4 Year Pics

I really can't believe I am posting their FOUR year pics. Gone are the days of drooling, crawling, wobbly walking and barely talking. Now they are full on talking, running, interacting, and opinionated kids. Kids-not really even toddlers anymore.

My hearts swells with pride at the kind hearted, loving, accepting children Luke and Olivia have become. If someone gets hurt, they ask if they are ok. They give hugs and kisses freely to family and friends. They hold our hands. They laugh and play. They ask questions. They offer opinions. They draw and write their names. They build things and work puzzles. They play games and are learning how to not only win, but also how to lose. They have true friendships. They get their feelings hurt. They tell us about their day. They have chores. They are respectful of family and friends. They help get breakfast ready. They sit right beside one another (practically on top of one another) when watching a movie, even though they have their own chairs. They love one another purely and deeply. They are each others best friends. They argue, but are protective of one another.

They miss us when we're not together. And we miss them. They are growing up. The days are long, the weeks are short. That phrase is oh so true.

Now, not to say they are without some "kid moments", but overall they are good, no AWESOME kids. And I love them more each day.

Happy 4th Birthday to our Lucas Cole and Happy 4th Birthday to our Olivia Rae.

Above all, they have minds of their own!

Did I mention....

Olivia LOVES LOVES LOVES dance class.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! A lot of my family was traveling this year, but we enjoyed having MauMaw and Paupaw over for a nice Thanksgiving dinner. We kept the day low key and relaxing with lots of good food, football, Disney Jr and family time!

Halloween

I knew the time was coming that Luke and Olivia would want more input into their costumes. I thought maybe I had one more year. I thought wrong :) Luke really wanted to be a construction worker and Olivia flip flopped between which princess she wanted to be. She ultimately settled on Ariel (sorry Belle and Sleeping Beauty). Their choices helped me decide on the "Truck N Tiara" theme for their 4th birthday, but that's for another post...

Trick or treating was a blast this year! After a parade around the neighborhood, pizza party in the parking lot, and quick regroup, we met up with the same friends we trick or treated with last year. We piled the kids into our wagons and off we went.

Last year we went to the doors with the kids and coaxed them to trick or treat. This year, they took off up the driveways, no fear whatsoever, and trick or treated all by themselves (while all of us adoring parents watched from the sidewalk). It was eye opening just how much they have grown up over the past year and have really become individuals. Part of me wanted to still walk with them, and part of me knew they had to do it on their own for their confidence and "fun" factor. It made my heart happy and sad all at the same time.

They were BEAT after all of the running and excitement, and basically crashed as soon as we got home. No digging through the candy bag tonight-that would have to wait until the morning!

Pumpkin Carving

We were SO excited to carve pumpkins with the kids this year (it's still weird to call them "kids" and not "babies"). Last year Dan carved a Mickey and Minnie, but they were still just a tad too little to really understand it. This year, they looked through the pumpkin carving book and picked out a design and they got to help us as well. The both enjoyed playing with the seeds and "guts" in their own bowls while Dan did the carving part. We gave them paint and paintbrushes so they could decorate their pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

Have I mentioned how much I adore these two kiddos???

Soccer

We decided to check out a different soccer program that was a little closer to home. The teams are a little larger but they do 30 min of practice and 30 min of a "game." I use the term "game" loosely as some of the kids were more concerned with running back and forth from goal to goal, but Luke and Olivia seemed to actually grasp the concept and participate. Some of the kids were picking flowers and wandering off of the field, but they seemed "checked in" for the most part and enjoyed kicking the ball. We're not sure if they'll keep playing or try out other sports (t-ball for Luke and gymnastics for Olivia), but we'll see what they think once the next season starts up.