Almost Halloween!

The kids tried on all their Halloween finery--thanks Grandma! Tomorrow's the big Halloween party at the Embassy, then on Saturday we have a party here in our building, complete with trick-or-treating. Hooray!

And here's a clip of Joey and Maria trying to figure out the game Honeybee Hop--at this point they still weren't quite clear on the concept.

Galloping Jumperoo!

Owen really loves his jumperoo--when he's into it, he does some serious bouncing.

Maria is such a good big sister!

Kickety-kick-kick!

Owen in his Exersaucer

Birthday Weekend

Joey celebrated his 5th birthday this weekend at McDonald's. Admittedly, this was not quite up to our usual birthday extravaganza standards, but since my birthday is the day before his, I decided to give myself a present this year: not organizing a birthday party in our apartment. The thought of multiple screaming five-year-olds bouncing off the walls just made me too tired.

So, McDonald's it was--and I have to say it was a million times easier. All we had to do was show up, greet the parents as they dropped off their kids, and keep the kids from taking off while the party was in progress. The poor beleaguered McDonald's staff did the rest, from trying to corral the kids for games like musical chairs and hot potato (which quickly deteriorated into throw the ball at your friend's head) to lighting the candles on the chocolate Grimace cake. I had no idea how many kids were coming--hardly anyone RSVP'd--but I guessed 10 and that's exactly how many showed up. For that alone, I'd consider the party a success. Here's some footage that gives you a real taste of the party (look for the kid trying to eat a birthday candle...)

More importantly, Joey had a great time, and spent the rest of the afternoon opening presents and putting together Indiana Jones legos with Declan. Here he is trying on a knight costume from Nana & Papa. He also loved his pop-up 3D book from Grandma--he even wore his 3D glasses when we went to check out a dinosaur exhibit at Emporium.

Owen didn't attend the party, staying home with Tukkie instead for a brief period of peace and quiet. I think he's definitely put on weight since his last weigh-in at the doctor's office. We're going back on Friday to see exactly how much--stay tuned for more details then.