Halloween

Once again I am behind but at least thought I should get the Halloween post up before Christmas. Alex and Ava had a very fun Halloween, with Trunk or Treating, class parties, pumpkin carving and of course, trick or treating. They got a mountain of candy, which made them very happy and will probably last them until next Halloween.

This year Ava was a unicorn and Alex was Darth Vadar (yes, I realize Darth Vadar uses a red light saber, but I refused to buy Alex another one).


The kids with their pumpkins and their haul for the night-not too shabby considering they also have their Trunk or Treating buckets inside.

Two Wheels!

At long last, Alex has learned to ride a bike. I feel guilty that it has taken me this long to teach him. We have tried in the past but after falling a couple of times, Alex's confidence diminished and his enthusiasm to learn dwindled, so I put it off. This spring, though, I bought him a new bike to try and get him excited again. It worked but he was really nervous about falling again and really did not want to try. However, this past Labor Day, I was determined to have him learn. We went to the local school parking lot where the surface was flat and where there was a lot of room to practice. After a lot of encouragement and a few threats, Alex got the hang of it and is now a happy bike rider. Way to go, Alex!

First days

Alex started 3rd grade this year and Ava is in her 3rd year of preschool (she missed the kindergarten cut-off by 3 weeks). Both were excited for the new school year and I now have 2 kids in school everyday. It's really nice. After going back and forth for much of the summer, it was decided that Alex would return to the charter school, and so far so good. He has had a much better start this year than last and I really like his teacher-which makes a huge difference. Ava is back at Little Lamb and loves it there. Since she goes everyday, it will really help her get used to kindergarten next year.

Ava's 5th

My little girl turned 5 in August and I can't believe it. I know I say this every year but it's true! It goes by so fast! My babies are growing up! We had a pretty low-key celebration this year. Since Ava's birthday fell on a Sunday, we went out for pizza on Friday (her choice) and then on Sunday, she got to decide what we had for dinner (pizza, again). Afterwards, we had ice cream cake and Ava got to open her presents.

Ava is a really sweet girl who will talk to anyone and everyone. She is very inquisitive and is usually asking a question of who, what, where, why, how about pretty much everything. She loves animals, coloring, playing outside, swimming, riding her bike, playing dress-up, and helping others. Ava is a wonderful little girl and I'm so blessed to have her!

Some of Ava's favorite things:
Color: Pink and purple
Animal: Horses
Song: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (I kid you not)
Food: Pizza, hard boiled eggs, blueberries
Disney princess: Sleeping Beauty


Time for cake and presents!

Canada: Part 2

About 3 weeks after we got back from our first trip to Canada, we went back. My uncle and his family were there visiting from Hong Kong and since we hadn't seen them in 3 years, we made another trip out to Canada. My uncle has 2 boys, Max and Markus, ages 11 and 8, and all the kids got along and had a great time together. We were really busy during our week long stay. We picked some more blueberries, had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and made some s'mores. The kids had a camp out in the backyard. We went to Montreal and saw the Lion King. We visited the Insectarium and saw ginormous bugs, went hiking, rode some ponies, celebrated Ava's birthday, and went to the waterpark. It was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad that Alex and Ava were able to spend time with their cousins.

Canada: Part 1

Right after my New York trip, I came back and the kids and I moved into our new house. My mom and step-dad came down to help and after that we all drove back to Canada. Since it was a long drive, we stopped overnight in Niagara Falls. The kids loved it and as it was also the 4th of July, we got to see fireworks over the Falls. After we made it to my mom's, we got season passes to the waterpark there. I think that was the kids' favorite thing we did during our visit. Alex, Ava and I went 4 times and had a lot of fun each time. We also managed to go blueberry picking and went to the Science Center in Montreal and saw the Indiana Jones exhibit.


Niagara Falls.



Alex and his Indiana Jones whip.


Goofing off in Montreal.

Picking blueberries.

At the waterpark.

