Karen and Mitch Plus 3: 'Tis the Season!!!

'Tis (or at least, 'Twas) the season.....

To be spooky!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back at the end of October, otherwise known as "Halloween", the residents of Kingbird and Flicker Courts decided to have another block party to celebrate the pagan holiday. Our contribution to the event included the yummy cookies you see above.

It fell on the weekend, so the timing was perfect to spend a late, sorta chilly, fall afternoon outside with the neighbors. All the kids (and some of the adults!!) showed up in costume.

There was lots of yummy food, including burgers and dogs grilled by Tom, our neighbor two doors down to the right.

Tom is a former Marine (like Mitch), and is a Fairfax County police officer, and his wife is a school teacher. They have 2 daughters - Kiera, who is 4 months older than Tyler, and Kayla, who is 3 months younger than Evan. The four of them play together all the time and have a lot of fun.

After all the eating and playing around, we all gathered up and went trick-or-treating around other parts of Morris Farm. The boys had a great time going around with their friends and collected a fair amount of candy (most of which was eaten by Daddy). It was loads of fun.

'Tis the season to be thankful.....

For friends.

November brought visits from special Aunties Mae-Beth and Leah!

For beautiful, healthy children.

Well, my photog skills aren't perfect, but the subjects sure are cute!!!

November also brought Maddy's first taste of banana bread...

She loves it!!!

And thankful for family.

Thanksgiving was WONDERFUL. We had (almost) everyone at our house. My sister and her husband (his first Thanksgiving off in about 20 years), and my nephew Jordan all drove down from Vermont. Unfortunately, my oldest nephew Jared, wasn't able to make it because he had to work. My brother and his boys, as well as his girlfriend Jeannine and her son also came down.

Here's Uncle Doug sharing a beer with Evan and Maddy:

JUST KIDDING!!

Joining us for dinner were Fammy and Granddad, as well as Ashley, Richard, Nathan, and Charlotte. We had quite a crowd and it was awesome. I don't have any pictures of the dinner event itself, but here are a couple pictures of the bird:

It was DELICIOUS!!! AND, I made the most ridiculously delicious pumpkin cake! Feast your eyes on this:

Mom wanted a shot of all the grandkids - unfortunately she had to settle with only 6 of the 7.

And here is a precious shot of Madelyn with her Uncle Doug (one that doesn't involve beer).

'Tis apparently also the season for birthdays here on the court. In November, we went to Kiera's 4th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese (OMG, the boys had a BLAST!), and next door for Carli's 5th birthday. She had a princess party, but invited a few prince's as well!

And of course, it is now December, and we've got lots of birthdays just in our own house! The month started off with Mitch's birthday on the 1st. I don't have any pictures, but the kids and I made a card involving construction paper, markers, and handprints with paint. By request, I slaved over a crock pot all day (tee hee) to create Mitch's favorite beef stew, and my mom took a drive up the road a ways to a farm where they sell the most delicious berry pies (or so I've been told - I don't care for berry pies) for desert.

Now Evan's birthday is not until the 18th, but we had his party this past weekend. It was a small affair to which we only invited our favorite neighbors. Well, truthfully we like all of our neighbors, but the boys play the most with Kiera and Kayla, and with Alex and Carli who live right next door.

The theme was "CARS".

Goody bag assembly....

decorations...

and CAKE!!!

There was eating,

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and drawing,

and presents!!

He got some great stuff and it was a lot of fun. I can't believe he'll be 3 on Saturday!!!

Another thing that I can NOT believe, is that Maddy will be 1 tomorrow! It is so bittersweet for me. She is such a sweet little baby that it makes me sad that she is growing up. At the same time, I'm excited about the fun we'll have together as she gets older. *sigh* It's a big day tomorrow, we're getting her pictures taken in the morning, and then she'll enjoy her first cupcake after dinner - not to mention her first taste of cow's milk! We're having her party on Saturday.

Some parting shots of the kids:

The princess...