ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS. . . . . .

disclaimer: you WILL end up with a Christmas song stuck in your head by the end of this post

.......IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH!

That's right - two of them! Ben's 2 front teeth had started protruding - they were more horizontal than vertical! I finally noticed the new tooth behind one of them and convinced him to let me pull it out. Then, he came home from church and smiled at me! Voila! The Bishop pulled out the second one. Now both my boys can wish for their two front teeth. I wish Joshua's teeth would come in already. He's been so cranky about them! But, then again, he's a biter.

We were singing that song in the car and Sarah's version went like this, "All I want for Christmas is my corner tooth." She really wants to be like Ben and lose a tooth. When we tell her that she isn't old enough she says she already lost one and points to the back where she will eventually get more molars - her corner tooth, I guess!

On another note.....I've made up my own Christmas song this year.

To the tune of "All I want for Christmas".....

All I want for Christmas is a good night's sleep,

A good night's sleep,

Please, a good night's sleep.

Gee if I could only have a good night's sleep,

Then I could have a Merry Christmas.

It's been so long since I could say

"I got eight hours of sleep,"

Gosh, oh gee, how happy I'd be

If it was sound and deep!

All I want for Christmas is a good night's sleep,

A good night's sleep,

Please, a good night's sleep.

Gee if I could only have a good night's sleep,

Then I could have a Merry Christmas!

It's been almost a month since the baby slept well. Which, of course, means I'm not sleeping well. For awhile I was getting up every hour or two, taking care of one child or another - sometimes two children at a time! With the sicknesses in the house, earaches, coughs, even throw-up and teething, our nights have been rough. I cried a few nights, almost dropped the baby when feeding him, and can't remember how many times I got up because I was just too tired to remember anything! Things seem to be getting better. The last few nights I've only had to get up a couple of times. I'm also trying to let him cry it out sometimes. It's good to remember that these event won't last forever.

december's second week

So, last Sunday was our big snow storm. It went all day monday, too. The schools were closed for 2 days and that was kind of fun. We mostly just stayed inside and kept warm. We did venture out Monday afternoon to go to the doctor. Sarah and the baby were not well and I was getting concerned. The baby even had a rash. Sarah had been having a lot of earaches, too. I would here her saying, "Stop. Stop it." over and over again. Then I'd find her with her hand over her ear. Well, the doctor said that the baby was fine, just had a cold. That Ben and Sarah had infections and virus'. So we got them on amoxicillyn. Ben's better, but Sarah still has the nose and cough. It's been a week and I might take her back in. The baby has not gotten better either. He has goop coming out of every orifice! And the sleeping! Well, that better go in a separate post!

Watching the snow fall sunday night.

On Tuesday afternoon the kids invited themselves over to our neighbor's house. The baby and I walked them over there. We were pretty frozen by the time we got back. The next few days the temperatures were in the negatives. And Ben was back in school. He really enjoyed staying in at recess, surprisingly. In fact, by Friday, I had to tell him he had to go out for at least on recess. Even today he told me he would just go out for one, but I told him it wouldn't be cold enough to justify staying in. He likes the leapster 2 they have in the classroom that he gets to play with.

Going down the street to get to our neighbors.

We've gradually replaced windows in our house, but the ones on the back porch are still really old ones. On the freezing days I noticed the ice on them and thought of the old days when I'm sure that was standard. I've been really grateful for all the conveniences we have like gloves and boots, double layer coats, insulation in the walls 4-wheel drive and even cell phones to know my husband is safe.

We had pogonip for a few days, too.

And the icicles.

Sarah wanted me to paint her nails one day. So, we did red for Christmas time and added little stickers. Hers were half gone by the end of the day. I painted mine red, too, and wanted to french tip white on them, but only got one done. I just don't have as much time for pampering as I would enjoy. But, it was a fun thing to do together. We also made cookies at her insistence. She often asks to bake something with me.

