First Official Sleep over

Aidan, you and your buddy Brady have taken your friendship to the next level: the slumber party!

 And by slumber party, I mean that we tried are darndest to wear the two of you out for the entire day so you would fall asleep at night.

So I took the two of you to Jump Street, where you bounced...

And played...

And tried to 'fix' the machine...

And played...

...And climbed...

...and bounced...

and tried to fix the machine again...

..and wrestled...

...and played some more...

and flopped...and giggled...and fell.

It was officially the longest time we've ever spent at Jump Street.

Then we came home and did some Play-do.

Then a little chilling time before dinner.

Then some dessert!

 

And after all that, it was time for bed. You and Brady fell asleep very quickly. But in the morning, we woke up to find you in our bed. I told you that your friend Brady was still here...and that he was in your room! You ran to wake him up and said "Brady! You are still here!!!!!" and gave him a big hug.

We had breakfast, Mommy made pancakes, and played outside with the dogs.

 

There were hardly any tears or fights or anything---just one incident whereby you, son, really really really wanted to use Brady's toothbrush. I said no, and you got a little pissed off. But, I'll blame most of that on tiredness, since someone wore you guys o-u-t during the day.

You really enjoyed each other's company. You had some really deep conversations ("Aidan you see the truck?" "It's a biiig truck." "No...it's a blue truck." "No no no no no, it's a biiiig truck.") And you legitimately did not want to leave each other. Brady wanted to stay the whole next day, and Aidan you kept asking for Brady to come play with you.

It's really wonderful to see the two of you growing up...and growing together.

It seems like forever since you two first started hanging out...

and now look at the two of you... 

But as long as there are sleep overs and bounce houses, ice cream and play-do, I'm not worried about either of you growing up too fast; but we're all very excited to watch you grow together.

Our Pumpkins

Fall has officially falled, and that means only thing: good gourd, it's pumpkin time!

Since we live right by the Dallas Arboretum, and are members, and we love being outdoors during the best time of year for good weather in North Texas, we've been taking you kids to the arboretum at least once a week since the weather turned.

 Julia, you were probably too young to remember your first trip to the arboretum last fall, but this year you really got into it. Not only do pumpkins really seem to bring out your adorableness, but they brought out your curiosity too. You touched, pounded, patted and tried to climb nearly every pumpkin they have!

The pumpkins really brought out a lot of good spirits in you, Aidan.

First, there was the obligatory sibling head-gear swapping.

Then some good old fashioned 'countrification..'



You both were regal in Cinderella's Chariot...

And smiles and curiosities just continued to abound. Pumpkins are really interesting that way!

Kisses!

Aidan, you're an old hat at this pumpkin fest already. You love the pumpkins, the hay maze, the little bridge.

 

One thing you weren't prepared for though was Batman. A boy and his mom were taking their Halloween pictures at the Pumpkin patch in costume; they were both Batman. You - fueled by a little hunger and crankiness- really wanted to be Batman's friend and be in every photo they were taking. So, your mom got some felt and hit her sewing machine to super-hero up this place for you on our subsequent visit. You LOVED your masks and even insisted I wear one too, despite that it was cutting off the circulation to my brain. The result was a lot of fun...and some fun photoshoppery too.

So, once we were feeling super, we could continue to explore the pumpkin village even more!

We even introduced Asher to the pumpkin patch!

All in all, I really love fall. There's just something about these round orange gourds that seem to amplify the cuteness of our little punkin's.

But best of all, going to the pumpkin patch and playing in the great outdoors is just a solid excuse for some amazingly refreshing cool air and equally rejuvenating family time.