Happy Halloween!

Trick or treat in our neighborhood was on Halloween Day.  Mikey was dressed as ELMO and Katie was a little Teddy Bear.  The weather wasn't too cold.  We went to about 8 houses including those in our cul-de-sac and a few across the street before the zipper on Mikey's costume broke.  Oh well.  He really doesn't need any candy.  We followed the neighbor's kid Preston around.  He's 3 and was really into getting candy at houses.  Mikey tagged along but didn't quite "get it." 

Once we came back home, Mikey had a blast.  He had more fun handing out candy.  He'd stand by the window and watch kids come up our driveway.  I was busy making dinner.  Once I hear his feet coming running down the hall way I knew that kids would be knocking on our door any second.  Mikey would grab the big bowl of candy and enthaustically say "HI" and give the kids each a piece of candy.  The high school girls just loved him and even accepted the candy he was handing out (even if the candy he had wasn't exactly what they wanted from the bowl).  I think next year he'll be even more into it. 

I know it's fuzzy but it's the only pic. I got of the both of them together. 

Katie the Teddy Bear.

Our first stop.

Family Photo.

Our last stop.  He loved the decortaions.

He could really care less about getting his picture taken.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKEY!  ALREADY 2 YEARS OLD!!
It's official the terrible two's have started.  Wish you all could celebrate with us.  We have it all on video but for now here are some pictures.  Mikey received a red vacuum, a cash register, some toddler stainless steel pots and pans, legos and a train hoodie and kitchen ware as well as a vtech Thomas the Train Computer.  We are super lucky and also received about 30 books (approx. $400!) from our neighbor's the Monks! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Pots and Pans and Legos

I love the little finger in the corner.

So excited to finally get a slice of cake that he's been eyeing all morning.

He can't wait to dig in!

I know, I took a risk trying to get this photo!

Mommy and her baby big boy!

Inspecting carefully before digging in.

What a mess!

Walk around the Neighborhood

We also spent some time on Mikey's birthday going on a walk around the neighborhood.  We go for longer walks in the stroller up to the neighborhood park but there is a particular loop that we do around the block when Mikey is walking.  He knows exactly where to go and what corners to turn on.  Here are some shots!

Just starting out on our walk.

There is one step that he always sits on half way through the walk. He does this every time!

Too cute!  Taking a break.

Watching Daddy open up another present for him.  His very own Vtech Computer!  Mikey kept yelling YAY and WOW!

Typing away.

Busy doing some work.

Who wouldn't love a lift.

Day Care Halloween Parade

Mikey's day care center had a Halloween parade today at the end of the day.  There were lots of costumes.  Some of them were really cute.  We saw Rapunzle, a shark, bumblee bees, lady bugs, a pea in the pod and of course Elmo!

Before the parade started, Mikey was showing me all the bugs in his class room.

The parade has started!

He was a little upset.



Of course once he saw Daddy the parade was over for him.  He wanted no part of it. 



Bah- Bye Nee Nee

In an earlier post, I blogged about how we were weaning Mikey off his pacifier (aka: nookie or as Mikey says nee nee) but holding onto them for a little while longer.  It's officially been over 2 weeks since we took it away and today I finally threw them out!  Horray!
P.S. - today I posted some blogs from earlier in the month.  Make sure you take a look at those too!

Interaction

Mikey is finally taking more notice in his kid sister Katie.  Here's a few photos of them playing.

Baby toys are so much more interesting!

Mikey is showing her how everything works.

Sonny Acre Farm

We welcome Fall with open arms.  It's one of our favorite seasons.  Feeling festive we decided to spend a leisurely Saturday morning at Sonny Acre Farm.  They have a beautiful piece of property about 30 minutes west of us.  We got there right when they opened at 10am and left around 12:30.  By the time we left the place was packed.  They had more pumpkins than you could shake a stick at, gourds, a windmill (very exciting), every type of food, hot cider, games, rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, a toddler play ground, corn maze, tractor drawn hay rides, etc. 
Here are some pics from our trip!

Yes, you guessed it.  He is pointing at the windmill which happened to be the first thing he saw at the farm.

The lovely windmill.

First carnival ride ever.  With Daddy!

He rode on the cars three different times however he wanted to ride in the same vehicle.

He loved the buttons and pretended to drive.  I have video of this too.

The petting zoo!

Tractor drawn hay rides.

Sign of where we were.

Weee.  Down the fun slide with Daddy.  I have video of this too.

