November

 Hanging out at Seven Presidents State Park in Long Branch on an unusually warm day. Very cool park, so close to the ocean you can hear it...

 Bike riding. Below, a Thanksgiving Feast that he shared with his class. (He's actually eating turkey!)

 Celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year... a GREAT holiday to celebrate twice ;) Pictures here are from a weekend at the Konopacks, where the big guys played basketball, the little guys looked for salamanders, and we all smashed pumpkins on the rocks out back, knowing that the deer would soon come and enjoy the tasty treat.

The First Thanksgiving, Feat. Pitbull

Now this one is waaay more appropriate for this week! Enjoy!
(P.S. Ollie suggested Pitbull...)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

We've Elfed Ourselves!

Yes, I realize it is not even Thanksgiving yet, and that it is 70 degrees out today... But Ollie saw this in my inbox and insisted I create it.

Soccer Finale

Great season, made greater by having Harrison on his team.
Trophy was handed out, Trenton being named "Best Defender" again. Two years in a row!
He likes soccer, a lot. Lots of running, easy enough rules.
;)
Now on to the other (financial) extreme: Gymnastics! Goal is to sign them both up to attend once a week after the holidays.

A Weekend Visit with Nora

 Nora stayed with us this weekend while her parents attended a wedding nearby.
I don't know which was more exciting: having a girl around, or having three kids to keep after.

 She has the same bike as Oliver at home, and was very comfortable riding it.

 The boys test out Ollie's new 3D chalk. It really works with the glasses!

 Complete monkeys on the swingset. Nora loved the backyard. "Backyard! Backyard!"

 They jumped in leaf piles over and over again.

See you again after Christmas!

Bowling, Man!

Huzzah!
What to do with your kids when they have not one, not two, but THREE days off of school in one week?

Take them bowling, I say!

 The bumper guards are up.

 The ball is in the six pound range.

 The alleys somehow support the force of the dropping of said balls.

 And the kids, for the most part, are entertained.

 Oh yeah, Baby!

Ten frames was good enough for our guys. I promised to take them back again soon. Oliver told Jim: "Next time, Daddy takes us bowling. Mommy stays at home." Hm. OK!

Oliver At Three

He will walk around the house singing "We're going to the library! We're going to the library!" We follow him.

"Carry me up" means "Pick me up".
He tries hard to make the "L" sound correctly, but still falters on Ls, Rs, and TH. But he's definitely understandable.

He refuses to fall asleep in his bed at night-- he will only lay down next to his brother. I go in before bedtime and pry him loose from Trenton (they're usually tangled up) and rest him back in his own bed.
Each morning, he wakes up yelling "Mom!" and ultimately we all hear him.  He is so loud; he sounds like he is mid-conversation! Most mornings we all end up cuddling in our bed together. Cozy.

He won't let me sing "It's a Jolly Holiday With Ollie" anymore... "No Mom! Sing Oliver song!" So now it has to be "Ol-i-ver! Ol-i-ver! Never before has a boy wanted more!"
I miss singing Jolly Holiday :(

 Such a monkey, such a ham.
Such a silly boy.
Each year, we take his pic in this shirt. Here's him at two. Here's one.
OMG having one of those wistful, kid-is-growing-up-so-fast moments... !

Murmuration... Cool!

Check it out! Gets really interesting around :50...

Read the accompanying story here.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Pre-Halloween Frights & Halloween Delights

Pictures from our town's Spooktacular Event!

 This is what happens when you get fake vampire teeth.

 And THIS is what a Nor'Easter in OCTOBER looks like.
The kids were out at 7:30 in the morning playing in the white stuff ;)

 On Halloween, Trenton wore his costume to school. They had a nice party and a parade outside.

 Trick or Treating happened a bit earlier than I thought it would. Kids started coming around at 3:30! Here we have our one neighbor, Cailyn, above, and another neighbor, Melanie, below.

 That's Trenton and his buddy Andrew above, and Oliver's buddy Alex below. Both live in our new neighborhood. It was nice to have friends to go around with!

This is what you call a haul! Many thanks to Grandma Lacina for coming up for the day to help out ;)
Yes, Ollie had a happy birthday ;) Each time he went up to a house and announced "Today is my birthday!" he scored with twice as much candy!!! Stinker. ;)