So many pictures...

...so little time! I have downloaded both cameras from our Disneyland trip plus the Day Out with Thomas stop we made on the way home...final count? About 450 over 4 days. Not horrible, but way too many to get through in one night! So I'll get them posted along with some final thoughts about our trip. We definitely had a good time and are planning a return visit in the spring - we hope!

School Birthday

We will return to our regularly scheduled posts after a brief interruption...

Today, Drew had his special birthday day at school. His teachers made it really special - Drew went to the front of the room at circle time and got a crown and chose which birthday song he wanted sung to him (underwater). Then everyone counted out loud how old Drew is and Drew got to pick that many friends to be his birthday "candles". They lined up along the wall and then Drew blew out the candles and each one collapsed down. It was so cute! Finally, he got to pick out a sticker sheet out of the birthday box. At pick-up he chose a birthday song again(cha-cha-cha) and then gave each of his classmates a goodie bag as they left. It was pretty cute!

California Adventures

We had a great day at Disney's California Adventure today. We started the morning with Toy Story Mania which both boys loved. It's in 3-D and Allen immediately put his glasses on when we got them and was so proud...then he put them up on top of his head like mommy and daddy do with their sunglasses. Monkey see...monkey do! We had a great morning riding rides, finding characters, seeing shows and enjoying a new park. At lunch time, Allen was exhausted so Patrick took him back to the room for a nap and Drew and I got to have some bonding time alone. It worked out great - we rode so many more rides and even took an animation class! Drew decided to skip his nap (a decision I may regret later...but for today it worked out ok!) and we plowed right through the afternoon. We ran up to the hotel and changed him into his Buzz Lightyear costume and ran back in time for the Pixar Play Parade. It was really cute and he stayed in costume the rest of the night! We figured if all those little girls can walk around dressed as princesses then he should be able to dress as Buzz! He got tons of attention from cast members and other guests...and he like it! Allen (who decided to skip dressing like Woody...too much effort I guess!) and Patrick joined us right before the parade and we had a really good night! The boys crashed (much later than I had hoped, but oh well!) and I have been getting things ready for the BIG day tomorrow - Drew's 4th Birthday! We're going back to Disneyland, having brunch at Goofy's Kitchen, and generally just doing whatever Drew chooses. It should be a fun day!

Favorites:
Watching Daddy ride California Screamin' (and Allen really wanting to ride too!)
Seeing Jessie (who I'm pretty sure Allen has a crush on!)
Eating fresh tortillas from the Mission Tortilla Factory
Riding Mickey's Fun Wheel (ferris wheel)- just Drew and Mommy
Drew being dressed like Buzz Lightyear all evening
Allen feeding Drew snacks before the parade - Drew's gloves where making it hard for him to eat so Allen took it upon himself to help out...a rare moment of true brotherly love!

I'll post pictures later...the connection is so slow here!

We're going to Disneyland!

Well, actually, we are already here! We survived our first day and the boys did great. Allen even stood in line without too much complaint! Tomorrow we are going to California Adventure and then back to Disneyland on Saturday. I'm sure it will get much more crowded every day, but today was quite pleasant...no complaints!
Favorites:
Train
Monorail
Autopia Race Cars
Seeing Goofy (our first character encounter of the day and strangely the one Allen had been talking about the most...)
Celebrate! Street Party (parade)
Roller coasters (any they have been tall enough to ride have been a hit so far!)

Quotes:
"Mommy, why didn't they make this castle as big as Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom?"--Drew
"Mo Mon-rail!"--Allen

We have really enjoyed how "walkable" everything is here. Our hotel is literally steps from Downtown Disney and Disneyland and even has a back entrance into California Adventures. It helped so much tonight when, after the park closed, we just walked back to our hotel...no more than 10 minutes from Tomorrowland to our room!

Party Time!

On Sunday, November 1, we had Drew's 4th Birthday party at the train park. Everything went great and the kids had a blast! We did the party together with Kenley - there birthdays are 2 weeks apart and this weekend fell in the middle. It was so nice to do a "joint" party - half the work with the same outcome! Here are a few of the pictures from the day. Kenley's Uncle Jason is a photographer and was in town from Chicago for the weekend...worked out great for us! I barely got my camera out which made things much easier. Enjoy!

Such an awesome "blowing out the candle" picture!


Yummm...cupcakes...


Drew riding with his buddies in the boxcar - this is a special treat...Mommy usually says no!


A rare family photo...we never manage to capture one of these at our boys' parties!

Happy Halloween!

Here are a couple of photos of Buzz Lightyear (Drew) and Woody (Allen). There really aren't many good photos of Allen - he didn't want to stand still and his hat kept falling off. But he looked pretty cute all the same! Drew had a great time as Buzz and thinks we should take his costume to Disneyland next week and see if we can meet Buzz dressed as Buzz! We just might do that...
We went to a neighborhood party in our park before dark and then out trick-or-treating. Mommy stayed home for a while to hand out candy and Daddy took the boys. They both got tired pretty fast and were ready to come home after less than an hour! Oh well...they are young and don't need all than candy anyway! And neither do we!!