He loved being able to walk freely all over the place.

Pic. with Daddy.

Pick with Mommy and Katie.

He tried to pick them all up!

Family Photo.

Typical day at daycare

They keep the kiddie busy at daycare. Here was the report that I received when I picked up Mikey today from daycare.

During circle time, we read "the best Halloween hunt ever" and "froggy's Halloween". We also sang "five little pumpkins" and "the welcome song". We also talked about halloween and how we all get to wear costumes and say "trick or treat".

Today the children helped measure out the ingredients for our Halloween cupcakes. We measured out the oil, water, and we made sure we had three eggs to put I to the mix. The children then took turns mixing the batter and helping pour the batter into the cupcake Pam.

For art today the hildren worked at the table with markers and crayons and created pictures on their paper. Some drew lines while others made lots of circles. The children had fun trying out each of the colors they saw, some just liked one color. Then children then practiced putting the tops back on the markers so they wouldn't dry out.

We had music class today with Ms. Margaret. The children sang "when it's autumn" and "black bat farm". We also sang "she'll be coming around the mountain" as we looked at the pictures in the book. We marched around the room in a line shaking our musical instruments.

For science the children learned how the cupcake batter turned from a liquid mix into solid cupcakes. We rook a walk to the kitchen and talked about how the cupcakes need to go into the hot oven to cook. We also talked about safety and how we don't touch the oven because it's very hot and we could get hurt if we touched it.

NO! (and reverse psychology)

It's pretty apparent that over the last few weeks Mikey has developed a new favorite word.  NO!  Seems fitting for a toddler right?!  Everything we want him to do, he does the opposite.  Soooo, Mommy wised up and has used reverse psychology.  I only do it for certain tasks so that I don't confuse him and I make it very obvious that it's a game. 

Examples:
- Don't you turn off that vacuum! (I'm actually surprised that the batteries didn't run out after 2 days).
- Don't pick up those toys!

Works like a charm....for the moment!

Nee Nee No More

Well I've been saying all along that I'm determined to wean Mikey off his pacifier by the time he is 2.  For no reason whatsoever on Thursday morning I took his "nee nee" out of his mouth and he didn't ask for it all morning.  I thought "OK, we've survived a morning without it, let's see how he does at nap time." 

At nap time he cried for 10 minutes before passing out.  Easier than I expected!  We then went all afternoon without the nee nee and I decided then that there's no turning back.  During the day I noticed that he seemed to have a need for some type of oral fixiation whether that be sticking his fingers in his mouth or chewing on a toy. 

At bed time he really cried and yelled and screamed for his "nee nee,"  "Mommy," and "Help". Yup, talk about heart breaking.  I went in to comfort him 3 times during the first hour and noticed that he actually started sucking on his tongue, something I've never seen him do before.  Impressive - this kid learns fast!  After 1 hour he fell asleep. 

On Friday, he went all day at daycare without his nee nee and he only cried 20 minutes at night for it.  We're getting there! I think it'll probably take 4 to 5 days to fully wean him off of it. 

The "nee nees" are currently residing in the storage container on the kitchen counter.
I know we won't use them again, but I just can't throw them away until he's fully weaned.

Spoiled

Our kids....spoiled.....with these 2 around?   You bet!

Mock birthday

While my parents are in town we decided to throw a little mini birthday party for the little guy who is turning 2 on October 29th!  Where has the time gone?!  We also had my mom's Aunt Vickie and Cousin Jennifer over for dinner and thought it was the perfect day to throw a little celebration.  My thinking is always the more the merrier. 

We had a delicious ham dinner with all the fixings cooked by my mom and we ordered an Elmo cake with Elmo Cupcakes!  Mikey loved it.  We sang to him and he even blowed out the candle (we've been practicing for a while). 

We'll also sing to him on his actual birthday.  He has a current obsession with his red vacuum and he also received tennis balls, a book called "Papa please get the moon for me" and a cash register along with some sing a long CD's and a pale and shovel to play in the sand box.

Aunt Vickie LOVES babies!

Mikey's Elmo Cake!

He was so excited ripping the paper off the present.

Oh My a red vacuum!

Vickie and Jen checking out little Katie.

Mikey didn't mind the screaming Katie one bit. 
It actually looks like she's laughing if you glance at the photo.

Pure bliss you can see in his eyes.

Yup, messy but not as messy as last year.

Vickie loved holding Katie.  (It gave the rest of us a break!)

Checking out the vacuum.