"Treat!" "Thank you!" "Next house!"

We began our Halloween evening at our annual neighbor- hood block party and potluck. After everyone had eaten, the kids strutted around in a parade, played for a bit, and then dispersed to ring doorbells and fill their buckets with candy.

Ace and Ben loved trick or treating this year. They started out saying "trick or treat" but after a few houses, shortened it to, "treat!". It makes sense, since that was what they wanted. And oh how they loved reaching in and grabbing their candy. After ten or so houses, it went something like this:

Ace: "Treat!"
Ben: "Ben treat too!"
(both grabbing candy (nicely))
Me: "Say thank you."
Both: "Thank you!"
Ace: "Next house!"
Ben: "Yea, next house, Ace! Come on!"

They really had it down. Ben was most excited at the house that was giving away lollipops. He said, "Oooh, suckers! I like suckers! Yea, Ben!" And Ace excitedly told his daddy all about the play dough one of our neighbors gave him. We stayed out so late that we missed all the trick or treaters that would have stopped by our house. If anyone needs some candy, head on over!

Pumpkin Painting

Check out our video!

Busy Halloween Week

In the last four days, we've attended three Halloween parties. And we have one more tomorrow. And this mommy is just about Halloweened-out. But tomorrow, we'll paint our pumpkins, join our neighbors for a block party, and then end it all with some trick or treating. The buddies can actually say, "trick or treat" this year (although I don't know if they'll say it at people's doors) and I'm excited!

A quick summary of the last few days:

Friday: Between the two of us, Steve and I, put in 16 man-hours creating Ace and Ben's train costumes, made out of diaper boxes and oatmeal canisters (two things we have in excess). Cute, huh?

Saturday: We attended their friend Mia's 2nd Annual Halloween Party. It was a blast with more than 70 people attending. There were games, play dough stations, lots of great costumes, lots of great food, and some drinks for the grown-ups.

Monday: Ace and Ben and I attended their Halloween Parade and Party at school. The parade was a hoot. The whole preschool dressed up and sang Halloween songs for the parents. Then, each class paraded around the gym in all their glory. Our two year old class didn't completely get it (or at least didn't want to sit and watch while the other classes paraded), but they had fun. Ace and Ben were very proud of their train costumes and strutted around the gym like they owned the place.


Tuesday: 11 moms, 1 nanny, and 26 kids came to our house for our 2nd Annual Halloween Party Playdate. The kids played in our bounce house and Play Hut maze, created Halloween magnet crafts, decorated cookies, strutted around in their costumes, and ate a festive lunch of mummy dogs and apple slices. After all the festivities, our house looked like a tsunami hit it, but everyone pitched in to clean up and we're back to normal now.

Check back tomorrow for pics from the big night!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

The buddies and I met some friends at Sweetberry Farm this morning, to take part in their Pumpkin Patch and enjoy their many other Fall activities. Many of you may remember our trek to this farm in late Spring for blackberry picking. Our trip today was just as much fun, if not more so. Four other moms from my multiples club joined us and collectively, we watched after 12 kids, aged 3 and under. An interesting side-note is that those 12 kids came from only 5 pregnancies.

Sweetberry Farm's fall activities include: scarecrow stuffing, a cornfield maze, pumpkin painting, hay rides, homemade pumpkin ice cream, and an informal petting zoo of goats, horses, donkeys and chickens. Our kids took part in the petting zoo and a few enjoyed some ice cream. The rest of the time was spent running around and discovering the many pumpkins and gourds.

Ace and Ben's favorite part of the day was playing in the boat filled with pie pumpkins. They also enjoyed an old truck, filled with more pie pumpkins. These two enjoy many different modes of transportation, especially when filled with pumpkins. Ace is really into colors now and enjoyed telling all his little friends that the pumpkins were "organge". Each boy got to pick out two pumpkins and both hugged them all the way home.

Daddy's Fans

The buddies spent some quality time this evening watching their daddy's softball game. Five of the men on the team have twins (although two of them are my girlfriend's husbands, who recently joined the team). Ace and Ben and their friend Sawyer enjoyed running up and down the bleachers, scootching trucks, giving each other wagon rides, and occasionally yelling, "Yea, Daddy!". The final score was 10-6, but Sawyer's mom and I were so busy that neither of us know who won the game.

Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum

We had an errand to run downtown this morning, so we used the trip as an excuse to tour Austin's Umlauf Scuplture Garden and Museum. The museum opened in 1991, after Charles Umlauf and his wife donated their home, studio, and 168 pieces of his sculpture to the City of Austin. For a mere $3.50, the three of us toured the lovely gardens with bronze sculptures throughout.

