Casting Day

Elias was casted for his AFOs today. The doctor was very nice and let Eli help with the entire process. He even gave Eli the left over plaster to take home and show Carson since there was only a tiny bit remaining on the roll. After looking through three pages of designs and colors over and over again, Elias finally decided on the blue ankle foot orthotics with the firetrucks, cars, airplanes, and street signs. They will come up the just under his knee and extend to his toes. The doctor was optimistic on the length of time Eli would need to wear his braces. He guessed that we would need them for 2-3 years depending on how well Eli responds. Let's hope that the wonderful doctor is correct and our little guy will be brace-free by 1st grade :) We should get them in around the 2nd week of March so I will post pics then.

Recap

What an incredibly hectic month packed full of cuddling, vacation, work, studying, hospital visits, craft time, cooking, and the occasional nap. We are all doing well and making it through the longest feeling but shortest hourly month of Ohio winters.

Carson spent ten days in Florida with my parents on vacation during the first half of February and came home with freckles dotting his nose and two scrapped knees. He built sand castles, visited the Kennedy Space Center, watched wild alligators, waved at the Disney cruise ships as they left port, and was spoiled rotten by Gigi and Bobpop. We missed him terribly and the house just wasn't the same without his quirky comments and big bright smile. Gigi took him on his first ever plane ride on the way home from Florida and even let Carson have the window seat. C said the houses looked like beetles and cars were like little ants on their way to the ant hill. What a fun kid!

Elias was lost without his big brother but was in turn spoiled rotten by Al and me. We had special dinner dates out, trips to the park when it was warm enough, and Al even took him to the movies one Sunday while I was at work. Eli finally started recognizing a couple of letters this month and we couldn't be happier. He is practicing writing his name over and over again. Sometimes you can tell it says "Eli" and other times we just tell him what a good job he is doing with all his hard work!

As for the medical update. His swallow study didn't turn out very well and he is definitely aspirating on thin liquids. We are back to thickening everything again and Eli is mad. He study also showed that he refluxes the entire bolus almost every time he swallows. That explains why he is refusing to eat more and more and we are back to using his feeding pump during the day again. We go to the GI soon to see what the new plan is. The bone density scan came back GREAT!! No osteoporosis or osteopenia so his foot break was just a fluke. He is getting casted for solid 90 degree AFOs (ankle foot orthodics) on Tuesday to help with his tone and CP. His MRI went fairly smoothly including the anesthesia and intubation. They ended using contrast after all since they saw some bright areas on the floor of his 4th ventricle and the foramen of Magnie. Thankfully the contrast showed no abnormal areas and the MRI was read as normal. Still no concrete answers but we will continue to treat his symptoms. If anyone has advice on AFOs I would love it. The great news is Eli's lungs seem to be doing awesome right now and he is running around causing havoc like every other almost 4 year old boy I know.

Al is in the thick of his final quarter of nursing school and working his tail off. His class schedule is insane going from 5-11 on Mondays through Fridays and then for 6 weeks on Saturdays for 6 hours each day! Ouch is all I can say. It will all be worth it in the end though when he has that license and can say he is a nurse. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see him walk across that stage.

Sorry for the lack of updates this month. As you can see we have been a bit busy with life but I will add pictures soon. I have tons of adorable shots of our two boys.

Snowday pictures

Today we had a big snowstorm. The boys didn't have school, I didn't have work, and Al's final was cancelled due to the weather. What was left to do??? Play of course!!

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast along with yogurt and hot tea. The boys gobbled it up and asked for seconds. After gorging themselves the bounced off to play Legos. Carson sat and built creations with his new Lego set for hours today. He made a little dog and his owner. They needed a house and a dog house both with windows of course. The dog owner also needed a truck so Carson built one too. The Lego building was a blast and Carson was super proud of his architecture.




Eli wanted to make pictures with glitter glue. He gathered all of the glitter glue containers in the house and laid them out on the table. After picking up each color, shaking it to determine how much goo he could squirt out, and then organizing them by "prettiness", a masterpiece was created. Blue construction paper covered with piles of glitter glue layered the kitchen table. Elias was grinning from ear to ear with hints of silver and green glitter flecks across his lips and cheeks. I can only imagine how long it will take for his masterpiece to dry!



