Annual Syracuse City Pumpkin Walk

For I don't know how many years, we have gone to the Syracuse City Pumpkin Walk. Hundreds of pumpkins are carved by volunteers and lit up. The kids always enjoy it and better yet it's free! This year we were joined by our friends the Hoovers and Corey and Bobbie.

I made the kids pose before we left.

The Pumpkin Walk is held just down the street from us so we pulled out the wagon and set out for a nice walk. Thankfully it was warm.

Landen and Peyton kept themselves entertained while waiting in line by having Spiderman fight Bumblebee.

Tanner didn't really like his monkey costume even though he looked adorable in it. He is striking a pose with his Uncle Corey.

This is our attempt at getting a picture of all of the kids in front of the Pumpkin Walk sign. I didn't even get Tanner close to joining the group.

Hopefully Mike and I will attempt carving something difficult like this next year.

Watch Futball Dad!

One time Mike let Tanner stay up a little later than the other two boys. Mike told Tanner he could only stay up if he sat with Daddy and watch football. Well, it has definitely backfired on Mike. After we say family prayers, Tanner runs downstairs, jumps on the couch and says, "Watch futball Dad." He thinks he gets to stay up all the time now.

How can anyone tell Tanner no?

Ogden Nature Center

I was fortunate enough to be able to chaperone Gage's field trip to the Ogden Nature Center. I love watching Gage interact with his friends and teacher. I was probably the only parent with a camera. I gotta get my pictures in before Gage thinks I'm embarrassing.

The kids were in a circle learning about predators and their prey.

The kids were hiding in the weeds while being taught about how animals camouflage themselves. Gage just got spotted.




The kids were given nets to try and catch bugs. I had to help them put their bugs in their bottles. Yuck!

Gage got one.

Gage was blowing some sort of flower in the air.

You can't really see in this picture, but there is a huge turkey walking by Gage.

There was a neat fort that the kids walked through over and over again. It was hard to pull them away from this area.

I'm so glad I was able to go with Gage and see him with his friends. It was nice when it was over because those kids wear me out!

Gage Goes Golfing

Gage went golfing with Mike for the second time in his life. Mike says that Gage seems to enjoy it. We might try and get him his own clubs for Christmas. This is the only picture Mike got which is one more than he got last time so I guess I should be grateful. Looks like I will have to join them if I want anymore than this.

Summer Fun At Lagoon

We were fortunate enough to be able to get Lagoon passes once again this past year. We definitely get our money's worth. We went to Lagoon A Beach more than ever as well. I braved the crowds and actually went a lot with just the boys and I. Unfortunately you wouldn't know it. I never brought the camera when it was just me because I knew I would never be able to take pictures and I always forgot the camera when Mike came with us. Leave it to my mom to take some good pictures of when she was able to join us on our last trip of the year.

Gage started out a little timid this year and we weren't able to get him to try the Colossus or go on the White Roller Coaster (even though he went on this last year). He did go on the Screamer because his buddy Zach went on it and because he knew it WAS my favorite ride. I must emphasize the word WAS because I haven't been on the Screamer for years and I think it will be a long time if ever before I go on it again. It made me so sick. Gage didn't care for it much either. He also went on the Jet Star for the first time which he really liked. Gage's favorite for the second year in a row was of course the Wild Mouse. I don't know why but that ride freaks me out. I feel like I'm going to drive right off the edge.

Oh Landen. It might be a few years before Landen is tall enough to go on any of the big rides even though he really wanted to this year. Mike did sneak him on The Bat by talking the Lagoon worker into it even though he wasn't quite tall enough. He loved it and couldn't understand why they wouldn't let him on it the next time we went. Landen really enjoyed riding the Tilt A Whirl and The Scrambler.

Tanner was a little unsure at the start of our Lagoon season and I thought we were in for a long summer. However, he really caught on quickly to how fun the rides were. He loved driving the cars, riding the whales, and going "up down fishy" in the Sea Odyssey. Tanner's favorite was probably the train which his nice Grandma rode 3 times in a row with him because she just couldn't tell him no.

Here's some pictures of our last trip of the year to Lagoon.

Silly Tanner

Tanner makes me laugh almost daily. He loves to be like his older brothers and do anything they are doing. Here's a couple of silly pics of Tanner.

Getting Tanner to wear a helmet really hasn't been an issue. He loves to wear it because his older brothers wear one whenever they ride bikes. Tanner decided to wear it around the house this day just for fun.

Gage and Landen are playing soccer so of course Tanner wants to play. He insisted on having Mike put on Landen's soccer socks and shoes. I don't know why Tanner wasn't very happy here but he wore them for awhile.

Tanner loves to snuggle with anyone in our big chair especially his "Gandma".

