My Little Monster

Tavin has been pretty obsessed with Halloween lately, especially with the idea of vampires. For the past month he has been saying that he wants to be a vampire for Halloween. We have been searching high and low for a child size vampire costume. I guess the classics just aren't in style anymore, because each trip we came up empty handed. I know that it would be really easy to just make a black cape, but I wanted a costume with a little more ooomph! Yesterday we were victorious! We found the only child size vampire costume in the whole store! Needless to say Tavin was THRILLED. As soon as we got home, he tore off his clothes and jumped right into his costume. Then we made some brownies for dessert. Here is the combination of the two...





Since, Tavin has been riding his bike up and down our street trying to scare anyone who crosses his path. When I tell him, "I love you." He states frustratedly, "But I'm a vampire and vampires are scary!" I guess he is a little macho for my love right now.

Cute Boys!

A couple of weeks ago, Brad's uncle Richard came for a visit from South Carolina. The boys had such a great time with him...especially Tavin who was depressed for days after he left. Richard spent some time out in the backyard taking some pictures of the boys, and they turned out a-dor-able! There were so many cute ones, it took me forever to choose!

Welcome to Preschool

Yesterday was Tavin's first day of preschool! It was a huge step for him. Wednesday night Brad and I were trying to explain to him what would happen at preschool the next day, but he would have NOTHING to do with it. It was one of the saddest sights...his bottom lips started to shake and his eyes got huge and welled up with tears. He really didn't want to go. BUT when we arrived at preschool the next day, he couldn't be happier. He didn't even care about saying goodbye to me, he just ran into his classroom and asked where the cars were! Of course I had to snap a few pictures. I had literally about 30 seconds to take these before Tavin disappeared.



^Hanging up his coat, on the hook with his name on it, outside the classroom.


^Parents aren't allowed in the classroom for drop off (to make the separation easier), so I stood in the doorway with my camera.

I picked him up a few hours later and asked how preschool was. Holding hands as we crossed the parking lot to the van, he looked up at me with his eyes dancing and exclaimed, "Great! I think I am ready to drive the car now!" I told him that I had to drive because he wasn't old enough, and he argued, "but I am in high school now!!!" I just had to give him a big squeeze for the cuteness factor.

Little Red Riding Hood

I know I promised some pictures of Oliver a while ago, but I am finally getting around to it! Here is our little red riding hood playing in the apples out back. The apples are really starting to get mushy and brown, but that didn't stop him from eating the "a-balls!" He is completely obsessed with balls, and he is going through a phase right now where he really only likes to eat foods that are shaped like balls...apples, plums, plouts, raspberries, blackberries, bagels, ritz crackers...I am starting to run out of ideas! When he goes to sleep the last thing he says is "ball", and it is the first thing he says when he wakes up. He LOVES to play catch, and his aim is dead on every time...even from pretty far away. It is funny to watch him grow and see how different he and Tavin are. They do have at least one similarity though, their "gankies" or as we call them blankies.






^Classic Oliver look of disdain







Any favorites for the Christmas card???

The Rest of the Big Trip

So I finally took the time today to get the rest of the reunion pictures from Utah together...

Waiting with Grandma at Seatac airport for our plane to arrive...






Hanging out with cousins on the swing...


Learning how to swim in the pool with Daddy. By the end of the week Tavin was flying solo!




Riding the kiddy train...




There was this great little western town set up at Aspen Grove. The theme one night was "frontier night." The kids had a blast playing all the old west games, sifting for gold, listening to native american stories, doing some hard time in "jail," and climbing in the old stage coach.






Arts and Crafts: making an Aspen Grove build-a-bear...




I was so proud of Brad for conquering the ropes course. This thing was WAY up there, with my fear of heights I have no idea how he did it!




The last night all of the kids got up with their age group to sing songs and do some little skits. Here is Tavin with his group singing "I'm a Little Teapot."


Following his singing debut Tavin hit the showers...well the drinking fountain and sprayed everyone who dared to walk past...

For those of you who know...

For those of you who know Oliver personally, I thought you might find this picture quite funny. It is just SO HIM!

That's My Boy!

I took the boys out for a little photo shoot this morning to try to get our Christmas card picture taken care of. We had a lot of fun. Tavin was surprisingly cooperative! He even came up with a few poses of his own. For the first time I can remember, he was a fabulous model...seriously a photographer's dream! I can't believe how big he is getting, I still think of him as my baby! Vote for your favorite for the Christmas card...











I will post some shots of Oliver tomorrow. I still have a bunch of reunion pictures to get through as well.