Kitchen updates

I am so excited to share our before/after pictures of the kitchen! I think it's subtle but looks so much brighter and more updated. All of the oak has bothered me since we bought the house, and I finally bit the bullet and went ahead with hiring painters to paint our trim. We also had them paint the ceilings and matched the walls to the new paint color I painted in the family room, foyer and upstairs hallway earlier this year.

 

 

Not a night and day difference, but feels so much fresher to me!

Griswold Lite

First the front yard, which technically doesn't have all of our lights up yet. 

And the backyard, so people on the main drag can see us, alon with the neighbors behind. 

And this year, Joe moved on to our vacation home, aka Scott and Tricia's. We certainly aren't the Griswold's yet, but a few more years (and a new roof) and we may get there yet! :)

Boys rule

This feisty little boy will be upsetting the boy/girl balance in our household at the end of April 2015! We had our 20 week ultrasound today and everything looked good and he appeared healthy and quite active, frequently rolling out of the tech's way just when she would need to snap a picture. 

Oh man, things are getting real! Joe and I only have a few more months before we are outnumbered!

Maddie-isms

Maddie's amazing vocabulary continues to amaze. It's great that she's as articulate as she is; definitely a lot easier than most 2 year olds.

She has a few new things she likes to say that I need to capture, because they make me giggle.

She always wants to share my drinks, whether water, iced tea or soda. I'll let her have sips of the first two, but remind her that she can't drink mommy's soda. So now when she asks if she can have some, and I tell her no, she'll give me a cute look and recite, "Ahh, that's mommy's soda. Soda's not for little girls. Soda's not for little boys. Just mommies, daddies, Molly and TV." (or insert whatever else happens to be distracting her at the time)

She's adamant that she can put her socks and shoes on by herself, and actually does a pretty good job, most of the time. But there are times when she insists she doesn't need socks because it's easier for her to get her shoes on without them. It's been cold enough lately, though, that we insist she wear socks so her feet don't get cold. Thus, when she's putting socks and shoes on, she'll tell me "I need to put my socks on my tootsies so my tootsies don't get cold and turn into bicycles!" So close, sweet girl, so close. Bicycles = icicles, which, to be fair, she probably hasn't ever seen before!

Halloween events with Jen and Elliot

The weekend before Halloween, Jen and Elliot came up to visit and we did lots of fun Halloween activities. Downtown Parkville had its trick or treating for the community, which we opted to check out. One vendor went above and beyond, and had face painting, cookie decorating and pumpkin painting for the kids. 

Maddie was a bit suspicious of trick or treating at first, but quickly realized how great it was to go up to everyone and get candy! Then she was a convert, and made sure to get a piece for each hand as often as possible. 

After naps, we headed to the Y for their trunk or treat. It was going to be a bit cooler, so Maddie wore her Cindy Lou Who costume. 

They had a great turn out, with lots of vendors and activities for the kids. We were running low on time before bedtime, but the kids had fun. 

On Sunday we decided to hike the nature sanctuary. Jen challenged Elliot to climb the back of the Riss Lake dam, and Joseph wanted to go too. None of them realized how difficult it would be- especially Elliot, who ended up carrying Joseph on his back all the way to the top!

Maddie thought about going after them, but we managed to convince her to stay behind. That's Jen and Elliot at the top of the hill, so far away!

We are so glad they came to visit us!

Joseph's Pre-School Halloween Party

Joseph had a great Halloween party at school. I helped execute the craft and drink, which were a hit. 

The kids praying before snack. After snack, they got to play some games, including ghost bowling and pin the tail on the zombie (or something along those lines).

So fun!

Random October pictures

Joseph really enjoyed playing flag football this fall, but the highlight for him was having some Chiefs cheerleaders show up to his last game. 

Maddie had her first visit to the dentist and it went great! I was really surprised that she didn't want or need me around at all, and let the technician clean her teeth too. The dentist have glowing reviews and said to keep up the good work! 

High Fives

In mid October, Joe ran the Kansas City half marathon. The kids and I joined Scott and Tricia at the High Five station to cheer for the runners. 

It was really chilly that morning and the kids weren't quite ready to be outside. It took a while before we saw many runners, so the kids just hung out eating breakfast and drinking "warm cocoa". Cause who likes hot cocoa? Not these two!

After a bit we finally got to cheer on lots of runners and Joseph was having fun giving high fives. Maddie wasn't too sure of what all was going on and generally hung by my side and watched. 

Joe passed us looking good, and Joseph was happy to give him a high five. 

Maddie, well, not so much. Better luck next time!

Batteries

Maddie is keenly aware that many of her favorite devices have batteries that need to be replaced or recharged. Frequently. And she is used to hearing that something is "broken" because it needs new batteries. Usually she just accepts it and moves on, hoping that the batteries get replaced or recharged soon so she can play again.

Last week as I picked her up from PDO, her teacher made sure to tell me that all of the 2 year old teachers had quite the laugh at Miss Maddie. She apparently wasn't listening very well to their directions. Finally, Miss Amy asked Maddie to turn on her "good listening ears," to which Maddie responded she couldn't, because they were broken and needed new batteries!

This kid is definitely going to give us a run for our money!

Fire Station Visit

Saturday, October 11 was the annual Fairmount Township Fire Station Open House. We've been the past couple of years, but this year we brought along some neighborhood friends at the last minute. All of the kids were excited and I think having friends to play with made it that much more fun. 

We got there a few minutes after it started, and opted to let the kids ride in the fire truck right away, before the line got too long. 

Then the boys headed in to ride the mini fire truck and shoot out the "house fire."

The big highlight were the two large bounce houses set up outside. All 4 kids played in them for a really long time!

Eventually Joseph and Luke decided they wanted to wait for a balloon animal. Maddie and Dane weren't about to wait in a long line patiently, so they kept playing until it was almost their turn. 

We took a few more rides in the fire truck so each kid could get a chance to ride up front once. I love that they actually take the kids out for rides- lots of fire stations will let the kids play around inside, but this is the only place that lets them ride. 

The littles were definitely starting to wear out, and we had to get them home before naps. It was a struggle keeping them awake all the way back, but we managed. They all had so much fun and are asking when they can go back for more!