Trick or Treat in St. Joe

Last Friday, downtown St. Joe had an event where businesses pass out candy to mobs of cute kiddos in costumes! Of course, we had to get in on this Halloween event. 

Pirate Evan and Dada.

Arr!!

Mailman Ryan & Pirate Evan

Evan is examining his loot.

At one place, the lady started talking to someone and stopped passing out candy, so Evan reached in to help himself. Way to be assertive, little pirate!

The carousel was giving free rides. It was all decked out for Halloween and they were playing spooky music.We almost didn't stay because it was a long line and it was getting late, but I really wanted to wait it out. The boys did great. Ryan is no longer petrified of carousels. Evan is more tentative, but was okay with it, as long as I stood next to him. I stepped away to take this picture and you can see the worry on his face. We all had a lot of fun!

On our way back to the car, we stopped by this bouncy house. Ryan is really getting into those lately. This one had a slide on it. He went down this slide repeatedly and squealed with gigantic smiles each time he came barreling down. I've never seen him laugh like that! It was awesome. We may have to look into renting one of these things for his birthday.

Pumpkin Farm

There is this cute little pumpkin farm near us. They decorate the house big-time for Halloween. You can also buy pumpkins and mums. They have a little area set up for kids to play. We visited this little farm on Wednesday. The boys had fun running around the play area and we bought some mums, which I love. 

I am certain we have a blog entry from last year's visit to this fun spot. Here are some shots from 2011.

I was surprised by how willing the boys were to put their heads through these little holes and stay put while I tried to get some pictures. They are such sports!

My attempt at some festive pumpkin pictures. I love the look on Evan's face in the first one. He's so over it. That is Ryan's "say cheese" face.

 They came to life a bit when Burke got them to make some silly faces. 

Breathing Easy

Last Thursday, the boys and I took a trip to Grand Rapids. We stayed in a hotel (one of Ryan's favorite thing to do) overnight. Thursday evening we had dinner with my college friend, Allyson, and her family. On Friday, we went to the Grand Rapids Zoo which was set up with a Halloween Trick-or-Treat Trail. We met another old friend, Renee, and her son for our zoo adventure. 

The boys were a bit under the weather for this trip. Ryan especially was coughing A LOT. During the night at the hotel, his coughing got worse and I noticed he wasn't breathing easily. None of us slept well. I was getting worried for him. I almost headed home at 4 a.m. But we powered through, mostly because Ryan wanted to. 

Pirate Evan and the inflatable ghosts at the zoo entrance. Ryan wouldn't get near them. 

Evan learned the art of trick or treating. He had fun on the train and did a great job taking in all the sights and sounds.

Ryan was coughing so much and wasn't breathing normally, but he powered through. 

Still curious and active, he rode the barrel horses with Evan...

...and played on the train...

...and tried to pet the turkeys...

...and played bubbles with Renee's son James and Evan.

As we headed home, I called the pediatrician for an appointment. Later that evening, after an oral steroid, ibuprofen, a breathing treatment, and a chest x-ray, we ended up back at home with 2 prescriptions and a nebulizer. Ryan was having his first asthma attack. Poor kiddo.

The trip wasn't a total bust. I think we all managed to enjoy ourselves to varying degrees. I'm really hoping and praying that Ryan doesn't have asthma to the degree that I do. Maybe he'll grow out of it, like Burke did.

Four days after that doctor appointment and he's not using the nebulizer. He seems to be on the mend, as are Evan and myself (we also had the respiratory bug). We're all breathing a little easier.

Musical Morning

I'm finally getting around to capturing on video all the singing that Evan does. Here he sings a little medley of 3 of his favorites, Baa Baa Black Sheep, ABCD and Moon, Moon, Moon by Laurie Berkner.


Ryan sings an interactive version of Old MacDonald, just like Dada does. 


Evan sings Old MacDonald, just like Dada & Ryan do. It's another of his favorites. 

This is one of my favorite things to watch. Sometimes he goes on and on and I run out of animals to list. Evan really likes singing Old MacDonald. He does it a lot, more frequently than Ryan. 

And the finale...a Day-O duet.

Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman

Special Delivery!

Ryan is ready for Halloween!

18 more days...

First Haircut: Take 2 and More...

We first got Evan's hair cut at a Great Clips and we weren't super thrilled with it. I wanted to try a real barber for the next hair cut, which just happened to occur last weekend. We were much happier with the results, but as you can see, Evan is still very much unhappy about being subjected to the torture that is a hair cut. 

This barber was good/methodical. He was no-nonsense. He pretty much told me to stop hovering and made Evan man up by having him sit in the chair by himself (not on Burke's lap). We all survived and will actually probably return to him the next time around. 

Ryan got a hair cut too. No tears, but definitely tuned in to what was happening to him. 

After the hair cut, we took a quick walk through the farmers' market, where Ryan got to "play" a violin. Look at the focus.

While I was working, Burke took the boys to a nearby orchard that same afternoon. Joining them were Burke's work colleagues/friends and their son. Here's Evan working on chewing up some sticky caramel apple deliciousness. Love that face...and the haircut!

Picking Apples

I know I've mentioned this before, but one great perk that goes with working at Lemon Creek Winery is that they have a great fruit farm. Yesterday, the weather was so beautiful (the boys are wearing summer clothes!), we just had to stop by Lemon Creek for some apples.

Posing with Pumpkins

Out in the orchard, picking Jonagolds.

Strong 3 year old, who likes to do things by himself.

The Lemon Family owns 150 acres!
Can you even spot Evan in the vast farm?

R & E sample the Golden Delicious. Yum!

In the Dark

There was a pretty big wind storm yesterday, leaving many without power - including us. Armed with candles and flashlights, we proceeded with the bedtime routine. Pre-bedtime entertainment was the truck outside our house working on repairs. 

with flash 

without flash 

Bedtime stories by candlelight and flashlight. 

Luckily, the power kicked back on shortly after the boys fell asleep. I was so thankful when I heard that furnace start up. It was getting pretty cold in here! Thank God for electricity!