Halloween 2017

This year's Halloween wasn't too eventful! It was so cold, that we lasted only about an hour out trick-or-treating, and were home before it even got completely dark.



Sutton was Spiderman and Ren was Catboy (from the show PJ Masks).

And can't forget the comparison collages!

I just look at Sutton's height compared to mine in 2013 and then 2017, and it makes me a little sad!

My parents came over and we walked around the neighborhood.

We're always like the first ones out, even though we waited til 6 to start! After awhile, we finally found some houses where people were home. The boys got full buckets, but not crazy full like last year.

There's one cul-de-sac near us that has 3 houses that go all out. This was on that block:

And this:

And this. They also all had firepits out in their driveways with fires and they were all sitting outside, handing out candy. Love it.

After awhile, the boys decided it was time to go home (even though Ren said "Mommy? I LOVE trick-or-treating" about 5 times during the evening). Papa Bruce had been driving his car slowly behind, so we all piled in there and went home. This was the awesome sunset happening just as we were going inside.

Last week, Ren had his school Halloween party on Thursday. They had a costume parade and a fun little party with food and games after.

None of the other kids followed the direction to sit quietly and wait for their turn at the game, except Ren. It was pretty cute. Especially with that little tail sticking out. He definitely seemed quieter and not so goofy in his school atmosphere than he does at home!

And then Sutton had his party on Friday. They also had a parade around the school in their costumes, and then we went back to his classroom for food and games.

We went over to Daddy's classroom a little bit before school let out, because his class was also having a party. Sutton got to step in the pool of noodles they had for a game. GROSS.

Then on Sunday, our church had a trunk or treat in the parking lot. I'm glad we got to wear our costumes so many times! We found a friend who was dressed as Gekko (from the same show as Ren's costume).

Adam set up a trunk and passed out candy to all the kiddos. His was camping themed. It was awesome, everyone loved it! He just piled all his camping gear around, and then put a smoke machine under that pot and covered it with firewood. He told everyone he was making candy stew. :)

There were trunks decorated as Dr. Seuss, Christmas, Star Wars, and this super cute one was Fantastic Beasts. These people had dressed their three dogs up and one of them even did tricks. Loved it.

Sutton liked the football toss. You got candy even if you didn't win!

And Adam found a buddy. :) You see his face looking through the window under the neck? Haha!

Now that Halloween is over, it's time to decorate for Christmas!!

First Day of School | Sutton & Ren

This year was a first for us that will continue for the next 12 years - the first time both boys had their first day of school on the same day! Sutton started 1st grade today, and Ren started preschool, both at Maize (two different schools, but the same district).

 The official photos! Always "fun" to try to get real smiles from them. I always have to break out the potty humor. Ha! Here are a few more.

And some outtakes of Ren because he's such a goober.

This last one isn't necessarily a good face, but I wanted to show off the shirt he picked for the first day. He was so excited about his "camping shirt." It says "Hike a trail" but each letter is a picture and so this morning, he held it up and read it like a story. "You know what my shirt says Mommy? Go. in. tent. climb. tree. catch. fish..." and on and on. He even used pauses like Sutton does when he's trying to read something. Love it.

I took both boys this morning since it was the first day. Usually, Adam will drop Ren off with a friend who will take him, and then Sutton will go with Adam since Sutton is in the same building as him. But today was special! I wanted to get a picture in front of his school, but the booger wouldn't smile for me.

The preschool just built a new building this summer, so Ren is in the first class there. It is a beautiful building and has this big bug mural in the lobby.

We were the first ones to his classroom. Ren's "real" teacher is on maternity leave, so a couple of the paras greeted us. One of them recognized Sutton from back when he was in preschool and couldn't believe how tall he'd gotten. Ren went right up to her and gave her a hug. It was pretty sweet. Then the other gal took him in and helped him wash his hands.

They went to go hang up his backpack. Then she took him over to the toys and he was good to go. I told him I was leaving, and he just waved without even looking at me! He'd given me a hug earlier, so I was good and just went with it and left.

As Sutton and I walked out, I told him it was hard for mommys to see their babies go to the first day of school. I teared up a bit but he talked me down. :) Now it was time to focus on 1st grade, and he was so excited!

We got to his school, and took a picture outside. We always go in the back door since it's closer to his classroom, so it's not very pretty. We waited outside the door for a bit, then they let us it. Sutton and I were walking down the hall and he saw his teacher waiting outside the classroom door and he got SO excited that he teared up a little. He went and gave her a huge hug and we went inside. He put his lunch and PE shoes away, and hung up his backpack. We took a picture with Mrs. G. His face says it all!

I had him sit as his desk for a picture. In Kindergarten, they just had tables for desks. Sutton loves his real desk. He calls it a hollow desk because you can put stuff inside of it.

He gave me a hug and I gave him a kiss and we told each other I love you (I wonder how many more first days I'll be able to get an unprompted "I love you Mommy!" from him). As I was walking out the door, he went to do lunch count. This is a smart board, they find their name and use the pen to drag their name to the correct lunch option.

That little girl in this last photo is the daughter of his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Merseal. He is so excited that she's in his class this year!

And that's it! Both my babies are at school and it is completely surreal. I couldn't help but think back as I was driving them to school this morning...to the time where I so desperately wanted to be a mom and it wasn't happening, and I wasn't sure if it ever would. How far we have come! I'm driving my boys to preschool and 1st grade, and talking about Mario Kart along the way. Love!