Daily Circus

"Ghosts in the House!" and Other Great Halloween/Fall Reads

I like having a variety of in-season books available for the kids to look through and read. Here are some of our favorite Halloween/Fall picks (some are pictured above, the rest is listed below):

• From Seed to Pumpkin, by Wendy Pfeffer
• The Season's of Arnold's Apple Tree, by Gail Gibbons
• The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, by Steven Kroll
• The Apple Pie Tree, by Zoe Hall
• It's Pumpkin Time, by Zoe Hall
• The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin, by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain (pictured above, but the title is not visible all the way)
• Clifford's First Fall, by Norman Bridwell
• One Halloween Night, by Mark Teague
• The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree, by Jan Berenstain
• Spooky Hour, by Tony Mitton
• Curious George Goes to a Costume Party, by Margret Rey
• Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson
• Clifford's First Halloween, by Norman Bridwell

Which are your favorite Halloween/Fall reads?

 

I Love Fall! How About You?

I love the colors, the smell, the sound of crunching leaves, the crisp mornings and golden afternoons. I love it all! In Fall, more so than any other time of the year, I like spending our days outside. No need to worry about putting sun screen onto three wriggly kids, or bundling just as many of them up in heavy winter gear. No, in Fall getting ready to go outside is easy. And with all the leaves on the ground there is always plenty to do. Finn loves crawling through them all, picking them up to feel - or even taste them if I am not quick enough. Of course his big brothers are always ready to provide entertainment if Finn finds himself in need of such (and if you ask them he always does). This time it was in shape of a dump truck with a bit of leftover wet sand/mud in it. He set about investigating right away.

Besides keeping their brother entertained, Noah and Evan worked hard raking the leaves into big piles, just to scatter them all about the yard again while driving them around in their big dump trucks and little red wagon. Of course Noah was wearing his little new backpack (a birthday present) the entire time. Never mind that we didn't actually leave the yard at all.

Having the leaves around really provides a lot of hands on fun for the kids. So many reasons to love fall!

I have to admit, the tiny wooden fruits and miniature baskets are quite engaging

Noah went and turned three years old on me. It feels like yesterday that he was turning two, and now he's already three. He didn't mind one bit of course. After all, he thinks he's really five.

My favorite parts of the day were Evan giving Noah the present he carefully picked and purchased with his own money (a mystery hotwheels car) first thing in the morning, watching Noah be completely immersed in cutting craft foam sheets into tiny bits and pieces while Charles and Evan were busy working away at the fish craft we had picked for Noah, watching him open his presents and REALLY loving the lego duplo steam train we chose for him, surprising him with the new 'big boy' car seat he has been wanting for so long, then taking him on a trip to target to pick up an ICEE (he asks for one every time we leave the store, and the answer is almost always no, especially now that it's getting cold). I also loved the time after we got him and Evan ready for bed (Finn was already asleep) and we had a chance to play his new board game (Orchard, from HABA). He loved picking fruits off the trees to put into his fruit basket. Of course we read his new Thomas book (Hero of the Rails) not once, but twice, per his request.

I have long given up on getting that perfect birthday picture. The boys' birthdays are in fall and winter, and I can't ever seem to have enough light in the house (or outside, for that matter) to get anything but grainy/blurry shots. One day I will have a faster lens (Charles insists on getting me one) which might will manage the low light situations better, but until then I thought I'd have some fun with these polaroid frames. I love how it gives them that yesteryear look. After all it won't be long before this will sadly be the case...

Enjoy!

And since we're talking about writing...

Noah has moved on to more than scribbles. I have only shown Noah how to write his name a few times, yet somehow he remembered. The other day Evan and Noah were coloring together, when I overheard Noah saying out loud: "N---O---AH. Doooone." He then came walking over to me, showing me his printed name on the back of his coloring page. All the letters were clear, and in perfect order. That boy never fails to surprise us!

A poem, inspired by Piglet's Poohetry

Here is Evan's "poem", like promised yesterday:

I luf to scip umung the pridee flars I pick minee flars. I luf the praes. I fik Theat flurs R a pridee site.

And here is the translation:

I love to skip among the pretty flowers. I pick many flowers. I love the prairies. I think that flowers are a pretty sight!

If 5 year olds made the rules...

Today during school time Evan was given the beginning of a sentence and prompted to make up the rest of the story. Here it is:

The lake froze, so I got my skates....

 … so I could skate on the lake. I fell down. I could not get back up. So I called for help. Papa came to help me. Then I kept skating.

He was so proud of what he wrote! Although I should mention that he felt his story was done after he finished the very first sentence, and every sentence after that. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to actually come up with a middle and end to his story. On the upside, I didn't really have to help him much with his spelling. He forgot to capitalize I (every time) and he wrote cep instead of kept, although when asked about it later, he remembered that the letter combination ce doesn't actually make a /k/ sound. He didn't know how to spell could and he put two l's in help. He even remembered to ask if back was spelled with a ck at the end. He is still learning to write independently, so I am very happy for every word he did managed to sound out and spell correctly! What an exciting time for him (and us)!

I also love listening to him  whenever he reads out loud. He is getting so fast too. A lot of the little words are starting to become sight words. Just when I was busy cooking lunch, he sat down and wrote a poem, which I will have to add here tomorrow. It was all his idea, and he finished with the entire page rather quickly. Of course, everything on it is sounded out and spelled accordingly. It's rather cute, if you ask me. I am just happy that he is showing such interest! And while we are talking about Evan and all the things he feels the need to put in writing, have a look at what I found on the kitchen counter just the other day...