After lunch we had nap time. This always takes forever at our house but Al and I bribed the boys with time in the snow if they went to sleep. It worked and they were out cold in no time. Nap time ended and the snowsuits were pulled on. Carson and Eli looked like little stuffed piggies all bundled up for the cold. Al went outside and had a snowball fight with them and build a snow castle fort. Six rosey red cheeks later and everyone was inside eating homemade chili for dinner. My parents came over to eat and we had a great time. The boys watched Thomas' Snowy Surprise with some cherry cheesecake ice cream and hot tea for snack and then headed up to bed. What a great snowday!

MRIs, Uvulitis, Bone Density, and Fungus???

ACCKKKK!!! I don't think my brain can take anymore of this crazyness. In the past two weeks we have had more medical intervention than the past two months. I am stressed to the max and exhausted. It all started in the beginning of January when Eli broke out in a weird fungal rash all over his trunk and upper limbs. They took a culture but it somehow was lost in transit to Children's Hospital. He has been on grisefulvin (and antifungal) for 4 weeks now with 2 more left to go. The rash just now started to clear up a few days ago and we (as well as the doctors) were getting worried. They do not know why his immune system allowed him to have such a wide-spread fungal infection which is rare but he seems fine otherwise.

His physical medicine appointment was another story. Eli has been doing worse over the past few months in terms of his gross motor skills and swallowing. After he got his cast off Al and I immediately were worried about his gait and external hip rotation. He couldn't walk and when he did it was dragging his right leg behind him. Going down steps was a no go without one of us holding both hands or carrying him all the way down. Eli was falling a ton and kept saying his legs hurt in addition to his ankles being super tight. One night after bath I was putting lotion on him and he had extended clonus only on his right ankle which concerned me a great deal. I guess I was right because his phys med doctor was quite alarmed by his declining neuro status as well.

She ordered a bone density scan to make sure there is nothing wrong with his bones because he shouldn't have broken his 3rd metatarsal jumping on a matress. We had the scan on Monday and I will get the results this Friday. She also ordered an MRI of his brain and spine. It was supposed to be done on Monday right after his bone density scan but the anesthesiologist was concerned with his aspiration and respiratory compromise so it will now be done intubated and under general anesthesia on Monday Feb. 2. My poor baby has to be put under for yet another procedure. His doctor also ordered another swallow study to evaluate his dysphagia next Thursday the 5th. Cross your fingers for that one. Eli will be getting casted for AFOs in the coming weeks due to the decline in his gait and function of walking. I hope he pics out a pattern that he likes so we don't have to fight him to wear them!

With all of this going on I have been a mess. I hate having things pop back up from his NICU days. It has almost been 4 years since his scary arrival 15 weeks early and during times like these I hurt inside for the struggles he continues to face. We are unimaginably lucky and blessed with how unscathed Elias has been for a 25 weeker but neuro changes and g-tubes somehow eat at my soul when thinking of my rambunctious little man. It truly is a journey that we will get through together.

The uvulitis came into play with the only member of our household that seems to NEVER get sick....Al. He woke up at 3am yesterday choking and when he calmed down enough to let me look in his mouth, his uvula (the dangly thing in the back of your throat) was swollen to the width and length of his pinky!! We called my parents to come sit with the kids since they were sleeping and headed over to the ED. He got a steriod shot in his hip and put on oral steriods for the next five days. The ED doc said someone had to stay with him for 24 hours in case the swelling got worse and blocked his airway so I had to call off work :( Everything ended up okay though and he is now sitting next to me complaining about me still being on the computer!

Haircuts

The boys both got new haircuts this week. They were looking rather shaggy so it was time to break out the scissors and comb and trim those mops up! Carson and Eli sat still better than usual and then enjoyed a long bubble bath filled with their favorite bath toys. Check out the photo shoot from post-bathtime.

Cast Off

Today was the big day .... off with the cast!! Elias had his whole day planned out. He was going to school, eating lunch, playing with trucks, getting the "stinky green cast" off, then coming home for the longest bubble bath known to a preschooler. Thankfully that is exactly how the day went (with a trip to Starbucks for a treat thrown in after his ortho appt). The only unfortunate part to the entire day was when Eli tried to walk for the first time.