For Grandma...

Hi Janet! Here is a fun picture of your 3 grandkids enjoying some morning PJ time at our house! We can't wait for the Christmas chaos these kiddos are going to get into!!

School Fun

Drew goes to a wonderful preschool...if they would just take kids as young as Allen it would be perfect! But seriously, it is a great school and they do some really fun activities throughout the year. This month they had a petting zoo and a Country Fair. Each class attends for about 20 minutes but it is just their class so it is more enjoyable for everyone. The petting zoo was at the same time as a MOPS meeting last week so I was able to slip out and go take some photos without Allen in tow. Today was the Country Fair so Allen was with me but he was really good about not getting in the big kids way and letting Drew do his thing. Until the end when he was very upset I wouldn't let him in the class photo, but he'll get over it...

Karen's Critters...AKA The Petting Zoo



Dylan, Allison, Jayden and Jillian

Drew & Katelyn

Tobi & Jonathan

Drew wouldn't touch the animals with his hands - only a brush...but there weren't enough brushes for each kid to have their own so they had to share (which he did an amazing job of - even if he had to give up his and finding another one or walk around with his hands behind his back so he didn't accidentally touch an animal!). Here he is convincing Dylan to let him borrow his brush. It was an adorable preschooler exchange! Now if he and Allen could just work this out at home...

La Casa de Cristo Preschool Country Fair







Apparently, Drew really needs to get more into this country thing. He was the only kid in his class without a cowboy hat or cowboy boots today! I didn't even get a bandana on him! Oh well...we'll do better next year!

Everyone had to make a 3-D art project (about 3 feet in size) to hang on the walls of the gym. Our class was assigned horses or horseshoes. I made a horseshoe...that's about the extent of my artistic abilities! But hey - I free handed it and was quite impressed with the outcome!

My friend Kandy had Tobi's mom (an awesome artist!) draw her a pony which she decorated in true southern girl fashion - it was so fun!


My favorite part of posting these photos together is the difference in clothing...in one week, the temperature dropped 35+ degrees! From shorts and t-shirts to jeans and long-sleeves. But man it is nice to be cool...even if it is just for a few days!

Allen's 2-Year Stats

We went to the doctor on October 15 for Allen's 2-year check up. He was 35 3/4 inches tall (83%) and 31.6 pounds (85%). He's still a solid little boy for sure! They say you can estimate a boy's adult height by doubling their height at 2 years so that puts him just under 6 feet tall. That's probably about right given mommy and grandaddy's height, although it means he will outgrow his daddy! Everything checked out ok and he is a very healthy boy.
We had some concerns about his speech (or lack thereof) but in the weeks surrounding his birthday things definitely started to change. He is starting to say short phrases and more of his words are understandable. This is a big relief to us - Drew was such an early talker and we never realized how difficult it is to communicate when your toddler can't make you understand their needs! Here are some of Allen's favorite words and phrases:
Tank u (thank you)
Baa back (be right back with finger up)
New xxx (whenever he sees something he's seen before but different than before - like "new bus")
Here go (here you go- when delivering a cup of milk or juice to Drew)
Tash (trash)
Choc choc (chocolate – for chocolate milk): He’ll go and pull the container out of the pantry and then get you a spoon.
Daddy; Daddy’s car
Mommy; Mommy's car
Help, help (over and over until you help)
Sching (swing)
Side (slide)
Schhh (sound for whipped cream - his favorite dessert with berries)
Park
Go ‘ols (Go Vols)
Fuuoot (fruit)
Fork
Spoon
Juice
Color
Chair
Poop, poop (when he needs to be changed)
Maaie (maddie)
Cheese
'nack (snack)
I di' it!
I don' know
Daddy Off (Daddy's Office - said whenever we pass it, no matter which direction we come from! I think he might be as good with directions and location as Drew!)
Hell Copper (helicopter)

Allen's Birthday Party

Since Drew's birthday party is in one week, I thought I might want to get Allen's party pictures posted!!

On Thursday night, October 8, we had Allen's birthday party with a few friends. It was a "Two-Two Train" party, complete with a train cake (made by Daddy, of course!). Dinner was Chick-fil-a nuggets and fruit - Allen's favorite! Allen's friends Nate & Kenley and Jack & Joey (and their parents) came over to help us celebrate and Nana and Grandaddy were in town too. The kids had a great time running around in the backyard and playing in the playroom - chaos! Allen really enjoyed himself and seemed to think it was pretty special that it was HIS party!















After our friends left, Allen got down to the serious business of opening family presents...he couldn't get them open and out of their packaging fast enough! We will definitely be notifying Santa that all Christmas presents should be unwrapped and out of original packaging at our house this year!