Thursday night was Ben's class Christmas concert. We got there 15 minutes early and picked our seats. By the time it started the room was packed, with families standing all around the auditorium. They did the performance at the High School stage. It was for the 1-3 grades. After Ben's class sang their songs we left so that others could have our seats. He did well, sang all the songs, and no misbehavin'! I didn't get any pictures. We video'd it and I ended up with 2 kids on my lap. We were glad to get out early. Sarah and the baby weren't feeling too well and it was still early enough that Ben and I could go to my mom's Community Choir concert. He got kind of bored, though, and we just had to count down the songs til it was over. He was most anxious for the treats they had. It was only an hour, but it must have seemed like forever for him, and for Kannon who called at the end to see when I'd be home!

My mom and dad stopped by on Friday to visit and see our tree. We decided Joshua is very much elf-like and tried to get some good pictures of him. I know this is only half his face, but still adorable!

Ben brought home a t-shirt and sunglasses on Friday. He had wanted to win them by participating in a fundraiser at the beginning of the school year. His grandma was determined to help him win. So, we were glad when he finally got his "prize". The glasses have lights on them. He put these on as soon as he got home and wore the glasses almost all night!

Kannon and I got a babysitter for Friday night so that we could finish up our Christmas shopping. We left about 5:30 to go to Reno. We met up with my parents, who were also in Reno, and had dinner at Carl's Jr. Then we stopped at Toys R Us and Target. By the time we left Target, there was already 1/2 an inch of snow on the ground. Coming home was harried. I sat in the back with the baby who fussed for almost an hour, which is how long it took us to go 25 miles! The roads were completely covered and driving in the snow was very blizzard-like. I was a complete stress-mess. From Fernley home it wasn't bad at all.

We did our ginger bread houses on Saturday, although I made them with graham crackers this year. I read about using burnt sugar as a glue and it worked really well. I hate the royal icing, however. It's always so messy to work with. I'm glad they are done now and that we are continuing this tradition even if I don't like it so much. The kids do. They even ate some of their houses that night! And Sarah has been begging me to eat mine and share it with her!

(If you look at Ben's teeth, you can see how the front 2 are kind of odd. Over the past few months his mouth has kind of spread out and those 2 front teeth have protuded. Instead of being at a 90 degree angle they are more of a 45 degree angle. He's been afraid to pull them, they are loose, and I didn't want to hurt him. People kept saying he'd lost a tooth because of the gap between the front teeth and the next ones over. On Sunday I discovered his new tooth already coming in behind his baby tooth! Last night he finally let me yank it for him. Yay! I'll post a picture soon. The other one isn't quite ready yet. And he found another loose one on the bottom. Now he and the baby can sing, "all I want for christmas is my two front teeth!")

One other thing we had planned for saturday was a movie with popcorn. We rented UP and popped popcorn on the stove. Kannon's aunt and uncle gave us a kit to make real movie popcorn. I got it too salty. We'll try again another time since we have a few more movie nights planned this month.

After church on Sunday I stayed, with the baby, for choir. When I got home I found this in my backyard! It made me smile. I know, I know, it was Sunday - but we just didn't have the chance any other time and it was starting to melt. It's our snow family.

Complete with coal eyes and carrot nose!

We spent Sunday evening at my parents house visiting and playing. I put the baby under the tree for a bit and he loved playing with this branch. I remembered that when I was a kid we would lay under the tree and look at it from that view. We had a great tree skirt that we'd spend hours talking about. It had 4 elves painted on by my grandma, and we each "owned" one of them. Mine was the one with brown hair, brown eyes, and a pink and blue dress. The skirt has since worn out, but my mom took it apart and repurposed it as a runner. I have plans to make one just like it in crosstitch. When I have the time - ha!

And for those of you who are thinking, "she complains about not having time for anything - how is she getting this blog done?" - Just know that I have given up my shower for the day while the baby is sleeping. So, today might not be a good one for a drop-in visit! =)

first week of december

It seems to be all I can do just to get a smattering of pictures with a few descriptions on here!

