Happy Halloween!

Sorry about the weird formatting of the pics. I will see if Greg can fix that later.

Here are some pics from Trick or Treat night!
Ry the monkey. This is the costume that Aunt Leigh made for Ethan a couple of years ago. I was so excited that it fit Ryan so perfectly.



Ethan with our neighbor




Even Greg got festive and pulled out his Superman costume.



My money is on Darth Vader

Warning: Lots of bragging inside below.

Ethan came home from school and was all excited to tell me that he got a certificate. We were in a hurry and I didn't think much of it and of to lunch we went to meet some friends. When we got home, he showed it to me. My boy was Student of the Month. This means that his teacher thinks he is the best student ever.....ok, I might have made that up but a mom can dream. This does mean that his teacher thought he completed all of his assignments to the best of his ability, helped another student in need and put forth a constant effort to improve academically. I asked him if he knew what the certificate meant and he didn't really get it so I explained to him that his teacher thought he was doing his very best at school and was a nice friend to his classmates. I think he got it. Greg and I are trying to come up with a reward for him for being such a great student.

Ethan can be very shy so I was very nervous when he first started school. I thought for sure he would be "that kid" crying and me having to push him on the bus. That first day he got on the bus like he had done it a million times before. His confidence & maturity have far exceeded our expectations and we are only 2 months into school. His teacher has always had glowing things to say about him but I was really reminded with how great of a boy we have when he brought this home today. We are just so proud of him.

And I can't brag on E without mentioning Ryan. He is doing great. He absolutely loves going to school and is always running out the door when I tell him his bus is coming. He is only 2 and recognizes most of his letters & numbers and can now count to 20 in English and today he surprised me by counting to 10 in Spanish. I had no idea he knew that. I think I have Dora & Diego to thank for that one.

So that is enough bragging. We are just so incredibly proud of both of our boys.

Some random pics

Ethan, Ella & Jack enjoying the nice weather.


Ryan, just after a hair cut


Ethan, showing off his Star Wars Lego creation


How Ry prefers to wear his hat, borrowed from Si


Ryan & Silas--fun in the sun

Fall zoo trip

We went to the zoo with our neighbors. She also watches kids in her home so between the two of us, we had eight total. It was crazy but we had so much fun!

The clan


Ryan


Xanis--Justin & Leigh's nephew


Ethan--He looks so big now


And our attempt at a group shot

Pumpkin Patch 2008

We went to the pumpkin patch with Ethan's school this week. Ethan & Ryan had a great time! Poor daddy had to go out of town that day though.

Ethan with his bff, Alex


Beautiful fall scenery


Ry in the corn maze


Our attempt at a group photo


Ethan with his pumpkin

Ethan was sent to the office and other ramblings....

So my sweet baby boy was sent to the office yesterday. I know, I was as shocked as all of you reading. My sweet baby boy can do no wrong. ;) But, it wasn't because he was in trouble but because he had a bloody nose. I got a call yesterday and it went like this:
hello, Mrs. Syferd?
Yes
This is so and so from Beacon Elementary. Ethan was in the office and I needed to call and let you know.
OMG, what did he do?
Oh no, he is fine but he had a bloody nose on the bus.


And he is fine. He does have a blood clotting disorder so anytime he bleeds, they have to call me in case I need to bring in his medicine. Luckily, it stopped on his own and all was well.

Yesterday was just one of those days where nothing could go right. The bee guy came again and said well, we might have to take your house apart to find the nest. Ok, not going to happen. Spray it again and we will make do. We did patch a couple of small nail holes in the wall and we haven't had any more in the house. Yay!

Ryan had a day yesterday and not a good one. Luckily, these days are few and far between but it was one of those times where I felt like there was nothing I could do to help him. And truly, there wasn't. He just needed to get out his frustrations and since he doesn't just come up and tell me that his skin is itchy or that his tag is bothering him or that he didn't like the way Ethan came up to play with him, he just has to vent in other ways. He just cried and screamed and kicked and about 45 minutes later, came out of his room and declared himself a "nice boy" again. I was so happy to have my nice boy back.

I did get some great news though. One of my very bestest friends is coming to visit in November. I can't wait. The boys are going to Grandma's (right mom?), I will kick Greg out to Justin's and we will enjoy a girl's weekend. I am so excited!