I heart NY

I grew up in Connecticut, about an hour outside of NYC so I've been there countless times. However, I've never gone with my 3 good friends-Melanie, Monica, and Cristina, until this June. We've been friends since college and were all at a friend's wedding last summer when we decided to get together every few years. New York was the city of choice and honestly, it was one of the best trips ever. So what did the four of us do? Eat and shop, of course! We ate at some pretty fantastic places and shopped in Greenwich Village and Soho. We also managed to see a couple of Broadway plays and visit the Guggenheim. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to our next trip! Also, I was having so much fun that I never got a picture of the four of us. Maybe next time. : )

FYI

Just in case you didn't know-Shane and I are getting a divorce. I realize only a handful of people read my blog (and I'm cool with that) but I'm not one of those people who lay out all their issues on their facebook page. I'm doing it here because my blog is partly a journal for me so I don't have to write in an actual journal. Anyway, Shane and I have been separated since January, our house has been sold and the kids and I moved into an absolutely craptacular apartment for 6 months while I decided what to do. I felt like the best thing was to stay in Indiana and we have moved into a great house. We are all settled in and school has started for Alex and I start working part-time in September and plan to find a full-time job next year when Ava starts kindergarten. So, while this definitely hasn't been the best year, the decision was definitely for the best.

Graduation! (Well, sort of)

So Ava graduated preschool this past May. She had a great year, wonderful teachers and learned a lot. However, since she misses the kindergarten cut-off by 3 weeks, she will have another year of preschool. At least it will be everyday. Anyway, the graduation ceremony was very cute. There were no gowns, just handmade caps (white cardstock and paper bowl). The kids sang some songs and then the diplomas were handed out. I was only able to get a fuzzy picture of Ava receiving her diploma which is okay since she will be graduating again next year.


Ava with her teacher, Mrs. Gottlieb.


Ava with her other teacher, Mrs. Fagg.




Diploma!

Baptism

About a week and half after he turned 8, Alex was baptized. It was a very special day and as Alex said, it was the "most important day of his life" (thus far). My mom and stepdad came down for the occasion and a number of Alex's friends attended the baptism. The third times the charm as it took that many times to get Alex all the way under the water! I think Alex recognized the importance of being baptized and was really looking forward to it. He had a wonderful day and couldn't stop smiling. I am very proud of him and the decision he made to be baptized.




Ready to be baptized!


Some of Alex's friends who came.

8!!!!!!!

After a year long countdown (I'm not kidding), Alex turned 8 on May 5. To say that he was looking forward to this birthday is an understatement; he could not wait to turn 8 because 1. he would be getting baptized and 2. he would finally get to go to cub scouts. For his birthday, Ava and I went up to his school and brought him McDonald's for lunch. After school we went to Chuck E Cheeses and Alex brought his friend, Gabe. After pizza and games, we went home and had some ice cream cake and opened presents. It was a great birthday!
Fun facts about Alex: he's thoughtful, helpful, good big brother (most of the time), is good at math, likes to read, loves swimming, is very inquisitive-he wants to know everything-unfortunately, I do not know everything, very into Pokemon cards, and wants to be a scientist when he grows up.

It's Pinkatastic!

Ok-so it's been a few months since my last post. While we have been doing stuff these past 6 months, I've gotten into this bad habit of blogging all of those things pretty much all at the same time. Anyway, a couple months ago while searching for some Pinkalicious books for Ava, I saw that there was a Pinkalicious musical and it was playing in Chicago. I thought it would be a fun mother-daughter outing so I got tickets to the show. My friend, Brandi and her daughter, Sibley came with us and we had a great time. I wasn't sure if Ava would like it or not because the actors did not look like the characters in the book but she loved it!


Waiting for the show to start.


Ava and her friend, Sibley outside the theatre. Of course we went on the coldest and rainiest day in April!

A Disney World Christmas

There is only one word to describe Christmas in Indiana: cold. I do not like cold. Fortunately, Alex thought it would be a great idea to go somewhere fun for Christmas. He told my mom of his wishes and it wasn't too hard to convince her that it would be beneficial to all if we went somewhere warm. We decided on Florida and made plans to visit Disney World, Epcot, Universal Studios, and the Space Center. Alex and Ava had a wonderful time-loved Disney, loved Universal. Alex especially liked the Harry Potter World there. The rides were so much fun (the kids rode on some of them several times) and Alex rode on his first "real" roller coaster ride (meaning he went upside-down). Needless to say, both were worn out by the end of the trip but want to return soon!

The start of our trip. I surprised the kids with a limo ride to the airport. They loved it!


Dumbo ride with Uncle Tristan.


Snow White's Scary Adventure...scary for a 4 year-old, no one else.


Princess dress.


Carousel.


Teacup ride.


Disney at night.


Epcot!




The house we stayed at had a pool. It was actually too cold to swim, but the kids didn't care!


Harry Potter World at Universal. I have to say it was very cool!


Waiting for the Spiderman ride to start.


Jurassic Park.


Dr. Seuss world at Universal-Uncle Tristan was such a good sport!


Space Center.


Worn out by all the fun!