Fall Fun

This Fall has indeed been fun. We finally moved back into our home and after several late October days in the high 80s the temperature is slowly turning Fall-ish. We have been very busy with all this fun!

Connor's school had their Fall Festival. She was a little tired getting up from her nap to go... But the gardens were beautiful and the day couldn't be beat.
There was a storyteller...
Festive decorations...
And tons of great activities. I especially liked the Pet Rock Decorating!
And the classic Halloween game - a cake walk!
There were even pony rides. Connor hopped right on and give it a whirl.
We joyfully welcomed our first houseguests. After being in close quarters for two years it warmed our hearts to throw open our doors to entertain. Our first overnight guests were my parents who came down and whipped up some needed magic to help with home improvement projects. Thank you Mom and Dick!
Mom has such an eye for design. She pulls everything together so nicely. I especially love the way she took the random rocks we collected from the Normandy beach called Etretat (in France) and arranged them just right in the curvy, silver bowl. An infusion of Europe - perfect.

The very same weekend cousin Michael came to town with his sweet girlfriend Corey! Connor was in heaven with so many doting guests. Michael and Corey were kind and patient playing Connor's games and seeing all her toys.Fall also means Halloween! Boo! We didn't really celebrate Halloween in Belgium. There wasn't widespread trick-or-treating or anything like that. To come back to find nearly every house decorated with webs and spiders is terrific. Americans go all out with their decoration, don't we?One of my favorite neighborhood Halloween traditions is "getting BOO'd!" I think it is a relatively new phenomenon. One day we came to our door to find the following...
And inside a note explaining the concept:
It is like a Halloween chain letter. You are supposed to in turn take 2 small treats to 2 neighbors after 'being BOO'd'. By posting the sign below on your door, you indicate you have been boo'd already and thus it is supposed to spread right through the neighborhood.
Finally, last weekend we had some of our best friends over for a small Halloween party. The kids wore costumes - which were adorable. We had them bob for apples which proved to be a big hit.Everyone was surprisingly brave dunking their heads in to bite the apples. It took a little coaching with those logical ones who wondered why they couldn't just reach in with their hands to get one.Yes, Fall fun is in the air and all around. I am so happy to be back in our own home in time for trick-or-treaters and the falling leaves.

Puppet Bday

I am playing blog "catch-up" this morning. Forgive the overload.

Birthday parties when you are in preschool are intense. The unwritten rule is that everyone in the class is invited. Ahem, that is TWENTY children + parents! And the trend is to do them outside of your home - let someone else worry about entertainment and cleanup. Madeline is one of Connor's best friends at school. Her party was at the Center for Puppetry Arts - which was fantastic. We all saw a puppet show of Rumpelstiltskin for the first hour and cake the second. There must have been 80+ people there to celebrate Madeline's special day! Sophia is another friend from school. Madeline did a great job blowing out her candles. Let the sugar rush begin!We spied Big Bird and other iconic Sesame Street puppets.
The Center for Puppetry Arts was a great find for a birthday party spot. We even left with hand puppets of our own as favors!

Thank you Madeline!

Boo at the Zoo

For Halloween this year Connor is a CUPCAKE! She is very proud of her costume......and especially her cupcake wand!I think she looks like the Cupcake Princess from the Candyland game!

Yesterday we joined Hailey, Maury and little Sarah Ann for "Boo at the Zoo!"

The kids wore their costumes and ran all over that place. It is probably the only time the animals are the background at the zoo. They had candy stations, music, characters, dancing and of course BUBBLES!BOO!!!

Spooky Work

When you work in Pediatric healthcare Halloween is a big deal. Or maybe I should say dressing up is a big deal! The best I could muster were fun necklaces and festive tights. Which just happened to match Connor's sleeves. At work my Endocrinology division won the trophy for best costumes. They were all "Superheros!" I brought in a sheet to wrap around me as a cape - but others were fully costumed.
What a trophy it is! Proudly displayed in our Division Chair's office!I loved Karen's costume of "Static Cling" with a dryer sheet and socks tacked to her clothes.The kids loved it! And business went on - costumes and all. Superheros seem appropriate; our physicians are indeed just that everyday with treating these kids!

Frazer the Bird

Frazer the Bird lives at Connor's school. She loves saying "Good Morning!" and "Goodbye!" to Frazer every single day. You can sign up to take Frazer home for the weekend so we decided to give it a try. A trial pet with only a weekend of responsibility! Poor Frazer. It must be a hard life to have preschoolers poking at you all the time. And a new house to visit every weekend. Frazer came complete with a cover. Every night his cage is covered up for some peace and quiet. Much deserved.
Frazer came complete with instructions....
The most important below....
It reads, "Parents, there is only one rule: If anything should happen to Frazer in your care, we understand, we just ask that you replace him (same color)." Too funny. Although when we buckled Frazer up in the seatbelt to return to school I sighed in relief that we didn't have to enact the "same color" rule!