Happy Halloween ABC Kids!

I can not believe that it is November 1st today.

Some times I feel like the days go by too slowly, but overall time is going by WAY too quickly!

It was so exciting this year to finally have Cassie understand and be thrilled about 'trick or treating' and wearing a costome, it gives a glimpse of how wonderful it is going to be when all three of the kids are into dressing up. As you can see from the photos below, Cassie was a fairy princess, a costume that I sewed for her from fabric she picked out at the store. It was pretty amazing to see her fly out of the house and go running down the street from house to house; and it also took her about a block and a half before she completely petered out and needed to be carried the rest of the way.

The twins, on the other hand, were just along for the ride. Brooklyn was a peacock (a costume we had from when Cassie was the same age 2 years ago), and LOVED the freedom of being able to wander from house to house or in the middle of the street at her own will. It wasn't until the end of the block that she realized that if she went to doors, they would actually hand her candy! Thus she would start to walk away and then turn and run back to the door to get more, it was quite comical. Austin was a kangaroo who just wanted to pull the wagon or analyze the glow sticks and the flashlight - it's nice to have one calm one of the bunch!

Here are some photos from the evening and our visit to Pumpkintown the day before. We hope that everyone had a very Happy Halloween!

The fairy princess is all dressed up and ready to go and get the candy

Brookie the 'peahok' as Cassie calls it

(And just incase you had forgotten what little Cassie looked like in it 2 years ago....)

Peacock Cassie Halloween 2007

Austin isn't really sure about this dressing up thing

(yup, Cassie was a Kangaroo too in 2008!)

Kangaroo Cassie Halloween 2008

Cassie hits the first house...

Austin did enjoy checking out all the cool decorations on the way by

As you can see here, Cassie is now off and running to the next house, while poor little Brooklyn hasn't even made it to the door yet

The fairy princess checks out the gargoyl on the steps... she isn't too sure about this

Mommy's pumpkins

The ABC kids at Pumpkintown 2009

Cassie loses her head at Pumpkintown

Austin decides to break the rules and go check out the pumpkin

He really isn't too sure how he feels about these pumpkin people!

The twins stuck in jail!!!

Not to worry, we managed to get Cassie in there too.....

And just in case you were wondering what Cassie looked like the last 2 years that we had gone to Pumpkintown:

My does time fly!

The twins in front of the big pumpkin for the first time

This is the portrait of pure goofiness!

Picking out our gourdes!

How I managed this photo, I have no idea, but Brooklyn's face just cracks me up! She actually has a mouth full of apple here that she is trying to chew, and is enjoying people watching on the porch at Pumpkintown

Cassie and Brooklyn test out the hay maze

Cassie decides that the best way to get through the maze is to walk on the bales rather than around them

Mr. Austin is working his way through the hay maze

Time to carve the pumpkins! This is in the afternoon on Halloween day

What is better than manual labor??? Getting them started early on the learning to rake chore!

Cassie in the leaf pile

Brooklyn decides that dancing and wearing sunglasses while on the train table is far more fun than actually playing at the train table

Happy Halloween from the ABC kids!

All of these and more are here: october ?

Lots of Firsts

This post will be packed with photos, as I just uploaded over 100 photos of the last few weeks (and honestly, this is about a quarter of what I actually took!). We have been so busy enjoying the last few days of summer and the first day of fall that is has been so hard not to take so many photos. Cassie has taken very well to preschool and seems to enjoy the time away from home in her own social environment. I have been taking the advantage of the lighter load in the stroller and enjoying some longer runs with the twins. I am looking forward the perfect fall weather continuing as I love the cooler weather to run in. I will leave you with many photos, that will summarize our activities far better than I will. :)

Getting ready for our super-hero tryouts.... I think that we should work on our WonderTwin Powers!

Yup, looks like EVERYONE in our house is growing, look how big Cupcake has gotten in just 3 short months.

That's our Cassie - super silly

Mommy loves Baby Einstein - it gives me time to load the dishwasher without being bother by two toddlers who like to unload it

Our first trip to the Aquarium this summer, it was a perfect day to look at the aquatic animals

Brooklyn is VERY excited to see the penguins (this I will note was taken about 5 minutes before Dawn walked Cassie to the bathroom, leaving me with the twins near the penguins, where Brooklyn decided that she would sample some random left-over bird egg shell that was lying on the ground, good grief, this kid will eat anything!)

While Austin seems more thrilled with the sign

Checking out the penguins as they go for a swim

WOW, check out the size of this whale!

Little did we know that Austin could speak to the whale - this is my FAVORITE shot of the day

Little Miss Brooklyn

Cassie and the sharks

Brooklyn seems determined that she is going to get her hands on one of those blowfish

While Austin really isn't too sure what he thinks of the blowfish

Cassie and mama at the touchpool

TUBTIME!

Austin sporting my favorite smile, while Brooklyn learns that she will not be getting her license until she is at least 18

Cassie picking our tomatoes, I'll post the comparison photos of her doing the same thing last year in the next post, it really is amazing how much she has grown in the last year.

