This fall has come and gone so quickly, but we enjoyed it to it's fullest. There were several trips to the cider mills in and around our house. We apple picked, made apple bread and sweet little mini apple pies. There were small town trick or treating events, a preschool party to not be missed and of course the big day itself. As you can see from the picture, by the time the 31st arrived, the boys were tuckered out. Or at least sick of all the pictures. I couldn't help but take advantage of the fact that they were still small enough to fit into shall we say a more "babyish" costume and easy going enough to not really care what costume they wore. They may have been a little old for these costumes but Mommy needed one last Halloween to cherish before the super hero, scarey guy costumes surface.
In November we had professional pictures taken of the boys. They came out beautifully but when we added up all the expenses, we decided to give our own camera a shot. The above photo was taken by Kevin, the perfect depiction of their silly and unique qualities. We were lucky enough to get some great shots. We'll still order some from the photographer, but now we don't have to spend a such a fortune. Note to self...become a professional photographer in my next life. Thanksgiving was nice family day. We spent the earlier part of the afternoon with Kevin's family and then the second half of the day with my own. The boys love spending time with Grant and Claire. They have so much fun with them and Grant and Claire are such great role models for the boys. Two days after Thanksgiving was Claire's birthday and we all went to see The Muppets and have dinner together.
December will arrive in just a few short hours and we welcomed the Christmas season by attending the Big Bright Light show in downtown Rochester. We watched in the rain as Santa lit over 1.5 million lights lining Main Street. We've decked our halls, made a list for Santa, reunited with our Elf on the Shelf and started watching all of our favorite Christmas classics. Christmas will be here in just a few short weeks followed up by a very big day soon after. The boys 5th birthday.I wish I could say I am excited. I'm not. I'm dreading it more than the fact that a week after they turn 5, I'll turn 36. Since before they were born, I've always used the age of 5 as my what if age. I wonder what they will look like when they are five? How will their personalities be at 5? How tall will they be, what will be their likes/dislikes, who will their friends be, etc.... Now it's here and I know all the answers to my questions. I've never imagined them much beyond 5 because 5 seemed so far away and it was always difficult to see my babies as anything else besides babies.
I want the past 5 years back to re-live all over again. I want to feel their soft fuzzy baby hair, wiggle those teeny, tiny toes, pluck a binky into their mouths and melt into them. I want it all back, learning to walk, hearing those first words, boring mundane days in the winter, exciting discoveries with each passing season. I'll even take the days that I felt like I was losing my mind.
I can see now just how important the work I was doing was. I often felt like I was so busy but at the end of the day I had not accomplished a thing. I was wrong. We gave them every bit of ourselves and enough love and affection to last a lifetime. In return we have two amazingly bright and every bit as loving little boys. They have beautiful spirits and a potential that cannot be measured.
Since we can't stop 5 from coming, we are going to do it up big. The boys have asked to have an Angry Birds party. I've been working on handmade decorations for the past month since there really aren't any Angry Bird party favors. We had previously planned a trip to visit my parents in Punta Gorda, FL this March, but plans have changed due to a wedding. So instead we are going to surprise the boys on their birthday with the news that we are going to go back to Disney. We are going to leave on my birthday, a week after their birthday. Kevin and I felt a bit strange about taking them back before it's even been a year yet. As I explained the apprehension to my sister she reassured me that I should take advantage of their age right now. She said she wishes she could have that time back with her kids to do it all over again and it didn't take much for her to convince me that you can't do Disney "too much" when they are this little.
So goodbye to fall and welcome to the upcoming winter. I won't wish you away like I have in the past because I need every precious day to create more memories with my three boys.