We finally made it to story time again last week. After the stories the kids got to make Santa puppets. That was kind of fun. I hope we get to do more activities like that now that they are in the new building.

This year, for Christmas, I told Ben he could have a special tree in his room - at the time thinking it would be for the kids. Well, my mom found the pink tree and couldn't resist getting it for Sarah. So, now they both have a tree for Christmas.

That being said, they are having a hard time dealing with the fact that I "own" the family tree. When I told Ben not to touch anything on the tree because it was mine, he said, "You mean I held the tree and Dad cut it down - for YOU?!" That's right. My ornaments are special this year - they are the ones my mom bought me for my last birthday, and I don't want them broken!

A few weeks ago I sat down with the kids and the calendar and a list of fun things to do this Christmas. We picked what we wanted and scheduled them in. For years I've wanted to make fruitcake with my Dad. It's his mothers' recipe and he used to make it for our family every once in awhile. Well, each year it seems we don't have the money or the time and it gets postponed. This year, I put it on the calendar and talked to him about it far in advance. We each bought 1/2 the ingredients a little at a time so that it didn't feel like so much money. Then, on Friday, we met at their house and he and I made the fruitcake. I was the mixer - you HAVE to use your hands, and Dad added the ingredients. It was really fun! I took a few pieces home with me and have been eating them for my breakfasts. Yummy!

On the first friday of December our town lights up the big Christmas tree on Maine St. I think they said this was the 25th year? We had it scheduled to go as a family. But, at the last minute I didn't want to take the baby out in the cold. So, Kannon offered to stay home. Neither of us wanted to go, but I couldn't let the kids down. We only live a few blocks away, so we bundled up and took a walk. We got there, found a good friend of ours, and a few minutes later they lit up the tree. Then.....wait for it.....we went back home. Woo hoo. It's really not all that special to me. I just like to drive past it at night a few times each Christmas season!

Ben with our friend Paxton.

On Saturday we had scheduled our tree finding expedition! Kannon got up early to run up to Reno and vote in their Union election. He came right back home and we loaded up in the 'burban. We went out to the Carroll Summit area. I told him two choices for roads to drive down, and we took the one less traveled. About 3 miles later and after a heart-pounding ride up a hill, I said, "what about that one?" and Kannon stopped. I got out with Sarah, and we checked over a couple of trees. Then I gave Ben the pick of 2 different trees and he chose the one with more needles but shorter. Yay, that was quick. Equally quick was the cutting of the tree and then the kids went straight for the hot chocolate. That's the part they were most excited about, I think. It was also scheduled on the calendar - "get tree, hot chocolate."

For those of you familiar with our area, you know that on Highway 50 there are a lot of salt flats where people have taken rocks and written names, initials, websites, you name it. On our way out that day, Ben kept asking if we could do that. We figured we wouldn't really have time (Kannon was going to the temple that afternoon) and said maybe another day we'd come out just for that. Well, on the way back we were buzzed by a few Navy jets and Kannon wanted to stop and listen and watch for a bit. Well, wouldn't you know, there were some rocks right there and you couldn't even tell what they spelled anymore. So, Ben and I got out and left his mark. It was so cold!

After we got home, Kannon trimmed the bottom of the tree and set it up in the living room. He then started getting the front porch loaded with wood in preparation for our upcoming really cold weather! I helped out with that and after he left for the temple, and the baby was asleep, I decorated the tree. It was nice to get it done without too much interruption. Sarah really wanted to help and I wouldn't let her. I guess I was a mean mom about that.

I really like it, and love the smell of the fresh tree. It's also really fun to see the special ornaments and know that they were picked out just for me!

Christmas begins!

Just thought I'd get you in the mood for Christmas! Here's our own little elf!

