It's been a long time

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. I would love to catch you up on Halloween, Christmas, and more, but it just isn't going to happen. For now the posts will be short and sweet. We will start from this point forward. I would like to introduce you all to our newest additions Murphy Mae and Winifred Francis. They were born on November 11, 2011 (Marshall's birthday.) For those who played the guess when the babies come game, Brayden won. Brayden we owe you your prize - dinner out. Murphy Mae was 5 lbs. 12 oz. and Winifred Francis weighed in at 5 lbs. 7 oz. Now, they are two and a half months old, and Murphy Mae weighs 9lbs. 9 oz and Winifred 8 lbs. 11 oz. Our household is a wonderful chaos that is filled with laughter and tears (all of the tears do not belong to the babies.)

Some Fall Fun

Charlie and Hank stay really busy! On Monday, they were enjoying the beautiful fall weather. They rode their bikes and played outside all afternoon. While riding their bikes, they collected leaves. They had a great collection, and they were so proud. Charlie wanted to do art with the leaves, and Hank counted them. As soon as Marshall got home, Charlie took him to see all of his leaf rubbings that he proudly hung in his bedroom.

Charlie's 5th Birthday Party at Moore Acres

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Spiders

We made some Halloween fun. We took an idea from Family Fun magazine and had a great time. Our spiders wouldn't stick to the window, but we still had fun.

Here are some pictures of our spiders.

Is it Halloween yet?

Charlie and Hank have been so excited about Halloween. They have been asking for their costumes since this summer. Charlie is going to be Batman, and Hank is going to be Spiderman. Hank puts his costume on periodically and says, "I go trick or treat. You say trick or treat and get chocolate." We keep telling him it is not time yet. Charlie is learning about the changing seasons and months at school. He knows it is fall and that October is a couple of days away. He couldn't quite understand that Halloween was the last day of October, so we made paper chains. Marshall and Hank used the paper cutter and cut strips of paper. Charlie numbered each strip and stapled them together. Now, they are just waiting for Saturday, so they can start taking down a link a day.

Here are some pictures of their handy work.

What's an Oreo?

I love to make and eat cookies and brownies. We rarely buy cookies from the store, and if we do, we buy Milano's (my favorite.) I went to the store last week and saw that Oreos were on sale. I guess since I'm seven months pregnant that looked pretty good to me. I got a pack of double stuffed Oreos.

Last night I told Charlie I wanted some junk food.

Charlie: Want to make brownies?

Me: No, what about an Oreo?

Charlie: What's an Oreo?

I couldn't believe that Charlie, four years old, did not know what an Oreo was. He does know where to find the best chocolate chip cookies :)

Charlie's "B" Bag

Last week Charlie was telling us about the letter bag that they have at school. He told us that he would get a turn to bring the bag home and fill it with things that started with the letter of the week. Of course, the first letter was "A." Charlie didn't bring home the letter bag, but he talked about all of the things that he would put in the bag if it was his turn.

This week, the letter is "B." I don't know whose turn it is to take the letter bag home, but Charlie took it upon himself to make his own letter bag. He walked all over the kitchen and playroom sounding out objects to see what could go in his bag. He looked at the tomatoes and sounded out the t sound, so he moved on to bananas. He was so excited every time he found a "B" word. He took a bag, bow, bubbles, banana, batman, boat, and ball. He had so much fun.

This morning he took his bag to school. Marshall said that he got out of the car, and his teacher, Ms. Angie, asked Charlie what was in his bag. He said, "I'll show you when we get to the classroom." It is so much fun watching Charlie and Hank learn new things and to be intrinsically motivated to learn. They just have this excitement to learn, discover, and explore. I hope that it will last a lifetime.