Happy Halloween!

This year Nathan was SO excited about Halloween!  He was giddy going to bed the night before, and this morning he came running out of his room, saying, "Hey Mom, Dad, I was just thinking, it's Halloween today!"  They have a Halloween parade at the kids' daycare, and I made sure to block out time in my calendar to go and join in the fun and of course take photos of the explosion of cuteness that is a bunch of little kids all dressed up.  There were a lot of other parents there who came to join in the fun too, so there were cameras everywhere.  It was pretty awesome chaos.

Preschool!

My super excited dinosaur.

Dinosaur was the most popular costume at the school today, with three just in the preschool room!

Nathan and his teacher, Miss Elaine.

The first sighting of my sweet little lobster!

Seeing her big brother turned dino

Ellie, the dinosaur-riding cowgirl. :)

Maya, Heather and Maelyn

Natalie and Maya are good buddies.

Parading through the infant room

That is one crowded elevator!

Happy chaos

Natalie was not at all concerned that she was the smallest of the Halloween revelers.

Madeline

My cuties!!

Lobster on the loose!

After the parade it was snack time!

For the evening's trick or treating, we headed over to a party hosted by the Lepley family.  Kathleen lives right in the heart of one of the best trick or treating spots in town, and Nathan and Gavin love trick or treating together.  This year in particular, they had a blast together.  I love it because it's rare that our family and Suz and Bryan have social schedules that coordinate.

My loves

Ready to go!!

Bryan in his awesome trucker costume.

Natalie was fascinated by all of the festivities, especially when safely snuggled in Daddy's arms.

Linus and the Dinosaur, on a mission for candy!

Bryan and Suz

Buddies

On Sunday the Andersons and the Appledorns came over for lunch.  The Appledorns came to town for Becky to take their family photos, and we decided to turn it into a social event too.  I made a big pot of chili, and we all just hung out and let the kids run around.  I was not on the ball about taking photos... but Becky did get all the kids together for a group photo, which I will share at some point.  The kids were in pretty much constant motion, and I was thoroughly enjoying chatting with the grown-ups, but I did manage to snap a few of the Fowle-Appledorn friendships in action.  

Natalie and Brynn

Nathan and Miles (yes, they are sitting in the toy baskets...not sure why!)

Uncle Jord

Jordan was visiting from Colorado for a few weeks.  It was really great to see him, and he got a real kick out of his niece and nephew.  Of course I made them all pose for a photo, especially since Jordan isn't in town often.  It was right before bedtime, so neither kiddo was feeling like posing.  I wish this was in focus, but it's still pretty cute!

Pumpkin Patch 2012

October 21st was an absolutely perfect sunny fall day.  Mom and Dad were over for the first time in ages, and we decided that it was a great day to visit the pumpkin patch.  We were not the only ones with this idea--I'm pretty sure every citizen of the greater Kalamazoo area went pumpkin hunting that day!

Checking out the selection

Cute baby + pile of pumpkins = photography gold!!

That's Gene the Pumpkin Man.  He takes his title seriously.

One of the biggest attractions of the whole place was the big hill, which just beckoned to be run up and down on!

The other main attraction (silly me, I thought the main attraction would be the pumpkins!) was feeding corn to the cows.  All of the kids were so excited about this--I'm pretty sure these cows will be obese by the end of the month!

Party time

One of the reasons we didn't make it to the homecoming football game is that Nathan was invited to his friend Eleanor's third birthday party.  It was at this great kids' gymnastics facility.  There was a wonderful space for the kids to run around and play on the gymnastics equipment and a separate area for cupcakes and presents.  Nathan and his buddies had a blast running around, and I had fun catching up and chatting with the other moms.  The fact that we all genuinely look forward to spending time with the other kids and parents from school is further reinforcement that our kids are in a great place!