Halloween 2011 Part I

Due to the October Nor'easter that blew into town the day before Halloween, trick or treating was cancelled in Lynnfield (until Sunday Nov. 6!  Gah!).  And this Nor'easter brought a few inches of snow, too.  In October!  When we went to sleep in the middle of the storm, it felt like we were in the dead of winter!

Anyway, Alanna and Drew were in town, since they lost power in CT.  We were all going to trick or treat together in our neighborhood but when things got cancelled, we came up with the idea of an impromptu Halloween party at Ches Fredette.  A few minutes later, we realized that we could just pile the boys into the car and head to Momo's house in Stoneham, where trick or treating was still on.  So, to Stoneham we went.

And we had a great time!  Daddy met us there on his way home from work, and all three boys got to trick or treat together for the first time.  When we went to cousin Cameron's house, he joined us, too!  It was a great night, and I'm so glad that we thought to head to Stoneham.  Momo has the perfect trick or treating neighborhood.  Here are the pics:

The Snowstorm Shots:

Zach getting dressed for the snow!

uh oh.  my glove's not on right and I'm freaking out!

Gabe getting dressed for the storm, too!

all ready to go out and play in the snow

cutie!

starting to build a snowman

holding the carrot for the snowman's nose

Zach's turn to hold the carrot

we didn't even have time to bring in all of the outside toys before the storm hit

my glove isn't on right and I'm freaking out again!

Henry stole the carrot!

my glove again!!

our (armless) snowman!

pretty good, huh?

Zach was not loving the outdoor time.  Can you tell?

Zach came inside to watch the rest of the snow play from the window

Gabe & Dada making snow angels

snowball fight!

inside for some homemade hot chocolate

believe it or not, I only took a sip.  I didn't even finish my hot cocoa.

"the hot cocoa is warming my belly"

The Trick or Treating Shots:

waiting for baby Drew to arrive and looking for him out the window

a Halloween hug!

where are you, Drew?

Drew's here!

the little lion

three little boys on Halloween

eating dinner before trick or treating

I made the boys take off their costumes to eat (so they wouldn't get food on them...)

Halloween dinner

Zach's ready to trick or treat

two little boys, holding hands & trick or treating

three little boys trick or treating

seriously?

snow on Halloween!

walking down the street

trick or treat!

trick or treat!  (there's Cameron the fireman)

the pumpkins were amazing this year

that's a real person trying to scare the kids

and this is a real person, too, who was following me

another real person---this house was way too scary for the kids!  I averted Gabe's eyes.

back at Momo's after trick or treat (and eating my first Cheez-It)

having so much fun and giving Nanny an impromptu hug

and a hug from Zach, too

eating my Halloween treat!

I love this shot.  He looks a little shell-shocked.

for the second year in a row, Zach ate through a candy wrapper to get to the chocolate (unbeknownst to us)

and he's so psyched!

for real?



A "Morning" With Gabe

Gabe came into our room at 5:30 AM this Saturday morning, which means that it was pitch dark out.  He laid down with us for a few minutes before he couldn't stay still any longer, and we had to move into his room where we didn't continue to disturb Daddy, who was trying to sleep in.

Seeing as it was pitch dark out, I convinced him to lay down in his bed with me. He turned to me and said, "Can we move in here?"  When I said, "hmm?" as if I didn't understand his question, Gabe said, "can you and I move in here together to sleep?"

Laying down in Gabe's bed didn't work for long, so we headed downstairs to "sleep" on the couch.  When we got downstairs, it was still pitch dark, and Gabe said, "look at my glowing eyes.  I can see in the dark because my eyes are very active.  See?"

There were some other funny things that were said, but those two were the funniest to me.  As I type this post, he's sitting right here beside me, and I'm letting him hit the Return Button.  And, it's still pitch dark out.  And it's not even 7:00 AM, yet.  This is going to be a long morning with Gabe.

I Think Zach Might Be A Closet Genius!

So, Zach's language is totally exploding, and he's pretty surreptitious about it.  I mean, I didn't even know that he knew his ABC's until the other day, or that he knew (most) of the words to You Are My Sunshine.  He completes the sentences of books now, which I also just found out.  But since he's not quite as verbal as Gabe was, or better yet, because he has to compete to get words in, I'm always shocked when he says something unexpectedly smart.  Plus, he's my baby, so I always see him as being young and not able to do things that Gabe was already doing at his age.

Long story short, I bought the boys some really nice bagged popcorn this afternoon because I'm starting to feel guilty about all of the chemicals (and now purported toxic BPA in the microwave popcorn bags).  I told Gabe that the popcorn was Daddy's favorite.  After tasting it and in reply, Gabe said, "me, too."  And then Zach says, "me, three."

What?  Me, three?  How does he even know that that's an expression??  I'm telling you, he's a closet genius.

Marriage

I have so many events to post:  Halloween, a birthday party, a visit with Drew, etc.  But, it's been another long week with Jason's work, and I'm tired.  But, I had to post about this:

For two days in a row, Gabe has asked me to marry him.  First it was Nini that he wanted to marry, then it was Zach, and now it's me.  I don't remember what we were doing the first time that he proposed to me, but yesterday I'd just given them dinner when Gabe asked, "Mom, will you marry me?"  The last couple of times, I've said something to the effect of: "Oh, buddy.  You are so sweet.  I love you, too.  And we'll always be together because I'm your Mommy." 

This morning, he said it again at breakfast, and this time, I felt like I needed to explain.  So, I told him that I'm already married to Daddy, but that I love him so much and that I'll always be his Mommy and therefore a part of his life.

When I was putting him down for a nap just a short while ago, Gabe said that he wanted to marry both me and Daddy, and then he added that he wanted to marry Zachie, too.  My heart literally melted.  Melted, I tell you.  In a puddle.  Melted.  The End.