Christmas is coming....

We've done a ton of fun stuff in preparation for the big day. We've made Christmas cookies, we've played with cousins, gone to Christmas parties and have gone to see the Christmas lights, twice.

I can say that Declan officially loves everything about Christmas, except Santa. Santa still freaks him out but there's always next year. Dex can't stay away from our Christmas tree - actually any Christmas tree he can't resist touching. He'll stare at the tree and tell you what's on it including a ball, lights, and a "no man" (snowman).

Every time I turn around, I catch him reaching for the blasted ornaments. Luckily, the gift thing hasn't registered yet, so the presents under the tree are safe this year.

If we don't see you before the holiday and have a chance to tell you this in person. Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

THANKSGIVING

Well Thanksgiving -- no make that November -- came and went without a post on my blog. Between weaning off the bottle and little boy colds, it's been a little bit of a rough month.

Thanksgiving was good and it gave us time to be grateful for all the amazing people in our lives. We love our family and friends and we'd be lost without them.

Christmas season is here and there's so much for us to do, I'll for sure keep you guys posted this month. (Fingers crossed).

HALLOWEEN FUN

We have been so busy with Halloween stuff this week, it seems every night there's something we have to dress up for and go to. (But it's only a few days of crazy sugar high, right? So why not?) Last Saturday we went to Pumpkinland and the kids had a fun time on the playground at the end and playing on the inflatables. It was definitely for the little kids, but they seemed to have a good time.

At Pumpkinland in the Light Alley

Last night we went to the Halloween carnival and we met up with Mike and Uncle Billy (of course, I couldn't find my camera). Then tonight, we went to the Trunk or Treat in our neighborhood. I enlisted Grandma because it was only Declan and I, but at the last minute we snagged Logan to go with us as well.

Before we left I told them to stand by each other and hold still so I could take their picture. I got this...

And then I got this.....

I decided to settle for the one taken on the fly...

Seriously?! How cute is that puffy little dinosaur in his coat?

The kids got a ton of candy and Declan started eating candy before we were through the line of cars. He'd never seen so many lollipops in his life and he was in lollipop heaven.

I love that Declan is willing to dress up and willingly be a part of the festivities. It makes me excited for the many years in the future where his mom will make him dress up and participate in the many activities of Halloween.

Hope you all have a terrific Halloween!!!!

MY LITTLE HELPER

He loves to help with the dishes. Of course, it's shirtless and he's usually soaked by the end....but it's the thought that counts, right?

SNEAK PEEK

I couldn't wait....just a sneak peek of what's to come.

'TIS THE SEASON

So it's FINALLY here! The most wonderful time of the year! I LOVE the fall. Everything about it: the nippy weather, the changing colors, the burning in my nose because of the ragweed (well maybe that one - not so much), but I do love fall.

This year I decided it was high time I went to a corn maze. So with Meg's kids in town and after speaking with my oldest brother and discovered it was his first time to go to a corn maze, we all decided to go. We took all of the kids and it was a blast. We spent the entire day there and the kids were all wiped out by the time we headed home.

Ruthie, Logan, Jeff and Breana

T.J. was supposed to be in the picture but instead he was standing on the side and saying "no way"

There was so much to do there. You'll have to bear with me because this post is going to have a ton of pictures.

We started with these crazy bike things. They were super fun. They were hard to petal but they could turn on a dime. Needless to say, racing these was a blast!

Look at the cute farm kid! ;)

And then there was this contraption that Scott and Logan were seriously cruising around in. It was hilarious!

We then went through the corn maze (that's a completely different story for another time). Needless to say, I think the corn maze was the worst part of the whole day. No maps, only texting clues to figure out and it was crazy trying to figure out where to go. Gahhh!!

The kids then hit the cow train ride. Notice everyone is all smiles and ready to go....

By the time they came back two of them were crying. (Somedays you just can't win.)

We all took a break under the trees while the kids played in the area. Dex and Kailee played on the train....

Isn't she the cutest little thing ever? This little girl is so full of manners she

just melts your heart!

While the little kids were playing, Breebs and TJ took a beating from Uncle Scott on these bounce horses.

What would we do without Awesome Uncle Scott? He's always playing with the kids and wearing them out, so we don't have to.

There were hay rides, playgrounds, spook alleys, bounce houses, trampoline like air pillows....just all sorts of things to do. Everyone had a good time.

Exhausted at the end of the day with Grandma.

MY LITTLE READER

I love EVERYTHING that this picture says and I couldn't be prouder! I'm a huge fan of reading and I love books. As a parent, one can only hope that your child/ren gets the good qualities of you and my love for reading (in my opinion) is one such quality.

This little boy loves to be read to and loves to look at all the pictures in his books.

I bought this chair as a chair for watching t.v. but he hasn't been that interested in t.v. (hopefully it stays that way) and it's ended up next to the bookshelf. I can usually find him in this chair quietly looking at books during the day.

However, as boys will be boys, he has fashioned another use for his chair....



[Note: He can reach the books on the second shelf just fine without standing on the chair---but apparently, it's just cooler to stand on the chair to pick your books.]



I laugh everytime I see this picture because this literally is his "don't bother me I'm reading" pose. Whenever he's reading and doesn't want to be bugged he puts the book up close to his face like this so people won't distract him while he's reading. This kid is just too much!!!

BUDDIES

I have no idea what we would do without this guy....

