Happy Halloween!

Our pink princess and worker man had a great Halloween. They were so excited to put on their costumes and walked around the house saying, "Hi princess," and "Hi worker," once they had them on.

The donut shop gave away free donuts to everyone in costume this morning. We are suckers for all things "free" and "donut," so we started our Halloween the same way we ended it - with sugar.

We did a bit of trick-or-treating after supper, and somehow the kids ended up with quite the haul of candy despite visiting only ten or so houses. Max was a pretty slow bulldozer driver, but he kept it on for more of the night than I expected.

Legos

Chris found a box of his old Legos at his parents' house and brought them home for the kids to play with. I thought they might be too hard for the kids since the pieces are so small, but Max has played with them all day today only to take a break for donuts, lunch, and nap. 

Natalie is FOUR

Natalie turned four yesterday! She has been waiting for her birthday for a long time, and as of yesterday, she is convinced that she is now taller. Before she went to bed on her last night as a three-year-old, she ran up to Max and said, "Max! Can you believe I'm going to be bigger than you tomorrow?!"

She chose an art theme for her birthday party over the weekend. I tried my best at art-themed goodies, and she got a lot of fun art kits for presents which have been keeping her busy over the last few days. She was brave and stood by herself while we all sang "Happy Birthday," but I thought it was sweet that she asked for me to hold her hand for a little support while she blew out her candles.

We celebrated on her actual birthday with presents from us in the morning, donuts for breakfast, pizza for supper, and cake for dessert. We had a great day celebrating our big girl!

Monster Story Time

The local coffee shop hosted a monster themed story time this morning on their patio. They read monster stories and had monster cookies and mini frozen hot chocolates at the end. Natalie and Max did so well! They have always been a little intimidated at the library story time. They usually sit with me and keep quiet for the most part. Not today! They sat right up front, and Natalie even answered some questions.

Max needed a little more support than Natalie, though. About halfway through I noticed he was holding onto his sissy. I love their relationship (when they're not fighting)!

Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch Saturday afternoon, and we all had such a fun time! We were impressed with all of the activities they had last year, but this year they added even more. 

This inflatable bouncer was a favorite last year and a favorite again this year. Their smiles were so big the entire time they were on it. We even had to stop back by on our way out for one last bounce.

These slides were new this year, and they might be giving the bouncer a run for its money. Before her third or fourth trip down the slide, Natalie said, "There is nothing better than this!"

We were surprised to see that the barrel train driver was our friend (and usher at our wedding), Brandon! He had on quite the outfit complete with mismatched crazy boots and gold sequined hat. He told us later that he was hired to emcee the pig races (which we loved!), and he drives the barrel train between races.

Natalie loved trying out all of these "look-throughs" as she calls them. The face holes on a lot of them were too high, so she'd pull herself up and dangle her feet.

We did actually pick pumpkins (the whole point of the pumpkin patch), but Max was done with pictures by that point. The kids each picked nice jack-o-lantern pumpkins, and they got a cute mini pumpkin for the new baby. They are already excited to take her to the pumpkin patch next year!

Block Party

A couple of our neighbors hosted a block party at the beginning of the week right outside our house. We had a great time mingling with our neighbors and eating lots of good food. The kids formed a bike gang with the neighbor kids and rode up and down the blocked off street long after the sun went down. 

Apparently 60 - 80 kids used to live on this street years and years ago, but once that generation grew up, the neighborhood was full of retired couples for some time. Quite a few young families have moved in over the past few years though, and the older folks really enjoy seeing kids playing in the neighborhood again.

It's a girl!

I think I missed out on the mother's intuition attribute because I am 3 for 3 at guessing the wrong gender for our kids. I was so sure that this baby was a boy, but we found out at my doctor's appointment this morning that she is a healthy little girl! We are all so excited! Knowing a little bit more about who she is and seeing her wiggle around on the screen makes the idea of her joining our family that much more tangible and exciting!

We stopped for celebratory donuts on the way home from the doctor. I tried to talk both the kids into getting pink donuts for their new sister, but Max refused. He is excited about having a little sister, but he draws the line at eating pink food, I guess. Two happy older siblings, but only one pink donut:

Both kids are really excited and proud to tell everyone about their little sister. I even overheard Max telling a little girl at the store this afternoon, "Us having new baby sister!" I knew that Natalie would be over the moon because she was hoping for a girl, but Max was hoping for a boy, so I wasn't sure how he would react. For the most part he talks excitedly about "ours's new baby girl," but he has already requested that the next one be a boy :)

Boys Day/Girls Day

Natalie and I hosted a baby shower for Lacy Saturday afternoon. While we were partying with the girls, Max and Chris went out to the farm with the boys of the family. Max had a blast as evidenced by the pictures.

I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures at the baby shower. We were having too much fun, I guess. Natalie and I went out for a girls dinner date after the shower to cap off our girls day. She chose Braum's, and I happily obliged. This ice cream lover is a girl after my own heart!

"Fall Clue"

Natalie was really excited to show me this surprise while we were playing outside this afternoon. "It's a Fall clue!"

Cap Day

Today was Cap Day at preschool. They acted out the story "Caps for Sale," and they all looked really cute in their caps. Max was originally going to let Natalie borrow his K-State hat for Cap Day, but he reneged his offer last night, so we found an adjustable Agco hat that probably looked even cuter.