He simply could. not. do. it. ACKK! What were we going to do? He was crying because he was scared. I was nervous because of what a big set back this was in his muscle strength. Carson was worried about his little brother. And Al just wanted everyone to calm down and recollect. The ortho said it will take Elias awhile to get back to walking normally because he lost a lot of muscle mass in both legs on top of his underlying hypertonia and tight tendons. He basically has to relearn to stretch out that ankle and straighten out his hip and knee correctly again.

The poor thing is scared to walk not and gets very frustrated. He said the kids will make fun of him and call him a baby at school. He is doing a bit better after his bath and a good, long stretch. My God was his leg nasty! Al wouldn't even touch it. The skin was sloughing off and stunk to high heaven. He also has some reddened areas along his bony prominences from cast pressure that will need to heal. The xray looked great though and we don't have to see ortho again!! Back to full time physical therapy and adaptive physical education. YAY!

Trip Around the World

Carson is learning about the World at school right now. His teacher is having them research a different continent each week and travel to a few new places that are found on that continent. They get to sample food common to each area as well as discover language, culture, dress, and environment. Carson is loving every minute and comes home on the bus each day with new facts bubbling out of his mouth. This week is North America week and they had a Ohio State day, Mexican feast, and on Thursday will be learning all about Hawaii. He gets to wear sunglasses, a beach hat, and a flowered shirt!

The first week back he made a craft globe with all of the continents drawn and painted on it. You could see the pride in his face when he pulled the colorful sphere out of his bookbag. His words of the week were North America, South America, Antarctica, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Carson sat down with his flash cards and nailed each word. Tuesday morning he couldn't wait to get on the bus and let his teacher know that he did his homework!

This time has been so an enjoyable experience for both Al and I. I cannot tell you how proud we are of our big guy. Carson is shining and soaking up all the knowledge he can get his growing hands on.

Late one night

After Carson fell asleep tonight and Eli finished getting a bolus feeding, the house was filled with giggles. I grabbed my new Nikon CoolPix camera (thanks mom and dad) and started shooting. Isn't three a fun age?

Brotherly Love

Merry Christmas to All

I am not going to write a long drawn out post about each toy, book, funny comment, or argument the boys had over the four Christmas celebrations we had this year. There was so much joy and celebration in Carson and Elias' eyes and the magic of Christmas oozed from their beings this year. Each moment was filled with family and friends in addition to great food and fun. Thank you everyone for making this holiday season one of the best ever. Our family is truly blessed to be surrounded by such caring and loving people. Merry Christmas!

Ouch! Rearended...

Oh how I wish the roads were always dry and no one got into car accidents. We were on our way to TN this afternoon to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately the weather about two hours into our drive decide to turn from windy to freezing rain and snow creating a lovely sheen across the highway. After slowing to a crawl (or about 25 mph) then hitting a bridge of solid ice and almost running under an 18 wheeler, Al saved our lives and corrected the slide and stopped the car in our own lane.

Whew. We were safe. We thought.

Five seconds later as I turned my head towards the back seat to make sure the boys were okay, an old Ford Ranger slammed into the back of us. Ouch! I shouldn't have done that. Thankfully Al and the boys are fine and I only have some fun whiplash to deal with. The cops were called but were only responding to non-injury accidents due to the number of severe accidents around the area. Crap. Exchange info, call insurance, calm the kiddos, oh...and ourselves too. Then we find out the guy who hit us has a MO license along with expired Arkansas plates!! But we were saved because he intelligently bought car insurance on December 10th. Whew.

Geico sent Enterprise out with a car to pick us up and a tow truck out to get Al's car to the shop. The entire back end will new replaced and maybe some frame straightening. Geico was wonderful and we can't say enough great things about them. We were set up in a rental car and our car was towed to the shop all within 35 minutes. The kids didn't get cranky and our rental was a brand new 2009 with less than 1000 miles on it. Everything has worked out until the weather got worse and we ended up in a hotel honeymoon suite with both kids for the night. We'll see TN in the morning once things settle down and we don't have to ice skate south.

School Gifts

Today our loving boys each brought home a school made Christmas gift for us.
There is no material gift more special than getting presents created from the hands and love of your children. Unpacking the boxes to decorate the tree and house each year is always sentimental because of those painted wooden boxes or those beaded wreaths. Every item brings a memory and takes you right back to your child at that age. Carson and Elias added to our priceless collection today with two wonderful additions.