I can't tell you how many countless hours he and Declan have played together. Logan makes my life pretty easy. They do a great job of playing with each other and Logan understands that some of Declan's (baby) behavior is because he's still little and doesn't understand, so Logan cuts him quite a bit of slack and let's him play with him.


Digging together

Haulin' their dirt
I'm sad that the warm weather is almost coming to an end. I'll miss being able to sit on the porch with a book (that doesn't reference Sam-I-am) and have my child play peacefully outside with his cousin.

16 MONTHS

I can't believe Dex is already 16 months old! Where has the time gone? When I was a child and adults would ask how I grew up so fast, I used to think that was so dumb. But now that I am an adult, I find myself asking the same thing to children around me.

One of his token "really mom?" looks that he tends to give me when me taking a picture of him is getting in his way.

FUTURE FOODIE

My kid loves all kinds of food. However, he doesn't like all kinds of textures. This has presented a problem when trying to get him to try different things. In an attempt to keep him from turning into a mac 'n' cheese/chicken nugget kid, I've been coming up with some creative recipes to get him to eat new things.

For starters,he hates peas and green beans. I think it's the texture and he can't bring himself to choke them down....until now:



Now before you start to be grossed out, check this out....they're "lily pad pancakes" titled so the kids will eat them, but they're actually quite good. They're made out of mostly peas. Put a little greek yogurt on top and they are delicious!



Another crazy idea that I saw was to make a pea pop. It's basically peas as the base and a hint of mint with some cream cheese. (oh yeah, and some mini chocolate chips) You freeze them and voila! Kids are eating peas like they're candy!





[Yes he's rolling on the floor in his church clothes with a frozen sucker that will eventually melt and end up in the carpet. (remember I'm a first time mom)]

We still haven't tried the pumpkin stuffed ravioli, waffle cheese sandwiches, black bean truffles, and french toast pb&j. Needless to say, dinner time around our house is getting very interesting.

Life Reflection

Today I have been extremely grateful for my life and the decisions which I have made to bring me to this very moment in my life. My life has been so deeply enriched by the many people whom I have had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with and I count myself as one of the lucky ones. There are changes on the horizon, I can sense it and I look forward to whatever it may be. My heart is truly so full! Life is good and I hope it's good for you as well!

FALL IS ALMOST HERE

I know I'm rushing it with the fall time background, but I love this time of year. I love how the nights cool down and the prominent sound of the crickets while falling asleep. This time of year makes me want to buy school supplies and get up early and go outside just so I can wear a jacket. (I've even already begun making Halloween decorations.) I'm sure fall will be here soon enough, but for now, I'm basking in my pre-autumn glory!

Summer picnic

Last Saturday, Mike suggested we go up the canyon for a picnic. I thought that was a fabulous idea (trying to beat the heat) so I invited Logan to come to get him out of his very pregnant mom's hair. :)

We stopped at the store and loaded up on sandwiches, chips, snacks and drinks for everyone and then headed up to South Fork Park.

Mike took the boys and taught them how to play in the river.

Logan was a little afraid at first because the water was a little swift as they were crossing to the milder part. But by the end of the day, he was asking me to take him across the river regardless of how quickly the water was running.

Needless to say, they had a blast splashing around in the water.

We ate our lunch and played soccer on the grass. Dex found a spicket and drenched himself in it.

I swear....this kid LOVES the water. He has looked like this almost every single day this summer. He loves to run through sprinklers, play in mud puddles, splash in buckets of water. He never gets enough of it.

To keep him from getting cold I took off his shirt. Logan asked why I had taken off Dex's shirt and to be like him, Logan decided to take his off as well. I laughed at the two boys running around shirtless. Running around in the trees and rocks, all I could think of was Lord of the Flies (without all the violence, of course).

These two are so much like brothers. They both have to know what the other is doing, and if they want the same toy, just forget it.

(Playing in the brush)

All in all it was a blast. The kids had a good time and it was fun to go up the canyon and take a break. Thanks Mike, for the great idea!

Declan's New Rule

So this is how mealtimes go for us now....

It takes what seems like FOREVER for him to eat now. But the new rules are (Dex's rules) that he can feed himself and if you try to feed him, just forget it, he's not going to eat. I've already said goodbye to the days when a meal would take us about 15-20 minutes. However, it's so great that he's getting so big and is wanting to do things to help himself. Now if only he'd let me show him how to actually scoop something onto that spoon!

A day full of fun

Today I decided to take Declan to the zoo. He's been having a rough time these last 3 or 4 days and so I figured I'd spend the day with him doing something fun. He had a rough night sleeping last night, so I knew going into it he would be tired, but we made it through just fine.

We first had to stop by grandma & grandpa's (Dex loves his grandparents and all the crazy fun he has at their house).

Then at the zoo he loved seeing all the animals. He's at the age where he loves to see the animals in motion. It was fun to watch him look at the animals and try to talk to them.

We took a ride on the carousel and the train.

I tried to put him in front of this gorilla so I could take his picture, but he looked up and wasn't having any part of it. But we had a good time. We ran into Scott, Amanda & Logan and visited with them for a few minutes. But after seeing all the big animals and having lunch, Dex was exhausted, so we left. He was asleep before I even pulled out of the parking lot.

This evening I was busy cleaning his room and sorting through clothes that don't fit him anymore. I came across this pair of boots that I bought him last winter which were too big. He tried them on tonight and then wouldn't let me take them off.

Needless to say....he was walking around in 90 degree weather in winter boots.

This kid just cracks me up! Love him to pieces!