Halloween

Halloween is our most celebrated holiday in our household. We had two Halloween parades, we visited the Air and Space museum, we went to the ASI Halloween party, and went around the block trick or treating. We also had Avery's Halloween birthday party twice. I almost forgot the two pumpkin farms we visited. Busy month for us Burkes.

Avery Turns Five

Happy Birthday Avery! Our big boy just got a little big bigger. Eli and I have been looking at each other and wondering what happened to the last five years.

Avery loves school, for the play time of course, but I think he is also learning by osmosis. He can write all his letters, and will write words if you force him to sit still and do it. Pushing him to do anything is a struggle; if you can trick him into thinking it is a game he will participate whole-heartedly.

Avery's favorite TV show / licensed character is Scooby Doo. He loves his nightly bedtime story, and pays very good attention despite distractions from Zach and Leah. He enjoys anything on the computer, or his Leapster game player. He has good eye / foot co-ordination and can dribble the soccer ball around. He's also speedy on his feet and in the pool, so we may try swim team in a year or two.

Before I forget, his favorite color is pink. Eli got him a Red Power Ranger costume and he was upset that it wasn't pink for a couple of days. I can't wait to see if it's still his favorite color in ten years...

On his birthday Eli took a half day. Per Avery's request we went to Chick-Fil-A and let them play in the gerbil maze for an hour. Back at home we had presents and video games, and then Eli surprised us with tickets to the Big Apple Circus. Then on Saturday we had a party for "older" kids, and on Sunday we had family over. The cake and cupcakes were commissioned from our friend Heidi.

Leah in her Tinkerbell costume.

10 Months in Hats

Yesterday, as Eli worked late and the boys took a bath, I played dress-up with Leah and every hat I could lay my hands on. She was not happy and tried really hard to get them off her head. Of course once they were off, she would try to put them back on, but doesn't have the coordination to get them on right. She will also try to put clothes on, but usually winds up dragging them over the top. Eli takes those opportunities to play peek-a-boo, so I guess it's possible she does it on purpose.

A Quiet House at 3pm

What do you do when it's 3pm and the house is quiet, the baby asleep, your boys out of town for the weekend? Well, you do what I'm doing, you blog all about it.

Eli took Avery and Zachary to Bryan's family cottage this weekend for what they called a "mancation". I don't know how long it will last since it is looking pretty gloomy outside and I'm sure the kids will be moaning about what to do. They will have Logan and Kaylee to play with, and all the Wii game time they can stomach, so it may come down to how long Eli and Bryan can hold out.

I'm going to try not to waste the whole weekend goofing around on the internet. There is so much to do to get ready for fall and cold weather: organize the house, switch out bedding and warmer clothes, etc. I'm not excited and motivated, but it needs to be done and there won't be any better time.

Photo Fun

Leah was playing with the pumpkins that I put in the foyer and I thought it'd be fun to take a couple of pictures. It turned out that all she wanted to do was destroy my display and knock the pumpkins down and play with the fabric. Zachary tried to help by holding her hostage, but she wouldn't have that either.

Then I thought maybe I could take some pictures of her in the dining room using the new drapes as a backdrop. That didn't work either; all she wanted to do was play with the sheers. The results turned out cute, but in a different way than I expected.

Avery and Zachary Start School Again

Avery and Zachary started their second year of preschool last week. Avery was very enthusiastic about going; Zachary a little less so. Last year he had some problems with one of the other kids in his class, and we think the negative emotions carried over. By his second day he was feeling better about it.

Avery is coming up on five and loves learning. This summer we worked on spelling and he kept up with his ABCs and 123s. But the skill he improved the most was his swimming. He had had such a dramatic change from May to September, and can swim fast and deep for as long as his breath lasts. When we go to my parent's house he loves to jump off the diving board and swim to the side.

Zachary is three and a half, knows his ABCs and 123s and can even spell a few words. Yesterday he spelled his name, which shocked us because normally he spells Avery's and says it is his name or he will say Z and a whole bunch of different letters and say it is his name. In fact, one of the boys' favorite game is to say a bunch of letters and ask me what they spell or what they mean. We can't understand why it's so hilarious. Zach's swimming has improved but he doesn't have the same confidence or buoyancy as Avery. He can push off walls and keep his head above water, but he doesn't kick his legs out behind him so he doesn't have any lateral movement.

This week I have back-to-school nights to learn what the boys will be doing in their classes and meet their teachers.