Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving began Tuesday with a Thanksgiving celebration with Grant's class. We were all invited to the chapel for the performance and then shared all sorts of goodies afterward. I grabbed Beckett from his classroom so he could join in the fun. I think that you can probably hear him singing along to one of the songs.

Crazy Crazy Weather

Our weather has been so topsy turvy this fall - one day it feels like summer (78 and sunny) and the next day we wake up to rain that turns into snow. NUTS! Grant keeps trying to go outside in his crocs and t-shirt.

We have been struggling with Beckett and his sleep patterns. He was napping for about 2 hours a day and then not going to sleep until 9ish and waking up way too early - one morning it was 4:30 am. Granted, that was the morning that we "fell back an hour," but still. It was a LONG LONG day. So, we decided to try no naps. They are going to sleep around 7 and then waking at various times in the morning. It's been about a week so we are still waiting to see if it's going to work. The kids are exhausted by the end of the day - it's nice to have them go to sleep right away at night.

We also had parent teacher conferences this week. Grant's teacher reported that he's doing really well - needs to learn letter sounds. They are going to start reading after Christmas. He's very social in class - friends with everyone.

Beckett's report was the one we were a bit worried about. Just like at home, he has trouble following the rules. He's also social in class - well liked by the other students. He just needs to listen and follow the rules. :-) Ahhh...Beckett. As his teacher said, his name should be Beckett "I just want to have fun" Simmons.

 Goofing off in the back seat. Beckett was singing along to the radio in those silly glasses.

Aarr...Happy Halloween!

This year we had 2 pirates, a firedog and a hockey player making the neighborhood rounds. The boys donned their pirate costumes, glow swords and various accessories. Riley wore Beckett's costume from last year. Roger donned a UAA hockey jersey and off they went. It was freezing cold (42 and windy) so I lucked out and handed out candy this year.

 Beckett AKA Captain Hook ready to go.

 First Mate Grant ready to go!

 I think that they are saying Aarrr....

 Love this pic...Beckett is looking so fierce! :-)

 Riley did such a great job. There was still about 45 minutes of Trick or Treating when the kids got back. Riley sat by the door and when kids rang the doorbell she actually stayed...no barking, no running out the door! Just sat there. We gave her a few extra marshmallows that night. :-)

Robots!

As I mentioned before, we received a whole bunch of toys from our neighbor. Between Grant's birthday and their generous delivery, it's like an early Christmas in our house!

One of the toys is a bin of Tinkertoys. The boys love their LEGOs, so I had a feeling the Tinkertoys would be a hit - I had no idea how big a hit though.

Grant loves them. He has set up a "workshop" in the tentfort. He zips down the doors and won't let anyone in until his creation is complete. For inspiration and ideas, he has been looking at the pictures on the side of the can. Although I am pretty sure the creation in this video is all Grant. Beckett also likes to play around with them, but he's not as into them as Grant. Rescue Heroes and LEGO are still his go to toys. :-)

Here is a video I took this afternoon. The first part is Grant working on his robot. Then Beckett telling us about his robot. And then Grant and Beckett at the end. :-)

We love Riley

Riley is definitely a part of our family...and Roger is her favorite. :-) Here she is giving her nightly post work hugs and kisses.

The kids recently received a bunch of toys from our neighbor - so generous! Here is the fort tent set up in the playroom. Apparently they aren't the only ones excited about it!

Backstroke!

Today was Grant's second to last swim lesson. We was really excited to show his backstroke to Macie and Cap. I didn't think he did as well as he did in the last lesson...he was a bit distracted with an audience in the area. Anyway, he lapped the pool a couple of times. He also began to learn the breaststroke today - he can't figure out the crazy kick. :-)

He's going to take a break from lessons till after Christmas.

New Bike!

Here is the video of Grant's new bike. He went from a 12" rim to a 20" rim...big difference and he adjusted quickly. He's already very comfortable on it and as Beckett said - he's super fast. :-) Now Beck is wondering when he is getting a new bike. Ugh.

 Not sure what's going on with this smile - this is the best one I got today.

Grant's smile is weird too. He told me his face was too cold. :-)