Halloween

And after much anticipation, many pumpkins, festive parties, the big day is upon us HALLOWEEN!!!

But first soccer.....
and then a 3 1/2 minute stint in Church (Chloe May would have no part of it this week)

may I present to you Eeyore (courtesy of our nephew - my Godson - JayJ) and Scoobie!



For our first stop we had to gas up in order to head over to our friends Rory and Caleb's house....

Then we arrived back home just in time to trick or treat with Daniel and his sister and brother (Uncle Stan too of course who are are loving!)

And after some wagon rides, our Dolly decided she wanted to be with the older kids and she took to the road on foot!

After two hours, the kids stopped for a cheese doodle
break (can't blame them, they are my weakness too!).


And from our family to yours, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


(Why yes, I do look a little movie-starish - THANKS AUNT LOIS/SANTA for my sunglasses two years ago!). Oh well toot toot, so I tooted my own horn! :-)

and as promised, another spelling song::::::

(can be sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice)

R. E. D.
R. E. D.
Red is the word
Red is the word
Apples and strawberries both are red
Tomatoes and cherries both are red
R.E.D. spells
Red, red, red.

Halloween party

With Saturday came lounging in our PJ's for the morning and then around lunchtime I packed up the kiddies and off we went to our favorite twin's house for a Halloween party.

Well of course I can't get enough pictures of these two in their costumes, so may I present to you piggy and scobbie:

and yes, Scoobie wins by a tail!

When it came time to decorate pumpkins Scoobie was outside riding the big wheel (note to santa), so later we invited Daddy over and of course:



his work of art is always the best! ....... Could it just be that Daddy is simple-minded :-) And Mommy is really the complex thinker in the house?? :-)

And it was at this very party where I had my first candy apple ever!

Also, at this party (who says it was all Halloween), I learned some cool songs as a way to teach a child to spell, so from time to time this blog week, I will be sharing the songs with you: May I present the color Green:

(To the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down")
G-R-E-E-N spells green,
Like a frog,
Or a tree.
G-R-E-E-N spells green,
Just like broccoli.

More Halloween fun

After attending our local "Fall Harvest" parade - we stopped home for a bite to eat before heading to our friend Daniel's house to go to his Halloween party at school - clearly Mommy never turns down an invite (or free food!). Matteo could have cared less about the cupcakes and popcorn, he was more interested in playing in the kindergarten toy section building and being with his friend Daniel (but mainly building).

Then we came home because our pumpkin from last week didn't fair too well and hence we carved a new friend!

After dinner, and this was a stretch for Mommy because I don't like to go out at night, we headed to our local library for some more Halloween fun! Of course we need our costume!

Chloe May joined the festivities as well!

Matteo loved bobbing for apples - as his prize was not only an apple, but also a new set of teeth!

And after running into some local friends, we decided to high "tail" (punny) it home for some R&R before another fulfilled day of Halloween. I am learning that with a four year old, Halloween has taken on a new meaning of fun and exciting!

Thursday Thursday

About 8 months ago when Jules' folks were visiting, I asked Jules' father (who is newly retired) to restore an old (from my childhood) rockingchair of mine and the result is simply breathtaking:



And our Dolly is very pleased with the result as well (even the times she rocks so much the chair topples over on her!). By the way, the chair used to be a dark dark brown and a bit broken, so you see the talent of my Father-in-Law. Now I am trying to get him to make Chloe May a step stool all her own (as he made Matteo one).

And with today's mild temperatures, we took to raking some leaves this morning.

May I present Gramps' yardman, which I do believe is somewhere around 50+ years old (so you can imagine just how healthy for the environment it is NOT!).

And Matteo was more than happy to lend a helping.....rake - though he insisted we NOT pick up his piles....I'm sorry where is the sense in that?

And for school today Matteo was all "scoobied" out for his halloween party!

Just like Matteo

Quite sure I mentioned in the past just HOW MUCH like Matteo Miss Chloe May wants to be.

This includes not only eating hot cereal with us in the morning (lukewarm), but also feeding herself......

well, you be the judge :-)

sleep arrangements

Not sure if I mentioned, but for the past 1.5 weeks now Matteo has, by his own accord, been back in his own bedroom!



I would casually mention it from time-to-time "oh when do you want to go back to your own room" (after he spent 3 months in my room sleeping on the floor), one response was "when school starts" (never happened), the next response was "when i'm 4", well low and behold, he's in his own bed, upside, but his own bed :-)

Almost forgot to mention that today after Matteo's school we "packed the track" - in that we went down to the local HS track and paid our $5 and walked around the track (wearing pink/red) for breast cancer awareness! What a wonderful sense of community and doing good.

Pumpkin carving

Weighing in at 38 lbs. and 42 inches, may I proudly introduce our 4 year old: MATTEO.



Yes that's right folks, Matteo went to see our pediatrician today and received his follow-up MMR vaccination. In addition we found out just how healthy Matteo is.

Then because the weather was so gorgeous after a walk around our local duck pond, we came home to carve pumpkins:

I love a boy who isn't afraid to get dirty!

Chloe May on the other-hand, not so sure :-)

Presents

After all of yesterday's festivities, which really lasted upwards of 8 hours of company, we took today off. No soccer, no walks (well okay one, but it was only 10 minutes long), no friends over - NOTHING!

But we did open presents!

And then we opened more presents!



