Lately

Can y'all believe it's already November 1st? I thought I'd sit down today and do a quick recap of some of the fun things we did in October. Of course, the bigger events will have their own post, but this post is full of some smaller activities we did.

At the beginning of the month, we were invited to a birthday party for one of Brianna's classmates. This is the third year for these girls to be in class together, so they are pretty good little friends. She lives not too far from us, so it worked out great for us to stop by their house and join in on the festivities.

Brianna and Allena

Brecklyn was very interested in what the older girls were doing and playing with. I thought it was cute :-).

When it came time for cake and ice cream, all the kids just sat in a little half circle on the floor of the living room. It ended up being kind of a mess, but no one seemed to mind!

The day after the birthday party was picture day at school. Brianna and Brenson looked adorable in their plaid shirts (if only Bren's smile was this cute in his school pic, ha!)

That evening we had our monthly Lego Club at the local library. At the end of building time, each child has the opportunity to tell the other participants all about their creation. This was the first month that Brenson decided to talk in front of the other children.

Surprisingly, Brianna has never wanted to talk in front of the other children. She worked with Chloe Jo and this other girl this month, and she let them do all the talking when it came time to tell the other kids about what they built. 

Brianna's class made a class t-shirt this year where each student in the class drew a little self portrait for the circle of friends on the shirt. 

I was so proud of Brianna when I saw her drawing. She put "Love others" next to her little self portrait. She is a very loving and affectionate child, and I pray that she will always have a heart for loving others!

Brenson also made us proud this month by earning his first ever Catalayah cash. Catalayah cash is given to students who are going above and beyond by demonstrating "life principles" during the school day. Brenson was awarded his for showing responsibility in the classroom by helping keep the room clean and taking out the trash.

The Friday before the week of Fall Break, the little girls and I decided to pay a visit to Meme and Grandma. Grandma moved in with Meme and Papa in August, and I think it's been a bit of a difficult situation for everyone. We felt they could use a little cheer, so I decided to take the girls out there for the day. The girls had a great time, and I think they definitely brought some joy to the house.

Brecklyn and Brooke love Meme and Papa's tire swing!

Brooke, Meme, and Brecklyn

Brooke, Grandma, and Brecklyn

I try to get a picture of the kids about once a month before church when they're all fixed up.

I love this one where they're all laughing!

And this one? Just priceless. Who doesn't love fake vampire teeth (we call them 'lion teeth' in our house) that glow in the dark? Haha!

My niece, Chloe Jo, is just 10 months older than Brianna. My sister has graciously handed us down most of CJ's clothes for years now, and we definitely get use out of them! We are truly so incredibly grateful for the generous hand-me-downs we get from several families. Anyway, my sister is a talented seamstress and sews some of CJ's clothing. She had made CJ the dress Brooke is wearing in the photo below, as well as the coordinating dress for CJ's older cousin. I just recently discovered the coordinating skirt in a bin of clothes and couldn't resist dressing the girls in these outfits. So cute!

Brecklyn, Brianna, and Brooke

Gotta love the posing!

There were a few days this month where Brooke and Brecklyn were a little under the weather. They had a bit of a cough and runny nose, so we spent the day reading, watching shows, and snuggling in the chair. 

I cherish these moments!

Last Friday, the big kids both had class "harvest" parties at school. They were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes that day, and we (the twins and I) spent the afternoon at the school helping out with the parties. 

The girls make themselves right at home in Bren's classroom. Brooke is wearing orange, sitting in the circle next to the teacher.

I really enjoyed seeing Bren in his classroom. He was being a very good listener and participant. Made this momma proud :-).

Brecklyn and Brooke really enjoyed the little play kitchen in Bren's classroom. It was great because it kept them occupied enough for me to truly help with the party. 

Momma and her dragon boy!

One of Brenson's classmates has a mom who is a photographer. She set up an adorable little photo booth and was snapping pics of the kids and their guests. I love this pic she captured of me and my little crew!

Brianna's class party began 30 minutes later than Brenson's (which worked out perfectly for me!) We were just a little late getting to her party, and almost as soon as we got there the fire alarm sounded. Nothing like evacuating an entire school of children dressed in costume during class parties!

Brecklyn and Brianna waiting in the school yard

The girls were a little bit rattled by the whole evacuation thing, but they calmed down quickly once we got back into the classroom. Oh, and there was no fire . . . just severely burned popcorn, ha! 

Brooke, Brianna, and Brecklyn

I don't have as many photos in Bri's classroom as I do of us in Bren's classroom. These class parties take place in the afternoon - right in the middle of naptime - and it's a lot of stimulation, commotion, and sugar. Throw in an evacuation with an extremely loud alarm, and the twins were just a handful by the time we were in Bri's classroom! I did manage to get this sweet one of me with my little Snow White, though.

I decided to just check the kids out a few minutes early and head home with everyone once the parties were over. We went back down to Bren's classroom to get him, and his teacher was reading the class a book. Brooke and Brecklyn once again joined right in on story time! 

Attending class parties with toddler twins in tow is always exhausting to me! It kind of reminds me why I never really used that degree I earned in Elementary Education, ha! Thankfully, I had already planned an evening out with my friend, Amy. I was so thankful for some quiet conversation, peaceful dining, and solo time with a friend!

Apparently this was a month of parties for us! I didn't really realize it until I was writing this post, but we also attended our sweet friend, Sadie's, fourth birthday party. It was held at this super cute and girly place called Pinkitzel. The party was complete with crafts, a balloon artist, face painting, cupcakes, and cotton candy. What more could a kid ask for?!? The girls looked just precious in their face paint (sooooo much better than the face paint at the train ride in Missouri). Somehow, I didn't get a pic of the birthday girl . . . again I was a bit busy keeping up with children! Bren wasn't interested in staying at such a girly place, so Chris dropped us girls off while he and Bren went shopping.

Brooke

Brianna and Chloe Jo

Brecklyn

Brecklyn and Brooke

Brooke

And finally, this past Monday we had a little birthday party to celebrate Chris turning 37! His actual birthday was yesterday, but we had trick-or-treating plans (post to come), so we celebrated a day early.

I didn't want to put 37 individual candles on his cake, so I used a "3" and seven candles.

We're so grateful for all these little people . . . they make every event more fun! Happy birthday, Hubs!