Trick or Treating

The kids had a blast trick or treating tonight. After a tasty dinner at the Ale House up 228th, the kids got dressed in their costumes and we went around the neighborhood. My goodness, there were TONS of kids out!

Dangit, Evan, look at the camera!

Happy Halloween!

From the Dragon with the Rainbow Belly and Miss Kitty.

15 months... and a few days

When Ellena turns another month older, I usually put up a post of the new things that she's doing, along with a picture taken that day. Unfortunately, Ellena is not looking her best right now. Poor girl. She is getting over a cold and is a mucous-y mess. So I'll save the picture for another time. :)

She is walking more and more and we're so proud of her. She is also saying more words, including "mine" and "poke". She loves to snuggle up to Evan, which is so sweet to see.

Shots

Today we went in for Evan's 4 year and Ellena's 15 month wellness check ups. Evan hasn't had shots since he was 2, so I was a little apprehensive of how this would all go down. Yesterday I took Ellena in to check if her cold turned into an infection (it didn't!) and the on-call doctor said to basically give Evan the shot before he even knows what's going on. Obviously, this doctor doesn't know my Evan. My guy is the ultimate planner. He needs to know what is going to happen and when it's going to happen. So today I told him that they were going to get flu shots this afternoon and we'd get a special treat after because they were so brave (Evan chose Baskin Robbins).

So the whole day, Evan is looking forward to getting his flu shot (seriously). When we get to the doctor's office, he keeps asking to get his shot. Sorry dude, they save that part for last. We decided to do 2 of the 4 shots that he needs before starting Kindergarten, rather than save it all for next year. We also got the flu shot and they had H1N1 in, so we got that one too. So in all, Evan got 4 pokes. Ouch! He was so amazingly brave. The first one didn't phase him. The second one hurt, so he didn't want to do the last two. I talked him through it and they were over before he knew it. Phew! A few tears were shed, but nothing earth-shattering. What a trooper! Even the nurse was surprised with how well it all went. And Evan was quite tickled to choose FOUR stickers, when he usually only gets one. But I had to clarify with him that he got 4 because he got 4 pokes, and not because he was 4 years old. We have to go back in a month for the flu boosters - we'll see how anxious he'll be to get poked again... But if a treat is involved, I'm sure it'll help a little.

Ellena got 3 pokes and also did well. Such tough kids! They really enjoyed their rainbow sorbet, too!

Musings...

Now that Evan is 4, I've noticed a few changes in the little man.

* He became a little apprehensive about turning 4. He asked if he would still be going to the same school after his birthday.

* He was convinced he would have an enormous growth spurt on the eve of his birthday. He kept asking me how big he would be when he turned 4.

* After turning 4, he was convinced the growth spurt did happen and keeps telling me to look at how tall he is and how long his legs are.

* He was very proud to show me the hair that is growing on his legs and arms. :)

* And here's the big one - after his birthday, he calls me "Mom" and not "Momma". Wow. So grown up!

Cookalicious Club

Last night was Evan's birthday party and it was such a blast! We went to the Cookalicious Club and Evan and his friends had a cooking class - they made pizzas, cupcakes and smoothies, which they got to eat for dinner!

Pops worked hard all day smoking some pork shoulder, so while the kids had their meal, everyone else got treated to pulled pork sandwiches - yum yum! Evan is anxious to go back and take more cooking classes. We're so happy it was such a success! Thank you to everyone for making Evan's 4th birthday a special one!

The Pinata

We got Evan a pinata and both he and Ellena had some fun with it. Here they are filling it together. Teamwork!

Here is Evan before he took his first swing.

Here is Ellena enjoying the spoils.

And here's a video clip of the entire beat-down experience.

Getting Ready for Halloween

With Evan's birthday on the 20th, Halloween really sneaks up on us. Here are a few pictures of the family getting ready for Halloween.

The kids digging into their Halloween treat bags from Aunty Kay and Uncle Bob

Ellena dragging our cauldron of candy around

Pops and the kids with their jack-o-lanterns.

Birthday Celebration

We tried to make Evan's 4th birthday extra special, filled with all of his favorite things - Happy Meal and donuts for lunch, Red Robin for dinner, birthday cake and presents after. Fun times! This morning the little stinker got me out of bed because he was "hungry". I drag myself downstairs to fix him something to eat and he decided he would rather just play with his new toys. Sneaky!