The museum docent gave Ace and Ben each a "seek and find" sheet with a few photos of the sculptures and we enjoyed identifying and circling them as we toured. The buddies particularly enjoyed the small animal sculptures. They saw a rhino, a rooster, a wild boar, a horse, a hippo, and a dog all in one child-friendly area. Another favorite was the anatomically correct baby boy. They pointed out all of his many body parts - feet, hands, head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and of course his "pee-pee".

My favorite sculpture, "Hope for the Future", depicts a father and mother holding up their infant son. Ace pointed out the "Mommy", "Daddy", and "Baby" in the piece. I wonder if he was confused that there weren't two babies...

Three Years of Pumpkins

Forgive me for being nostalgic, but after taking the boys by the pumpkin patch at their preschool this morning, I started thinking about our other pumpkin pictures. Is this really our third Autumn?? Each year, I've dressed the buddies in their favorite Fall clothes (okay, not this year - today's was a spur of the moment trip) and trekked them out to a pumpkin patch for pictures. Our first Autumn, they couldn't quite sit up, but I love the pictures of them slouched over the pumpkins. I remember thinking how much easier it would be to get a good picture when they could sit on their own. Last year, they could sit, but wouldn't sit still long enough for me to snap a picture. I remember thinking it would be easier when they could understand me when I asked them to sit still and smile. So, this year, I calmly explained to my almost 2 1/2 year olds that they should sit together, look at the camera, and say "cheese!". Ben obliged (at least for a second) but Ace was too busy bowling the pumpkins to bother. I love all three pictures like only a mommy could. Maybe next year it will be easier...

5 months old

17 months old

29 months old

Learning about Autumn

The buddies and I awoke to a glorious, cloud- covered sky this morning and headed out of the house to celebrate the first day that feels like Autumn. Well, it sort-of, feels like Autumn. The temperature here is 79 degrees but there is a distinctive crispness in the air. Really! At one of our favorite parks, we found a lone tree whose leaves decided to turn. The buddies took turns picking leaves off the poor little tree, proclaiming, "organge!".

They spent the next hour and a half tromping all over the park. They counted the dinosaurs a dozen times, practiced what they call "big jumps" off the larger playscape, played on the swings, tackled the balance beam, and ran through the neighboring woods. We had the entire park to ourselves so I guess our neighbors didn't find the ominous skies as inviting as we did.

All Is Well

After a short trip to the hospital with Ben on Thursday, we are all home and healthy. I don't want to take up too much blog space writing about coughs and sniffles and wheezies and RSV so I'll try to keep it short and post something a little more fun as soon as I can.

Ace was a model patient during his stay at Dell Children's and it is safe to say that he was a favorite among the nurses and respiratory therapists. He is such an easy-going kid and took everything in stride. A very nice Child Life Specialist brought him loads of puzzles and trains and once he felt a little better, he had a grand time playing in his bed. The new hospital has so many fun things to offer their patients. Ace was in contact isolation in his room and didn't get to check out most of it but during my early morning coffee run I saw lots of playrooms and many outdoor play areas. I hope we're never sick enough to return but I'm glad to know it is all there.

After this episode and considering their daddy's history of asthma, our pediatrician is fairly certain that both boys will eventually be diagnosed. Since respiratory problems are one of my slightly irrational mommy fears (funny, I prefer my kids breathing), I'll be watching them closely. My hospital bag is still packed with essentials like toys, books, movies, shampoo, protein bars (so I can keep my strength up and not have to leave the room to get food), a change of clothes, and a hair dryer. Hopefully, I won't need it and hopefully I'll find the strength to unpack it soon.

Ben's trip to the ER. It was an unnecessary trip but my mommy-fears got the best of me.

Ace sleeping with his little friends in the hospital. The middle bear, named "Woo-Woo", was given to him by the friendly EMT on the ambulance ride over. Get it? Ambulances go "woo-woo". Ace loved that!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Ace, yesterday.

Ace, today, at discharge.

Many of you know that Ace and I spent a few days at Dell Children's Center for his acute asthma attack, brought on by RSV. I'm running on fumes and will write more later, but wanted everyone to know that Ace and I are home and he is doing great (as shown in the picture above). Grandma arrived this afternoon and is taking good care of all of us. The buddies are thrilled to be reunited and spent the afternoon chasing each other around the house. We'll check back in with our pediatrician tomorrow and report back soon.