Thanksgiving and illness

The last few days before Thanksgiving were pretty stressful for me. I had quite a few projects that had to get done. I had hoped to get my Christmas cards all finished and ready to send. We're half-way there. The envelopes are stamped and addressed, the letter is written, I just need to get the pictures and write to everyone. There was my haircut. I helped in Ben's class. He had a pretty noisy cough. It didn't seem to be related to anything, no mucus or gunk - just loud and barking. I took him to see my kinesiologist friend, Julie, and we got him taking some stuff to clear it. He stayed home on Tuesday, just so he wouldn't be an annoyance to his class.

One of the things I wanted to do was make apple-cider donuts to bring Thursday morning to Elko, so that my mother-in-law wouldn't have to worry about breakfast. After everything was packed, kids were washed and in bed, I stayed up late to make the donuts. I had made a quick trip to the store to get more oil and accidentally grabbed canola oil instead of vegetable. I'm also wondering if I left out a cup of flour, I kind of lost track when I was making them - lack of sleep? I mean I had stayed up late the night before finishing the embroidery on my m-i-l's grandkids sweatshirt. They were really doughy. I followed all the directions, but I don't know how hot the oil was, I didn't have a thermometer. So, the first 8-10 donuts were burned, bad. They were black within seconds. So, I turned down the heat and they started looking better. But, then I noticed they were absorbing the oil to the point that they were falling apart. I finished cooking almost all of them, but I was so frustrated with them that I threw the last bit of dough away. And needless to say, the donuts ended up going out to the dogs, because they just tasted like oil. I don't know if I will ever try donuts again, I'm perfectly happy buying them from the bakery!

We had a mostly pleasant time in Elko for Thanksgiving. There was good food, Bingo for prizes, lots of playing with cousins. My m-i-l got us a hotel room as our Christmas present. We stayed there Thursday and Friday nights. On Thursday, we took the kids down to the pool and they had a good time. It ended up being a little too cold for Joshua so I took him back to the hotel room. Kannon took the kids to spend the night with Grandma and I was asleep before he even got back! He did wake me up early, wanted to go see about a computer monitor. We did end up getting it, and I can say I'm really happy with it. It's a flat screen (of course, I guess all new monitors would be). And it just gives us so much more room on our little desk.

We also got some stuff at KMart - gloves, snowsuits, and shoes for the kids. When we got back to the hotel, Kannon took the baby to his moms and I did a workout with my sister-in-law. I did the elliptical machine and the treadmill and felt really good when we were done. Spent the day at the house. The kids got to sleep at the hotel with us that night. And I got to go to the movie again with the girls. We went to New Moon and I was kind of glad to be seeing it a second time.


Benjamin and cousin Mickale

When I got back to the hotel, Kannon was watching football with his dad. When it was over and we were about to go to bed, Sarah got sick. At this point the baby was being really fussy, too. Did I mention he'd been teething!? Got his first tooth on the 21st and his second one came in that day (27th). So, he was crying and Sarah was upset and gross. Kannon and I were doing our best but not being as patient as we should have been. It's always a little more frustrating when you are trying to be quiet and not bother the other people in the area. She got sick a few times and then all through the night I was up checking on her and feeding the baby. She had a fever all night. She didn't throw up again on Saturday, but I could tell she didn't feel good. I took Ben to the pool one more time, thought we'd meet up with his cousins. When we got done and back to our room, we found out they were going to go swimming with Grandma in about an hour. Kannon took off to play basketball and I stayed with the kids while they ate donuts and oj. Sarah was upset that she didn't get to go swimming, but I really didn't want her throwing-up in the pool! Later, I took her and the baby with me to go visit my aunt Peggy in Wells. She slept on the way there and they whole time we were there. She seemed kind of out of it again at bed time and I was worried about her throwing up again. Let me just say that I had told Kannon we should just go home - that morning! He really wanted to stay. Well, by bedtime Benjamin had a really bad earache. After a few hours of his crying Kannon said we were going home. That was more than fine with me. I mean if we'd stayed and left in the morning, we'd be bothering everyone else in the house with his crying. I knew we had a prescription pain ear drop for him at home, from the last earache he had. So, we left at 11pm and got home at 3:30am. Kannon had to stop once to sleep for a bit. I told him I wouldn't be able to stay awake with him, I was so exhausted. I did wake up the last hour and read to him from the Ensign. Sunday was better with everyone's health, but we did a lot of sleeping.

