A Team Week 111: Halloween & Beyond

Oh.My.Goodness!!  I may be biased, but these kids are ADORABLE!

This week was not at all what I expected for reasons that I may or may not write about some time in the future.  We made plans for dinner, plans for my day off with the boys, and plans to relax but none of that happened.  It was a tough week, exhausting my body, mind and soul, but we pressed on and made it through.

With the week behind us though, we move forward and try to simply focus on the fun and family time that we had together, and since that included Halloween for 2016, we now have some adorable batman/dinosaur/mouse pictures to go with!

So the week started off with Halloween right off the bat.  The boys were having a costume party at daycare so they got to go all dressed up.  Since I wasn't sure if Avery would make a mess of his costume, I sent him to daycare in my old mouse costume so that his dinosaur costume would be clean for trick-or-treating that evening.  At first, he didn't want me to put the costume on, but then I showed him what he looked like in the mirror and he must have changed his mind.  I was told by his daycare that when he needed a diaper change later in the morning, he got mad that she had to temporarily take it off!

My Batman and Mouse!

I love those cheeks!

A mouse and his cheese

Who knew Batman went to Daycare?  :P

Avery & Asher with some friends at daycare.

The whole daycare gang.

After daycare and work, Eric, Avery, Asher and I headed outside to go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  We didn't go very far (just a few blocks), but the boys had fun and were excited about their "loot".  By the time it got dark out, everyone was tired and ready to head back home for some dinner.  Along the way we walked past a house that had some decorations outside that we realized a bit too late moved.  Asher and Eric first walked past a skeleton laying on the ground and nothing happened.  A few seconds later though, Avery and I walked past and it started crawling forward just inches from Avery.  That was basically the end of our trick-o-treating.  After that (and the fake dog that the same neighbor that lunged at our stroller) Avery wanted nothing to do with being outside in the dark and refused to walk on his own.  He just kept crying and say "NO Dowie!, NO Dowie!"  :(  As we made it back to our street, we did stop at our neighbors' houses saving our favorite neighbor Marge for last.  As soon as she saw us, she got up to go and get a special treat for our boys...In addition to giving them candy from the standard bowl, she also handed each of them an entire unopened bag of Goldfish crackers!  Gotta love Marge!  As soon as we left, we noticed she turned off her lights and was done passing out candy for the night...she had apparently just been waiting for us!  <3

Asher waiting to head out for CANDY

A Bat and his Pumpkin.

As I mentioned above, the rest of the week was really not at all what we had planned for and so for the most part we went into survival mode until the weekend.

Avery lighting up my water glass with Asher's bedtime turtle

Halloween cards in the mail from Grammy & Gramps.

Video: I LOVE THIS!

When the boys opened their cards from Grammy and Gramps and realized that each of them got a full bag of Jelly Bellies with them Asher started yelling I LOVE THIS!...so we sent a Thank You Video to Grammy and Gramps!

Later that night I posted this on Facebook: 

Tonight the boys each got a bag of Jelly Belly candies in the mail with a card from Grammy & Gramps. The bag had Captain Hook on it and each flavor was called "Jewel Apple, Jewel Cherry, Jewel Grape, etc.". A minute ago Asher came up from downstairs crying that Avery ate all his candies. I asked Eric if he was telling the truth and Eric said, "Yes, I had to squeeze his cheeks and about 12 came out." I couldn't help picturing this scene from one of my all time favorite movies: Goonies Mouth & Jewels Clip

On Friday morning we were met by the cool, crisp air of Fall and the steam rolling off the field as the sunlight hit them that morning took my breath away.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but best I could get driving to work.

When work was over on Friday, I could not wait to get home and start my weekend to rest and recover from the week behind.

Snuggles always make this Momma's heart happy! :)

Saturday morning snuggles

Watching the street sweeper go by.

My little strawberry thief!

A quiet Saturday night game with my love after the kids were asleep.  I lost, but it was a good way to spend our evening nonetheless!

The boys cleaning up our yard on Sunday morning.

Video: Leaf Jumping

After church on Sunday, we were making lunch when Avery looked at Eric and I and said, "Poop."  I asked him if he needed a change and he said no.  Then he said it again and I asked if he wanted to sit on the potty (after I inspected that it was indeed a poop-free diaper), and he said yes!  We ran over to the potty and he sat for a while, but got no results.  Even so I was excited that he has been showing interest in potty training, so I asked if he wanted to try big boy undies (knowing that it would likely end in a mess).  He did and I layered up two pairs on him.  He was so excited to be wearing big boy undies that he kept running back and forth from the dining room through the kitchen and into the living room saying "Bi Oy".

Video: Our Big Boy

After lunch and naps on Sunday we finished out the week with a fall family walk in the woods.  A quiet moment with my favorite boys to prepare my heart for a new week ahead...

Finally, to close out a very long week I introduced the boys to Disney's original Cinderella.  They loved it!  Every time the mice came on the screen Avery pointed and jabbered and every time music came on he danced.  Both boys were completely glued to the TV to the whole time and my heart was full for these little prince charmings. :)