Fall 2012

Summer came and went in a flash - now we're well into our fun fall activities!  Noah and Evan started their fall soccer league on Sunday, August 26th and have played 6 games since then.  They're really enjoying this season!  Their cousin Michael was playing too, but he unfortunately broke his arm the weekend after their first game, so he was out for the rest of the season.  We miss him out on the field, but we're so happy his arm is healed now!

On Saturday, September 1st, we threw a big surprise 60th birthday party for my dad.  It was so much fun!  We are so happy that so many friends and family came to celebrate such an awesome man in our lives.  He is amazing!!!

On Tuesday, September 4th, Noah and Evan started preschool!  They loved it as soon as they started.  They go on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-11:30am.  Their teacher's name is Ms. Miki, and they seem to like her a lot.  She is a very nice person.

On Friday, September 14th, we took Noah and Evan to the circus for the first time.  They enjoyed it, although Noah did tell me, "Mom, I think I'm a little bit bored" towards the beginning of it.  Joshua got to spend the evening with Michael and Mia at Uncle John and Aunt Theresa's house.  He LOVES playing with his cousins, so we knew he would have a great time doing that.

September 15th was our 5th wedding anniversary, so Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike spent the night with the boys and we stayed the night at the Raphael hotel (where we stayed the night we got married).  We had a lot of fun eating and shopping on the plaza that night.  The boys loved spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa and have even asked me when they can do it again several times since then.
On September 21st, we went to our annual Royals Game.  They won, and we even got to stay for the great fireworks show at the end.  We also got to see Uncle John and MJ!

We've also been to some birthday parties and had dinner at friends' houses this fall.  Noah, Evan, and Joshua love playing with their friends.  On one Saturday, the boys' Grandma Cathy took us to Powell Gardens, where they had a lot of forts that the boys played in...their favorite was the pirate ship!
This past Tuesday, October 9th, Noah and Evan got to go on their first field trip!  We took the big yellow school bus to Faulkner's Pumpkin Farm and had a ton of fun with their classmates.  They got to go on a hayride, listen to stories about pumpkins, climb through a blow-up caterpillar, go through a sorghum maze, eat lunch, and pick their own pumpkin at the end of the day.  They both say the pumpkin picking was their favorite part.

On development notes, Noah and Evan are still doing great.  We'll get to go to Parents Night at their school this coming Monday night, so Brian and I will get to see what they do on a daily basis there.  They are still learning letters and both still like to color.  They love doing puzzles and love using their imaginations and playing together.  Sometimes they say things that we're amazed by.  They both still sleep really well, though we have been having some issues with them not going to sleep at a decent time after we put them to bed.  We're working on a solution :)
I can describe Joshua's development in one word this time - VOCABULARY!  His vocabulary is exploding and he can say so many things now.  He is already using some three-word sentences, which is awesome.  He says, "I don't know" when he really doesn't know the answer to your question, and can say "I love you" as well.  He can say a lot of animals names, along with their sounds.  He says "Noah" all of the time, and we're still working on "Evan."  Other than that, there are dozens of other words he uses daily.  He is still sleeping very well in his crib through the night, which was a huge milestone for us as a family.  We're all sleeping much better :)