Carson Quote of the Day

Me: Wow, that's really smart! How did you know that?

My brain just told me.

Reese Recited

Reese is at such a cute stage right now! He's out of his terrible two's and he rarely throws tantrums. He's really sweet and he loves to snuggle. Reese is famous for his hugs because he's such a little monkey and he can wrap his little arms around so tight.

Right now, Reese and me are in my bed with Ry's laptop and his head is resting on my shoulder. He's watching me type and then points out his name at the top paragraph and exclaims, "That says Reese! That says my name!" Such a smarty pants! But then he goes on to say, "I love your heart, Mom." So I reply, "I love your heart too, Reese." To which he says, "No, I have a boy heart. Not a girl heart."

A while back he was being really cute so I told him that he was cute. He replied in a matter-of-fact voice, "No, I'm not cute. I'm awesome." Then he paused for a second and corrected himself, "I'm not cute. I'm awesome. And I'm fast."

Seven months old

Gwen is a crawling machine! She's up on her hands and knees and she's pulling herself up on everything. The last few days she's even been attempting to let go after she pulls herself up! She's a champ at sitting up and goes from sitting to crawling/crawling to sitting like nobody's business. Gwen is always smiling, even when she's sick (which has been non-stop the last few months). She's really easy to figure out and really only gets fussy when she's tired, hungry, or wet. She's completely content as long as she has a few toys and something to climb on. It's the cutest thing when she pulls herself up because she gets the biggest grin and you can tell that she's just so proud of herself. We're already starting to see some tantrum-throwing though. If you take something away from her, watch out! We've been having a lot of rough nights lately, well, pretty much since we moved into our house. She's really only slept through the night a handful of times since living here (and before we moved she was sleeping 10-12 hours consistently). At first I just thought it was the transition and sleeping in a real bed but she's had plenty of time to adjust now. But the last few nights have been great so I'm starting to get optimistic! She's eating really well but she's still hasn't figured out how to swallow without sticking out her tongue. How do you teach a baby not to do that? Gwen is getting really good about feeding herself figure foods. Still no teeth in sight but I can't get enough of that cute gummy smile anyway. Her hair is getting long enough to put a little clippy in it. Oh and the cutest thing ever is when she waves goodbye! She's practicing her princess wave. So cute! She really is such a joy to have in our family!

Halloween

Halloween weekend was a blast (surprisingly since I hate Halloween)! It was non-stop fun! It all started with pumpkin carving. The boys really got into it and loved pulling out the pumpkin guts.

 

Saturday morning was the Pumpkin Fun Run that our stake puts on. Here's Adam, Cameron, Jeff, Julie, and Stacy finishing the race.

Saturday night was the ward party and after that, Ry and I (Lady Gaga and my bodyguard) went to a friend's house for another party. These guys are some of my favorite people and they are so much fun!

We even had an awesome Halloween dinner at the Crandall's on Sunday. Complete with Pumpkin Baked Ziti, Dinner in a Pumpkin, Bones and Blood (breadsticks and marinara), eyeballs (hard-boiled eggs), monster mouths, and witch's hats and ghosts for dessert. But the icing on the cake was the witch's brew. The boy's thought it was pretty awesome.

Then on Monday Carson went to school all dressed up and had a party at school. That night we hit the streets and went trick-or-treating for over two hours. Even after Reese couldn't walk anymore he still wanted to go door-to-door. The boys were diehards! Here's my little trio: Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell.

The boy's got skillz!

Carson played soccer again this year and it was a complete 180 from last year! He not only participated but he was aggressive (in a good way) and scored a bunch of goals. I think it helped to have Ryan as the coach but Carson would've had a blast either way. It was a great way to make friends in a new place too because we got to know a lot of fun people.

Look at that grin! He is his father's son!

I was in Gwen's room changing her diaper when I heard the microwave start. At that minute I didn't think too much of it. A few seconds later, Reese comes walking in the room and then I realized that I heard the microwave and it was just me and the kids home. So I asked Reese what was going on with the microwave and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just makin chicken nuggets." Like it was no big deal. I made it to the kitchen just as the time ran out. Sure enough, Reese had gotten out the chicken nuggets from the freezer, put them on a plate and cooked/burned them in the microwave. Luckily he wasn't using a fork or anything but not too bad for a 2 year old!

Reese's letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I want a car present and watch a video.

I want to get a race track and a car.

And another car from Sally.

I want a tattoo.

Love,

Reese

Carson's letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I would like a holiday gift present.

I want a really awesome toy.

Get me the bestest present of my life.

A racecar track.

I want a brand new present movie Cars 2.

I want a present without you telling me. (like a surprise)

And please get me the bally thing that goes on the race track that spins around.

I think I would like the bestest present named the Holiday Surprise.

I would like a pony horse.

I want a cat.
And I need some new pajamas because I have a hole in my other pajamas.

Love,

Carson