Matteo enjoyed all of his toys and unlike the past, this time the majority of toys got opened and played with (as opposed to mommy squirreling them away for a rainy day)!

Matteo party - Take I

GUESS WHO TURNED 4????

MATTEO!!

And why the big smile - well simply because today is his 4 year old birthday party!


And on his big day no surprise here who was first to arrive to his birthday party -

Grandma......

and.....

Gramps!

Turning 4 - take II

Have I mentioned how excited Chloe May was to see Gramps?

Our friend Serena took to our monkey bars like..... well a monkey!

Though to be honest, watching her perform the above trick made Mommy's stomach do a loop-de-loop!!

As always, our friends Brett Jake & Joey (Matteo does think that is one person), delighted us with their presence and antics. Also, they demonstrated how NOT to use a tire swing!

Though he couldn't stay our neighbor Patrick stopped by for a happy birthday wish!



And just like Matteo's 1st party, Mr. C performed some penny whistle - much to the kids (and Mommy's) delight.

Man he is talented to hold the attention of such little ones for such a period of time.

Matteo turning 4 - take III

Next came cake time - homemade ice cream cake (though not homemade ice cream) - and Matteo got many helpers to help him blow out the candles (which upset him a bit, but we just moved along).


And our Dear Aunt Lois arrived after what should have been a 1.15 hour trip turned into a 2 hour trip!


Thanks for always coming Aunt Lois - means more than you know!

And of course our regular friends helped Matteo ring in "4" as well - Caleb for one;


Sal & Tyler another pair - with their Mommy too!

After Party

With the after-party well underway, Gramps assumed his usual sleeping spot:


Matteo & Daniel took the green truck out for a spin


And finally after a long 2+ month wait (I kid you not), Matteo got his red scooter - which he correctly point out is a two wheeler


And first to arrive, last to leave, see you soon Grandma!

Turning in

With the after-party over, Chloe May enjoyed some alone time with her Goodnight Moon book -


And what can I say, when the cat is away, the mouse will play.

Thanks to all those who contributed to a Happy 4th Birthday with Matteo - whether it be a Happy Birthday wish or helping him blow out his candles!! Every year has been such a wonderful journey with Matteo, we have no doubt that 4 will prove just as adventurous and interesting and of course loving!!.

Chinese proverb

Tell me, I’ll forget
Show me, I’ll remember
Involve me, I’ll understand

Our trapeze bar has arrived - and what a good sport to test it out Daddy was!

Tater

Why all smiles - - - because he's Matteo!


And being Matteo on this georgous day includes getting to be line leader, celebrating your birthday in school, bringing in ice cream cups to share and best of all getting to wear the birthday crown!

In other news, went to back to school night (Matteo got to enjoy some quality time at a friend's house - recall the tireswing photo of him with his 3 friends!) - and here are some of the words I heard when children were referring to Matteo "tater", "potato", "matato", "MAto", and "mapotato" - - and somehow these parents, from listening to how their child would speak of this one person, were able to get the name "Matteo"! Kudos to them. And when Matteo's name is mispronounced to his face, man it is the funniest thing to him - - he just cracks up and says that name around the house for days on end. Oh to be 3!

Update: The Director of the school spoke to me about the hitting and Matteo being hit and apparently they have concluded the hitting happens later in the day so they are really going to stay on top of the boy at that time and separate him from the group. We shall hope things continue to improve!

Also I have a meeting with the school on Monday to get the ball rolling for speech - - which just comes down to 30 minutes of filling out forms.

Also have matteo's 4 year old doctor visit on Monday -

But first a celebration this weekend - and really with a boy as happy - go - lucky as Matteo, what is not to celebrate!

Meow kitty

Have I told you that everything Matteo goes, Chloe May must also do! This includes stealing his seat and eating hot cereal with us in the morning!


Eating hot cereal with Chloe is not so messy, it's when it comes time for our lunch of soup, that is when the messy spills happen!

and after all that came with picking Matteo up at school yesterday (especially the hitting) and making me a bit upset - - I decided to take a day off and take the kids down port - and so that is what we did for 3 1/2 glorious hours today! Our trip included watching the boats, playing ball, walking to a delis for a sandwich and the playground! (Did I mention Daddy joined us for about an hour). Oh yes and a Fall hat for Chloe May:


Yes, she is so less than thrilled, but oh how adorable she looks!

Storytime with Daddy is always so much fun!


And much to report on after Matteo's school today. Seems as though today at school Matteo got hit in the face 3 times. Though this only bothers Matteo to the point where when I ask how it makes him feel he says "sad" - that is the extent of the effect it is having on him (that i can tell or that he says). However other children in the class are upset having to go to school or even having nightmares! The teacher has assured me the child doing the hitting on many of the students in the class is not mean or malicious, but rather does not know how to express himself. So Teacher is staying on top of the situation and we will see what develops. Also, the teacher suggested I have Matteo's speech looked into with the school District.

So I left school today and decided Daddy can pick up Matteo in the future :-) Just a joke - so I doubt either of the above two will get resolved quickly, but check back to find out.

But what can I say, we can all walk and talk, life is good :-)

No bones about it

When Mommy goes to her piano lesson, this is what Daddy and the kids do:



take all the skeleton bones from our bushes and assemble them into a person! :-)

And a loss has Mommy a bit sad today. I always say every cloud has a silver lining - no matter how dark the day.