Carson's gift came first stuffed into a manila envelope covered in crayon writing and pictures. It said "To Mommy and Daddy. -- From Carson" He had a silly grin on his face and we could tell how proud he was of the contents inside. Al and I opened the envelope and inside was a beautiful clay wreath ornament hung with a nice red ribbon. On the back his name and the year were scratched into the clay with a toothpick so next year we can look back and remember this moment.



Elias came bearing a long tube shaped package wrapped in white paper painted with red and green splatters and tied with red ribbon at the ends. He kept saying, "Open it! Open it! I made it!". Inside was a wall hanging with green painted hand prints in the shape of a wreath along with fingerprint holly berries. It will hang next to Carson's reindeer wall hanging from a few years ago next Christmas season when we decorate once more.




I hope everyone out there with little kids is having fun with their handmade school gifts and enjoying the holidays with their little miracle. We certainly are.

We have Kittens!!

This morning our mama rat Storm gave birth to four bouncing baby rats. She has been waddling around for the past few weeks looking more and more uncomfortable and this morning we woke up to the sound of tiny squeaking. Little Miss Mama is busy nursing the babies, chowing down on everything we feed her with, and reorganizing her house. We congratulated Ghost on becoming a Daddy and he just looked at us like we were crazy. Perhaps we are but the boys sure got a kick out of it.

I'm betting half of you are trying to figure out why I titled my post "we have kittens" when I'm obviously writing about rats. Well.... I was bored the other day and Carson and I did a little research on pregnant rats and rat babies. We learned that a baby rats are called kittens. Isn't that funny? What irony for the rats. We need to wait a few weeks to name our new little ones and I can't wait to find out what namesakes Carson and Elias give our furry friends.


*******Post written on December 18th and pictures added December 26th*******

I want the GREEN one please!

Today was our big date with Dr. Ortho Surgeon for Eli's broken foot. The staff at the ortho clinic was simply amazing and I can't say enough wonderful things about them. They truly made the experience fun for Eli instead of intimidating and scary. Hooray for awesome medical teams!! Elias' x-rays didn't look any different and he is having increased point tenderness over his fracture. This is most likely caused by the little monkey thinking he can run (awkwardly) and attempt to jump on his bed again!!! After partaking in such bad behaviors, Eli will crawl over to us, whine about how badly his foot hurts, and then explain how he has to crawl and/or be carried everywhere because of his broken bone. Too bad restraints are not allowed outside of the medical establishment for rambuncious three-and-a-half year olds!!

Dr. Ortho Surgeon ordered a cast up to the knee for the next four weeks. Elias said "okay" and wanted to know right away where the casting room was. He picked out his favorite color which happens to be a bright shade of spring green. Then when the casting started he wanted to know what the man was doing and why EXACTLY! He kept asking where his old shoe went and why his foot had to stay still. It was comical but then the cast was finished and Eli made a poor attempt at walking. He became very upset that walking was so difficult with his new attachment and wanted it off. Thankfully things have gotten easier on the walking front throughout the night and he is hobbling along fairly well. I'm sure he'll be leaping off his bed in no time once again!!

No more monkeys jumping OFF the bed!

We had a friendly jaunt to the ED this morning with Elias. Last night he decided to be his usual crazy self and bounce around the room like a nut. During a brief moment of insanity he stood on the front of his firetruck toddler bed which stands about 16" off the floor and jumped off towards his toy bin. This of course ended in injury since Elias has such exceptional balancing skills. Carson started calling for Daddy and Eli was crying but not too badly. He limped the rest of the evening but there was no swelling, bruising, or point tenderness noted. Only silly limping and poor weight bearing. We chose to wait until the morning to see if his gait improved before rushing off to the ED but this morning came and Eli was still hobbling along and saying "Ow, ow, ouchie Mommy!".

The doc at the ED didn't think it was broken for all the reasons we didn't think it was broken but ordered a series of x-rays to make sure. Unfortunately for Elias, he fractured his third metatarsal (the middle bone in your foot). They gave him a Reese shoe to wear which is basically a soft walking shoe along with PRN Tylenol/Motrin orders and a date with an orthopedic surgeon for Thursday. He hates his new shoe and wants to crawl or be carried on and off. We'll see how that lasts.

Elias in the ED after finishing a green popsicle!

Christmasy

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I'm a wrapper complete with ribbon, bows, silver, and gold.

2.Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial trees for this family only due to the rugrats and their asthma and me not loving pine needles all over the floor.