We got our family pictures taken at Olan Mills inside Kmart on Saturday and while we were waiting we let Joshua test out some baby stuff! He might find this under the tree Christmas morning!

Joshua had his first real food on Sunday, too! He's been trying to eat with us for awhile, now and I thought it might help him sleep longer. So we tried some oatmeal. He loved it, ate it all so fast. In fact, he'd get mad every time I took the spoon away to get more cereal. He also was determined to help and held the spoon with me for most bites! I'm not sure if that was the best time to feed him, though.

I started feeling ill around dinner time, upset stomach. I went to bed right after the kids at 8 pm. The baby was awake at 9, 10, 11:15, 12:30, and 3:15! I don't know if it was the food disagreeing with him or if he was sick like me. I was feeling nauseous the whole night and had other bathroom needs. Monday went the same way. And the baby was fussy and spitting up more than usual. Today has been better for me, but the baby is the same. At least he only woke up once last night. And Sarah, although over the flu stuff, now has a cough! Ugh - does it ever end!? I've always felt like we were a pretty healthy family, but lately it seems never-ending. I guess that's what happens as your family grows. Hopefully we can all be healthy for Christmas. I've worked hard on having things done, or scheduled, so that we can have a relaxing time together and really have the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts.

Busy days

With the addition of Joshua to our family, I've found I have less time to sit down at the computer these days. So, sorry for the lack of posts on this blog. I've been enjoying my children, though. This is a snack Sarah brought me, complete with heart-shaped bread!

Ben had a barking cough that irritated me and I figured it would be a bother for his classmates, too, so I kept him home one day. He and Sarah went "swimming". She asks me almost daily to go swimming. I keep telling her it's too cold. Yesterday she said she would wear a coat!




We bought a new car! Kannon's green metro finally bit the dust. The motor went out - again. And he's just had enough of it - didn't want to put more money into it. So we went out looking one Saturday. I'd planned on getting a car about $4000 max. We had $1500 to put down on one. Well, we ended up figuring that a newer car would be good for us and definitely wanted one that would last for awhile. With the miles Kannon puts on his cars we picked Toyota. We really liked this Corolla and after hours - literally - of haggling we finally got the deal we wanted. I wanted to only pay about $200 a month for no more than 4 years. They finally got us that deal and so we got our 2006 Toyota Corolla for $9800. We think we got ourselves a good deal!

Even better is that we asked them to send the info to our credit union to see if they could get us a better percentage rate. We just got the results! We have our loan the credit union at 4.2%! So, yay! We've already had to replace 2 tires, though. He was about to pass a car on I-80 when she swerved over. He had to slam on his brakes and it ruined the back 2 tires.
So, post-pregnancy, I am losing my hair like crazy! I got sick of having it in food, on my clothes, in the babies hands. Plus, it seemed to take forever to wash it! I finally decided to cut it. Here are before and after pictures.

I like it if I keep it straightened. Not too thrilled with it when I leave it curly.

We had a sad event a bit ago. One of the sisters in our ward, Sheri Faught, passed away. She was a young mother of 3 teenagers. She had cancer and it finally bested her. I was asked to sing at her funeral. I sang in a trio - a song about the stages of a woman's life. It was difficult to sing with the emotions running through me. I also volunteered to make food for the dinner and was asked to teach the Young Men how to make bread that night. It made for a pretty busy day and bread coming out our ears! I made 3 different batches of bread so that the boys could see all 3 stages. They weren't that interested. They went through the motions, but I don't think any of them will remember a thing I said! Oh well, I'm learning more and more the differences between boys and girls. And learning how to let some things go because they are boys (talking about my own little boy!)

