Halloween

We started off the Halloween season with a family trip to the pumpkin patch.  The kids were super-excited to meet up with all their cousins and immediately ran off together to get lost in the corn maze.  Thankfully, it was a short corn maze, and they all found their way back to us ... eventually, and on to the petting zoo and to choose pumpkins.  Here are some cute pictures from the day:

it only took 10 attempts to get one passable shot of all 6 kiddos

only a few less attempts to get this one

even more takes to get the whole fam in a shot - and Isaac still managed to ruin this one with a sour face

Isaac and Caitlin admiring their pumpkins

Showing off their Halloween-themed clothes

Isaac and Caitlin decided on designs for their pumpkins and then directed Daddy to do the carving.  When it came time to pull out the insides, they each put their hand in once, immediately pulled it back out screaming "eeewww gross", and refused to do it any longer. Wimps...

On the actual day, the kids couldn't have been more excited to put on their costumes and head to school.  Isaac was the Green Ninja from Ninjago and Caitlin was Doc McStuffins.

Bill and I made the Halloween party rounds at the kids' schools.  I started in Caitlin's class, and watched the adorable costume parade and each of the kids introduce their characters to Ms. Jean -the witch teacher who set up adorable activities all over the classroom where the kids could make treats and cool Halloween stuff.  Meanwhile Bill, Grandpa and Aunt Ray-Ray watched the parade at Isaac's school before joining me at Caitlin's school for the big party from 9-10, and then we all headed back to Isaac's school for his party from 10-11.

At Isaac's school, Ms. Adams was dressed up as a scarecrow and had her friend Mr. Bones hanging up on the board.  The kids joined her in an adorable song about a bat, and then made their way around the different stations she had set up with Halloween games and the buffet of treats.  Bill challenged Isaac to the beanbag toss, and Isaac beat him (seriously!)

Since trick-or-treating on our street wouldn't be very fruitful for the kids, we went to Isaac's friend Soren's neighborhood instead.  Soren was dressed up as Wonder Woman, and was very excited to have Isaac and Caitlin join her.  It had gotten pretty cold and windy, and Isaac was suffering from his annual Halloween bronchitis (we were hoping he had grown out of it, but apparently, that's not the case yet), so we had to bundle the kids and didn't want to stay out too long.  The moms and Aunt Ray-Ray took the kids out first, and once we got back, the dads and Grandpa took a run.

Let's just say the kids did alright.  We gave each one piece, and plan to confiscate the rest once they forget about it :)

Parent-teacher conference, field trip, hockey and legos

We had Isaac's first parent-teacher conference, and got lots of feedback on his kindergarten performance -- he is very well-mannered and sweet, and he is enthusiastically learning math, but he is behind schedule for reading and writing.  Ms. Adams said it is nothing to be concerned about and that he will catch up, but it was still unsettling to hear.  I think some of it is a result of the Spanish immersion program at Tyler, and having a first-year teacher in the Montessori program last year, but I suppose we haven't been as focused on reading and writing with Isaac as we could have been.  We are focusing more on it now...  

Isaac practicing his numbers

Picture of Isaac (bottom) being a scary pumpkin for the board in his classroom

I signed up to be a chaperone for Isaac's school trip to Anderson Farms, the biggest pumpkin patch in the area.  Lots of parents signed up, so I was only responsible for 3 kids - but that was enough given the hundreds of other kids running around. The kids had a blast, and I didn't lose anyone else's kid - so it was a win all around :)

my 3 charges

One of only a few minutes where all 3 boys wanted to be in one spot. The kid to his right (Brennan) and the kid in the black jacket (Asher) are his best buddies

Isaac's class with their pumpkins

Now that baseball is over, Isaac is starting hockey again.  He was excited to get on the ice, and we all have high hopes that this season will be a turning point and he'll master the skating thing.

One of the enrichment program offerings at Isaac's school was Lego class - no joke - that helps teach kids the engineering and creativity part of legos.  What could be better for our already lego-obsessed child?  He was more excited for this than hockey and baseball put together, and came home with some great ideas re-building his helicopter, truck and boat.

Caitlin: no more pacifier, back to school night, and first crush (?!)