Went to the donut factory after school.

Dinner at Red Robin

Spiderman birthday cake

Blowing out the candles

4!

Evan turned 4 today! An exciting day planned - school, a special lunch TBD, a visit to the donut factory and dinner at Red Robin. Spiderman birthday cake and opening presents after - busy!

We told Evan as soon as he got ready for school, he could open one present (and open the rest tonight). He chose the biggest one - the cherry picker truck that we got him. Here he is playing with his new toy before school... I asked him to smile for the camera and he started singing, "I'm too busy working... don't have time to smile..."

The Snowsuit

You know it's starting to get cold when Target is carrying snowsuits... So I picked one up for Ellena and here she is trying it on. A little big, but should be ok...

It's a pretty zany print, but Ellena chose it. She's very clear on what clothes she wants to buy and what she will wear that day. So much for dressing her up in frilly dresses of my choosing. :) Ok, ok, you got me. We don't own a frilly dress.

And as I was uploading pics, Evan went up to get his snowsuit. What a silly guy! Here are the two snowbunnies together. And the whole time Evan was so worried about Ellena's feet - "Where are they, Momma?!"

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch! Last week we had big plans, but they all fell through with the great flu bug. The boys were all healed up today, but the weather was not cooperating. However, we were at the patch during the perfect 45 minutes that the sun came out and the rain clouds cleared up! Hooray! Somehow, Ellena and I ended up the muddiest of the group - go figure. But we brought home some great pumpkins! And the rain and thunderstorm started right after we left!

10/16 Evanisms

Yesterday we went to play at our friend's house. When we got home, Pops asked Evan what he played at Nate's house. Evan replied, "Rough." Pops said in an amused voice, "You played 'rough' at Nate's house. Nice..."

When Evan came home from school yesterday, he asked to go to the donut factory. I'm guessing he meant Krispy Kreme. So I told him we couldn't go that day cause we were going to Nate's house in the afternoon. Then I told him we couldn't go tomorrow either, cause we were going to Isaac's house. In a huff, Evan said, "Too many playdates!"

Fishing!

We went to visit our friends in Carnation this afternoon cause the salmon are running in the river in their backyard. Evan had a blast!

Here's Evan with Uncle Ring. They are watching the salmon swimming in the river.

Here are Evan and Uncle Ring walking out to go fishing - Evan's first time!

I wish I got a clearer shot, but oh well. Here are the two doing their fishing thang. I was carrying Ellena and juggling the camera and just couldn't maneuver the wobbly river rocks safely. I think Evan caught a fish, but couldn't bring it in before it got away. He's looking forward to going again!

The Magic Word

The other day my brother was over playing with the kids. I think Evan asked him to watch YouTube on the computer. Stu said, "What's the magic word?" (He was looking for "Please".) Evan thought about it and shouted, "Abracadabra!" Ha ha, those are magic words, too... but not what we were going for. :)

Naughty Words

Today I watched Evan on his preschool's webcam. I noticed he was chatting with his friend, Alec. So when I picked him up, I asked what they were talking about. At first, he said "Nothing." Then he said, "We were talking about naughty words. But we were talking quietly so the teachers wouldn't hear."

Salmon Days

Last weekend, Evan went with his grandparents to Salmon Days. Lucky guy got to be IN the parade, too!

Here's the school bus he rode in.

Here he is in the parade with Grandpa Joe.

And here he is eating corn on the cob and showing off his face painting - which he insisted on not washing off for 2 days until Pops came back from his trip to see it.

Pre-Preschool

Ellena is enrolled in a Toddler class through BCC where we meet once a week for two hours (a bit long for the girl.) Today she did many interesting activities - painting, scooping, puzzles, building blocks, music, and sticker fun. However, hands-down, her favorite thing was snack time!

Moose Pen

Lucky Evan received a special gift from our neighbor's recent road trip - a moose pen from Yellowstone.

And here's Ellena making a HUGE mess of the pantry. I really like it when she finds something she wants to eat and takes the clip off and just starts digging in. So self-sufficient.

Standing on Her Own

Ellena has become very stable on her feet - and she likes to practice standing. Today I was finally able to get a picture of it! Still not a whole lot of walking though...