I also got to go see New Moon with some girlfriends. It was a fun time, I felt like they did a much better job this time around. Still don't like some of the actors, but the story is still fun! Oh, and it was so nice to be out of the house for a while with just me and my girlfriends!

Fun stuff

Okay Fallonites, which picture makes you think Churchill County?

Sorry the numbers were hard to match up here!

#1



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#9







A few weeks ago we did a family activity that was really fun. It had been a crazy Sunday. For some reason they usually are. Everyone was kind of sick, Kannon especially. He brought in a pad of paper and a pencil and asked everybody to name their favorite color. After writing all of our answers he let been ask a question. We went around the room asking and answering until we felt finished with that activity. Here are some of our questions and answers.




What do you like to do in spare time?
dad - wii
mom - surf internet
Ben - eat
Sarah - love




Favorite ice cream
dad - brownie. bear claw
mom - cinnamon caramel cashew
Ben - rocky road
Sarah - strawberry




What do you want for Christmas?
dad - tool box
mom - clock
Ben- game boy
Sarah - ironing board




Favorite instrument
dad - drums
mom - piano
Ben - electric guitar
Sarah - whistle




Favorite game
dad - Last Word
mom - Ticket to Ride
Ben - Cranium
Sarah - Phase 10 dice




Favorite thing to do as a family
dad - camping
mom - camping
Ben - movie theater
Sarah - camping




Where do you want to go on next family vacation?
dad - Oregon coast
mom - ocean
Ben - ocean
Sarah - ocean




Favorite TV show
dad - Modern Marvels
mom - Designed to Sell
Ben - Phineas and Ferb/ How it's Made
Sarah - Phineas and Ferb

Halloween Festivities 2009

We started our weekend on Friday night with a ward Trick-or-Trunk, chili cook-off, Carnival! The kids picked out their costumes about a month in advance. I'd been tempted to buy $20 costumes, but the more we talked about it, we decided they could put something together for next to nothing. Sarah started out wanting to be a wicked witch, then switched to a ballerina. Hers was the cheapest costume since we already had the stuff. We'd bought this outfit for her to take lessons, then decided we couldn't afford it yet. She wears it quite often to play around the house. Ben saw a costume in a magazine and got the idea to be a magician. We were given the cape, I found the hat at Savers for $3, painted a dowel ($3) and the blue ribbon and bow were in my box of hair accessories!

Kannon borrowed this pirate costume from my parents stash. And the bunny costume I found at a thrift store - he was to be Benjamin's rabbit, but Ben said he could just be a bunny, not his bunny!

At the party, Sarah found her friend Kathryn.

We ate chili, cornbread, and even dessert! They had a cake-walk, fishing pond, face painting, etc. Then we headed outside for the trick-or-trunk.

(Okay, he's stinkin' handsome! He wore his suit coat yesterday to church

and Sarah said he looked very pretty!)

It was at this point that I started questioning the whole purpose behind Halloween. How stupid is it that we put on a costume and demand that people give us candy!? And what makes that fun, anyway? Especially when the mom's take most of the candy away from their kids? I don't know that we'll "quit" Halloween, but I might have to figure something out to ease my conscience.

So, I was Fancy Nancy. She's a great story character that I love. I would have been her as a child if I could have been, or been brave enough to be!

I liked my pink hair the best out of this costume.

On Saturday, we emptied out our storage unit. We get to use that $40 a month to sign me up at the gym! woo hoo!

We hauled a load of bricks from Grandma Youngs old chimney out to my mom's yard. My brother is building an outdoor bbq place for them.

Then we came in for a party. A church friend was a having a birthday party for her 1-year-old. They had a bounce house, music, strobe lights. The kids were in that bounce house forever!

Afternoon nap!

Sarah - I don't have any friends in there! Nobody will play with me.

