Trick or Treat

This year, we had a Spiderman (aka, William) and a Toy Story alien (aka, Daniel) trick or treat with us. We headed over to our friends Chris & Lea's house for a chili dinner & then trick-or-treated in their neighborhood. Purely as a coincidence, Lea's twins were Buzz & Woody, so Daniel & his two best friends were all dressed from the same movie.

From Halloween 2009

From Halloween 2009

Colin went as a very bundled-up baby! It was COLD once the sun went down!! As usual, he was a complete trooper.

From Halloween 2009

We started at Chris & Lea's neighbors' house. Boy, these people put on quite a production!! I was amazed that Daniel bravely went up to all of the scary stuff they had out. At one point, he was dancing with one of their headless monsters! It was priceless. After they got candy, tho, they hurriedly got out of there. One of the motion-sensored skeletons managed to scare the bejeesus out of William.

From Halloween 2009

From Halloween 2009

Another house in their neighborhood had their golf cart dressed up, too! One of the twins, Will, is a bit hesitant, for lack of a better word, about a lot of things. He & Daniel have very similar personalities!! Ironically, it was Will who ran up to the "Batmobile" to have his picture taken while the other three hung back. William eventually got up his courage after he saw Will get up there, but Daniel & Luke wouldn't go near it. Here are a few snaps of the brave boys & Batman and Catwoman:

From Halloween 2009

From Halloween 2009

From Halloween 2009

And, my surprisingly brave boy having a conversation with this "Halloween witch". He's told me at least twice/day since Halloween that Halloween witches AREN'T scary!!!

From Halloween 2009

William loved this house with the crime scene tape & the undercover police car with the real flashing lights! They had a "body" that had been crushed by the garage door. My little thinker was fascinated by it all:

From Halloween 2009

Overall, it was a great success. Daddy missed trick-or-treating again because of a work conference, but we've decided that next year, we're gonna converge on his conference. It's in Orlando!! Mickey's not-so-scary Halloween party, here we come!!

Just because it's cute...

From Colin pics

Just because he's such a happy, smiley baby! Colin got all bundled up to watch big brothers and their friends run around the front yard. He LOVES being outside these days & as long as I keep him warm enough (he hates being cold!), he'll stay outside for hours, just watching them!!

School parties

The school Halloween parties were today. The kids do all kinds of crafts, including making masks and/or hats to decorate themselves & then go around the school for some trick or treating. Then, it's back to the classrooms for snack-making, more craft time, and some games. The boys had a ball!! Here is Daniel in his spider hat during trick or treat:

From big kid pics

And having a snack:

From big kid pics

And, making his "spider" out of an Oreo cookie, pretzel sticks, and mini-M&Ms:

From big kid pics

From big kid pics

Mmmmmmmm.....what a YUMMY spider!!

William made an owl mask (look closely--it's on top of his head!!):

From big kid pics

Here's his class, waiting for their party to start. William is all the way to the right, peeking around the easel--little imp!!!

From big kid pics

At his snack table, waiting to frost his cookie:

From big kid pics

A cute pic of poor Shelby, who still wasn't feeling too well:

From big kid pics

And, both Simmons girls:

From big kid pics

Me and William:

From big kid pics

And, a nice shot of William's friend, Hayden, playing "pumpkin bowling". My batteries ran out before it was William's turn :-(

From big kid pics

Colin's new trick

So, he still hates cereal! It's been 3 days now & I'd hoped to have some progress, but watch as I basically force-feed him because he won't open his mouth, and when I DO manage to get some in there, he's developed a darn-funny way to get it out. Be sure to watch all the way to the end, because he doesn't get cookin' until the last few seconds. My sweet, funny little man!

From videos

And, so it begins......

From Colin pics

We did it. We broke out all the feeding paraphrenalia. Our little guy will be 6 months old tomorrow, so we bought some cereal and started solids. Now, our older two were very excited by this prospect. When they saw the spoon coming toward their little faces, they wiggled and giggled and opened WIDE. Colin, not so much! To say he was underwhelmed would be to put it mildly! Check out how "excited" he is:

From Colin pics

Now, I have to say that his eyes DID light up. Once. He opened his mouth slightly & I managed to get a teensy bit of cereal in. He quickly made a HORRIBLE face, shuddered deeply, and tried to figure out how to get the stuff OUT!