Although I said we were going to do this when she turned 3 (and possibly 2), I kept finding reasons to let Caitlin keep her pacifiers.  She only used them to go to sleep, and was so sweet in her need to have one for each hand and one in her mouth, but ... it was time.  So Alli brought Sebastian by the house and we told Caitlin that he needed more pacifiers and that big 3 year old girls shouldn't need them anymore.  She gathered them up and handed them over.  Just like that - no drama, no sadness.  At bedtime, she looked around and asked me for them, and I reminded her that Seb had them and she said okay (it didn't hurt that we promised her a big girl gift if she slept without them!).  A few minutes later she called me to her room - she had a handful of pacifiers (apparently her hidden stash!) that she wanted to give me -- such honesty! I took them and left and she talked and sang for about 45 minutes, and then went to sleep.  No issues.  Every  night since then, she has talked and sang for awhile (I guess a byproduct of not having a pacy in her mouth!), but we've had no sleep problems or drama, which is fantastic! I should have done this sooner... :)

Here you go Sebastian (sniff sniff)

Cate sleeping soundly...after chattering for 45 minutes

A couple of weeks ago, Caitlin's school had a "Bring Your Parents to School" night, which was adorable.  I got to meet Caitlin's teachers, watch her interact with her friends, and she was thrilled at the opportunity to teach me all the lessons she has been learning: "Mommy, you have to push your chair in when you get up from the table!" and "Mommy, if you want to do a craft project, you need to get a craft mat so you don't accidentally get marker on the table!" Jeez...if only she brought these lessons home! She apparently loves the activities relating to art and "home living" the most, and showed me her cutting, her water pouring, and her tea party (as explained to me, this is stuff that works on dexterity).  In any event, I heard nothing but good things about Caitlin's focus and curiosity and good manners, and loved spending the 1:1 time with her in her new world.

Caitlin's class was full of parents

Finally, I was introduced to "Liam" (always said with a huge grin), one of Caitlin's classmates who she apparently digs.  Mayensi and Caitlin ran into him at library story time last week, and Mayensi couldn't resist sending this video of Caitlin FLIRTING (and doing the robot) which is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Her daddy was not as amused :)

Baseball and Visiting Cheerleaders

We were too late for soccer, so we signed Isaac up for Fall baseball, which was machine pitch.  Not sure he was entirely ready for it, but he was excited to try it, and Bill was excited to teach him.  Bill signed on as a coach, and they began to practice.  It took awhile, but Isaac really started to get the hang of it by the second game, which is impressive since the pitches come hard and fast out of the machine and he was playing with and against kids as old as 4th grade!  When he got his first hit, he was so excited that he forgot to drop the bat and run to first base :)  He did make it all the way around the bases a couple of times, but probably still has some work to do before he gets called up by the major leagues...

Grandma and Caitlin eating snacks in the stands to replenish all the energy they burned by cheering Isaac on 

Coach Daddy giving Isaac some batting tips.

Isaac swinging for the pitch

Line drive - he made it to first!! Check out proud papa to the right of the pic (he was 1st base coach on this inning)

Caitlin likes to climb the fence to cheer "Go Isaac, Go Isaac". Auntie Barbie cheered from the stands. 

Papa Rich got a close up view of Isaac's first real hit and cheered wildly

The adorable post-game team handshake

Some other cute pics from our visits with the cheerleaders (Papa Rich and Auntie Barbie):

High holidays

It was great to have so many friends and family around to celebrate the Jewish holidays this year.  We made a big dinner at our place for Rosh Hashana for us and the Reiss's and Sambur's.  We all got dressed up, and even used the china and silver (not at the kids' table!).  This is the first time the kids outnumbered the adults -- between us, we have 7 kids - but they were very well behaved, and we all still had fun!

For the actual day, Bill and I checked out the "Adventure Rabbi" program (only in Boulder!) which involved a hike through the mountains, some group discussion about the meaning of life and religion, and then a sermon in one of the most beautiful settings I've been in.  Much better than the services where you count the ceiling tiles and wait for the obligatory event to end.  At the end, she unrolled the torah and asks each participant to hold a part of it while she read the final prayers, which was both inclusive and beautiful.  Even the animals got into it -- two moose strolled through the water and looked on :)

For the second night, we went to my sister's house for another delicious feast. As always, we all had a great time and the food was delicious.  Jen managed to pack a crowd around the table, and at the end -- as always -- the kids didn't want to leave (even though the basement was out of commission due to the floods)!