Musical chairs. Sarah is still talking about how she and the girl in the spiderman dress got out. Ben was one of the last 3 players.

You have to have a pinata - but we could have done without the candy - again!

We had plenty to eat at the party, so we didn't have to worry about dinner. We headed out to the Maine Street Halloween. The stores were handing out candy. We went with our neighbor-friends, the Mortensen's. I don't think we'd go again if they do that again. It was too crowded and people were smoking everywhere, so that was kind of stinky!

Sarah was quite the trooper, there was a lot of walking and she only took a "ride" for a little while.

Robbie, Sarah, Lily, Ben, and Reed!

After the downtown stuff, we trick-or-treated around the neighborhood. There weren't as many people home as usual - I'm guessing because of the downtown stuff. I was ready to go home when the baby started to cry. No sooner did I get home, though, than Kannon called to have me come pick them up. He wanted to take the kids out to my aunt and uncles house and then to my parents. Sarah fell asleep right away and we had a really hard time getting her even half awake to see my mom all dressed up for them!

So, we ended up with a ton of candy! The kids were allowed to pick out 10 pieces and the rest went into a big bowl. But, I don't want it here. I keep eating it and the chocolate is starting to bug the baby. Plus, how can I lose weight if I'm eating all that! I don't know if I can physically throw it away! I think we'll bag up a bunch of it for the Bishop's candy jar. Maybe the Food Pantry would want some?

the Second half of October!

Ben's school had a Night of Books. He went dressed as a character from his favorite books - Shaggy. They got a bucket of treats, costume contest, and then we joined his teacher for a story. It was a cute one about a fat cat that ate everyone. Kids and adults dressed up as the characters. Ben got to be the woodcutter who saved the day! He got a kick out of wearing Brother Dalluge's boots.

We went with Ben's class to the pumpkin patch. It was complete with a hayride, pumpkin picking, stories and songs, petting rabbits and feeding goats, and a snack.

We spent an evening at my parents house. We took a drive to find pictures of "landscapes and landmarks of Churchill County" for the phone book photo contest. Sarah left the house with 2 right feet! She couldn't find both of her shoes so she grabbed a different one, they just both happened to be for the same foot. I didn't notice any of that until we were out there!

We celebrated Kannon's birthday! He "got" to have a few days off. He had that Friday off and again on Monday (his birthday) while they found another job for him to go to. He spent some time at the sauna. We went to Sonic for happy hour slushies, picked out some pants and a candy bar for his present, and had the Edwards family over to play Ticket to Ride and share cake (strawberry with chocolate frosting)and ice cream(Oh, my, blueberry pie!).

Baby Joshua is growing. He's really long, but doesn't weigh as much as my other 2 did at this age. He does talk now, it's so cute, lots of gurgles. He's often found with fingers and hands in his mouth. Therefore, lots of drooling!

We sported Halloween clothes! This is what she wore to Benjamin's class Nevada Day party. And I got to go to Reno with my mom (Sarah and Joshua tagging along!) We stopped at a few Savers and I found this adorable rocking chair! Sarah calls it the princess chair. Someday when I get to decorate a room for her, this will be involved.

My Incredibles

I've felt like I should update what my children have been up to. Joshua is 3 months old now. He's still so sweet and precious - still so new. He smiles quite often and we even get giggles sometimes. He's very ticklish. He still likes to be held a lot, but also lets me put him down sometimes. I can switch him around - we use the swing, the bouncy seat (with toys and a mirror), in his crib with the mobile, on the floor with toys in front of him, in the highchair so mom can eat. Ben is really good about entertaining him, too.
His eyes are mostly brown. They have a little gray-green on the outside edge, still. Not sure if they just haven't changed all the way, or if they are going to be like mine! He still doesn't "talk" much. It's almost rare and exciting to get sounds out of him. He's so different from my other two kids. More cuddly, needy, timid. I don't mind, just takes some getting used to.

