Dear Santa,

This is what Micah would like for Christmas.

In related news, we did not win the Powerball jackpot.  Therefore, feel free to work your magic on any and all of these items.

No Turkey, Only a Ham

Lots of people are focused on turkey this time of year.  The Blacks?  We just have a ham.

Thanksgiving Feast

Yesterday was Liam's Thanksgiving Feast at preschool.  Tim stayed home with a sick Micah (who missed his own kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast) so Liam and I ate together.
Liam came as a pilgrim!

With his friend Nicolina.

His beautiful table setting included a pumpkin and a placemat, both of which will grace our Thanksgiving table in a few days. Oh, and the Chick-Fil-A watch was leftover from a church event a few days prior.  Nice giveaway! ("Eat More Turkey...")

Liam and me just before we feasted.

This is the only food picture I took, shockingly.  But he did eat enough lunch to get his cookie - and gave thanks for the whole thing!

While we were eating, I looked out the window and saw that there was a pink semi parked in a lot next to the preschool playground.  Two things my boy loves? Trucks and the color pink.  You don't often see those two together, so when I did it was time for a photo op.  

And now Thanksgiving week begins...

Heinz

Sometimes Tim and I swear that Heinz is looking at us and saying wistfully with his eyes, "Remember when it was just the three of us?"

Happy Birthday, Pop-Pop!

Since we can't sing it to you over the phone, we thought we'd do a performance for you via the blog.  Turn your volume up.  Happy birthday, Pop-Pop!

No vowels necessary

Vowels are totally unnecessary when describing your thankfulness for your little brother, who apparently can do pretty good splits. :) 

Seeing our kids show these random displays of love, whether it's in their school artwork or when one asks to take an extra piece of candy so his brother can have one or in many other ways, is one of the greatest joys of parenthood so far.

Halloween, the Event

This was the first year that both of the boys were totally into Halloween. From picking the pumpkin to picking their costumes, there were excited about it all.  So we did it all!
We went to our local farmer's market (no pumpkin patch close by that I'm aware of) and picked out a pumpkin.  Because the ones that were left by the time we went, which was a week before Halloween, were the baking ones, the gourds, or the ginormous ones. They each got a small gourd and shared one huge pumpkin.

Micah was all about coloring his gourd.

 

They really loved their pumpkin.

Of course, they didn't want a regular smiley faced pumpkin, but instead chose a railroad crossing sign.  Hopefully next year they have a better grasp of how hard it is to be artistic on a pumpkin and go back to the traditional gap-toothed grin!!

Liam had a Halloween parade and festival at his school.  Here's our little garbageman walking in the parade.

Liam and the ladies of his class.  One tiger, six princesses, and a garbageman.

The cutest three-year-old boy in the world, at least according to his parents!

His classroom job on Halloween was holding the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.  Since I cropped it close, you can really notice the "dirt" all over his little garbageman face.

Fun at the Halloween carnival!

With his good buddy Nicolina.

Doing the sack hop.

Ready to take on the neighborhood to get their candy...

...or maybe they're ready to take on the world.