Trying to Keep Her Awake

Today Lydia had swim lessons and then went to a birthday party. On the way home I decided to go buy high gluten flour. When were a few minutes away from the store, I realized Lydia was very sleepy. I remember one of my friends said that she gave her girls lollipops to keep them awake in the car. I got a lollipop from the secret stash and passed it to her. She seemed happy enough to get it but when I looked back, this is what I saw. Within a minute or so, she took the lollipop out of her mouth and just held it.

Lydia slept in my arms while I was in the store. One of the employees helped me with the flour. He scooped it out of the bulk bin while explaining to me why "gluten is so bad for everyone." Of course, Lydia woke up as soon as put her back in her car seat.

Lunch Date

Today the kids had preschool but Chris was off from work. Chris and I spent the morning together and had lunch at Wildfire. We split the calamari and chopped salad. Both items were delicious. Too bad there aren't more federal holidays during the week when the kids have school.
I am thankful for such a wonderful husband. He constantly shows his love for me and the kids.

I am also thankful for all the Veterans who served and are serving so we can experience freedom.

Why Can't It Always Be Warm in November?

Yesterday was a wonderful November day. I wish every November day would be a warm 72 degrees. To celebrate the day, we played outside with friends.
Yes, this little almost-one-year old was also able to play outside. He crawled around and munched on some mulch. He also loved going down the slide.

My kids loved this thing that spun around.

Wesley had fun climbing the rock wall.

A couple of things surprised me yesterday. One Wesley made it across the monkey bars a couple of times. Two, when he didn't make it all the way across in one try, he got very upset. Lately, Chris and I have seen him very upset when he can't do something. Often what he is trying to do is a hard skill that takes practice but if he can't do it, he gets very frustrated. Thankfully, he keeps trying which brings me to the third thing that surprised me. He kept trying to master the monkey bars. The two playgrounds were very new and the monkey bars weren't very far off the ground which made me feel like a broken arm was less likely (or maybe it was just a foolish hope).

On the second playground, the rings moved which made it harder, but he went all the way across once. He kept trying but it was very hard.

I really liked both of these playgrounds and the kids had fun playing.

Wesley and Taryn could do these steps by themselves.

Lydia didn't take a nap on the way home like I hoped so ended up without a nap. Soon after we got home, we went out in our neighborhood. Lydia ran away from us and kept going until I sprinted to catch up with her. Thank God there isn't a lot of traffic in our neighborhood because she was like Frosty the Snowman as she barely paused moment when she heard me shout, "Stop!" Ugghhh!

I need to take my D-SLR out in the late afternoons so I can get some good pictures of the deer herd in our neighborhood. I didn't take any pictures at the playground but on the way home we saw this little snake.

Too bad it is going to be cold tomorrow.

Obstacle Courses

Lydia and Wesley really enjoy their gymnastic classes. Here are some videos of Lydia on one of the obstacles. Everyone loves the trampoline.

Rope swing

This how Lydia kicks sometimes when she doesn't want me to carry her.

The rings

Here is one part of the "floor" obstacle course.

Wii Friends

Wesley and Ainsley enjoyed playing the Wii together. We should probably have family game night more often.

Bowling Preschool Style

On Monday we went bowling MOPS. We went to Ft. Belvoir because they have such a nice non-smoking facility.

Lydia had been saying for two days that she wanted to use a pink ball. The thrill wore off after about four frames and she was ready to stop.
The kids used the ramps most of the time.
Wesley prefered the taller ramp.
A couple of the moms bowled but most of just watched the kids. I realized the last time that my kids just wanted their turn; they didn't want to wait for me to bowl.
The kids had fun playing in between their turns.
Lydia liked drying her hair.
Wesley and another little girl bowled a second game but they did get a little tired before the end.

After bowling we had pizza for lunch. It is really good pizza and it is only $12 for a large one topping pizza. It was a fun morning. A bit chaotic but most events with preschoolers are a little chaotic.

Halloween Night

Last night I took the kids out trick or treating. It rained on us once and we got soaked but it stopped as soon as we came home to get the umbrellas. At least it wasn't cold. I remember going out as a kid and being so cold on Halloween.

Not everyone in our neighborhood participated in trick or treating. I tried to go to everyone's house (on our side of the neighborhood) who was participating. I wanted to say hello to them (and invite the moms to join the neighborhood moms group) and I was also hoping that if enough kids went to their houses, they would participate next year also.

The kids were fascinated by this neighbor's eye patch.
Everything was large at one neighbor's house. Their Saint Bernard was dressed like a ballerina and they were handing out full sized candy bars.

There was one super scary house. The kids made it up to the door and got their treats. They both agreed that didn't want to go back. But, today that is the house they keep talking about it. They like the idea of it today.

One of our neighbors dresses up like the Cat in the Hat every year. She is so much fun!

She had a lot of decorations including these cute little ghosts in the her flower box. Wesley told her how much he liked the tiny pumpkin in front of the house.

Another neighbor had this guy at the bottom of her stairs.

Lydia's scariest moment of the night came when she turned around from getting candy at one house and saw this guy (the Scream) behind her. She did warm up to him as went to several houses with him and his family. He turned out to be a really nice boy.

At one point Lydia told me, "I don't need anymore candy." She was really tired and wanted to go home and eat the candy she had. Thankfully I only had to carry her very briefly last night.

When we got home, she immediately found a lollipop she wanted and climbed in her highchair to eat it. She asked me to take this picture of her with the lollipop in her check.

What was Chris doing in between handing out candy to the kids? He was doing puzzles. He complained that his neck was hurting when we got home.

One of our neighbors gave out some really cool treats. Wesley got a gummy finger and he couldn't wait to eat it.

Lydia got gummy brains. She gobbled them right up.

After getting a little sugar rush, Lydia did some dancing to the Halloween music.