We ended up having a big dinner for Yom Kippur's break the fast too, but since it was thrown together at the last minute (was supposed to be at our friends' house, but they had too much water damage), I seem to have forgotten to take pictures!!

Date with Grandma (and Belle)

Grandma Gerri took Caitlin to a pancake breakfast with the cast of Beauty and the Beast - what could be more perfect for our princess-obsessed little girl? She dressed up in her finest princess garb and was beyond excited to meet Belle! Grandma said she spotted Belle across the room and was transfixed the entire time! She posed with all the cast members for pictures, but was star-struck when it came to Belle.  She hasn't stopped talking about it since - and has told EVERYONE she sees that she met the real Belle!

After the show, she and Grandma got manicures and then Grandma got her a Belle barbie to take home.  If that's not a perfect date for a 3-year old, I don't know what is!! 

In Memoriam

Isaac's and Caitlin's great-grandmother - Mom-Mom - passed away on Friday afternoon.  This has been a rough year, and while the loss of each of my grandparents has been tough, I'm particularly struggling to write this blog because Mom-Mom's death was so unexpected.  In fact, I have texts and emails from her on the day she collapsed.  But she wouldn't have wanted it any other way- spending her last moments on a walk while visiting her family.  Charlotte Harris was one of the most amazing women I have ever known, and her spirit, optimism and strength so inspired me, that I named Caitlin for her.  In the Jewish religion, it is customary to name children after relatives who have already passed away, but it was important for me to honor Mom-Mom while she was still alive - and she was tickled at the idea.  I am blessed to have countless memories of my grandparents from when I was younger, because they all made us feel important and loved and took pains to travel to Florida to see us and to spoil us when we went to visit them.  In fact, one of my favorite memories of Mom-Mom was waking up to find her making cookies (she made the most AMAZING cookies) and getting to eat the batter for breakfast and drink pretend coffee with her.  When I moved to DC for college, she and my grandfather made a point of inviting me and my friends for the Jewish holidays, and traveled to DC to take me for lunch on my birthday every year.  They made it to every important occasion, and she was always the first to cheer me on or send encouraging emails when I embarked upon a new challenge.  I will miss that a lot.  She understood that we all had busy lives, and was grateful for any time we could give - phone calls, emails, quick visits.  In fact, since I moved to Colorado, I spoke to mom-mom once or twice a week on my commute to work, and she was always excited to hear what was going on in my life and to tell me about hers.  And let me tell you - she lived an amazingly active life! She regularly went to the opera, museums, to listen to speakers, and was always reading a new book or learning about something new.  While she was plagued by COPD (an after-effect from the TB she contracted volunteering at an orphanage), she still lived alone and regularly walked from her apartment in downtown Philly to Whole Foods or to meet friends for meals.  She was impressively adept at all things technological - cherishing opportunities to FaceTime, instantly commenting on blogs, and keeping up with all things political (the Democrats and Pro-Choice activists will miss her when it comes time to galvanize the base!!).  Overall, she was just an all-around great lady who made sure that we all knew how much she loved us, and her joie de vivre reminds us to live each day as if it is a blessing.  The morning she died - she told my dad "my cup runneth over" - we should all be so lucky.
Below are some pictures of Mom-Mom with the kids over the past few years...

One of Isaac's first road trips - to visit Mom-Mom and Poppy in Philly

Mom-Mom met us in NY for some Schrutt-Anderson-Harris chaos at the kids' museum and delish NY pizza

One of her many visits - Mom-Mom came to spend Father's Day in DC in 2010

Mom-Mom came to DC to meet her namesake just days after Caitlin was born.  Wilson had a special affection for Mom-Mom (she always brought a treat for him!)

Mom-Mom made it to every birthday party we had while still on the east coast!

Mom-Mom made the trip to Colorado in December and we were all thrilled to get to spend the holidays and a lot of quality time with her.

We were so lucky to get in a quick visit with Mom-Mom at the Philly airport on our way back from Florida last month