they felt like dancing, too!

Of course, we just HAD to teach Chris and Nate the dance moves.
They think this video is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Each boy chose his own outfit and hairstyle. enjoy!

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=e1aa9c81129e29

I feel like dancin'

Click on the link. It's self explanitory.

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=1641c0dd129bd1

Bye, Bye Summer!

Today is the official last day of Summer. Dan and I took the boys to Laurelhurst Park this afternoon to get some fresh air, play on the climbing structure, kick the soccer ball, feed the ducks, and look at all of the big trees. We stopped and got the boys a soft-serve cone on the way home. They did pretty good----not too many drips!

There was a man teaching his daughter how to play the violin on the park bench near where we were playing with the soccer ball. Chris and Nate decided to take a break where they could be within ear shot of her violin sounds. They were mesmerized!

booby traps

Nate and Chris got a new DVD called Cyber Chase, and one scene in it has a booby trap. Of course, they suddenly couldn't stop talking about booby traps. So we were talking about what it is/how they work, etc. when I decided that I would do a google image search during dinner with them to see if we could see some pictures of booby traps. Well, as you can probably guess, the 'boobies' that came up on THAT search were not the kind that we were looking for. -----
So we decided that a better way to learn about booby traps would from Daddy when he got home from work. Their enthusiasm was overwhelming, so once he got home they set to work downstairs to create one of their own. Guess who their first victim was? Yep, me. Across the bottom of the stairs was a rope (which I was not supposed to notice!) Attached to that was a maraca and a water bottle filled with rocks from outside. Sure enough, they 'trapped' me. Oh, the mayhem and excitement it created when I fell into their trap!! They thought that was about the coolest thing they had ever made.

When you're 3 years old, going into and falling victim to your OWN booby trap is not an issue, it's just a whole lot of fun to be the booby over and over and over!

I Love September

I really do. It's my favorite month of the year and always has been.

It was an absolutely beautiful, crispy, sunny day day here....only 4 more days until the official change of seasons. This afternoon the boys and I hung out in the front yard drawing letters with the chalk. They were really excited about doing the letters 'R' and 'N'. This is the view from our front door, right now. Lots of great letters, boxes of sidewalk chalk, and 3 pumpkins that were actually harvested from our own little garden. I love September, don't you?

laughing

Claudine sent me this great shot of the boys and Catie. I just love Nate's laugh in this picture. It sooo looks like him, I can actually hear the laughs through the computer!

names

Look at that writing!
The boys have to write their names when they 'check in' at preschool. When I took them to school on Friday, this is how they wrote their names.....all by themselves! I was especially proud of Nate---he doesn't usually get into writing his letters as much as Chris.

when do fart sounds start to be funny?....

...well, I guess it's on the exact day that you turn 31/2.
I was tucking the boys in for their nap today, and they were doing lots of monkeying around. I was leaning over giving Nate a goodnight kiss when from across the room Chris let out a big toot. In the past, they've pretty much ignored the delightful sounds that they make. But today, with that fart, it was suddenly VERY FUNNY to him. He started laughing (of course, I was trying to ignore the whole thing, so that he'd settle down and take his nap). Then, without missing a beat, Chris started making fart sounds with his mouth, and the ever-popular blowing air onto his arm to create the sound. He thought he was just so funny!
Of course, Nate picked up on what was going on, and started laughing and making his own rendition of various fart sounds. As he was doing this, a real one accidently snuck out! That made him start to laugh even harder. It was all so comical, that I couldn't help but start laughing outloud, too. We were all just laughing at the absurdity of the situation. I have to say, it WAS pretty darn funny.

First day of Preschool!

Today Nate and Chris had their first day of preschool. They've been looking forward to it since last March when we visited during the open house. Their teacher's name is Maggie.

The day went off without a hitch. Both boys (and actually all of the kids in the class) did really well. No tears, no sad goodbyes, just 15 three and four year olds who wanted to get busy learning and playing! It was Nate's show-and-tell day today, so he shared his map of the Enchanted Forest. Chris was excited because he got to use 'wet' glue. (not those silly glue sticks that we use at home!)

It is a co-op preschool, so the parents are required to work in the classroom. I was one of the parent helpers today, so it was great to be able to see them in action. It was fun to be back in a classroom environment. The teacher in me still loves the first day of school---I guess that never goes away! It's going to be a great year.