Happy Halloween!

Finn LOVES going to The Little Gym!

My monkey

Finn was out there running around with the big kids.

Friday night we went to The Little Gym's Halloween party. It was a nut house, I've never seen so many people at there! The boys had fun and it was a good way for them to burn off some energy before bed!!

Finn refused to leave his hat on.

Trunk or Treat, round 2

clever.
(the stack of papers says "Healthcare Reform Bill")

playing games

Finn having a snack while Cullen plays.

bounce house = (some) sugar burned

Zoinks!
(he really said that as I took this picture)

sleepy boy

the loot from today's Trunk or Treat

Cullen handing out candy.

Our Halloween is over. Well, Halloween is over for Finn and me. Cullen's Halloween will last until the next big thing- my guess is, his birthday. (I don't think Thanksgiving will count for much in Cullen's book.) It was a busy day. Cullen went to a Little Gym make-up class this morning. Then after nap we went to a Halloween Party at a friend's church. They had Trunk or Treating, 3 bounce houses, games, cake walk, etc. We actually won a cake. (Like we need any more sugar in the house!!) We then made our way home to trick or treat on our street and then Cullen handed out candy to our trick or treater's.

Cullen's wig and goatee would make adults laugh out loud when they saw him. Several people told me it was great, seeing how both boys' costumes went together. Originally, I wanted Cullen to be Scooby Doo and Finn to be Scrappy Doo. But Cullen wanted no part of it, he wanted to be Shaggy! I was just concerned no one would know who he was, but I was wrong. I'd say 90% of people knew without him telling them.

Cullen is/was on cloud 9! In between trick or treaters he would giggle and say "Halloween is the best!" then fall in my lap. He was a little nervous ringing the doorbell of some of the houses on the block, they looked a little creepy. He also made some of the scarier kids trick or treating at our house work for the candy. He'd make them talk to him before he'd even open the door ( it was reassuring to hear a kid voice come from such a scary mask.) But he sure didn't let on that he was nervous after they left- he'd tell me "I wasn't scared." or "That was just a mask." One little girl came to the door in a princess costume and he said to her "You look beautiful." That cracked me up. His reply to another kid who said the standard "Trick or Treat", was "Zoinks! That's what Shaggy says." Then tonight as I was tucking him into bed, I told him to stay in his room and don't come out, and he replied "Aye, aye captain." as he place two fingers on his brow. I have no idea where that came from, but it made me smile. As I turned off the light and closed the door he chuckled to himself and said "Ahhh, that was hilarious."

more Halloween fun

Cullen putting eyes on the ghosts

For some reason, I think he ate a few eyes too...

Helping clean out the pumpkin.
(now I need to clean the floor)

Cullen making his scary face

Cullen wanted me to be scary too.
(Cullen took this picture, not bad! Finn had knocked the candle
over inside the pumpkin twice before we got to this point.)

My mom got me a Halloween Cookbook, and Cullen could hardly wait to start making the fun treats. The other day we made some ghosts.
Tonight we carved our pumpkin. Cullen wanted no part of using his hands to clean it out, he opted for a spoon. He wanted to do a scary pumpkin- so above is my interpretation of a scary pumpkin. Notice the stitches? He got into a sword fight.

We toasted the pumpkin seeds too. Of course I had to bribe Cullen to try one. He finally gave in and actually liked them.

my 'lil pumpkins

What am I supposed to do with this??

Cullen's masterpiece

Finn had a little help with his...

These pictures are from a few weeks ago. We haven't seen sunlight for a few days now... not to mention we are in the middle of a blizzard right now! I feel like I'm at Fort Drum again...

a trip to regain my sanity

the boys with cousin Clare

Cullen was excited to see Clare again

If only Finn had been looking!

playing Memory with Coco

Getting ready to Trunk or Treat with
cousins Adah and Arley

This witch was trying to talk Cullen into eating
her "Army Man Soup"... if only she knew...

