Trunk or Treat Gone Wrong

 It all started out wonderfully.  Grandpa Jack and Uncle Tim were going to join Brian and the big boys for trunk or treat at Max's school while I stayed home with Jack and got ready for a wedding reception that night.  The kids couldn't wait to put on their costumes and they were so excited about getting candy.

 Max has been all excited about this Mario costume.  He LOVES anything Mario related so it was just perfect.  Although I am a bit sad that he has outgrown his love of my homemade costumes.
This little Man in the Yellow Hat on the other hand still loves mommy's creations.  He was so excited about dressing up and has been talking about his costume for months.  In fact I had to hide the hat in the back of my closet so that it would still be yellow come Halloweeen.

They boys packed up the van and headed off for the fun.  Things started out great.  They ate hotdogs, trick or treated and had lots of fun.  Max was on the playground with friends when it all went wrong.

Our little monkey fell off the monkey bars.  It wasn't pretty.  One of the moms is a nurse and told Brian right away that it was broken.  Unfortunately she was right.

 Grandpa Jack and Uncle Tim brought Will home and I met Brian nad Max at urgent care.  My poor little guy just looked so pitiful.  I went with him for the x-rays and I have to say that is one of my top five awful parenting moments so far.  Hearing my baby scream out in agony every time they moved his arm - and then I had to be the one to hold his arm in  position while they took the x-ray.  I still get upset thinking about his screams and the look on his face.  Brian even said how bad it sounded and he was several rooms away. 

Urgent care confirmed it was broken, but said it was actually a pretty bad break and that we should go to the hospital.  At least they put a splint on Max's arm before we left.  He was all excited with how much better it felt.

Two hours, and several more x-rays later, we talk to a doctor.  Two minutes into the discussion he tells us that Max needs surgery.  SURGERY!!!  We were shocked.  This particular break is very unstable and Max eneded up with two pins in his arm to keep things in place while they heal.

Brian headed home to relieve grandpa and around 1am Max was taken back for surgery.  I was so happy to see him in recovery - even though he pretty much refused to wake up.  Poor guy was just exhaused.

The next morning he was pretty excited about his new blue cast and not in too much pain.  We were able to leave the hospital around noon.  This cast is part of Max for the next six weeks and we have weekly appointment so that the doctor can x-ray his arm and make sure things are still where they need to be.  I guess with three wild boys we were bound to see a broken bone at some point.  We just got the bad one out of the way first.

Grandparent's Day

 Will's preschool celebrated Grandparents Day last week.  He was all excited all week that his Grandma, Grandpa, Nonna, and Nonno would get to come to school with him.  Unfortunately the poor guy was a bit under the weather - I think he inherited mommy's sinus issues.  Even though he wasn't quite himself he still had lots of fun. 

 They had a yummy snack together and went to the classroom for story time, song, and dance.  I think there was a little time in the chapel too.

All four grandparents seemed impressed with how animated Will's teacher was with the kids.  I have said before that the best teachers are the best actors :)

My boys are so fortunate to have these four wonderful people in their lives.  How did they get so lucky!

Pumpkinland

I don't think fall gets much better than today.  Me, my hubby, my three boys, and my parents enjoying a wonderful afternoon at the pumpkin patch.

It has been rainy the past several days and it was pretty chilly, but it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Everything a fall day should be.  We ventured out into the pumpkin patch briefly, but I was too afraid someone would fall in the mud - with my luck it would have been me.  So we gave up on looking at actual pumpkins and entered Pumpkinland - where lots of fun was had by all.

 Will was our little adventure man.  He wanted to try out everything - the tallest climbing wall, the swingyest rope swing.  It is so fun to see his independence blossom.  He has no fear and sometimes it scares me, but I know that he won't let anything stand in his way.  I think his favorite was the big slide.  There was a bell at the top of the tower that he got to ring before he slid down and he loved it.

 Jack had so much fun too.  He just wanted to explore and walk all over the place.  There were several towers and tunnels made out of hay.  The entrance to one tunnel is behind him and he had no problem following his brothers through.  Climbing on the hay bales was also fun for Jack.  He just didn't stop the entire time. 

 

I wasn't able to get too many pictures of Max because he was too busy finding his way through the Tower of Terror - a three story hay bale maze that is pitch black.  Brian and I were glad that he was able to make it through himself because it was a tight fit in there!

I think everyone had a great time today and I think they will all sleep well tonight.

The Sweetest Sound

This is not the most flattering video of me, but I just cannot get enough of hearing this little man's giggles.  He is almost like a little toy that you pull the sting and they laugh.  All I have to do is squeeze his sweet little thighs and he lets out the sweetest sound in the world.  It melts my heart every time.

Family Picnic

Every summer when I was little my Great Uncle Mel put together a family picnic.  There weren't to many kids in my immediate family, so I always looked forward to this day every summer.  There were a few years where the picnic didn't quite happen, but the past three years it has been back and it is great.  There is a whole new generation of kids and it is so fun to watch them explore together.  

This year the picnic was last Sunday.  We couldn't have asked for a better day.  It was beautiful!  The kids had a great time exploring.  Jack was happy to hang out with Nonna and wander around every once in a while.  The big boys weren't so content.  There is a creek right by the shelter and they would have spent their whole day in the creek if we let them.  They had so much fun pointing out fish, getting dirty, and just plain being little boys.  It was so much fun to watch.  

On one of our several trips to the creek we saw a toad.  Actually Nonna spotted the toad - it was very well camouflaged and she has a great eye for all things nature.  The boys were in awe.  Watching them discover new things in the world is like seeing them for the first time myself.  Its just magical!

We had to leave before the yearly egg toss got underway - but we look forward to participating next year!

Cub Scouts

This week Max and Brian went to an informational meeting about Cub Scouts.  Max was all excited - and if he's honest Brian is pretty excited about the pinewood derby - so we signed him up.  Thursday night was his first pack meeting.  I didn't know what to expect, but I can honestly say I didn't expect this!

After the flag ceremony they had everyone go outside and before we knew it there was a police helicopter overhead.  It landed on the blacktop twenty feet from the boys.  It was crazy!  The pilot and co-pilot got out of the helicopter and told the boys all about the work that they do.  Max was in awe - although it was really cold.  I think he is now even more excited about Cub Scouts - and I'm convinced that girl scouts is just lame comparatively.

Apple Picking

While I don't like that fall leads into winter - I think I'm still scarred from all of the snow days last winter - I do love fall activities.  Today was a perfect example of an ideal fall day.  We started with Max's soccer game and then headed to the apple orchard after lunch. 

This little man got his first taste of an apple off the tree and there was no stopping him.  He munched on this same apple the entire time we were there.  He started getting close to the core, so I tried to turn it around and he wasn't having it.  His sweet little neck got all sticky with apple juice and his shirt was soaked, but still he munched.  In fact he held on to this same through the orchard, onto the tractor, while we waited in line to pay, and over into the play land.  He cried his little eyes out when he dropped it in the mud while we waited for his brothers to finish bouncing in the bounce house.

 The big boys didn't want to take time out to sample the apples.  They were on a mission.  They were going to get the biggest, reddest apples from the trees to take home with them.

Any other time we have gone fruit picking it always seems like Brian and I did a majority of the picking while the boys explored.  That wasn't the case today.  They picked everyone of those nineteen pounds themselves!

I just love these boys to death - and their Daddy too.  How did I get so lucky!

I can't wait to see what fall adventures we come up with for tomorrow and next weekend!