Halloween x 3

We had a fun but exhausting Halloween weekend. We ended up gong to 2 parties and then taking the kids out on Halloween. We did a lot of dressing up, which I love.

Friday night was a party at my boss's house. He pulls out all the stops-pony rides, balloon artists, pumpkin carving, smores, you name it, he had it. We were not a united front that night. Ryan was Don King and Madden was his boxer. I was Ursula and Harper was my Ariel (we won the costume contest). As you can see from the picture, Lincoln was Ironman.

Saturday night was our other annual Halloween party at Ryan's brother's house. We decided to get a little more themed and we rounded out the cast of The Little Mermaid with Ryan as King Triton and Madden as Sebastian. I am proud to say that I made everyone's costumes but my own which I borrowed.

Halloween came around and we met at my mom's house for some pre-trick or treating dinner. Lincoln had to throw a few energy bombs (no idea what Iron Man really calls them) at me so I could capture his true persona.

This was Madden's first time to trick or treat and since he doesn't really talk well he kind of just yelled 3 syllables at people. It worked and he got his candy. He only made it to a few houses though because he kept wanting to eat as he was collecting. It wasn't working out so well because he wasn't bothering to have us open the candy for him. We found 1/2 chewed up candy in the wrappers in his bucket when we got home, gross.

We had a good time, I love Halloween and I love dressing up as long as I have a great costume. I better start thinking about next year's costumes so I'm not trying to make them day of. Maybe next year we'll be KISS......

Pumpkintown

Due to time constraints (or the fact that we didn't want to drag 3 kids too far away), we decided to try out Pumpkintown. We went a little close to Halloween so it was a tad crowded but not too bad. This was Madden's first time at a pumpkin patch where he could actually walk around. It was quite amusing. Apparently, Madden had his own method for picking pumpkins.

"Hey Madden, let's go and pick a pumpkin. What are you doing?! Quit licking them, wait, are you kissing them?" Maybe he thought we said let's go and kiss a pumpkin, not pick a pumpkin.

"Madden, let's go over here and pick pumpkins. Can you pick one up? Oh, wait, stop kissing them." I promise you that I could have taken more pumpkin kissing pictures but I got tired. I think he tried out each one that he passed.

Lincoln enjoyed jumping on the hay bales.

If any of you have been around Madden, you know he is a big boy in a tiny body. He is certain that he can do anything that his big brother can do. I think this picture kind of sums up how I think he feels most of the time. Little guy in a big world.

Lincoln found himself a perfect pumpkin. It did not go home with us because I am too cheap to buy one of these $20 pumpkins. We left with $2 ones.

Harper was pretty much wondering why we dragged her to the pumpkin patch on a windy day. It's not easy on her hair.

And, alas, the attempt at the group shot. I had to make it quick because it was a dirt floor and apparently Lincoln is not as strong as he thinks he is. You can barely see Ryan's hand at the bottom of the picture. Believe me, you can never be too safe.

3 Months Old

Time is flying by and I am barely getting a chance to document it. It is very true that with each subsequent child there are less and less pictures taken. Poor Harper never even got a birth announcement. Maybe I'll make one just to keep for memory sake. Anyways, she is already 3 months old (almost 4) and I really need to buckle down and quit making excuses.

Here's a few facts about Miss Harper:

1. She loves to smile and is starting to coo.

2. She gets a very concerned look on her face when Madden comes too close to her. This could be because he lays on her and likes to poke at her eyeballs.

3. Madden calls her Ha-Ha, which is very cute (okay that was actually about Madden, but whatever).

4. She weighs about 11ish pounds.

5. She can manage to keep her daddy's undivided attention.

6. Her hair is getting wilder by the minute.

7. Her thighs are getting chunkier by the minute.

8. She is cute, cute, cute.

Okay, I know that wasn't much, but that's all I got for now. I will post more pictures up as I take them. Until then, enjoy this last pic of this cute little crazy haired lady.

Backyard Guest

*Warning*-Do not read any further if you have any sort of phobia towards eight legged creatures, you may faint in your seat.

This is in my backyard.

Not by choice, although it is contained.

Apparently, this may become our new family pet, again, not by choice.

This thing is huge, those are Lincoln's feet.

I'm with you on this one, buddy, that thing is CREEPY!! We have learned though that tarantulas eat crickets. Apparently, the best crickets are fortified ones from the pet store. I mean really. Can't it just eat yard bugs? Hopefully, we don't kill the poor tarantula. If there is anyone who actually really wants one of these things then let me know. I would be more than happy to give it up.

A Concession

I have a concession to make, not to be confused with a confession. I have told more than one person lately that adjusting to having 3 kids has been, well, awful. I have to clarify my statement a little because I don't want to give anyone the idea that I don't love having 3 kids or that having 3 kids is a frightening thing. It is, in fact, wonderful, fun, and always exciting. You get 3 times the hugs, kisses, and best of all, they fight for your attention. All of a sudden you become 3 times more awesome than you were before.

Now, is it easy, no. Can it be stressful, frustrating, sleepless, and just plain overwhelming, yes. Does it sometimes just make you want to do this, yes. But, it is worth every second and would I trade it for anything else in the world, no.

So, please do not judge me the next time I sigh when someone asks me what it's like having 3. I probably don't mean it : )

Back to Reality

Well, the time has finally come for me to go back to work. I left the 2 terrors and baby sister off at Nana's on Monday morning to begin our new daily routine. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but they were also all 3 asleep. It made for an easy getaway, but required 4 trips to the car, 1 for the bags and 1 for each child, wow! We'll see if I can continue to get out of the house at a decent time. I'm not a morning person so this has been quite an adjustment.

I wish that I had more exciting news than that, but with 3 kids we haven't done much lately. Miss Harper is growing by the minute. She gets lots of love from her big brothers and most of the time it's nice. Madden is still getting himself into every predicament imaginable and has lots of bruises to show for it. Lincoln has started preschool and acts like he's 3 going on 13. He says the most random things and the conversations end like this. Me-"How do you know that?", Him-"I know everything". Okay, who can argue with that.

Well, I will attempt to get some more pics up soon. Hopefully that will include some pictures of Harper's room and our new multi-purpose family room. Right now, I have to go and put a 3-year-old back to bed, and yes, it is almost 11:00 (sigh).