From Colin pics

Note the look of betrayal he shoots Daddy behind the camera. I could almost hear him thinking, "What the heck are you letting her FEED me????"

From Colin pics

Next time, he keeps his lips tightly shut as I try to shove a little cereal between them. Please note sweet big brother Daniel in the background trying to encourage him! Daniel was just adorable trying to get Colin to open up!!

From Colin pics

And, here is how it all ended. Not so much a success, I'd have to say.

From Colin pics

Our first Jack O'Lanterns

We've never actually carved up a pumpkin before. Neither Scott nor I have ever taken part in this Halloween tradition. This year, the boys wanted to do it. They've been watching Halloween specials on TV & have been talking about it at school, apparently, so they wanted to "make a face on a pumpkin". I must confess, I looked up some tips on the internet. It was more daunting a task than I thought it would be! We pulled out a couple of sharp knives, a couple of Sharpie markers, and dove right in. Here is how it progressed. First, we cut off the top & scooped all of the pulp & seeds out. The boys LOVED this part--anything to legally make a mess!!

From big kid pics

From big kid pics

Next, it was on to the faces. William & I dug right in, but Scott & Daniel planned their attack with a couple of Sharpies:

From big kid pics

From big kid pics

Once the faces were done, we grabbed some candles & lit them up. The boys were SOOO excited!!

From big kid pics

And all of us with the finished products:

From big kid pics

From big kid pics

The boys can't wait until it stops raining so we can put them on our front stoop!

Happy Early Halloween!

We always try to pull our Halloween-inspired gear out for the whole week before Halloween. That way, we get into the Halloween spirit AND the boys get more use out of their once-a-year gear! Here is Colin rockin' the pumpkin hat all the boys have worn. Hmmmm.....maybe I'll post a few retro pics of the big boys in it, too. Stay tuned!

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

And, here he is in the first of our Halloween shirts. William and Daniel couldn't wear this until their SECOND Halloweens, but it fits Colin just fine. Here is my almost-6-month old in an 18-month shirt and 12-month jeans!

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

Post-Disney

So, we left 80-90 degree weather to come home to 40 degrees! And, it felt so much colder coming back than it had leaving! Of course, the first thing the boys wanted to do was drive their monster truck, so in true Palen-family form, we headed outside in our jammies for some morning fun:

From big kid pics

Mom & Dad even got in on the PJ action, with coffee in-hand, of course! This was one of William's efforts:

From big kid pics

Don't we look lovely????? The boys were so happy to be home & to see all of their stuff, but of course, the question we heard all day was "when are we going back???"

WDW--Last Day

We saved Animal Kingdom until the last day.

From Disney 2009

From Disney 2009

We started the day with breakfast with Donald and friends at Tusker House. The food was wonderful & the kids (i.e., Daniel!) had finally warmed up to the characters.

From Disney 2009

We finally met Mickey Mouse!

From Disney 2009

And Daisy Duck:

From Disney 2009

Goofy:

From Disney 2009

And, the wait staff was entertaining, too! Overall, it was really a very exciting experience. Here's my own personal Mickey Mouse:

From Disney 2009

After breakfast, we took the safari ride & got to see lots of animals! The kids were super-excited to bounce through the savanah and see lions, elephants, and tons of exotic animals. Here the boys are, climbing on the elephant statues:

From Disney 2009

From Disney 2009

From Disney 2009

Even Colin got in on the action:

From Disney 2009

William got to meet Jiminy Cricket at the insect house:

From Disney 2009

Here's my little guy about midday. Can you tell it's day 5? I look exhausted, too!

From Disney 2009

And, Daniel's favorite food on the trip was the chocolate cake we had for dessert after almost every meal. Grandpa Sam was a trooper about sharing!! Check out this messy face!!

From Disney 2009

And, the HUGE mouth as he waits for his next bite:

From Disney 2009

After lunch, it was back to the hotel for one more afternoon at the pool with the fabulous volcano water slide!! The boys LOVED our hotel. Overall, it was a great trip. We were pleasantly surprised by how well the kiddos behaved and especially how well Colin did. And, it was a nice surprise to find out how many rides Colin could actually go on, especially in a baby carrier. Anyone with a baby who's planning to head to Disney absolutely NEEDS a baby carrier for the rides. It definitely takes the weight off standing in line (pun intended!!). A stroller alone just won't cut it since you have to park it when you get in line.