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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Zoo Boo!

The boys ended up with a nasty cold and missed our friends' costume/Halloween playdate. I was SO bummed! But I still needed something fun to show off the boys in costume, and I'd never been brave enough to take them to the zoo. My friend Christie had taken her girls to Zoo Boo before, and my friend Ashlyn was excited and willing to accompany me! (No way was I trying the zoo without an extra pair of arms.) It was a little chilly, but their costumes are made of snowsuits, and I wasn't worried about them getting any other kids sick since they'd stay in their stroller. So off to Zoo Boo we went!

My mom and I made the boys' costumes with the fleecy one-piece snowsuits they sell and sewed on ears and tails we made with black fleece. I painted their faces as much as they'd let me. And, voila! Puppy costumes! (It's hard to see the ears and tails against the black stroller but trust me, they're cute.) I figured it was appropriate since they can both say dog and because they're still crawling. I was so hoping they'd be walking...but we'll have plenty of years for that!!

We saw the seals, went through the aquarium (they enjoyed the seals/sea lions as they swam by the window) and saw penguins. The polar bear looked pretty depressed and was pretty camouflaged by the rocks so I don't know if the boys even noticed him. In the forest area, we saw some loud gibbon monkeys! They were so funny, I couldn't believe two little monkeys made that much noise. The tigers were really pretty, but they didn't come up to the glass so I didn't get one of those cool, up close pictures. We saw some birds and flamingos before heading to the plains area where they had trick or treating. I was bummed they didn't have the giraffes or zebras out, I guess because it was too cold. But we saw rhinos, lions, and Henry pointed to a wildebeest and said, "dog." :) The lions were kind of far away, but it seemed like the boys were really looking at them! The elephants were really cool and the baby was hanging out, too. By that point the boys were pretty sick of the stroller, so we headed for the exit. I tried to get a few cute ones of them in costume, but didn't get any where they were both looking. 

Overall, I'd say it was a success! I was worried about taking them before they could walk, since it would mean they couldn't really get out of the stroller. Having Ashlyn there meant they both got out and held a little bit. (They both wanted to "push" the stroller when they were being held, so that was pretty funny.) I also didn't know if they'd care about the animals, but it seemed like they were looking at them. It was just hard for them to see much sitting in the stroller, since so many of the fences ended up blocking their view. But I think when we go back in the spring, it'll be a lot of fun and more animals will be out.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Fall fun, part two!

I love fall SO much, hence us getting married in October. I really wanted the boys to be born in October too, but they didn't quite make it! (Although I think their birthday is just a few days away from the "official" start of fall. :) Last year, we went to a pumpkin patch with friends, but didn't bring the boys since they were so little. I didn't even bother getting any fall decorations out! This year, I've done a little better. I got out decorations, but realized how hard it was to put them up, because anything the boys can reach goes straight in their mouths! We bought some pumpkins and have taken pictures a few times. But it was time to take the boys to a pumpkin patch!

We went to PumpkinFest north of Zionsville, and it was a blast! We went with Laura, Jacob, Christie, Jason, and the girls, Charlotte and Claire. There was an admission charge, but it was so worth it with all of the activities to do. We will definitely go back next year. The weather was cloudy and cool, but the boys were warm enough with just a jacket. We did the hayride first, which Holden loved! Henry didn't seem to be that into it, but Holden was chewing on hay and practically falling off the wagon looking over the side.

There will be tons more they can do next year, when they can run around, but we still did plenty! They had live music, and several swing set areas so the boys got to both swing. They had live animals, so they looked at some goats and sheep. They had cute little ride on toys and a pretend horse where they could sit in the saddle. There was a sandbox type area that was filled with corn instead of sand. It had lots of trucks to push around and play with. We put the boys in it, but had to keep stopping them from eating the corn. (Again, I think next year that won't be a problem! I hope!) We even did the corn maze. They had a great slide that we went down with the boys on our laps.

My favorite part, though, was the mini pumpkin patch. For the admission price, all the little kids get to pick out a pumpkin. The boys were THRILLED that we allowed them to get down and crawl. Especially Holden! I couldn't even get him to look at me for a picture because he was on the move. :) I got a decent one of Henry, at least. Of course I couldn't get a good family picture, either. As soon as we tried to grab the boys, they started crying. I should have remembered to try again later, but oh well! We got a good one of me and Alex for our 5th anniversary, at least.

They had food and cider, but we'd eaten right before. I did get some kettle corn, and yummy apple cinnamon donuts I shared with the boys on the way home. There was a store and lots of mums and fall stuff for sale, but since it was getting close to nap time, we just headed out. So it was a pretty great day overall! No one was too grumpy, there was plenty to do even with one year olds, and we had a fun time with friends! Can't wait to do it again next year when the boys are a little bigger. Here are the pictures...enjoy! 
 
 
 
 
The "Alex" look
 
 
Fun slide!


Corn maze fun
  
Henry
Holden on the move!
 
 
 

Love this one!!

Trucks and corn!
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fall fun, part one

I wanted to get a few pictures of the boys outside with some fall leaves. So I picked a day and tried to get a few shots! Sorry I couldn't narrow it down. :) The boys were so happy and cute I thought a lot of them turned out great! They love to be outside and it was such a pretty day. I was hoping for a little more leaf color, but I think you get the idea! Now that the leaves have actually fallen in our yard, I'll have to try and get a few more leaf pile pictures. Yay for fall!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Really love this one for some reason :)

 
 
 
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