2013 Harvest Parade

M and I took the afternoon off from work yesterday to join the kids in their harvest parade at the daycare.  It was cloudy but warm… perfect weather for a parade.  The kids had a good time walking around showing off their costumes, though big sister K's highlight of the day seemed to be the fact that we picked her up early.  Kids and their priorities...

Sleepwalking

When I picked the kids up at daycare yesterday, I asked baby M’s teacher how he slept (being that he didn’t do so well at home).  His teacher AB said he slept fine and then proceeded to tell me that my little boy sleepwalks!  I don’t know why she never mentioned this to me in the past (as she said he’s done it a few times), but I was shocked.  She went on to describe what he did yesterday: he got up from his cot (eyes open), hands were out like he was trying to get something (except there was nothing for him to grab), then he stood up, walked over to the sink, and stretched his hand out as if reaching for the soap dispenser (only the soap dispenser was on the other side of him).  He didn’t respond when AB called out his name.  Eventually, AB went over to him, took his hand, and led him back to his cot.  The next thing she knew, baby M was lying down and sound asleep again.  Very strange indeed!  I told her baby M hasn’t had the opportunity to sleepwalk at home because he’s still confined in the crib, but one of these days, he’s going to figure out how to climb out of it (he’s already trying), and then we will be in trouble!

Trunk or Treat

We took advantage of our town’s Trunk or Treat event this past Sunday… the kids got dressed up in their costumes and went trick or treating in an open space area, where rows of cars had their trunks open (most of them decorated with Halloween paraphernalia) and people were handing out candy.  TY and family joined us for this festive affair and when we got our kids dressed in their costumes, we realized they were in matching outfits (totally unplanned).  Big sister K and her pal L were both in purple princess dresses while baby M and baby C were dressed up as tigers:

Unfortunately, thanks to Trunk or Treat, baby M may now be traumatized for life.  We came across a man dressed in a batman costume who wasn’t at all frightening, but the fact that he was all in black with his large cape towering over my little boy had him scared silly.  Baby M cried hysterically and while I was able to calm him down for the rest of Trunk or Treat, batman certainly left a lasting impression on him.  He refused to go down for a nap that afternoon.  When he finally did at 4:30 (he usually naps around 1:00), it only lasted for half an hour; he woke up screaming, soaked in his own tears.  That night, he woke up crying again and refused to go back to sleep.  It has been that way for three nights straight now, and M and I have been operating like zombies.

Apple-Picking 2013

We went apple-picking at Battleview Orchards on Saturday and met up with TY and his two girls.  It was hot and humid, but the kids had a good time.

Baby M and big sister K enjoyed biting into the big stayman winesaps and golden delicious apples.

Afterwards, we tried venturing through the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins for the kids to decorate, but couldn't find any good ones. We told big sister K we'll let her pick one out at the supermarket instead.

Proud Potty-Training Moments

Baby M’s potty training was put on hold when we went on vacation.  The day after we came back, we were wrapping up with dinner when I saw the “look” on baby M's face that indicated he had to go. I asked if he had to go poopy, and he said yes. I then asked if he wanted to go in the toilet, and again he said yes, so I rushed him upstairs to the bathroom. As soon as I had him seated on the toilet, he went and did #2… and even peed afterwards! I was so proud of my little boy I started shouting, clapping, and giving him high fives.

Last night was a rough one for M and me.  Baby M just did not want to sleep.  He took a nap for a few hours, then woke up at midnight demanding to play.  This boy is even more stubborn than I am, so he would just cry relentlessly for hours straight (to the point where he throws up).  At one point, he told me he had to go pee pee.  Knowing how sneaky my son is, I suspected this was a ploy to get out of his crib, but at the same time, I didn't want him to get discouraged from being potty trained, so I took him into the bathroom and seated him in the toilet.  After a minute or two of trying to knock my eyeglasses off my face and laughing, he actually did pee!  Let's hope this brings him one step closer to being potty-trained.

Disney Trading Pins

While at Disney, big sister K saw a lot of people with lanyards around their necks.  I never knew this, but apparently, pin trading is a big thing at Disney.  People go around with pins on their lanyards and can trade it with anyone working at Disney (you would see most of the employees wearing lanyards filled with Disney pins).  Big sister K asked to get one for herself, and being the sucker parents that we are, we agreed to. She chose a princess lanyard (of course), and we got her two pins to start off with. She didn’t quite understand what the lanyard was used for and the concept of pin trading, but that night at the hotel, we stopped by the gift shop and big sister K made her first pin trade with a cast member. She was about to trade away her second pin (Ariel from the Little Mermaid) for a Tinker Bell one that she liked more, but the person working at the gift shop was so nice and allowed big sister K to keep both pins.

Once we got home, M found an old 2000 Disney pin that he got as a gift 13 years ago, so there was another one to add to big sister K’s lanyard... hence, she just doubled her collection to four pins. I went on eBay and found people selling them in lots of 25 or 50 (so much cheaper than getting them at Disney!). Supposedly, they are legitimate and can be traded at any Disney location, so I am thinking of buying a set for big sister K as part of her birthday present next month.

You can't see the pins too clearly here, but here's big sister K showing them off.

Disney World 2013 – Day 5

We were afraid that the torrential thunderstorms would return, so we waited until our last full day at Disney to visit Animal Kingdom (since most of the attractions there were outdoors).  I know a lot of people who like Animal Kingdom the most out of all the theme parks, but I felt like we did and saw the least amount of things here (it didn't help that the park closed early at 6pm).  Baby M actually fell asleep in the early afternoon, so I spent over an hour pushing him around in the stroller, going from one souvenir shop to another in order to avoid the sun, heat, and humidity.  Meanwhile, M and big sister K enjoyed a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari and saw all the exotic animals in the park.

 

Donald Duck has somehow become baby M's favorite character.

I'm still not sure why we took a picture with Rifiki, but baby M seemed to like it.

 We can never get enough of Mickey and Minnie.

Just the kids.

Disney World 2013 – Day 4

On Wednesday, we headed back to Magic Kingdom.  We did a whole bunch of stuff we didn't get to do earlier in the week, but my personal highlight of the day was quite possibly seeing big sister K as part of the act in the Monsters, Inc.  Laugh Floor comedy show.  They tried to make it interactive and every once in a while, the camera would focus on a specific person in the audience to either poke fun or have them participate in a joke.  One of the acts that came on identified an audience member as each of the characters in the movie, and when it came to Boo (the little girl from Monsters, Inc.), big sister K’s face was plastered on the big screen.  She smiled, and when she was told to do peek-a-boo, she covered her eyes with her hands, then uncovered them, and repeated the motion a few times.  I don’t know if she understood what was going on, but she just went with it; I was so proud of my little girl!

 

When big sister K saw Tiana, she said to me, "This doesn't look like Tiana."  But she took a picture with her anyway.

 More family photo opportunitites!