Pumpkin Patch and First Time for Carving

Well, this year we finally did it.  We carved pumpkins.  I struggled with this because in Florida, well, pumpkin carving feels a little wrong.  Is it just me? It is still so darn hot, and setting out a pumpkin to basically rot just seems wrong.  Well, it is, but the boys love them, so why not!?!?!  We hit a little pumpkin patch down the street for just the right pumpkin and of course some more posing in front of hay bales and pumpkins.  Then we headed to dinner with our friends and neighbors.  Our fave Greek/belly dancing spot.  Yummy!
We had fun, stopped for more libations on our walk home, the boys tried to milk and feed the plaster cow outside the liquor store, and then we headed to start the carving fun.  Raleigh was all about helping scoop out the seeds, or “poop” them out as it sounds from his mouth…but I digress.  Gus was not really interested.  Our friend, Little C, not so much either, but it was funny to see him get scared as we lit the pumpkins.  His Daddy made a scary one!  And a Mickey one too that I am going to confess, blew our Daddy’s pumpkins away! 



Gus, he went for the different colored pumpkins, and Rals was all about the bumpy ones! I love that they like the “different” ones!

Of course, Gus had to shake his maracas for us!

Look closely, you’ll see the leaves stuck to the cow’s mouth

Teddy Bear Tea and Other Fun Stuff!

Today, the boys attended their first tea party.  Yup, you heard me right, the boys attended their first tea party.  If you know me, you know I am not all into the gender rules, boys wear blue, girls wear pink, and all, so it was great fun to be part of the tea party fun with all our friends!  The moms of multiples group we are part of put it on as part of our spring celebration. What an amazing idea: dress the kids in their finest clothes, bring their favorite teddy bears, and art work, and leave the rest up to the mom’s group planning leaders.  The china was borrowed or purchased at Goodwill, blankets were brought to let the kids spread out with their tea, and the high tea of cheese sandwiches, jelly sandwiches with cookies, scones and fruit was available for the kids.  Peach iced tea and pink lemonade refreshed us all and cucumber sandwiches held over the parents…along with a few cookies and scones;)  The bonus was that the moms group decided to help my own mom’s newest business venture and hire her and her partner to cater the event.  They hope to be helping hold tea parties around the area soon and having their own tea room eventually too!  If you are interested, email them at crystalsteaandbonbons@gmail.com. The scones were blissful for sure, and the ice tea and lemonade were quite the treat for most of the kiddos who usually don’t get to taste such fancy drinks!  High tea at two years old is pretty fancy. How great is it that kids of all ages were able to enjoy the beautiful spring day as well?  Perfect!  The best part, the boys got to hang out with their friends, learn about tea, and the best is that they fell asleep like legends both at naptime and bedtime from all the fresh air!!!

  

   

Yesterday, the boys had their first popsicle of “summer” – how cute are these boys???  Love that Gus took C’s hat…his old one, and it sooooooooooo does not even begin to cover his noggin!

The zoo was calling our name after we made it to the evaluation by the state bright and early one morning this week.  This was the evaluation to see if the boys were eligible for assistance with their speech.  We were worried that Augustus in particular, was a bit delayed with his pronunciation and ability to express his thoughts in more than one word, but the evaluation found the boys are doing just fine in all areas: gross/fine motor skills, self-help/adaptive skills, social/emotional, academic/cognitive and receptive and expressive communication.  That is a relief!  However, we can contact them again if the do not continue improve with their word conjugation. It is amazing how much they are continuing to put together each and every day.  My advice to other moms out there, or parents, is to chill a bit if you are concerned about “delays” that are not really completely apparent.  Everyone has their own time to blossom.  The boys were born at 33 weeks and sometimes it is good to remind myself that this is a fact, despite their complete amazing selves, they may take a bit more time than their peers. I don’t like to compare the boys to their peers, but sometimes it is just plain tough not too.  Speaking of peers, check out the besties holding hands below.  Almost all looking at the camera, but best of all facing forward…how many pics do we have of their backs?

  Gus the bird man – still loves to hold the birds on the stick and feed them!

Earlier in the week we made pizza with Nonnie.  The boys were super helpful!  Their favorite part was making the sauce and then giving both Nonnie and me a taste.  Yummo!!!

Then, we visited the cows.  A few of them ate whole wheat waffles, a few just came over to try to lick my camera, and us!  Currently, we have some overripe bananas and left over bread crusts from the tea sandwiches, so we will have to go back soon.

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Here is a glimpse of what has become a daily ritual in our house, as mentioned in the last post.  Wow!  At least they are getting better at putting their toys away.  I guess it is good to take inventory every once and a while as well!

 

That pretty much sums up our week.  Fun times indeed, peppered with a few more bites – UGH!  If anyone has any tips I am all ears…

Cows! We Love Cows!

I am still a Wisconsin girl at heart.  Every time I see a cow, I have to say out loud "cow" and then proceed to "moo" a little.  It is not a new thing, not since kids, or anything like that. Matthew knows all about my love of cows and my need to roll down my window and moo at the cows as we drive by, and yet still loves me.  The boys love cows, as noted in their "moo" video - forgot about it click here.  Moo was also one of their first words.  Today I was very excited to see all the cows out in the field as we drove to my parents for dinner.  We packed the boys up and took them down to feed the cows some left over hot dog buns and it was worth the trip in the dreary weather.  The cows were extremely hungry and happy to come over and look at the boys.  Although, we were slightly disappointed that none of them mooed.  We were happy that none of them pooped, bucked us, or peeded around us ;)

Here are some of my favorite shots.  Most of them are of the cows, but there are a few of the boys enjoying them too.  Oh, and Nonnie too, she probably had more fun than the boys did!

On a totally different note, I am giving my first product review. A spill proof bucket of bubbles seemed like the perfect thing for the boys.  Here is a link to Toys 'R Us http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3581831. Of course, it is not where I bought it, of course it was a dollar more expensive at Target and that was their sale price...oye.  I would grade their design a C+, but after we added some bubble wands from a different bubble container, it is an A!  Most importantly, the boys love it and are entertained by it for hours at a time, I swear!   The wands that came with the bucket are impossible to blow bubbles out of.  However, that did not stop the boys from having fun with it!  There are three openings at the top of the bucket, so it is even more perfect for the boys and their BFF next door, Conner.  Of course, it does not mean that bubble time is all clean, but they are not spilling the whole bubble container over all the time, or needing me to hold the container while they fight over who gets to put their wand in first.  This one is even fun to tote around the yard, as Gus demonstrates below.