September mod podge

On the eve of October, just a few random pics/moments from our month:

Andrew came home from school with the perfect idea for a snack - essentially a toasted cheese sandwich with sliced bananas on top.  He was so proud of himself, and to my complete surprise ate every single bite of it (and wanted to make another).

We now have "command central" in our car (a friend hooked us up with some old keyboards).  I was hoping this would make car rides home from school more fun.  Of course there is now a favorite "magical" keyboard.  Amazing.  But they do love it.

 One last afternoon at the Choi's pool after their first week of school.  Look at those tired, fried boys.

 Fall Soccer is in full swing!  More pics hopefully to come.  This was Andrew on his first game day sporting his official uniform.

 Some of the ladies of our Thursday night ycf studies.

 Meeting up with fun friends for donuts after soccer last Saturday.

 Caden working on his first "homework" assignment.

Andy (current, but soon to be no longer OC household son #4) heading off to propose to his girlfriend - the fabulous Karen Hoobler!  She said yes :).

bunk beds

We've entered the world of bunk beds!  Caden had long outgrown his toddler bed, and their room is just too small to hold 2 twin beds - so bunk beds it was.  We've been searching for the right beds for several months, and finally found this one on craiglist.  An incredible deal, and just perfect for our boys.

 We set it up after they went to bed one night (moved them to the basement to sleep).  This is Caden as he climbed into his big boy bed for the first time.

They apparently want to sleep in this bed forever.  Caden likes the bottom - he has his own little reading light, and Andrew was thrilled to have the top.  There is a ladder on the other end, and the trundle is perfect for storing legos!

Shhhh, don't tell.  Will gets to enjoy it when the big boys are at school ;).

guess who started preschool?

Yep.  He did!

Just two mornings a week at our favorite little co-op down the road.  He's ready, and we thought it might be helpful for his speech development (which is continuing to progress fairly well with therapy).

1st day - giving his teacher a ride on the choo choo.  And enjoying snack time.

He was all smiles all day (and continues to be!).

Daddy stopped by to surprise him at the end of the day.  He is all about daddy these days.

On Thursday he got to stay for 1 1/2 hours by himself.  My first wee bit of a morning with ALL three in school!!  What did I do you might ask?  I grabbed a celebratory Starbucks, and re-did my front planters for Fall (these combo's were even 50% off!).  Just a little slice of heaven in the midst of a busy week.

back to school

And another school year begins! 

 This is the first year that these two are at school together....yep, precious.  Andrew is now in first grade, and Caden is starting pre-kindergarten (half day).  We are thankful for a carpool and new morning bus service, which means that I'm only driving out once a day.

 Caden getting acquainted with his class guinea pigs.

 A quick pic with mom (that Will insisted on being in) before he was off.  So far, he is loving pre-k.

 Andrew at his official first grade desk.  And perhaps his official first grade smile? ;)

 Will excited to see his big brother after school.

The big boys celebrated that evening by going to a Nationals game - the Cubbies were in town.  You think Caden was excited?

Their seats were right behind the Cubs bullpen.  If you were a pitcher for the Cubs, wouldn't you throw them a ball too?  SO fun.  They've been spoiled this baseball season.

 The next morning was their first day on the bus!  There's that first grade smile again.

So thankful for this.  We now have an extra 50 minutes every morning.

Summer Ending

We were grateful to have an extra week to settle in before school started (on Tuesday Sept 4th)...to have the chance to get back on East Coast time, and soak up those last few days of Summer.

We had some robots/aliens/soldiers in the house one day (courtesy of dad).

 Andrew earned his yellow belt! 

Andy (currently staying with us), Dave, and our new intern/friend Tommy were matchy matchy for dinner one night.

Labor Day weekend - an impromptu day with the Chois.  The boys started with tennis lessons (Dave was a tennis instructor MANY years ago).

The look of concentration.

And then we cooled off in the pool.

Basketball - we had the place almost entirely to ourselves.

Daddy fun.

And then that afternoon we went to the Maryland football game, courtesy of Chris and Gin (the Choi's were able to get tickets next to us from other friends).  So much fun.

Labor Day we ventured out to Virginia (past Leesburg) to visit these fun friends, and their precious baby girl.  Will LOVED holding her.  What if this just happened to be the earliest wedding slide show picture ever?

Back to school pics coming soon!