Fun Halloween

We had a lot of fun celebrating Halloween this year. We kicked it off at our elementary school's Fall Festival on October 23. Chris decided to be a "white ninja", Stephanie was an adorable dalmation puppy, and Landon was the cutest little giraffe. The kids went trick-or-treating from classroom to classroom at the festival, played little carnival games, jumped in the moon bounce and went through a hay maze. I made 20 lbs of BBQ beef for the lunch fundraiser. The festival raises money for the 6th graders to go to an awesome science camp for a week.

The Friday before Halloween, Stephanie had her preschool party. She had fun posing for pictures with her "kitty" friends. Landon and I joined in on the fun and took lots of video to help us remember this fun time. I think pre-schoolers are definetly the cutest part of halloween. The preschool went all out this year with all kinds of halloween art projects including a "glue ghost", black cat, handprint bats, spiders and spiderwebs. I made my traditional halloween preschool snack..."cracker spiders" made with ritz crackers, peanut butter, pretzels and m&ms.

Friday night Steve carved a pumpkin for the kids. It turned out awesome. We also watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" together.

Saturday we went "Trunk-or-Treating" at the church parking lot. Before we went, I tried to make a fun little Halloween dinner with ghost sandwiches, cheese stick "fingers", "gobblin guts" guacomole and orange-colored "pumpkin" milk. The kids thought it was fun, but really they just couldn't wait to go "Trunk-or-Treating."

When we got to the church, Steve helped me move the Cub Scout food drive box to the parking lot next to our car. I handed out glow necklaces to kids that brought canned food items. I handed them out to the kids that didn't remember too and reminded them to bring them to church the next day. We have had a really good response.

The kids got tons of candy and had a really fun time at "Trunk-or-Treat." Landon's favorite thing to do was hang out in the back of our car and play while I handed out treats. We we got home, Chris sorted out his candy by type into piles, then counted each pile and added it all up with my help.

On Sunday we had a nice day at church. At home I had the kids find all the "halloween" and "fall" themed books that we have lying around the house and we cuddled up on the couch to read together. That night we made popcorn balls, played games and passed out Halloween candy. It was a great weekend. The best part was spending time together. Halloween with little children is a lot of fun. They get such a kick out of dressing up, going to simple and fun events, and having fun as a family. I am trying to enjoy it before they all grow-up and become too cool for these things.

Here's hoping they never get too big for simple, sweet, Halloween fun...along with the rest of us!

Milestones Part 1: First Lost Tooth

Christopher has recently reached some important milestones in the life of a five-year-old. On May 11, 2010 Christopher lost his first tooth. At the beginning of the school year, he was very worried about losing a tooth and what it might mean...pain, blood, gaping hole. But I bought a fun book about the tooth fairy, and once his friends started losing teeth, he realized it wasn't so bad. He was so excited when it came out, and so thrilled when the tooth fairy came. Steve snuck in his room to place the dollar under his pillow and retrieve the tooth. As soon as he had succeeded with the duty of tooth fairy, Christopher woke up for a moment. He reached under his pillow, found the dollar, and broke into a wide grin. "Don't tell mom," he said. "I want to show her in the morning!"
Now Chris has an charming chasm that makes his grin that much more infectious.

Taekwondo Tiny Tiger Powerhouse!

In October, Chris started taking Taekwondo classes and he is doing awesome. He was just awarded his "camo" or camouflage belt. That means he has progressed from white belt, to orange belt, to yellow belt, and now to camo belt. Chris is really excited about this level because it means he can begin sparring with the other kids in his class. (Of course this means we get to buy him all kinds of protective sparring gear that retails for almost $200...needless to say I have been searching on e-bay.)
Chris is in his element in this sport. For a five year old, he is really good at taking direction and modeling the moves he is shown. He really enjoys the gratification that comes from earning a new belt. I think it is a great sport to help kids see the step-by-step progress they are making. It also helps to re-enforce the teaching of respect for his "seniors". They even teach him about "stranger danger", and practice scenarios that help him know what to do if he is approached by a stranger, or is bullied by a child a school.
The best part of course is that he has a BLAST while getting a full hour of exercise. I am really proud of him!!

Baby Mohawk

Landon has developed "baby-pattern baldness", which is the reverse of male-pattern baldness. After 5-7 months, all of my children have lost the hair on the sides of their heads, leaving them with a natural mohawk. Daddy decided to take full advantage of this feature, gelling up Landon's hair to get the best effect. Christopher and Stephanie could not stop laughing! We will have to see if Landon's re-growth is the same firey red. (I hope so!)

A New Landon

Now that Landon is five months old, he has changed so much from the tiny little newborn we brought home from the hospital. His hair has turned a fiery auburn-red that elicits adoring comments wherever we go. "Look at that HAIR!" is the most common comment we get. I love his hair and the novelty of having a red-head in the family. Now I have a child with brunette hair, a child with blond hair, and a red-head to complete the set! :-)
Landon's complexion has turned very fair and he has almost invisible, light colored eyebrows, and long, light-colored eyelashes. His eyes have not decided what color they are yet and are a mix of blue, green and brown. Landon has the cutest little tongue, with a slight hint of a fork on the tip, so we call him "lizard boy" sometimes. He loves to chew away on his tongue and his bottom lip.
Landon is in a hurry to grow up and is long and strong for his age. When you hold him, he wrestles to be turned around so he can face forward and see everything that is going on. He can now very deliberately grab a toy and bring it to his mouth to explore. He can roll over, and is getting close to sitting-up unsupported. He just started eating some rice cereal and loves it and is experimenting with drinking a little water from a sippy-cup (he never has taken to a bottle).
He will now "reach" for me when I am in the room and demand to be picked up. He likes to play in his little "exer-saucer" for about 5-10 minutes at a time. He also likes to lay on the floor and watch Chris and Stephanie play for a few minutes. Most of the time, he wants to be held, preferably by mom.
Landon has a hard time sleeping. He is up every one to two hours at night, and will only take 2, 30-minute naps during the day. I am generally very grumpy in the morning due to this lack of sleep. But usually by 9 or 10 am I am fine for the rest of the day.
I do sometimes find myself flipping out over something that normally wouldn't phase me, and I realize that my nerves are raw. I have good days and bad days. Having three kids means that I do little else besides "mom stuff." I often feel down on myself for not being more productive. I have been making conscious effort to be more patient and not take my lack of sleep and frustration out on the kids. Some days I do better than others. I fervently pray for help to be a good mom everyday and I know that Heavenly Father knows I am trying hard to do my best, and He helps to make up for the difference, and forgives me for my shortcomings. I love my kids more than anything. And anything worth loving is worth the effort.