Trick-or-Treat

Roar!

We went into town this evening to trick-or-treat with the Ayotte's. Thomas and Jack had a great time. It was really windy and cold. But, they stayed warm in their monkey and lion suits. Gotta love Old Navy costumes.

Thomas and Alan

Jack and Troy

Beth and Brett (he was a cute little banana)

T's First Halloween Party!

Thomas has managed to be sick for every Halloween related event since his birth :( Today....he was healthy. I lucked out with the day off and was able to attend his first ever Halloween party. We had a great time. Carol, his daycare provider (far right), and Erin, her step-daughter (left), went all out. We played games, trick or treated at the neighbors (Carol's mom), watched a Halloween movie, and had lunch. Wheew, a very busy 3 hours.

So, why am I off again? The H1N1 flu has ravaged Southwest Michigan. We are off again due to high illness rates. This is the 3rd day out of the last 4 business days that I've had off. Luckily, we have all managed to stay healthy.

Pumpkin Carving....and eating?

Thomas carved his pumpkins this morning. He picked them out at Cal's house about a month ago. With the big day approaching, we figured we should get carving.

Scooping.

Cutting

Eating?

That's right.

Thomas took a bite of his pumpkin. In fact, he took several bites and really enjoyed it.

Mama's little pumpkin :)

First Shiner

Well, it happened. With a boy as active as ours, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner. He took a spill at Menards last night. Getting out of the special "car" cart, he tripped over his firetruck boots and fell. His head bounced off a metal shelving unit and this is the result. It was way puffier last night. Doesn't seem to phase him much. Just after it happened, I gave him some ice to put on it and when I checked on him he was holding it on the wrong eye. :)


I'm really happy we decided to get family pictures taken last week ;)

Bouncin' Birthday Boys!!!!

We celebrated Billy and TJ Sias' birthday parties last weekend. It was a great time. John and Suzie throw really fun parties. They had a really cute Curious George cake! Billy took the liberty of blowing out all of the candles :) That's what big brothers are for!

Suzie and TJ!

Bouncing parties are right up T's alley. He had a great time jumping, climbing, and sliding. And....for the first time ever, he was totally independent. Alan and I went with him a bit...for fun, not because we had to. Sliding and jumping is way more fun when you don't have to hold a 40 inch, 40 pound kid.

Family Photo Op

Yeah, it's that time of year again...time for our annual family photo op. We had our photographer, Shirley, meet us at Rob and Kathy's house. The farm was the perfect setting for this year's pictures. Thomas is all about everything "farm" right now.

Thomas wanted a picture with Puppy this year. Totally fitting. He and Puppy are inseparable.

It amazes me how something as simple as a farm can give such a beautiful return during photo time. Thanks for the photo ops Rob and Kathy!

Almost...

Thomas just kills us with his innocence. Example:

Thomas are you picking your nose? "No, I'm just getting the boogers out."

Apple pickin'

Instant gratification.

Thomas LOVES apples. So, the ideal outing for him...the apple orchard. We went with Great Kathy this evening and picked quite a few apples. Also, as a special treat, we ate dinner at the Pie Pantry. Yummy!

Amazingly, this is the first picture of Thomas and Kathy. Not sure how I dropped the ball on that one.

If there is a tractor to be found, Thomas will find it. We stumbled upon this one on our way in to eat. I love that he just climbs up and acts like he has work to do. Even funnier is listening to him sing "I'll take you for a ride on my big, green tractor."

In his element

Thomas is really loving his new chainsaw. We spent a bit of time in the woods today so he could cut down some trees.

Finally!

Lot's of finally's here:

I finally posted some new pictures.

Thomas finally got his chainsaw. He wanted it this spring, but we didn't get it for him. Any opportunity at the store he would look at it, touch it, and I'm sure he would fantasize about bringing it home. Yesterday, I surprised him with it. It is his "now you are a potty trained big boy" toy!

I finally got my new stroller. Can't wait to use it! It looks small in this picture - Thomas is sitting on the footrest, but I assure you there is plenty of room for our growing boy! Thomas has been requesting rides through the house because it has been rainy and we can't go out :)

Retro

Thomas got these glasses about a month ago. He insists on wearing them when he rides in Daddy's truck. I love the innocence. He is so proud of these glassess. It makes us smile really BIG when he puts them on.