Halloween 2011

Halloween was perfect this year.  Each of the boys had a great time, loved going door to door and the weather was awesome!  Here are Conner and Drew the morning we went to the Pumpkin Patch - as you can see - Drew has a new "cheese" face.  Now, each picture that he smiles for has this face in it.  Picture him saying "ceeesssseee mama!"

This year we took the boys to our local pumpkin patch "The Proverbial Pumpkin Patch".  It is ran by a husband and wife team, along with their many children.  I think they have seven kids.  They have their own Pumpkin patch and tie a proverb to each pumpkin!  It is the cutest pumpkin patch and it is awesome to see their children help.  Plus, if you go when it first opens, you are guaranteed first pick at the pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pies (I promise they have the best in the state of Indiana.)  Drew and Conner became friends with the youngest boy, so we visited the pumpkin patch twice this year - I think the boys ended up with 10 pumpkins! 

Drew was not interested in carving pumpkins this year - he stayed around just long enough to throw around the insides of the pumpkins and then he wandered off to play!

Conner, on the other hand, could not wait.  He picked out each face for the pumpkins, helped Jason carve them and even helped to clean up!   He was all about Halloween this year!

Conner decided to be a fireman this year (after a 3 week process of narrowing down between Spiderman and a fireman) and Drew was a fisherman (the plan was to keep him occupied with the fishing pole!).

Oh, and here are our "works" of art.  Hats off to Jason for his fabulous pumpkin carving skills!

Conner (4 years old) and Drew (18 month)

Below are some of my all-time favorite pictures of the boys.  These pictures show exactly who the boys are at this time in their lives. 

A little update - Conner is doing much better with School now.  We held our breath- but not for too long!  It took him about four weeks to figure it out and to be comfortable with it.  We are so proud of him and all that he has learned and we are very proud of his teachers and his school - they are amazing.  Conner has been hunting the past two weekends (with his nerf bow-and-arrow in tow) and is not looking forward to the cold weather that is headed our way!  Crappie are back in at the lake so the boys try to fish everyday.  I tell you - Conner has the patience for this kind of stuff and the ability to just sit in pure silence -however, when we do school work he can only sit still for 3 minutes at the max.  Sounds just like Jason and every other boy, right?  He is still a little lover - loves to hold people (especially babies right now) and loves to love.  He is great.

Drew is busy, busy, busy.  He talks more and more everyday (reminding me to watch my mouth as he likes to repeat EVERYTHING!).  My favorite words he says right now are hotdog, fish and duck.  Even though he does not know too many words - he communicates very well with pointing, nodding and yes...screaming.  Got to love 18 month olds.  He seems to be getting hurt all the time these days - Jason and I both feel like we are due for a heart-attack any day now!  Most recently he fell and knocked his front teeth back up into his gums.  It was horrible.  But - the dentist said it happens more often that one would think.  We have our fingers crossed that his little teeth will come back down - it will  be a waiting game.  He has also started using the big-boy potty (when HE wants to) and loves to read - but has switched his favorite books to picture books.  I am thankful that my boss bought the boys lots of picture books - the hard part for me is making up a story - but it comes easy for Conner so we have very interesting story nights from time to time! 

Enjoy these pictures and I hope they make you smile!

School Days!

 Conner started preschool at St. Susanna on August 23, 2011.  That morning, everything was perfect!  I went in at 6:30 and told him it was time to get ready for school and he jumped out of bed (mostly because he was so excited to pack his own lunch!)  So all four of us got ready to go to school, we packed Conner's lunch and we were on our way into Plainfield (after hundreds of pictures)! 

Conner is going to St. Susanna on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 1:30.  We get to school to drop him off on that first day and he takes off his seat belt and is ready to go.  His teachers come out to get him and he held their hands and walked right in!  Standing behind him, all I could see was this humongous backpack and two little legs walking intently towards the gym doors.  I really couldn't believe that he did it and did it so well - no tears for any of us.  Jason and I were both so proud of Conner and of each other.  We spent the next 4.5 hours patiently waiting for 1:00 to roll around.  We were in line to pick him up 15 minutes early (along with every other parent in the preschool class!).  When it was his turn to come out to the car line - I could see his face and I immediately knew something was wrong.  As soon as his teacher buckled him in the car and the door shut - he was sobbing.  I think it was the excitement of going and then the fear of not knowing when we would be back that got to him.  The past three weeks have definitely been an adjustment for him, but each day gets a little better.  He has made some friends and now knows that he will be picked up everyday by 1:00!  Fingers crossed for a great preschool year!

Deer Feeders, Ranger & Camo Galore, Conner Mac turned 4!

Conner turned 4 on August 4th!  To celebrate, he told us that he wanted a deer-feeder and Ranger birthday party.  So as you can imagine - I struggled a little bit with trying to make that happen.  Jason, on the other hand, had 150 different ideas and already had everything that we would use for decorations and games!  We had a deer blind, tree stand, two decoy deers, straw bales, salt blocks and a deer feeder.  The kids "shot" the deer with water balloons and bobbed for apples (like deer do) and had an egg toss.  It was a great day with all of our friends and family.  I cannot believe how quickly these past four years have flown by.  Conner is so big - he loves to play in the creek, to go fishing and ride four-wheelers, he is learning more and more every day and every day he acts more and more like his Dad.  He is not as shy as he used to be but he definitely still has a shy side.  He still loves to tell stories (big fish stories) and  has a very sensitive, caring heart.  My favorite thing is that right now he is going through a phase where he wants us to hold him at night before he goes to bed.  I love it and I know that it won't last much longer.  He is very inquisitive and often asks questions that we do not know the answer to (thank goodness for Google!).  He is truly a blessing!

Spiderman also payed us a visit at Conner's birthday party.  The kids were ecstatic to say the least!

We then traveled up to Chicago to see our friends, the Ogle's.  We had a blast walking through the park, going to the top of the tall buildings and going to Navy Pier.  Most of all, it was great to spend time with the Ogles!

Ronan was in Chicago when we visited so it was great to see him!

On the way home from Chicago, we stopped at a Dairy Farm.  The boys loved seeing all of the cows!

Another great thing about Conner's birthday was that Lois and Woody came over to have dinner with us.  Lois and Woody work at our Marina and treat the boys like royalty!  The boys go down to see them at least 3 times each week.  While they are there, Lois and Woody let them catch minnows, feed the bass, catch crickets and drink yoo-hoos.  We are blessed to have them in our lives.

Oh, I forgot (maybe on purpose!!) that we also went to Chuck-E-Cheese with MawMaw, PawPaw, Toby, Tiffany, Brody, Beckett, Saylor, Stone and Uncle Patrick and Aunt Emily.  We had a great time, but boy do those boys like to spend tokens!

The days of Summer

We have had such a great summer so far!  The heat has been a little unbearable at times, but it has given us even more reason to get out on or in the water.  Conner is really into bugs this year - so when we are not in the water, we are looking for worms, centipedes, lightning bugs or locusts!

 Conner's prize possessions.  In addition to his bugs, we also found 2 pet turtles in the lake and three pet frogs.  My fingers are crossed that they stay in their aquariums!

 We had a great fourth of July!  Patrick and Emily spent the weekend with us and all of our friends and family made it down for a visit!  It was great to swim and play with everyone!

 The other thing the boys love to do is go minnow and crawdad fishing in the creek!  We take the minnows home to feed to the turtles and we let all of the crawdads go (thankfully).  We love going to the creek and seem to spend more and more time there each week!

 The boys also love to go and visit Lois and Woody at the Marina.  They get to buy yoo-hoos and push-ups with their allowance and Lois and Woody let them feed the big bass.