Happy Birthday Mike!

Mike turned 32 today. Wow he's getting old. Just kidding. I like being 2 years younger than him. We had some family over and had Mike's favorite cake made by his parents not me. I guess it's time for me to learn how to make it.

Happy Birthday Merrill!

Binky Yucky

So after our trip to the dentist, I was determined to be done with Tanner's binky. I thought the idea of having the binky taste gross made sense. I would still give the binky to Tanner. It would be his choice to not take it because it tastes nasty. My fear was that Tanner wouldn't mind the yucky taste.

A couple of days ago we put Tanner to bed as usual. I didn't give Tanner his binky until he asked for it. "Binky," he said. I handed him his binky and he immediately put it into his mouth. He started sucking away on it and I feared he might not notice the taste.

Tanner took it out of his mouth and just looked at it.

Tanner put it back into his mouth and then immediately took it back out and said, "Binky yucky." He started crying. I had one spare binky I hadn't ruined and I almost went and got it because of his sad face but I held strong. Tanner just kept saying, "Binky yucky" over and over.

I took the binky from Tanner and placed it next to him on his bed. I wanted it to be his choice that he didn't take it. He fussed a little bit, but then went right to bed. The next day I gave him his binky at nap time and he immediately said, "Binky yucky," and wouldn't take it. He did this for a couple of days. I even asked him once or twice if he wanted his binky and he would shake his head no saying, "binky yucky." I can't believe how easy it was to get rid of this habit. I remember with Gage we took it away over Thanksgiving weekend and it was days of screaming for an hour each night. This was so much easier!

Landen's 2nd 1st Day of Preschool

Landen attended the Syracuse Montessori Preschool last year. Today was the first day of his second year going to this school. He was so excited especially since Gage had been going to school for over a month now. It was finally his turn. Landen knew he was going to be one of the "big" kids this year and would have to help all the new students. Landen had a couple of friends joining him this year that he was excited about helping.

Here's Landen looking handsome in front of our door.

Landen in front of some trees at school.

I know it maybe hard to believe, but Landen is actually 3 months older than his friend Collin that will be attending the school this year.

I am a little nervous about these two best of friends going to school together. Hopefully they will behave themselves.

Landen didn't even say goodbye. He was tired of all the pictures and hurried into school to start working.

Landen learned a lot last year in preschool. I am so proud of how hard he works. I can't wait to see all the fun things he will learn and do this year!

A Trip To The Dentist

Gage and Landen have been to two different pediatric dentists. I haven't been really happy with either one of them. My sister Brandy has always taken her kids to dentists that like to see kids at age 1 while mine don't like to start regular checkups until age 3. I know you aren't going to get much of an exam until age 3, but since I have always had insurance I wanted someone who would start at least getting my children used to checkups so they would be pros by the time they were 3. Well, I recently took my kids to Atlantis Dental in Syracuse and I have finally found my dentist! They said they like to start seeing kids 6 months after they get their first tooth.

I took Landen and Tanner first and then Gage a week later. I was worried about Tanner getting an exam, but I was determined. I had Landen go first and made Tanner watch Landen get his teeth cleaned. Landen did great. No cavities. We just need to work on flossing. I'm not very good at doing that.

Tanner was next and was a little apprehensive. He didn't want to sit on the chair so I sat down first and Tanner sat on my lap. They were so cute with Tanner. They spent time showing Tanner how the spin brush "tickled" on my finger and then his. After doing that, they were able to clean his whole mouth and take x-rays! The dentist then took a look. He said everything looked good, but asked if he still took a binky. I have been holding onto the binky way longer than I did with Gage. I only use it for naps and bedtime because Tanner goes to bed so easily with it. The dentist said it was affecting his bite and I should try to break the habit. He said they had a bottle of nasty tasting stuff I could dip his binkies in so I wouldn't have to go buy a bottle. Nice huh? So when I went back today for Gage's appointment, I took all of Tanner's binkies and painted the yucky liquid on them. We will see how it works tonight. Tanner also has a big gap between his two front teeth. The dentist said there is a piece of his gums that will need to be clipped at some point. He said it could wait until sometime in the future when he might need another procedure so they could be done at the same time.

Gage's teeth looked good. No cavities. However, the dentist said he is a little behind on losing his teeth. Gage has only lost his two bottom front teeth and the two beside those were pulled to make room for the first two to come up. The two that were pulled don't have any room for his permanent teeth to break through and his top teeth should have been out by now. He said he would wait and see what happens within the next 6 months before he starts pulling more teeth. I asked about kids getting braces earlier now a days and he said Gage would probably be a good candidate for that. We will see what the next 6 months brings. Hopefully the tooth fairy will make a few appearances.