Priechenfried Halloween Party 2012

 We had the Priechenfried Halloween Party last Saturday night. Yes this is the first time I have had a chance to sit down since last Saturday night. It was a huge hit. We had the biggest turnout ever. There were kids everywhere and they were ready to Party. Caitlin was a fairy, Nate the ninja and Don Johnson.

 

Mom and the kids.

 Nathan woke me up at 6:30 am with his costume on, the neighborhood kids were circling the house by 2:00pm!

 We played the most games ever this year and the kids loved them. We always start with put the glow necklace bracelet on the witches hat so everyone is glowing from the start. We followed with pass the pumpkin and pin the smile on the skeleton. There are always lots of great prizes.

 Lots of school friends , I think at one point I counted over 20 kids. Yes this something that has to be done in an unfinished basement!

 The only cousin that could make it this year was Grayson :(

 One of the favorite games is the candy corn relay! You must get your cup of candy corns to the end of the deck.

 Nathan filling up Grandma's cup.  The next game was Halloween bingo. A real crowd pleader. The favorite prizes this year were inflatable swords, punch balloons and whoopee cushions!

 We always order two Monster Pizza, the boxes have to come around through the double basement doors because they don't fit through the interior doors.

Pizza!!!
 Caitlin doing the candy corn relay!

Boys and their swords!!!! Hahahahah

 The pinata was a ghost, oh fun fun always a big hit!!!! HAHAHAHA

 Look at all those kids!

 More kids!

We end with Elijah and a great smile!

Owen 32 Months!

Wow I can't believe he will be three soon. He is potty trained now, he has accidents from time to time but he did really well with potty training . I am very happy to save $20.00 at the grocery store every week and he looks so cute in those little undies! We find him naked more as taking the clothes off is way easier then putting them back on . Oh and he is talking yes, I said it before but he is trying to use words to communicate most of the time. He calls everyone by name, Nate and Cait ,Daddy and Mommy, and Bim Bim. His favorite word is tun tun tun, which stands for gum. This kid is crazy over gum. He probably has about 40 words now. I think I am supposed to count, I will put that on my list of things for tomorrow. We are usually getting him to speech three times a week and I think that is our max. Its kind of weird I wonder what the future holds. I know I know doesn't everyone. Once Owen turns three in four months everything changes as far as insurance goes. Right now our insurance is covering his $270.00 a week of speech services. At three he will be tested for an IEP (Individualized education plan) and insurance may refuse to pay for services which are offered by the public school system. There are alot of unknowns but I do know that three years old is just too young for my baby to go to school. I know I know I dropped Nathan off at 2.5 at preschool and Caitlin at 3 for the same amount of time but its just different. He CAN'T TALK!!! Not to mention I always sent my kids to the fluffy preschools this is a entirely different world! When Nathan was in OT he got tested every six months for an IEP but always rocked it but still qualified for services so we got to continue. Unfortunately, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Owen will earn the IEP title and well I hope that I can keep his services the way we have it now at least until he is 4. If at 4 he still needs it then he could go to school which would mean he would really be 4.5 with the way his birthday falls and it would be the year before he starts school. OHhh I know can you believe I worry about all this! So anyway they are completing his re-evaluating at speech right now and so in the coming weeks we should know a bit more about how he is doing and where we stand.  We are working on putting two words together.

 He is fiercely independent and can get his own bedtime snack.

 Hey Mom why are you taking a picture of me eating?

 That lady is crazy!

 So I was in the bathroom and found this stuff! Now this is fun!

 Mom relax!

Look its all over the house! You left me alone while you took a shower, why do you do stuff like that. Will you ever learn!

The pumpkin patch

It was a little hot outside the day we went and I think they kids were tired so it wasn't the best photo shoot ever but we got pumpkins.

   They are growing up so fast!

Owen and Caitlin like the little ones.

Nathan always picks the biggest, and he got it.

Okay you got me its not really a pumpkin patch just a place where a big truck dumps pumpkins but its close and kids love it and well we have our pumpkins. I always tell Carl we really need to get into the pumpkin business as I think they are a little over priced!

A visit from Aunt Ali, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Susan

Looking at pictures from Hawaii with Aunt Ali and Grandma

 When Owen woke up at 5:00 am on Saturday morning I took him down to the dock to do some fishing. There was nothing peaceful about it except the picture after!

 Look how much fun Owen is having with Aunt Susan looking at at boat magazine!

 Uncle Jeff is lots of fun!!!!!

 We played a few games of GO FISH!

 The family picture at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Take two.

Forever Friends!

Wow its time for some blog posts I am behind so it looks like it will be a two blog post week. Our most excitement happened on Friday with a short visit from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Susan. We had a family day no work no school just hanging out.We will be having family days throughout the next few weeks as we prepare for Carl to deploy. Aunt Ali even drove down for the weekend. Grandma made a great family meal and we just  hung out. It was the most unfortunate of circumstances as Jeff and Susan were in the states for a few weeks because of the loss of a friend, a brother, a fellow marine. I still can’t write this post without crying. I first meet "Otis" 12 years ago when I was in graduate school and he was such a great guy , husband and marine.  How I wish we didn't have to mourn the loss of so many marines in Afghanistan and Iraq . Oh how my heart hurts for his wife and three young children, its just not fair. He will never be forgotten! I think I need to include some pictures of Jeff with his best friend.

            Look at those smiles!

Yep thats Otis alright always the funny guy!