3.When do you put up the tree?
Within three days after Thanksgiving. Al and the boys surprised me this year and decorated the entire house on Sunday while I was at work. It is gorgeous!

4.When do you take the tree down?
After Christmas and hopefully before New Years. Depends on my energy level.

5.Do you like eggnog?
I love eggnog and so do the boys. Al could care less about the delectable drink.

6.Favorite gift received as a child?
Santa wrapped the garage door and left a giant trampoline in our garage and my little sister and I jumped on it all day long in the garage! That tramp was used until the springs fell off in warm weather and cold.

7.Hardest person to buy for?
The boys because I want to get them so many wonderful things but also only want to buy them things they will truly enjoy.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Al. Pretty much anything makes him happy as long as you stick to his main brands.

9.Do you have a nativity scene?
Sure do. My aunt bought it for me and now the boys help me put it up every year. It is a Precious Moments nativity scene.

10.Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail them and then use the digital image of my creation as my e-mail signature for the Christmas season.

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A barbie doll when I was 14 years old. I always hated Barbies anyways but come on, 14 years old?

12.Favorite Christmas Movie?
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

13.When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I find some little things throughout the year that are sentimental items or really good deals then do the bulk of my shopping in December.

14.Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
White Elephant party gifts have certainly circulated throughout the years.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Our traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast and my mom's famous cheeseball.

16.Lights on the tree?
We have all white this year.

17.Favorite Christmas song?
Jingle Bells, Rudolph, I like them all

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Usually stay at home but if work gives us the opportunity we head down to Tennessee.

19.Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
Of course, when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I need to touch up on that trivia for the boys.

20.Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angels definitely.

21.Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
One gift on Christmas Eve which is always new jammies for everyone. Then you wear them to bed and wake up Christmas morning to open up everything.

22.Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The crazy busyness of it all.

23.Favorite ornament theme or color?
My favorite ornament is the Christmas spider. The story is beautiful and although spiders give me the creepy crawlies this ornament holds special value to me. (I'll post the story in a few days)

24.Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham with all the trimmings.

25.What do you want for Christmas this year? Healthy kids, happy family, friends to share memories with, oh.... and a pair of Danskos for work would be nice too.

Marshmallow

We welcomed a new member to our family this morning as well as a Christmas tradition. My mother brought over the Elf on the Shelf and the holiday fun began. I opened the box while the boys were sleeping and carefully removed the little cloth and plastic elf along with the hardback book filled with the magical story of the elf. After breakfast we all sat down on the couch and I told the boys I had a surprise for them. The four of us squeezed onto the love seat (because why on Earth would we sit on the perfectly good couch?) and fell into the story of Santa's helper who was coming to live with us for Christmas. The elf would watch over the boys and their behavior to see the naughty and nice things they were doing until Christmas Eve. The boys could tell him what gifts they wanted from the Big Man and he would let Santa know. Each night the elf would fly back to the North Pole and report back to Santa all of the things he saw and heard and Santa would decide on Christmas Eve what things they got out of his red sac.

There were three things the boys had to do though.

1.) Never touch the elf. He would loose all of his magic and not be able to fly back to Santa!

2.) Find the new hiding place where the elf was residing each day when they woke up.

3.) Give the elf a name so he could become a part of the family.

Al and I were sure the boys would have no trouble with #2 and #3 but that tricky #1 was going to be tough for our 3 and 5 year olds. We shall see how they do but I'm sure it will be fun no matter how it goes.

Carson and Elias were thrilled to have a new game as well as a magical elf straight from Santa's toyshop living with us. They kept whispering back in forth that them better be good so they would get their trains and Lego cities and tool sets. It was fun sitting back and taking in their childhood imaginations. Back and forth they went trying to pick the perfect name for red felted friend.

Would it be Macy? "No, that was already the dog's name, " shouted Carson.

What about Snow? "No, no, no," said Elias...."the elf wasn't white enough!!"

Finally they looked down into their hot chocolate mugs and Carson said, "What about Marshmallow?". Elias loved the name and they both grinned from ear to ear. They ran over to me and said, "Look Mommy, his name is Marshmallow and he knows Santa!!". Can you get any sweeter than that?

I've been Tagged!

Michelle tagged me and I'm just a little bit late on responding but here goes....

