The Popularity of Vampires Continues...

#1 typically decides what our jack-o-lantern is. I'm sure when N is old enough to voice her opinion, we'll have two pumpkins. I guess we actually have two pumpkins this year because #1 got one from a preschool field trip to our local pumpkin patch. Anyways in years past, he's chosen a kitty pumpkin and a pirate pumpkin. This year, vampires were on top of the list and no, he has not watched, read, or been exposed to Twilight. So here are this year's pumpkins, courtesy of Mr. S mad carving skills.


You may not be able to see it, but the big pumpkin is the vampire and the little pumpkin is the victim, complete with bite marks.




#1isms

"Look Mom! I'm going sidewords!"

While discussing safe places to be in case of a tornado/hurricane:
"Mommy, if there's a hurricane I know the perfect place to go! Grandma and Grandpa's house!" Burley, Idaho- your safe haven from all natural disasters.

N Update

N now has 5 teeth and is extremely tactile. She loves to be tickled and has a serious set of lungs. She could put opera singers or horror movie actresses to shame.

Living in the fast lane

We live near a bowling alley. Every time I go grocery shopping, we pass by said bowling alley. Every time #1 sees this bowling alley, he begs to be able to go, even though he's never been bowling in his life. In my college days, I used to work at the BYU Games Center and I got my fill of pins, balls, and stinky shoes- not to mention that awful lemon shoe spray you use every time a shoe has been rented. I can tell you the largest shoe size most bowling alleys carry and even how to repair the machines in the back. Unfortunately I didn't get paid to bowl and so I'm horrible at the game. Despite all this, we conceded to #1's pleas and went this Saturday. It was a lot of fun. This bowling alley had bumpers that could be programed to come up only on certain player's turns, which was pretty awesome. The best part though was seeing #1- he was beyond thrilled. The only way we got him out of there was by telling him we were going to carve our jack-o-lanterns when we got home. One of the first things he said while we were leaving was "I bet my Grandpa would like to take me bowling sometime." He knows a sucker when he sees one. :) Even N had a good time watching the game and crawling around. I think she wanted to be a ball because she kept aiming to go down the lane.



This girl has yet to meet something she doesn't want to eat


His first shot




His last shot- a spare!


In case you were wondering the final outcome- S and I tied for first place and #1 was only 3 points behind us.

Turning over a new leaf too late...

It's cold outside and yet, S and I have started jogging this week. It's worked out well- we went while #1 was at preschool and put baby N in the jogging stroller. This Saturday we took both of them with us and #1 listened to Aesop's fables on my mp3 player while we braved the chilly winds. It's breathtaking outside or maybe that's just the fact that I'm out of shape talking. I've decided that I can't die without saying at one point in my life I ran a mile. Isn't that sad that I don't think I've ever been able to? I need to get a pedometer to see how long I actually stick it out. The route we've found is about 2.5 miles, but I don't run anywhere near all of it. Hopefully we can keep going for a little while before the weather turns unbearable and then just go to the exercise room in our complex. There's something nice about being able to work out as a family though- I'll miss that when the time comes.



These kids are the greatest- truly.

Time Keeps On Slipping...

I've had a goal for the past week to update with some new pictures- it really shouldn't be this difficult! October has been so much better than September for many reasons. One, we aren't sick and two, we have fun things to do! #1 loves preschool and I'm grateful for the easy transition. Baby N has FINALLY started to sleep through the night and take longer naps too. She has not been as easy in terms of sleep training, but I feel we are in a good rhythm now. N loves to clap, eat things off the floor, climb stairs, and be around people. She says "mama", "dada" and "baba", although we aren't sure if she's using with them any kind of context. Sometimes I feel like she says "mama" and "dada" correctly, but it may just be coincidental. #1 is getting really good with his letters and numbers, playing on the computer, and can find several different countries on our globe- Canada of course being his first to learn. His latest thing to do is to spin the globe and tell us where he is going on his mission, which S regulates by telling him which ones are full of terrorists. Lovely. Anyways, here's some pictures of the latest.

Our friends the Bybees came down for the weekend and we visited some of the local sites, including our favorite pumpkin patch. #1 wasn't being super cooperative with the picture takings as is usually the case. Sometimes I consider going and getting professional pictures taken, but I'm pretty sure #1 would just give the stink eye the entire time.




We had fun nonetheless.



Baby N and her boyfriend.


We went to McDonalds before Jessica and the boys took off. I miss my friend, but I'm so glad we are still able to occasionally visit. The Bybees are truly like family to us.