Look out, here I go!

The little dare-devil!

Post bathtub photo - PLEASE let us back outside!!!

First trip to the orchards for fruit picking in 2009

Um, guys, you missed one...right in front of you....

Austin is contemplating how to get the perfect peach all the way up there

On the tractor ride

Millions of apples in this orchard and this is the biggest piece I get?

Meeting Smoky the Bear at the Firehouse Safety Fair

Having snacks together on the toddler table for the first time

I was actually pretty impressed that the twins sat as long as they did

Well, Brookie sat because there was food involved, and she had managed to steal her brother's spoon, which makes for faster eating!

Brooklyn's first set of pigtails!!!

When her teeth finally do come in (yes, at 16 months she has 4 teeth compared to her brother's 11).

Yes, this toothbrushing thing is loads of fun!

This is our little man at about midnight on Wednesday, as Austin seemed to think that the sun came up and it was time to start the day - um, no, you are off by at least 5 hours!

watching in disbelief as the Yankees take a serious run lead....yuck!

Yup, napping in the same crib, something that we haven't done together in months!

All 101 photos can be found here: Welcome to Fall sept 09

Cassie starts preschool!!!

I just can not believe that time has flown by so quickly, and our oldest daughter is already going to preschool. It feels like yesterday that I was pregnant and getting excited to meet our new baby, and then we were bringing home this tiny little six pound baby girl to join our lives. And now, three years later, we are watching our little girl start her first preschool.

This past Thursday was Cassie's first day, for her to meet her teacher and her new classmates. It was an hour long class called "visiting day" where parents stayed with their children to learn the daily schedule, get a tour of the building and facilities, and help with the new adjustment to preschool. Cassie was pretty tearful on her way to the school, which I really think was because she had gone to bed a little late the night before and was still tired. She had wanted to bring her play makeup to class with her and was pretty disappointed that she had to leave it behind. She was a little tentative as we arrived at school, and stayed close to Dawn and I as we waited in line to meet her teacher. Once inside her classroom, she headed to the home play area with three other children and pretty much forgot that Dawn and I were even there, no tears or fusses! We let her play a bit and then headed with the assistant teacher to see the gym area where Cassie loved running around with her new classmates, and seemed to really enjoy being there with other kids her age. After heading back to the classroom, all of the children sat down for a story from the teacher and then were dismissed. Cassie wanted to stay and play on the playground with some of her new friends, so we gave her a few minutes to play before heading home to relieve my sister who had been watching the twins for us so the we could enjoy seeing Cassie off to school together.

Tuesday will be Cassie's first day of school on her own, which will be only an hour long to help with the adjustment of the kids. I am really hoping that Tuesday goes as smoothly as Thursday went, as Cassie seemed so excited to be with other children and playing with new toys. Here are some photos that I managed to snap from our "visiting day" last week:

Walking down the hall to her classroom to meet her new teacher

Using the "Cassie sized" facilities for the first time, and yes, it took me at least 15 minutes to get her out of the water in the sink.

Enjoying some playtime with some new toys

Dawn and I loved that we were totally observers in the room and Cassie went about her own business doing her own things and finding new toys and friends.

Putting the dolls to bed...

Do you mind, I am relaxing here!

Enjoying a story with the rest of the class

Time to line up for dismissal

Even the day's events seemed to take a toll on Brookie, who passed out during lunch (and she stayed home to play with Auntie Trish and Jake!!!)

From the new album: Its september

We are Blessed (with photos this time)

Oh my how the the summer has flown by.....

I have just realized that the entire month of August is gone in a blink, and it is hard to believe that September is here already, and Cassie will be starting her first day of preschool in just 9 short days!

I chose the title for this post, because it seemed perfect for how amazing the last month has truly been, and a perfect reminder for how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives who continue to make this journey so much more rewarding. We finished up the month of August with a Christening for our three miracles at the Third Congregational Church in Middletown on Saturday August 22nd. Both Dawn's parents as well as her sister belong to the church and were excited that we had decided to have them blessed in the same church as my nieces. We chose to have them blessed on a Saturday with just our close family and two best friends, and followed up the ceremony with a picnic at our house. Dawn's mom did an amazing job making all of the food for our celebritory picnic, the weather was warm (okay, hot!) and sunny, and the kids were absolutely amazing, I don't think that Dawn and I could have asked for a better day. My cousin Brittany and her 3 year old son Lucas also made the trip from Syracuse, NY to join us for the weekend (and take wonderful pictures as well!!) which was an extra special treat for Cassie who loves playing with Lucas. As we both look back on Saturday's events, we realize how truly blessed we are for having such amazing family and friends in our lives, who have supported us so much in our journey of raising a family.

Our beautiful family

check out these little hams!

beautiful Brooklyn

Mama and Austin

our grown up princess Cassie

Cassie and her little brother

Brooklyn and her Godparents, Auntie Kris and Auntie Terri

Austin and his Godparents, auntie Trisha and cousin Zachary

Cassie and her Godparents, Auntie Arlene and Uncle Dan

These photos and LOTS more are here: august recap