1.) I can play the piano and viola. I had piano lessons for 12 years of my childhood and am starting to teach Carson some basics. Viola was an interesting avenue that began in 5th grade and abruptly ended at the end of 8th grade when I realized I didn't want to be in high school orchestra. I still have my viola though.

2.) Al is frequently entertained by my sleep talking. My parents say that I started chatting away in my dreams at a young age and I've never stopped. Sometimes you can even get me to incoherently answer questions while I'm sleeping. How odd is that?

3.) Nursing is the only profession I can see myself in for the rest of my life. I absolutely love constantly learning new things, meeting new people, and taking on a variety of challenges every day at work. Who wouldn't love the opportunity to be involved with a family and entrusted with their most precious gifts?

4.) Blue is my favorite color. Absolutely any shade of blue will work. The color of a gorgeous Ohio fall sky is one of the best. The hue of Carson's eyes get me every time. But wearing smurf (aka royal) blue scrub pants to work everyday does get a little old.

5.) I am adopted. For the first 7 months and 1 day of my life I lived in foster care until my wonderful parents finally got me. I am truly blessed to be adopted and couldn't ask for better parents. Adoption is an incredible gift.

6.) I hold the high jump record at my high school. My mom says that she still doesn't know how I was able to get my booty up 5'4" over the bar. Somehow I did but those days are long gone!

7.) College football is an addiction of mine. I follow the season from pre-season until the bowl games and love every second. Of course The Ohio State Buckeyes will always be my team but I enjoy all the games, highlights, recaps, and polls. ESPN is a regular on our tv throughout the fall and I can't get enough.

Since pretty much everyone has been tagged already due to my great ability to procrastinate, I will leave it open to anyone who wants to let me in on your life/personality. Just leave a comment on the page so I can go visit your 7 things and learn a bit!

Voting Day

Today we packed the boys up and drove over to our polling place to do our civic duty and teach the boys about voting. Carson has been very interested in the election process during the past few months and Eli pretty much just reiterates whatever comes out of Carson's mouth. They were nonetheless excited to go help mommy and daddy vote (the promise of Starbucks after voting helped a little bit too!). We all dressed in red shirts and waited for only about 40 minutes for the entire process. Eli stayed with me and Carson with Al. Eli started signing Old MacDonald while I was voting and attempting to push my touch screen computer screen. I told him that he was only 3 years old and it would be a decade and a half before he could do it for real. Carson was very well behaved and really observed what all of the voters were doing. The nice polling lady even gave each boy their very own voting sticker when we were done.

After the voting commenced and Al and I gathered up the rugrats for a Starbucks run, we ran to the park with my mom to meet Aunt YaYa for lunch. The boys ran and played and jumped all over everything! All of the voting seemed to bottle up a ton of energy in 3 and 5 year old boys. Thankfully everyone had a nice nap so we could watch the election results come in. Unfortunately our guy didn't win the election but we were able to teach Carson and Eli about voting and participating in your country's electoral process.

Trick or Treat!

The boys had a Halloween night full of excitement this year. Carson dressed up as Optimus Prime the leader of the Autobots in the Transformers (can you tell I'm the mom of a 5 year old boy?) and Eli as Mickey Mouse the Witch/Skeleton. Carson knew he wanted to be a Transformer for months but Eli was a bit shy about Halloween in general this year. He watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD where Minnie Mouse dressed up as a witch and fell in love with the character. We tried and tried to convince him that it was not okay to be Minnie Mouse the witch for Halloween but he had decided. Finally about two weeks before trick-or-treat, Eli decided it would be okay if he was Mickey Mouse the witch instead of Minnie.

Thank God.

So, we glued Mickey ears on to a witch hat and Eli said he wanted to wear this skeleton outfit for the body. Too bad it was my mother's dog's costume!! LOL....we let him wear it anyway and he had a blast.

Carson absolutely embraced his character and truly was Optimus Prime the entire day. He certainly is five and all boy! Although I wouldn't pick red and blue spandex as an everyday attire choice. His skinny little butt and long legs made him look more like a patriotic Popsicle than a lean, mean Transformer. It was a size 8 costume though :)

My parents took them around the neighborhood to gather up all the goodies they could fit inside their pumpkins before heading home to bounce off the walls a few hours past bedtime. I had to work until 8 and Al had clinical until 11pm so we both missed our little candy goblins. Thank goodness both Eli and Carson never stop talking and told us over and over again about their "totally awesome" night.