Our Neighborhood Halloween Bash

We had a gorgeous day for our annual neighborhood Halloween party. We showed up fashionably late due to naptime, so we had to make our own parade on the way there.

There were so many fun games to play. Nicholas was instantly drawn to the apple bobbing station - which he has been really interested in his favorite Curious George Goes to a Costume Party book.

The older kids came over to show him how to really bob, but it just ticked him off because they took all the apples. Sorry, Buddy!
~ My little Curious Nicholas ~
He gathered treasures in his pumpkin basket.




He loved using the magnetic fishing pole to bang the tent poles - it was really cute!

This year, Nicholas was much more neater eating his sucker (thankfully!)

We were having so much fun we didn't want to leave! Nice pictures, Daddy!

Early Birthday Present!

Saturday morning, Daddy went to pick up Nicholas' early birthday present - a playset!

Poppy came over to help set it up (you know we are just not the type to have an expert do the nearly impossible assembly for us!) Nicholas inspected the many pieces and was really excited to see the "yellow slide."

I had to bribe him inside with the promise of a cookie - but he surely made himself comfortable to watch all the action from his stool.
Day 1 of the assembly with 2 handy men working was productive - but we still have a ways to go. Nicholas was excited to climb up the castle to inspect Daddy's work.
"tools!"
~ happy boys ~
Our little man is so industrious, he was lured to the garden for some fall cleanout.
Back to inspect - and a few trips down the slide, of course!
Nicholas loved Daddy's ratchet set and knew just where to put it.
He got a kick out of the noise it makes.

"Ooooo, tools!"

(for those of you who really know Nicholas, you know exactly what this sounds like!)
This boy figures out every means to the best angle for the job - even if it involves standing on Mommy.

"Marco, Punkin on!"

This weekend, Gammy and Poppy (Nicholas' new name for his "Gampie") got to wittiness out little man's obsession with the neighbor's inflatable pumpkin. He runs from window to window in search of the best viewing site - and leaves face prints all over the windows!

Let's hope they don't get a Christmas blow-up!

Bottoms Up!

The other night, we met Aunt Elaine and Uncle John at Boom Booms for a Mexican night. As you can see, Nicholas was sure to give them a good show with how neatly he eats.

A Bouncin' Good Time...

Jake had an awesome party at Syracuse Tents to celebrate his 3rd birthday. After a very overwhelming experience over a year ago here, Nicholas' initial response was "no bounce!" He was consumed with playing with the drinking fountain, until the stool was taken away from him. After a little adjustment time, Nicholas was giggling hysterically and bouncing away.

He liked the slides.

Ummm, this is so these two - exploring the mesh with their mouths!
Nicholas tackled Livi in the dino house.
And him and Michael tried their best to keep the giant saber teeth down for as long as they could.

The giant slide was the best.
Look how small he looks in comparison.
Happy Birthday Jake!

Dancin' Kids!

This afternoon, Emilie & Nicholas had a blast chasing each other all around the house screeching and dancing to Nicholas' favorite "George" music.

They just get so excited to see each other, but threw us a curve ball when they escaped upstairs together (yes, scary I know!). Would you believe the Mommies actually got to sit back and chat!

Lovin' Fall

Daddy captured some neat shots last weekend at the pumpkin festival.

~ swinging with his little punkin ~

Cookie, oh, Chicken - Our Redneck Dinner!

Tonight we ran some errands, one of which to Walmart to pick up some prints. There, Daddy started to get hungry and we had no plans for dinner. Needless to say, we hit the frozen foods department (what else is safe to eat from there) and we all picked out a tv dinner. Mommy and Daddy jumped for some Boston Market, while Nicholas chose a Kid's Cuisine ravioli dinner. When he first saw the ravioli, he said, "cookie!" Quickly after a bite, he said, "Oh, chicken!"

Well Buddy, its something like that.

I hope you enjoyed your junk-food dinner!

Fire Trucks & the Helicopter, Up Close!

We had a great morning at the fire house's open house this weekend. Nicholas was pumped to see the firetruck with the ladder up.

There was a fire dog driving a fire truck, who talked to Nicholas. (He was remote controlled by one of the firemen.)
It was so cute to hear this little doggie talk to Nicholas, but my son had to figure out where the voice was coming from. He quickly found the source - the little speaker in the wheel!

Oh, that's my boy!
The boys payed close attention to the men spraying the giant fire hose. Daddy even got to play fireman - we have video too! Go Daddy!
The Sheriff officer that Mommy works with at CNS took Nicholas' picture for a child ID card. Just like a license shot - it was a bad picture.
Then the topper....the Sheriff's helicopter came in for a landing - and we were right there! Nicholas was giggling in excitement, that is until the chopper stirred up every bit of dust and dirt and pelted us.
The boys were in their glory with getting up close to all these cool machines.
What a boy's day!

Flashback Friday!

Last year at this time, we visited the pumpkin patch

Nicholas loved to crawl around with the big duster
A ride in the coupe always got lots of smiles and giggles
We celebrated Emilie's birthday - and she took Nicholas for a spin.
They look so different a year later!

What got all these smiles?

The Elmo appearance at Emilie's party!

The other day when Nicholas and I were watching videos, we came across these clips. They are all from last September and October. It's hard to believe how much he has changed in such little time!

A Boy & His Closet

Nicholas can entertain himself forever playing with the closet. Each opportunity he has to play, he takes it a step further. It started with squeezing himself in the closet with the laundry basket in there. Then one day he realized how much more room he has when the basket is not in there, so he began removing the basket - then he has enough room to close the door completely. Today he brought his stool in the closet. I guess he needed seating accommodations.

This is way too much fun for him!
He screams, "boo" when he opens the door.
What a nut!