Someone else likes McDonalds- I'm hoping one day we'll win S over.


It's been getting pretty chilly around here. I put N in her winter coat this morning and she literally could not move. A Christmas Story flashback for sure. Getting kids out the door has gotten a lot more complicated with the need for socks and coats. #1 can dress himself, but he consistently puts his clothes on backwards and his shoes on the wrong feet. Maybe he's trying to bring back the styling of Kriss Kross.



Following family tradition, we grabbed some big pumpkins from the farmer's market on General Conference weekend. One is used as a jack-o-lantern and the other is cut, boiled, pureed and frozen so we can have pumpkin pie and other yummy pumpkin treats year round. Apparently N thought pumpkin looked pretty good in its raw form.





We are excited for Halloween to come!

Wild Goose Chase

#1ism

Listening to a song about a "wild goose chase"

#1: Mommy what is a goose chase?
M: Well, it's a saying people use when they don't end up where they want to be.
#1: But what about the goose?
M: Well, when you are following a goose around, the goose takes you all over the place because it doesn't really know where it's going. When someone is on a wild goose chase, it's like they ran around chasing a goose and didn't get anywhere worthwhile.
#1: But Mom, I know exactly where the goose is going!
M: Where's that, #1?
#1: To McDonalds! Or Sonic!

Apparently geese have an affinity for fast food...

The Plague

We been sick since Labor Day weekend. There have been times where I wonder if someone upstairs is trying to tell me something. #1 seemed to get the brunt of it, poor kid. Several days ago, his fever got to the point where we were advised to go to the emergency room. This wasn't a simple matter because S was about to teach Sunday school, but I managed to get in contact with him and he literally got a last minute substitute. We ended up in the ER for 6 hours. #1 was so brave. There were several times where the nurses would come in for tests and would remark at how well he was taking it. One procedure involved a rather uncomfortable method of removing nasal fluid, but #1 did not make a peep. I find it ironic that I have an extremely cautious son with a high level of pain tolerance and an extremely adventurous daughter with a very low level of pain tolerance. Baby N does not do so well when it comes to doctors. I have to plan ahead if she is going in for shots because I know that she will be screaming for the rest of the day. Anyways, life hasn't been much fun around here lately. I'm finally starting to feel better and then baby N woke up two nights ago with the croup. Circle of sickness- at this point I'm wondering if we are starting to reinfect each other.

#1ism
After picking #1 up from preschool
Me: So #1, how was preschool?
#1: Not very good.
Me panicking: Why??? What happened??
#1: No one picked a fight with me.

After a while he told me that that wasn't the bad part. He was upset that he didn't get to ride the yellow bus. I found our conversation pretty funny though.

PRESCHOOL!!

My baby started preschool today. A high school here runs a preschool three times a week in the mornings and we decided to participate this year. A lot of friends have been and are in the program and it has come highly recommended. As we pulled out of the parking lot after dropping #1 off, S looked at me and said "We are getting so old." It's amazing how fast my children are growing up.

I was so thrilled for #1 and yet nervous. We've had many great opportunities since we moved out here as far as preschool goes. #1 started in a co-op preschool with 5 different moms teaching a theme once a week when he was 2 years old. We've have been in babysitting groups for date nights and this summer he went to a little preschool run by young women in our church. But this was the first time I've left him with someone I didn't know really well and I guess that is where the anxiety came from.

I was more nervous than #1 though. He held my hand for the first few minutes when we got into the door and then he spied the train table and took off. Some high school students tried to engage him, but he was having none of that. Baby steps. I'm so proud of my little boy.

Here he is waiting to get out the door.


Baby N wanted in on the action too.


So big!! This is getting to me a little...


The first thing he did when he got home- I think he missed her.




His teacher said he did great playing on his own and with his friends. I can tell it's going to be interesting getting reports from #1 about what happened in school. Today I heard how he had two cherry lollipops because he dropped the first one and how they collected leaves outside because it's fall. Other than that, it was like pulling teeth to get more details. Typical male. As long as he's happy I guess.

As a side note, I've been filling some of my time lately with making organza flower hair accessories for N. It's been a ton of fun and - spoiler Christmas alert- I've decided to make them for all the little girls in our family. I used snaps on the flowers so you can easily switch out flowers on the headbands and I'm contemplating putting some snaps on alligator clips too. It's a nice way to utilize some variety. This one N is wearing isn't my favorite, but you get the general idea.




Happy Fall!