Halloweeeeeeeeeeen

Boo at the Zoo

Boo at the Zoo -- notice the sign : )

It was the Halloween that never ended. (At least we got good use of our costumes)! First it was Boo at the Zoo at the Austin Animal Sanctuary Saturday night where we saw animals by the light of our flashlights and got spooked on the haunted train ride. (My favorite was the aliens with the inflatable UFO having a disco party). It turned out to be a chilly night but nothing like the snow back in Maryland! It was pretty cool to see how active the animals were at night. Morgan had a blast and even Dean was confused yet entertained enough to not get crabby during our late night out. 

Wildflower Center

Wildflower Center

Next up was a Halloween festival at the Ladybird Wildflower Center on Sunday afternoon. We walked the grounds and admired the costumes, music, and flowers. The kids got balloon animals (Dean is holding his piggy) and Morgan got a turtle (of course!) Tried to get a shot of both kids by the pumpkins but only Dean would cooperate. Racecar driver Morgan found a tunnel that he loved to zoom through.

Wildflower Center

Wildflower Center

Monday morning, Morgan's school had a Halloween carnival, complete with treasure hunts in hay stacks, face painting, pumpkin painting and most exciting of all... Morgan's first experience with a piñata. He was extremely gentle when it was his turn to hit, just tapping it softly but grinning ear to ear. That's his teacher, Mrs. Kellie.

Ms. Kellie

our gentle tapper

 While Morgan was at school, I had a Halloween-themed Stroller Strides play date where I took Dean in his piggy costume. They had a costume contest, so we all lined up and when I lifted him up to show everybody at voting time, he squealed as if on cue. People were cracking up and he edged out a win!

After days of celebrating, we decided to just hang at home and give out candy but ended up not getting one single trick-or-treater. Guess it's because we're on the end of the road?? Dunno, but that's fine by us -- we are Halloweened out!

Dean's (left) and Morgan's (right) pumpkins

Motor Mouth

Baby Dean can't talk, but he's showing us how observant he is. The other day Ed gave him his cell phone to entertain him while changing a diaper and Dean held it up to his ear. Then, last week, Ed and I noticed that whenever Dean plays with a toy car, he makes a "vroom" sound while pushing it around. Guess he's been watching his older brother. Does "vroom" count for a first word??? Make sure you have your volume up:
http://blip.tv/pelaezfam/dean-vrooms-while-playing-with-car-5681125 

A Picnic with the Gypsies

It was a beautiful 76 degrees for the 2nd Annual Gypsy Picnic, where live music, home brewed beer and food trailers populated the lawn area along Towne Lake. It was a good chance to sample many different foods -- think Taste of Bethesda but in a field : ) With the kids in tow, we had a picnic in the shade and watched jugglers, marching bands and trains go by while we munched. Morgan didn't eat much though, saying that he liked daddy's cooking better : ) Good thing we brought snacks!

No pretty picture for this update.

Ugh. Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, but you'll be glad not to see any pictures accompanying this post. We managed to get hit by the stomach bug that's been going around. First, it was Dean, then Ed and few days later, then Morgan in the middle of the night. I managed to dodge the bullet but I honestly don't know how with the amount of puke and diarrhea diapers I've been cleaning up. The washing machine was on non-stop for 3 days between all the sheets, bedding, rugs and clothes that got puked on. After a night sleeping in Morgan's bed with a bucket between us, I felt like I had a hangover from the lack of sleep. It was especially hard seeing the little guys so sick, but they seemed to rebound faster than even Ed. Kids are so resilient. Anyways, everyone was better just in time for Ed's birthday on Wednesday. Uncle Steven will babysit this Saturday so Ed and I can have a nice dinner and toast to his birthday and our health.

Cacti at a pumpkin patch? Only in Texas.

No Butler's Orchard this year, so we had to find a replacement. Ed took the day off Tuesday, so we went to Marble Falls Farm about an hour outside of Austin to enjoy a day filled with hayrides, pumpkin picking, candy corn mazes, and barrel trains. It seems weird that it was Dean's first Halloween experience -- I feel like he was around this time last year, but not quite. The kids took a long hay ride through a forest of scarecrows and cacti which made us do a double take. Really? Even on a farm? We must be in Texas.

Morgan and I got turned around in the kiddie corn maze for 20 minutes but finally made it to the end where we rang the bell. (Mostly because I let Morgan take the lead. Well, that's my excuse, but I will admit it was pretty disorienting in there)! Dean and Morgan got a ride on the barrel train (which was Morgan's favorite part of the day but I thought it was a pretty bumpy ride). Since it was a Tuesday, the lines were non-existent. The farm had hay stacks decorated as pigs which was the perfect photo op for our own little piggy, Dean, which speaking of, will be his Halloween costume. He's fat, he's messy, he squeals when he doesn't get his way and he eats anything that crosses his path. It's a perfect match!

It's time Dean got a haircut to match his attitude.

 

He's feisty. He's into everything. He's got attitude when he doesn't get his way. He doesn't cry when he falls. This guy is tough and the long, fine hair just wasn't a good match so we thought we'd give the faux hawk a try.