Happy November munchkin readers! The last few weeks have been crazy so I'll dive right in. Luke and I traveled to Florida a few weeks ago and it was a whirlwind trip. Luke had fun hanging out with Grammie and Uncle Chad in Tampa (they did a lot of buggy rides around the neighborhood!), while I was busy in Gainesville for my quarterly trip. It was great seeing my Gainesville friends and co-workers. Back in Houston, Julia had a fabulous time being spoiled by daddy. The first day they were solo, they went to the book store, out to lunch, craft store, birthday party at Chuck E Cheese and then a hot balloon festival. As if that wasn't enough excitement for one weekend, they went to Sarah Root's birthday party the next day where there was a bouncy house and carriage rides around the neighborhood with a unicorn! As you can imagine, Julia was very excited about the unicorn ride and I wish I had some pictures (J.D. might have some on his phone I can post later, sorry!).
Luke and I flew back to Houston Halloween weekend (he was great on both flights) and we took a family trip to the pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin. Julia was more interested in running around the place (she really enjoys running and always wants to place 'chase me' or 'I'll chase you' monster games) and Luke seemed to enjoy just walking around. We eventually choose a large pumpkin that is almost as big as Luke!
Halloween quickly rolled around and the kids were adorable. There was a costume parade at school with trick-or-treating and all the little ones looks adorable. I volunteered to give out candy at one of the stations and really enjoyed seeing Jules and her little friends. There were a lot of princesses and superheroes.
For actual Halloween night, Luke went trick-or-treating in the buggy while Julia pretty much ran from house to house. J.D. and I took both kids around our cul-de-sac and J.D. took them around the neighborhood while I manned the door. We had a lot of kids (close to a 100!) and several teens that didn't bother wearing costumes. The last group of the evenings was a boy (maybe around 10) and his 2 parents, who were dressed up with candy bags. I was pretty surprised they were trick-or-treating. I'm wondering, blog readers-do you give candy to kids without costumes? Would you have given candy to the parents (who I guesstimate to be in their 30s)?
After the Halloween excitement, Grandpa and Becky flew into town, visiting from Hawaii. It was great to finally meet Becky and see Grandpa! Julia and Luke had a great time playing with Grandpa. Grandpa spent a lot of time running around the house after Julia (he couldn't believe how fast she was!), playing hopscotch, playing with stickers, going to the park and reading. Amelia also really enjoyed Grandpa (he took her on several walks every day) and Becky (she threw the ball for her several times a day). It was great seeing them!
In other fun news, Julia earned her first key at school for doing a great job with her rug work (they have different stations where they work on numbers, spelling, cutting, matching, etc.). The kids can earn different keys for integrity, honesty, etc. and she earned a 'commitment' key. To say she was excited is an understatement. She was thrilled and ran out of her classroom yelling "Mommy! I have a commitment key! Co-Mit-Ment. Commitment!" We are so proud of our little bean!
Enjoy these pictures! I hope you are all having a fabulous week!
Julia found these toy glasses and insisted on wearing them for a few days recently (including to school). J.D. commented she looked like 'a little Jill' (one of my best friends in Gainesville who is blond with dark glasses). After he said that, she told us 'Hey, I look like a little Jill.'
Jules at the pumpkin patch
Luke vs. the pumpkin - still not sure who is bigger..
Halloween!
They found the candy bowl (daddy couldn't resist either) when they came back to the house.
I moved it and the little man quickly found it again. Little stinker.
If Jules had been born with black hair...
Our little pirate was so tired he almost fell asleep on Amelia's bed
Swinging with Grandpa ("one more time again Grandpa!"
Reading with Grandpa
Tether ball at the park
Chillin' with Grandpa
Making homemade pizza with Daddy
Chair Fun
Dear Luke,
