Trick - or - Treat

On October 31st, we headed over to the Kelly's house for dinner and Halloween fun with our friends. It was very cute to see all of the little ones dressed up in their costumes... and amazingly, we got the kids to sit together for a split second to capture a quick group shot.

I'm not sure if it was the excitement of Halloween (or if everyone was just on a sugar high), but the kids were definitely wound up. Tate, Chase, and Maeve were climbing all over the furniture and throwing themselves onto couch...it was quite a sight!

Once everyone was dressed and ready to go, we hit the streets with the kids and watched them go door-to-door to collect candy. It was cold outside, so we kept Tyler bundled in his stroller - he didn't seem to mind, though!

The Kelly's street was the perfect place to go trick-or-treating.

All of the kids were great, and they seemed so excited to run up to each house, ring the doorbell, and say "trick-or-treat." What a difference a year makes in their "understanding" of what to do!

Thanks to the Kelly crew for hosting us all on Halloween - we had a great time with all of our friends.

Costume Fun at Soccer

It was "love at first sight" when Chase, the greaser, saw his girlfriend, Madelyn, all dressed up in her poodle skirt costume. He called her "his sweetheart" and they immediately started walking hand-in-hand down the soccer field.

And lets not forget the hug that they shared right in the middle of soccer class - too cute!!!

They had fun activities for the kids too ... and I think everyone was happy when the bubbles were brought out.

Jack was an adorable turtle, but it took Chase a minute to figure out who it was... check out the look on his face.

Wearing costumes to soccer was a very fun way to start the Halloween weekend!

My Little Monkeys

There was no better costume to capture Chase and Tyler this year...

I always call them "my little monkeys" so it seemed fitting when Chase told me that he wanted to be a monkey for Halloween.

Although Chase made an adorable monkey, he went to Zoo Boo with his girlfriend, Madelyn.... she wore a poodle skirt and he dressed up as a greaser. It was so cute that the monkey costume went back into the closet. He ended up wearing his greaser costume to Zoo Boo and then again on Halloween for trick-or-treating.

Lots more Halloween pictures to come!!!

Apple Farm with Friends

About a month ago, we took a family trip to Beak and Skiff Apple Farm with our friends, the Kelly's, the Mullins, and the Murphy's. It was a beautiful fall day, and the weather was perfect for picking apples.

Chase loved the wagon ride out to the apple orchard, but he really got excited when the driver let him sit on the John Deere tractor!

Here is one of my favorite shots from the day - Chase and Madelyn running through the orchard.

....And another great picture of Tate and Chase just hanging out in the grass. Just precious!

And, of course, you can't go to Beak and Skiff without sampling almost as many apples as you pick. Chase took bites from at least 7 different apples.

Some silly time with Maeve....

A very rare family shot....

Snuggles from Tyler

And one of my favorite moments...Chase and Maeve holding hands as they walk toward the cars.

Thanks to our friends for making the trip to Beak and Skiff so much fun!

Little Pumpkin

SU Tailgate Birthday Fun

On Saturday, September 11th, family and friends joined us for a tailgate party to help celebrate Tyler's first birthday. Luckily, it was a beautiful day outside, and we were able to take advantage of the gorgeous weather!

The birthday boy was all smiles because the menu included his favorite food - pizza!

Chase was pretty excited too (not about the food....but getting to spend time with his friends). With the food, Ryan offered to pay Sydney Baker $2.00 to get Chase to eat some his dinner. Thanks for helping, Sydney!

Tyler wore his #1 SU football jersey and got lots of snuggles from his family (especially his grandmothers).

Peek-A-Boo! I see you!

Chase definitely enjoyed the football birthday treats that Nani made. He split the cake pieces apart and just licked the icing...all the while telling everyone that the "cream cheese" was yummy. What kind of cream cheese have you been eating?!?

Yup, Chase and Madelyn definitely enjoyed the devil dogs...in the picture below you can see how they were stuffing them in their mouths. Too funny!

And here's the birthday boy after demolishing his cake! He was a lot cleaner than I thought he would be....I couldn't believe that he didn't get anything in his hair!!! I was sure that we would be heading to the bath tub....

Happy Birthday, Tyler! It's been a great year, and we are so blessed to have such an incredible boy! We love you!!!!

The Pictures are Ready

It's been a long wait, but the pictures from our summer photo session with Genevieve are ready!

You can click on the link below for a little slideshow that Genevieve put together for us:

http://genphotos.com/derafam/

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Family and friends joined us on September 9th to celebrate Tyler's birthday!

As you can see from the picture below, Tyler got right into his birthday cupcake....

....and he LOVED it!
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Wagon Fun

Fun in the new Radio Flyer wagon turned into a rare moment of affection between the boys - and it was actually caught on camera!

I love the face that Chase is making in this photograph....just precious!

...And after about 3 minutes, Tyler realized that he could climb out of the wagon. Had to put the camera quickly and play "catch the baby!"

And he is off!!!

Lil' Kickers

Last Saturday, Ryan took Chase to his first "soccer" class at 481 Sports Center. It was so much fun for me to watch from the sidelines and see the father-son "sports bond" start to develop.

But even more precious than seeing Chase all dressed up on the soccer field with his dad right next to him, was the conversation that I overheard in the morning when Ryan didn't know I was listening. My favorite moment was hearing Ryan trying to teach Chase how to put his "game face on."