going to practice and his games.

This weekend Carson had lots of fans cheering him on! Grandma, Grandpa, Jakob, Meme, Deacon and I were all on the sidelines rooting for him, while Brian was at work.

Last weekend his team played the Frogs (my camera was dead at home), but I was ready to take pictures this weekend while his team took on the Dragons!

Carson still loves playing goalie the most and rocks, not letting any balls get past him!

35 Weeks

As you can see, you have about outgrown your carseat! We are trying to prolong the transition for as long as possible, just because this carseat is so convenient when you are asleep and we are going shopping or out to eat, so that we don't have to wake you. The weight limit is 22 lbs. and you are up to 20 lbs., so we have a few weeks left to enjoy you in your "baby seat."

Wedding Planning

In case you have been sitting at home wondering how my pre-schoolers love life is going, I have an update. Last weekend Carson casually mentioned the latest on his relationship status... Here's how it went:

Me: How are all of those girlfriends of yours doing?

Carson: Momma, I only have 1 now.

Me: Well that's good, I'm glad to hear you are being more selective. What's her name?

Carson: Mia (or one of the other variations of spelling)

Me: That's a nice name. Tell me about her.

Carson: She is in my class.

Me: Well, what does she look like?

Carson: She had a brown dress with different color polka dots on it the other day.

Me (thinking, I bet you can't name a single thing I have ever worn, but you remember her outfit two days later, that's a guy for you): What else? What color is her hair?

Carson: Brown. We're going to get married.

Me (no longer surprised about anything having to do with him and his classmates): Really? Have you discussed this with her?

Carson: Yes. She said she was going to marry me too.

Me: And how old do you think you will be when this happens?

Carson: Hmmm...a teenager.

Me: Well if you are a teenager, then that means you will be living at home still. Whose parents will you live with?

Carson: I will take my toys to her house, and she can bring her toys to our house that way we can play with them at both places.

Me: I'm glad to see you have it all figured out...


Seriously, if this is how he is at 4, what in the world are we going to do when he is a teenager!?!

8 Months

Deacon - you are 8 months old, which means you are already 2/3 of the way through your first year!

• You weight about 20 lbs. and are 28 inches TALL (no longer 'long' since you are standing now!)
  
  
• You can squeeze into 9 month outfits, but usually wear between 12-18 months.

• You have 3 teeth now, 2 on the bottom and 1 on the top. We are learning to keep our fingers away from your mouth so that we don't lose one!
  
  
• You are standing so well now, and you are now trying to stand up in the middle of the room without holding onto anything. You can get about up to your knees, so you are halfway there!
  

• I love this little tongue of yours!! You are so funny to watch when it pops out. A lot of times when you practice talking it comes all the way out of your mouth, but otherwise it is just when you stand up!
  
  
• You have learned to become more vocal. I usually say "hi" to you loudly when I walk into the room, and you now respond with your own screech that resembles a "hi."
  
  

• While you have learned to make new noises, you are typically still a pretty quiet little guy. You like to jabber the most when you are home with us, and are quieter in busy settings.
  
  
• You still do not hold your bottle yourself. We are starting to wonder if you will be to the point of walking around, while we follow behind you holding the bottle (or maybe even sippy cup) in your mouth.

• You can now eat level 3 baby food, which is the thickest consistency. With those three teeth of yours you can munch on mashed up table food too. We have tried just a couple of items like mashed potatoes, carrots, and pudding, but I'm sure we will move on to bigger and better dishes soon.
  
  
• We are so excited to dress you up this month for Halloween and take you trick-or-treating! I'm sure Carson will be more than happy to help you eat all the candy you aren't able to.

• You look more and more like your dad the older you get, and he loves it too much!
  
  
• Your brother loves you so much too! He and James like to play pretend and be "Baby Deacon", I think it's because they think you are so cool! :)