Happy Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween from the Muir household.  It was a last minute costume change in our household for both the kids.  We initially planned on Katie being Oona from the Bubble Guppies show.  We had a purple dress for her and were going to put her hair in pig tails and color her hair purple but then she saw her mermaid costume in her close from last year and wanted to wear that.  So we compromised and let her wear her mermaid costume but we still put her in pig tails and colored her hair purple.

Mikey wanted to be a number of things that changed hourly.  We had an awesome Buzz Lightyear costume for him but then he wanted to be Batman and finally ended up being a fireman for the second year in a row.
It was sprinkling lightly while we went trick or treating in our neighborhood so his fireman coat was perfect for the rain.  The kids ended up with a good amount of candy and after letting them eat a few pieces that night, the candy magically disappeared and Mikey has only asked where the Halloween candy went a handful of times.  We told him that Halloween is only one day a year and so you get to enjoy the Halloween candy for only one day.

I ended up taking the candy to the Wilton YMCA who were collecting the candy to send to troops over seas.

A crying fireman and an excited Oona Mermaid ready to get some candy.

Knocking on their first door.  Our elderly neighborhood Nina.  She is so sweet and loved the kids.
Treat or Treating consisted of Mikey and Katie trying to beat each other to knock on the door.  Immediately after knocking Katie would say Trick or Treat before anyone answered and Mikey would say it so low that he could hardly be heard.  Then he would pick one piece and be very polite about it while Katie would take advantage of every person.  As long as they held the bowl of candy down for her she kept picking pieces of candy from the bowl often getting 3 or 4 pieces of candy per home.

Most homes had lots of spooky Halloween decorations.

Eventually Katie started dragging her bag on the ground saying it was heavy, so Daddy carried it for her.

Checking out her loot.

Excited to eat some candy!

Katie's Halloween Party at School

Today the parent's were invited to partake in Katie's Halloween Party at school.  The girls were allowed to wear their costumes, but the 2 year old's were just happy to attend the party as themselves, or with a tutu on.

We watched and listened to them sing songs for us, enjoy a snack, create a craft, read a few books and play outside.  We feel so fortunate to have such a loving school for the kids to go to with real, genuine, loving and warm families to bond with.

Lots of these signs around our home.

Such a great idea at school.  The left over pumpkins from the Fall Pot luck were used in the class rooms.  Kids had fun hammering in golf ball tee's.  Mikey's teacher said he did this for 15 minutes.

Chaos at circle time.

Time to go wash hands before snack and craft.

More golf ball tee pumpkins in Katie's class room.

Craft with pumpkins.  Katie's method consisted of sticking as many stickers on her pumpkins as quickly as she could.

Showing off her pumpkin.

So proud of her.

Snack and story time with Miss Kristin and Miss Kimberly.

Opening the flaps in the book.

 The next couple of pictures were of the mom's trying to get a class picture of the girls.  It was hilarious.  I have even more photos as I was trying to get the perfect picture.  I think I may have 2 good ones out of the whole bunch.

Katie's silly face, sticking out her tongue.

I think this was one of the best of the bunch.

Another one that had most of the kids smiling.

Love those 2 year olds!

Mikey's 4th Birthday!!

Today we celebrated Mikey's 4th birthday.  We decided this year to have just a very small affith our immediate and intimate family (aka: the 4 of us).  Next year will be a big 5th birthday.  He still desperately wants to be 5 but is happy being 4.

He loved opening up presents and was really excited to see what was inside of them.  He also for the second year in a row wanted to play with what was on his cake instead of eat it.

I got a great idea from a friend who asked her kids generic questions on their birthday.  It will be fun to see how the answers change from year to year.

What is your favorite color? Blue
What is your favorite TV show? Transformers
What is your favorite book?  Richard Scarry's Trucks book.
What do you want to be when you grow up?  A fireman
Who is your best friend?  Daddy
What is your favorite toy? Chase-a Rescue Bot
What is your favorite food? Spaghetti

At 4 Mikey:

• Is still a picky eater
• Is always on the go, doesn't like to sit still
• Loves his sister and is playing more and more with her
• Wants to be outside all the time
• Does not nap 5 out of 7 days
• Loves chocolate milk
• Loves rough housing and playing with Daddy
• Chooses to play with trucks, cars and Legos more than any other toys
• Is fully potty trained
• Is extremely stubborn
• Loves to go to the grocery store

We love you and can't believe how big you are getting.  You are so full of energy from your fast entry into this world it has been a whirlwind ever since. We are so looking forward to what you will become in the future and are enjoying the ride you take us on everyday.

Mikey's Transformers Birthday Cake.

His Birthday wall filled with cards from family and friends.

A hand painted Transformer Emblem that Mikey and I did while Katie napped.
It's not perfect, but that's what I love about it.

A sticker card made for Mikey by Katie.

Happy 4th Birthday Mikey.

He can't take his eyes off his cake.  Literally.

He looks so happy in this photo.

Here he really wants Daddy to wash off Blade so he can start playing with it.

Katie said "I LOVE Cake!" right before I snapped this photo.

The monkey and me.

Time to open presents.

Fall and Halloween Potluck Dinner at School

This afternoon we had a Halloween Party / Family Potluck at the kids school.  We really enjoyed talking with all the parents, decorating pumpkins with the kids, seeing some cool costumes and eating yummy fall food with everyone.  It was such a nice evening and way to spend a couple of hours.

The dessert and fruit table.

Cute display.

Decorating their own pumpkins.

Katie was attracted to the stickers.

Mikey preferred the glue.

Katie and her friend from school Lia.

Katie's pumpkin full of eye balls and gems.

Mikey's pumpkin full of glue.

Mikey was allowed to open one present early so Chase came with us to the party.

Mikey opening up his goody bag.

Mikey insisted I take a picture of this tree when he saw it.  Isn't it gorgeous?!  I love that he appreciates beauty.