I was on the brink of losing my mind last week. Sean had been gone for 2 weeks and SOMEONE had been sick for those whole 2 weeks! What better to do, than pack up and drive to Grandma & Grandpa's?? That's what we did! We spent almost a week there and I was able to recharge my batteries. It was a fun and unexpected trip. Now I'm back to reality... snow, laundry, dusting....

boo at the zoo

My cute duo- Scooby Doo and Shaggy

Cullen was excited to see this Star Wars Storm Trooper

waiting in line

feeding a giraffe

on our way to see the hippos

Cullen's brave,
this Darth Vader was doing that loud breathing thing...

The boys and I went to Boo at the Zoo tonight. It was really fun! It was all decorated and there were 20 treat stations set up throughout the zoo. Of course Cullen was in Heaven! He could barely wait to put on his Shaggy costume. The costumes were a hit, several people would laugh at my Scooby and Shaggy as we walked by. I was pretty surprised at how many people realized what Cullen's costume was. The wig makes it. In fact, the first time Cullen tried on the wig Finn couldn't stop laughing. He was letting out those huge belly laughs, so much so, he fell on his bottom and laughed some more.

in the center ring

In case no one really "gets" the fact that my house is very much like a circus... here's an example. Yesterday I was in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch. I hear Finn getting frustrated, I tell Cullen to back off. A few seconds later I hear Cullen wailing. I walk in to find Finn on all fours looking at me and Cullen holding his arm and screaming. I really can't blame Finn for biting Cullen (and just about drawing blood), everyone has their breaking point. When I say that Cullen is in Finn's face ALL DAY LONG, I mean it literally. Cullen is millimeters from Finn's face at any given moment. I prayed for this spunk Finn is showing, Lord knows he needs it. And God is good.

As I told my friend Faith about this on the phone today, I was saying they are only 1 and 3 and they are already fighting. I imagine they are really going to come to blows when they are older. She responded, "Well Finn is setting his boundaries for Cullen. Once they are well established, it will probably end." I told her that was a great thought, but nothing in my 3+ year relationship with Cullen has lead me to believe he's good with boundaries. So it continues... the greatest show on earth.

out of the mouths of babies

Today we had stamped concrete put in where the step off the deck will be. So there were two Hispanic men laying the concrete in the backyard all day. (Which totally entertained the boys, they were glued to the sliding door all day!) Cullen says to me, mom why are those guys black? I thought he we go, I've known this day would come... I explained that they're not black, but their skin is more brown. I tried explaining they are called Hispanic, we are called Caucasians, etc. I tried explaining that different people are different colors b/c of where their families are from... A few hours later we were walking down an aisle at the grocery store, when Cullen exclaimed "Mom, I see another BROWN person!" If you know Cullen, you know anything he says is about 3 levels too loud, forget if he's excited about something. I quickly tried telling him everybody is different, but we just don't talk about it. So back at home Cullen, watching the men work again, tells me- "Is that guy Diego's dad?" Apparently it's starting to click with Cullen that everyone's different.

On a different note... I'm working with Cullen on my name, Sean's name, the city we live in, the street we live on, etc... Yesterday I asked Cullen what my name is... he told me my first and last name correctly. Then I asked him what his dad's name is... he answered "Citibank." Taken back, I said no Cullen, what is daddy's name? He promptly replied "Citibank." I could have died. Can you imagine what his teachers (let alone a good samaritan- if he was lost or something) would think if that's what he told them? They would probably think I refer to my husband as Citibank! (Which I DON'T!!) My mom told me he probably answered that way b/c he was bored with me asking him easy questions. He's known for awhile what our first and last names are.

All I know is, this kid is going to get me or Sean in trouble someday! God bless us and save us.

extreme sports- toddler edition

Tonight, Cullen and I were doing a puzzle before bath. So Finn, never bored, took some of his pj's I just washed out of his hamper. He entertained himself for about 20 mins (which ='s eternity in toddler time). He thought it was hilarious to put the pj's over his head and walk. He wiped out a few times, but like I said, to him it was hilarious. This child is such a daredevil!

Nothing sweeter than baby buns!