Halloween Crafts

The older I've gotten the less appealing Halloween has become to me.  It seems like such a pointless holiday.  I don't care for the scary, bloody and eerie aspect and now that I have kids, the stress of finding costumes coupled with hyper, anwry kids begging for candy 24/7 has really given me a negative attitude about the whole thing.  I realized this year, though, that to a kid Halloween is so much fun and I don't want to let my negativity rub off on my kids nor do I want it to lessen the excitment for them.  I decided that instead of just brushing the holiday off, I would try to make it a time to have fun and positive experiences together as a family.  Here are some of the things we've done so far.

We decorated our door to look like a monster and Hyrum spent sevearl hours creating the witch leaning in the corner.  He saw a Wizard of Oz witch decoration at Walmart and after I refused to buy it he decided to make his own.  I think it turned out pretty good considering the resources we had to work with.
 

This is a pumpkin vegetable tray we made and took to a Halloween carnival. 

These fun spiders turned out too "sweet" to be scary.  We made them using styrofoam balls painted black, colored wire, gumdrops, gummy life savers, a candy necklace and straight pins.  The kids had a great time eating the leftovers. 

Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween without some caramel apples.  Hyrum and William's school was selling caramel apples as a fundraiser, but since Hyrum can't eat real caramel we decided to make our own.  They turned out really yummy, I was impressed.  The boys thought it was pretty cool that they got to eat their very own apple right off the stick.  (I usually just cut the apple into pieces and they all share since it's less messy that way).

There will be more Halloween fun to come...

Emily is 18 Months Old

 
Emily actually turned 18 months two months ago, but I'm just barely getting around to writing about her. Since I use this blog as our family journal it is worth taking the time to write about events that have already happened.  I especially like to write about our kids; the milestones they reach and their development at different stages of their lives.  As time goes by I find myself forgetting the little things that made each child so unique and fun at certain stages of his/her life.  Writing those things down now will hopefully help me to never forget.  With that said, here is a little bit about our Emily now that she is 18 months old.  She has really begun to grow up fast.

• She's becoming more independent each day and wants to do what her big brothers do. She has learned that if she wants to keep up with them she has to move at a fast pace.  She rarely walks anywhere now.  She has discovered that running is much more efficient.  She loves to stand at the front door, yell "go" and then race across the living room, her chubby cheeks jiggling the whole way.
• She insists on putting on her own shoes and often times tries to dress herself as well.  It is cute, yet frustrating since she can't quite do it by herself.
•  She has found that screaming is a fantastic tool for getting what she wants (ok, maybe we spoiled her just a bit when she was younger, she was just too darn cute).  
• She loves, loves, loves her daddy and brothers.  She won't go to bed at night without giving each one of them a hug and kiss.  If I try to skip the nightly ritual, she reminds me by making kissing sounds with her lips as she points in the direction of where Daddy and the boys are.  Her whole face lights up when she hears Daddy come home at night and she runs, with a huge grin on her face, to Hyrum and William when we pick them up from school.
• She is a natural born cleaner.  She frequently asks me for rags to wipe up spills or dirty spots she sees.  She insists on washing her hands whenever they get sticky or have visible dirt or food on them.  She will also put anything back into it's container if you just ask her to.
• Her vocabulary is still very limited.  Her choice of words includes: "Momee" (mommy), "Daee" (daddy), "quack quack" (duck), "ah bee" (thank you),"hi ya" (Hyrum), and "nack" (snack).
• She continues to be very shy, though she is breaking out of her shell a little bit.  When she is nervous of a new face or situation she sticks her finger up her nose (pretty sure she learned that one from her brothers).
• She loves to giggle and laugh and almost always has a smile on her face.

Emily brings such light and joy to our family.

Thomas Starts Preschool

Thomas started preschool this week.  Can our little boy really be that big?  I hesitated with sending him to preschool since I love having him home with me and the thought of having all my kids at school, except for Emily, was just too sad think about.  I realized though, that with Thomas' personality, he would really benefit from going away for a few hours each day where he would feel like he was a big boy with his own big boy responsibilities.  A friend of mine decided to teach preschool out of her home this year and so far it has been a perfect fit for Thomas to go there.  He has been talking about school nonstop since his first class on Tuesday.  Every night he asks if the next day he gets to go to school.  When I pick him us he always has a huge smile on his face.  I can already tell that preschool is going to be a great thing for Thomas.  With Hyrum and William being best buddies at school I sensed that Thomas was feeling a bit left out, but now he has his own big boy thing to do and life is great for everyone. Boy do I love my kiddos!

Thomas and Miss Chelsie

First Day of School

Best buddies heading off to school

Hyrum and William had their first day of school today.  It's crazy how fast summer went by and it's even crazier to think that we now have two kids in school.  Hyrum moved up to 2nd grade, which meant a new teacher.  His classroom is in a portable this year which he was super excited about.  William started kindergarten and was excited to be going into Miss Kelsey's class (Hyrum's k/1 teacher).  I asked him if he was nervous this morning and he said, "No, I practically already know everyone in my class."  He had no trouble being dropped off this morning.  Hyrum, on the other hand, was a bit nervous to be in an unfamiliar place.  As I left him I was surprised at how sad I felt.  Even though life is crazy with 4 kids at home, I really miss them when they are gone.  I was relieved when I returned to the school to pick them up and they both were anxious to tell me how much fun they had had.  William ran out of his classroom as soon as he saw me coming and exclaimed, "IT WAS AWESOME."  He then ran back in the room to give his teachers a big hug.  Hyrum also relayed to me how great his first day had been.  He was especially proud to tell me that his teacher asked him to be the bathroom buddy for kids who were new to the school.  It was fun for me to hear every detail of their day and all the excitement that came with it.  Moments like today leave me feeling so blessed to be a mother!

Priceless Moments

Making a conference train

Thomas teaching Emily how to fold her arms

Story time with Daddy

We came downstairs one morning to find Hyrum reading his Book of Mormon on the couch.

Flag Football

Hyrum and William have been participating in an after school flag football club.  They have enjoyed learning basic football skills, drills and team plays.  They have fun playing fun games like hot potato and red rover, but they really like it when they get to scrimmage with the big boys.  They have been begging for several years now to be signed up for a team sport, but I haven't been ready for a commitment like that.  This was a great alternative for them.

William Graduates from Preschool

Today was William's preschool graduation.  He did a co-op preschool with six other mom's in our neighborhood.  It was a lot of work for me each time it was my turn to teach, but it was so worth it.  The kids loved being together, learning about new things.  As a parent and teacher, I loved watching the kids learn, grow and discover themselves over the past year.  William was so proud today as he sat in his graduation hat.  He is ready for kindergarten and can't wait to go to school with his big brother Hryum.

We're so proud of you William....way to go buddy!

 

Nothing better than a water party to celebrate graduation!