People say he looks like his daddy. Then every once in awhile we get that he looks like the Bakes. He's definitely ours and we love him!

He reaches for things - I think his left hand is dominant right now. Once he grabs them, though, he doesn't know what to do with them! He loves to stand up. I can hold him on my lap, standing, for a LONG time!

His brother and sister love him, too. Ben always says, "he's so cute."

In September we celebrated both my mom's and my dad's birthdays. Sarah was excited for both of them and planned for weeks how we would party. We ran out of time to do the pinata for Papa's birthday, but Ben made sure we had it for Grammy's. He had picked one up at a yard sale (50 cents!) and filled it with all the candy in our house (leftovers from parades and even last Halloween!). Sarah helped me make the cake and put the candles on. I made dinner for them and then we played!

It was dark, windy and cold outside and I wasn't about to try and string up a pinata. I told Ben we could do it inside and this is what he thought of. Throwing it and smashing it!

Then tearing it apart! It was hilarious.

Grandma Polish and Marisha stopped by for a few hours one day. They'd been to a nearby town to pick up some insulation. They got to surprise Ben by picking him up from school. Then Grandma took us out for Sonic. We introduced her to the Sonic Chillers a few months ago and she just had to have one! (cherry limeade + soft-serve ice cream = Sonic Chiller, so good!)

She stayed long enough to play a few games with the kids.

Ben is still just so smart. He had midterm reports a few weeks ago and he is excelling in almost everything. He still has issues with paying attention and with talking when he's not supposed to. He has chosen to not spend so much time with the one boy with whom he kept getting in trouble. He is in the highest reading group (and could really be doing more). His teacher also started him in an accelerated math group. He aced the first testing with that and she said he's just going to fly through it. He loves being rewarded and got in trouble for doing the bonus activities before finishing his regular work! (they get stickers or happy grams for the bonus ones.) I think school has just been really good for him. He's doing much better at home. Still teases Sarah, but it seems to be more loving than before. And our issues with him aren't much, he usually cries before he yells. I'm sure that's a result of being tired more, now.

We spent last Saturday in Winnemucca. We just thought it would be a good idea to visit Kannon's sister and her family. We went to Stetson's soccer game and Ben had a good time running around playing soccer on his own. We had a picnic lunch at the park and then spent the rest of the time at their house. The kids got to experience the chickens and turkeys running loose. And mom and dad got to enjoy the visit without having to worry about the kids! It's so nice to just let them be, without the worry of cars or weirdos walking by. Sarah mostly played with Kate in her room and Ben was outside the whole time with Stetson.

Playing dress-up.

Sarah is another independent child of mine! She still loves all things girly - dressing up, jewelry, pink, babies. She is getting better at cleaning up when we say it's time to. She is often quietly coloring or cutting paper. She is my little baking helper. Loves to be in the kitchen with me.

Two days ago she put her swim suit on and I found her outside filling up a bucket with water. When I came out later, she was sitting in the bucket, but not for long. It wasn't exactly cold, but this is the middle of October!

She runs everywhere and gets pretty upset if I go to the school for Ben without her. We walk him to the school in the morning and she has always given him a hug and blown him a kiss. After a while, Ben started being embarrassed by that. So, now she gives him his hug on the way to school, before we are there. He just stands there and "bears" it. We only have to cross one street to get there. She runs all the way to the street, stopping a few yards back, where she waits for us. One morning she didn't get dressed in time and we had to go. I told her she'd have to stay home. We went out the door and she came screaming out after us. She didn't have any shoes on and it was pretty cool that day! I was pretty upset with her, picked her up and we let Ben cross the street on his own that day. There have been a few afternoons, when she was napping, that I went on my own to pick up Ben. When she wakes up she is pretty upset with me. She seems so grown-up. I have to remind myself that she's only 3 and still needs lots of love and patience. She's adorable, too!

And lastly, a video of our Joshua, playing with Daddy.