October Days

Let's start off with Halloween. Many of you that know Carden, know how much he loves hot dogs. Not eating them but rather singing about them. When asked about what he wanted to be for Halloween, we always got the same answer, "A hot dog!". Alan and I found a hot dog costume at Old Navy for infants. With the help of Alan's brother, Paul, it was adjusted to fit a two year old. Thanks Uncle Paul! I think it is GREAT! I still laugh every time I see pictures.
Max was a Monkey, Alan was a, Hmmmm, I am not sure, and I was a flapper.

It was a jammed packed day. We went to Alan's work, Alan's parents' for dinner, and then my parents for my Mom's witch brew show. She has been dressing up for more than 25 years and people come to her neighborhood just to see her. Aunt Mimi made the cutest pumpkin cake! She made two bundt cakes, put them together, and put Ding Dongs on the top for the stem. Carden thought it was his birthday so we had to sing Happy Birthday!

Happy Halloween!

I found Carden the other day with his Easter basket on his head! He was playing baseball in the back yard and the basket was his helmet. He was also wearing his pajama tops because he only wants to wear his jammies ALL DAY! It took some serious negotiating to get him to put pants on to go outside. He has the best imagination.

Max is still not crawling and I love it! He also does not have any teeth! I am hoping they all come in at once. He is ten months old next week! WOW! Can I just say one more time, he is my CUDDLE bug. He will sit on my lap for hours and just give me hugs and kisses! I LOVE IT! No wonder he is not crawling. He is always cuddling.

It's Fall Ya'll

Yep, it is officially fall. Last week even seemed like winter. I must admit I was not excited when I saw snow on the ground. I do not like that feeling you get when it is cold outside. You know, where your bones ache and it is a 20 minute process just to get clothes on to go outside.

The past few weeks have been wonderful. We went to get pumpkins at a patch. I haven't really ever bought pumpkins before. The pumpkin I wanted was $20. Are you kidding me?!!!!! Alan explained they are a lot cheaper at the stores. He was right! We bought a few small pumpkins for the boys and waited to buy the larger ones for carving at the grocery store.

We went to Eden last weekend with some of Alan's family. Carden and Alan spent a lot of time making a fort. It was huge. We love that place and the traditions we have already started there. Alan and Carden love to hunt for golf balls and 41 seems to be the lucky number they always find. They enjoy going on motorcycle rides searching for animals and eating a whole pan of rice krispie treats.
Finally, when it was cold outside, Carden and I started a new art project. We paint and then the paint turns into stickers to hang on the windows. It has been great! The paint peels off of every thing it gets on and Carden loves waiting for it to dry.

Random Thoughts...and Pictures

Zoo Time

I thought I would share some of our favorite things from the first real zoo season for our family. This year the Zoo had a White Alligator. It was freaky looking. Carden's favorite part was the baby alligators. We loved watching them grow through the season. We also LOVED the elephant show, Kettle Corn, and my favorite, the baby orangutan. Here are a few pictures from our last Zoo day. Can you tell Carden is sick of pictures?

Last night we ran to Wheeler Farm for all of 30 minutes to check it out. It was a beautiful night! What a fun place! We will be going back soon to take advantage of the many other things to do there. Of course, I remember the camera only to have it shut off after three pictures because the batteries were dead!

Can you believe Maxwell's eyes? He is my blue eyed baby boy!

Finally, a few pictures of Carden and his best friend Amber. He loves her soooo much and often starts his mornings asking where she is. He has missed her the past week as vacations and the death of Trisha's sister has kept them apart. Finally, yesterday Trisha let Amber come and play for a few hours and Carden was soooo giddy. Trisha could hear him yelling when she pulled into the driveway because he was so excited. We love the Deming Family and wish them comfort and peace at this time of sorrow!

Go UTES????????

What the world? Can they really be that bipolar? One week we are awesome the next week it is embarrassing! Alan and I went down to Vegas...without the boys. It was fabulous. Alan drove down with the bros on Thursday and I flew down with my Mom, Dad, and my sister on Friday. It was a great trip minus the U game. That was really BORING!!!!!!!!!!!! We mostly ate... a lot. Cheesecake Factory, In and Out Burger, a Buffet. All the Vegas spots. I was so happy to have my Dad with us but it was hard on him. He was a trooper! His eyes do not make tears anymore so he has to put drops in about every 10 minutes and ice his eyes. He sat through the game with a sweatshirt over his head to block the wind and had to wear a mask for the flight. He is soooooooo amazing. I admire him more than anyone else in the world. We also had our own personal chauffeur. Megan's friend, Robb, drove us around Vegas and did a great job. Even with us all yelling at him from the backseat. We only circled around the city a few times everytime we needed to get somewhere..... Just kidding Robb! I would love to share some photos of the weekend but when you leave the kids home, you pack light. I mean really light! I am bummed I did not bring the camera but it was nice to only have my bag to carry. Oh, and my pump, and the cooler for the milk. Once you have kids, they seem to never leave your side. Even when you are 400 miles away!

I HUGE THANK YOU to Alan's Mom and Dad for taking the boys for the weekend. Can I just say how much we love living by family? I know many people enjoy living away but I can honestly say there has not been one day I did not thank the Lord we live so close to family. Carden loves his Gramdma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, aunts, uncles, and cousins so much. I am so grateful he knows them and they have seen him grow up. He had a great time with the family and again, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for being soooooo helpful!

Good Bye Diapers, Hello Potty

Can it really be that easy? Carden is potty trained and we are loving it. Apparently he was ready because it has been very easy for him. I am so proud of him. We have had a few hilarious moments and have actually enjoyed the process. Why does it seem like he grew up last week? Maybe it is folding the tiny undies in the dryer, the little knocks on our bedroom door in the night asking to use the potty, or him asking if we would like him to potty train Max. I am having one of those days were I can almost cry because life is racing by us too fast. Max is now 8 months old as of yesterday. He says "Ma Ma", shakes his head "No No" and has NO desire to crawl. He hates his tummy and is content just sitting and watching everything going on around him. He LOVES to cuddle and I cherish every time he snuggles into my shoulder. I love being a Mom and I am so grateful Alan works so hard so I can be with my boys all day long.
Happy Potty Days!

Potty Advise?

So I decided to attempt to potty train Carden. I have heard the basics....stay home for three days, do it when they are ready, etc. I would love to receive ANY advice fr0m all of you experienced potty trainers. Pull-ups, no pull-ups, what to do at night, rewards, whatever you think would help.

Bear Country

Alan talked us into going up to Yellowstone for the weekend. We had a blast. It was so fun to see Carden get excited about the animals and once again, Max was along for the ride happy as could be. We also hung out with Les Hopkins and Bart and Gayle, which was a lot of fun. I must admit it is tough traveling with a toddler and an infant, but always worth it. Just as it seems we will spend a little time at home, my honey comes up with another adventure for us to embark on.

I had so share this picture of Max in his outfit Nana bought for him at one of the shops. We talked my parents and sister into coming with us. It was so fun to have them with us.