happy and merry and turkey and trees...

such a busy time...lots of memory-making going on here.

occasionally we bring the animals to the zoo:

Grrr...

 the greenberg train show is always a hit with this guy.

 the little ones like the train ride.

 and the popcorn of course.

a whole order of steamers.

 and he ate them all. that's a mama's boy for you! 

 jack and ben had their first dental visit.  

ben loved his blue teeth.

jack loved his cool lightning mcqueen sunglasses.

 little boys will sit still, open wide, wait, gargle...anything for an oversized balloon at the end.  

playing at the museum of science.

lunch

 hanging out at school.

 playground

 ben stripping at the playground with a splashpark. it was 40 degrees out. thankfully the water was off. sigh.

jack and ben playing at the elementary school playground while waiting for dismissal.

looking at cloud shapes

the wonderful school-wide walk days usually happen on the worst weather days...

and yes, the construction is still going on. and on. and on. good entertainment for the boys!

happy halloween

i thought halloween would never, ever end this year. once we pulled out the box of decor that was it. jack was scared of everything, and ben would only wear old costumes. every day. for all of october.

just hanging out..with a couple of dogs.

a tight fitting cow costume turned PJs

the new walk of shame. for mothers who didn't win that morning.

yup...day, night, whatever.

no, ben, the hat costume makes you a cowboy!

 the three of them were so spooked at the real halloween store we had to leave. i looked like a mama jerk because i was laughing so hard but boy it was funny. every time we drove by the little ones would cry to go to the "pooky store" so we did. and every time they left in tears.

officer matt

 super man.

batman. arrrr. (he growled as batman)

 heading out to trick or treat.

 matthew followed all the rules, "trick-or-treat"ing and "thank you"ing. ben ran to the candy bowl and grabbed as much as he could. one man scolded him. jack needed a little encouraging. some folks in the 'hood really go all out with the decor.

wish i could say i threw away all the old costumes in preparation for next year...but i just couldn't.

sweet six

birthday month is over. he still doesn't really know if mom is 29 or 35, and still just says dad is "old as dirt," and after nine months of calculating "how many days until my birthday again?" it was finally time.

 we had a birthday party last saturday with his friends.

jack and our new friend, jack.

guess who the party pooper was?

   last year we celebrated with a birthday snowstorm and this year we had hurricane sandy.
and although i get an F for preparedness with a couple jugs of water and a broken flashlight...

 ...we survived and woke up to anooother canceled school day!

and many presents.

 so we baked and sampled the birthday cake...

(i know, i know, my worst one ever. a "camoflouged, hurricane cake") 

...and put on our T shirts and shorts and headed outside with scooters and some pals.

(it was in the high 60's and gorgeous on the no-school day birthday)

this little sweetie may have the same sugar addiciton/reaction as his mama.

and this is what the birthday guy requested for dinner. and yes, he ate it all! (harter genes shining bright here)

mr. sweets pulled over a chair and snuck into the cake when no one was looking..

it's hard to believe my biggest guy is six.

he has real friends, and plays sports, and goes to a school with his own locker. and water fountains. and a classroom flag with the pledge of allegiance pasted just underneath.

he's impatient and inquisitive. he asks ten thousand questions a day. and wants to know how to spell everything we see. every. thing. we. see. he loves his mama's jokes and even makes up his own. cries a little, torments ben a lot, and is just my bestest buddy.