He didn't care much for the poky vines, but other than that he enjoyed his first time at the pumpkin patch



Last year, when pumpkin time came around, we packed the kids (and a pregnant me) into the car and drove four hours south - just so we could pick pumpkins at our favorite pumpkin patch. We had been visiting this same farm since moving to America four years ago, and have always had an enjoyable experience. In fact, by the second year, we had it down to a science. We knew when the best times to visit were, and, as a result, never had to deal with lines for the tractor ride, water pumps or petting zoo. We always saw plenty of easily visible animals, all ready to be petted, and were able to enjoy the hay bale pyramid while still fresh. Plus, it's just SO much easier to keep track of the kids when the place isn't packed.

This year, however, I had to admit defeat. Sticking a newly mobile baby (who is also on a napping schedule) into the car for four hours was just out of the question. So it was time to pick a new pumpkin patch and, as I was sure that none of them could compare, I just picked the one closest to our house. It didn't sound half bad either. It advertised a pumpkin cannon, which I knew the boys would love, and being a mere ten minutes away is really tough to beat.

Upon arrival, Evan and Noah decided that we should take a wheelbarrow and walk to the patch instead of taking the tractor. Evan even pushed the wheelbarrow most of the way there. Noah also gave gave it a go, but pushing the wheelbarrow through the muck and dirt was a bit too much for him. When we finally made it to the patch, there was no holding back Evan. He happily ran off looking for the perfect pumpkin. Of course, being the vocal boy he is, we would hear him yelling every few seconds about the latest and greatest pumpkin he had found. It wasn't long before Noah was doing the same. We had no idea where to go or who to listen to first!

Finn seemed to be having a pretty good time too. He was doing his best to get down onto the ground. I guess he just couldn't help but be curious about those big round orange things that were strewn about all over the field. Once down, he would just hang out and examine the nearest pumpkin. He even stood up a few times while holding on to a pumpkin, the newest addition to his list of accomplishments.

Eventually we managed to decide on a few pumpkins. Noah picked a green one, with a rather unusual shape. That boy really does march to the beat of his own drum. He knows what it is he wants, without a doubt. Of course, Evan ended up getting the biggest pumpkin we would let him. We even got a little one for Finn.

After Charles wheeled the wheelbarrow back up the hill (loaded with pumpkins and kids), Evan and Noah took turns going down the tube slides, while I kept Finn busy at the U-Pick flower garden. Cleaning the pumpkins was next. Evan made sure to scrub his until squeaky clean, which was very trying for Noah as he wanted his turn and there was only one brush. We also let the kids give the pumpkin cannon a go. It was quite large and very loud. Noah did not show much interest but Evan was very excited and even got to fire the cannon. I think we were all suprised with how loud it was and how far the pumpkin flew.

While Charles was loading the pumpkins into the car I picked up pumpkin ice cream cones for the kids and surprised Charles with a baked potato. At this point it was time to take Finn home for his nap. He was just about ready to fall asleep right then and there, sitting in the wheelbarrow with his brothers.

Good thing it was only a ten minute drive.

They always find at least one ear of corn that's already off the stalk and ready to be taken along

This year we decided to try out a new corn maze - one that could be considered a bit fancier than our usual. The new maze was shaped like the state of Washington, and the trails were named after and laid out to match all the major roads and highways. There were even some bridges, overlooks and tunnels.

Despite all the fancy additions, I have to say that I much preferred the corn maze we picked last year. I guess I suspected that I would feel that way, but I am not one to say no when it comes to trying new things. This new maze was nice, but it was so much more busy than we like. Of course that also had to do with the fact that we pushed out our trip until October so that Noah's cast would be off. The weather was fabulous though and the kids did love those bridges.

After we had enough of the corn maze we made our way over to the petting zoo/play area. On the way we ran into this cool old tractor.

With three boys in the family, there was no way to get past it without investigating first. It also made an exellent spot to let Finn crawl around a bit (he was getting fussy from being stuck in the carrier for so long), and crawl he did to his little hearts desire. He also was impressed by the big tractor. It made a grand toy in his opinion and worked well as something to hold on to while he practiced his standing skills.

We did eventually make it to the petting zoo and play area. Evan especially enjoyed the tiny black kitten he was allowed to hold and cuddle, as well as the dozen or so bunnies he could sit with and pet. Noah was more interested in rearranging the straw in the bunny area.

Also worth mentioning is the hay maze, which completely filled an old two-story barn and had a fun, but precarious looking, slide at the end. To think we nearly passed it by as closing time was drawing near. Evan and Noah loved it so much they ended up running through the maze and going down the slide over and over again until closing time.

One of my favorite parts of the afternoon was watching Charles and the big boys as they sat in the grass in front of the car and ate two huge cinnamon rolls purchased from the farms bakery right before leaving. It was the way the sun was setting, I think, and the way those two noisy, always-on-the-go boys were so content as they munched away at their treats (Noah was mostly just licking off the frosting). Of course they were right back to their noisy selfs as soon as they were done eating.

Now all we need is a good nights rest because tomorrow we'll go pumpkin picking...

What Finn has been up to

This little guy has been busy these past few weeks. Besides pulling himself up onto his knees, he can now crawl and sit up. Looks like we are entering the stage of bumps and bruises. And the one where he can actually take a bath without choking on the water every two seconds (it appears that bathing on your belly can be quite a challenge). He seems happy about that, don't you think?

Itty Bitty Hearts Necklace

This necklace was a birthday present from Charles and the kids. I have always talked about getting one some day, but never got around to it yet. Not knowing which one I liked best didn't really help either. As it turns out, this one is EXACTLY what I wanted, even if I didn't know it - Charles did.