Trick-or-Treat!

We had fun trick-or-treating with our neighbor friends!

They were all so cute and had fun despite the fact that they didn't quite understand what it was all about! :)

These are a few of our friends:  

Sofia (the skeleton), Alex, Reid (the tiger..grrr!), and Emma with Elise (Ladybugs)

(There is also my beautiful Honda Pilot in the background!! :)

Here are Sofi and Alex ready to go in the wagon!

The daddys played bumper cars in the street and the kiddos were quite entertained!

The whole family trick or treating at Miss Robin's house.

Sittin' on the front steps with Daddy.

It's an ear pullin' good time!

Handing out candy at the front door!

Halloween Celebrations!

Alex has done quite a lot of Halloween celebrating over the last two days!

On Friday morning, his school went trick-or-treating through the church.  His class was so cute!  They had no clue what to do and were just wondering all around the church.  We tried to get a group shot of them.  I love how it truly represents the chaos which is the toddler class!!

Here is the Little Train Conductor with his trick-or-treat bag.  He finally figured out to carry it around at about the last stop of the morning!

That afternoon, we went to a Halloween party at MyGym.  It was mostly just playing on the regular MyGym toys with a few extra games and wearing costumes.  Alex still doesn't really understand following the rules, so the games were lost on him, but he had fun running around and wore himself out!

Here he is playing in the toy box of balls.  He took all of them out and put them through the basketball hoop.

I was trying to get a picture of Alex and his friend Jaden.  That obviously didn't go very well!

There was a giant tunnel that Alex was obsessed with.  He must have gone in and out it atleast 20 times while we were there!   

War Paint or Green Marker???

Happy October!

Fort Benning has an annual Oktoberfest, so yesterday afternoon we went to check it out.  My real motivation for wanting to go was that there was going to be yodeling there.  Over the summer, my mom and Alex realized they have a real passion for yodeling and I wanted to see what Alex's reaction was to yodeling in person.  I have to say it did capture his attention for a good 3-4 minutes, which is quite a feat for a toddler!

There was a little area with pumpkins where the kiddos could pick one out.  Alex was more interested in picking up sticks and using them like swords, but we did leave with a pumpkin.

There was also a moonwalk where Alex and his friend Sofia had lots of fun running around.  It was next to impossible for us to get them out of there!!  It was hilarious!

We even got a family picture....I think it might be the first one since J has been home!

Happy October to everyone!!

Jewel - Yodeling

This is Alex's favorite youtube video of Jewel yodeling. He loves it!

Super Reader?

This is a bulletin board at Alex's school.

Here is the close up of Alex's picture.

I don't think he wants to be a super reader!

The Little Climber!

Alex continues to love to climb everything!  It doesn't matter if it's furniture, solid structures, or even toys, he will find a way to climb.  Daddy has decided that he's going to be a mountain climber when he grows up!

Trains, Trains, and More Trains....

Daddy bought Alex his first Thomas the Train set.  He's having lots of fun with it!

My Little Ghost

The Little Monkey was on a bit of a sugar high last night after having chocolate chip cookies and milk with Daddy.  After he finished his cookies, he started running all around the house.  Eventually, he grabbed my sweater that was lying around and threw it over his head.  He thought it was absolutely hilarious to run around with it.  I guess he's just trying to let me know he's ready for Halloween because it made him look like a little ghost!

Chug-Chug, Choo-Choo!

Someone loves Thomas!

Afternoon at the Park with Mommy AND Daddy!!

Playin' Around in the Backyard

Helping Mommy with the Chores....

He crawled right in the dryer and pushed all the clothes into the laundry basket for me.  What a good little helper!

WELCOME HOME!

Daddy finally arrived home on Wednesday!  We are very excited to have him safely back home with us.  It's been a bittersweet welcome home though.  I've had strep throat and J has had a stomach bug.  Thankfully, we finally are all well and enjoying our time together.

Here is the house decorated for J's return.  Not sure if you can tell, but there are little flags lining the pathway and the holly destroyed the balloons. :(

 A close up of the banner...

The guys arrived home to the airfield at Ft. Benning.  The families all waited inside a large building there.  There were big TVs that showed film of their airplane arriving, landing, and then the guys getting off the plane. It was so exciting to watch!!  

Once they were off the plane, they had to go turn in their weapons, complete paperwork, etc.  They had a countdown of these processes on the big screens for us to watch.

While we waited, we chatted with other friends and Alex played.  He had a blast waving his flag around and dancing to the marching band playing.

It seemed like it took FOREVER, but finally everything was completed!

They opened the doors and the guys marched in 'in formation'.  Everyone was screaming, crying, and it became really exciting!  After they were all in, a prayer was said and they were released to their families!  It was SO WONDERFUL to have Jeremiah safely back to us!  Everything there was a little too much for Alex, so we got out of their quickly and headed home to be a FAMILY once again!  I don't have any pictures of us as a family on my camera, but someone else took one for us and as soon as she emails it to me, I will post it on here!  

Alex is readjusting to having Daddy home very well!  They have a blast together....he sure can make him laugh more than I can.  Alex is also very interested in all of Daddy's gear.  He loves wearing his dogs tags and trying to put on his giant combat boots.

Here are the two of them making up for lost time.

Last, but not least, a HUGE thank you to all of our family and friends for their prayers and support that have helped our family make it through the last year.  It's been tough at times, but we are very happy to finally have it behind us.  We could not have made it through without all of you.