Xander's Halloween Party

It's been awhile since I blogged but we haven't had a whole lot going on the past few days. The end of last week and into the weekend it rained cats and dogs. Savannah's game was cancelled and there wasn't a whole lot else to report. But this week is Halloween and my kids are so excited about it. Tuesday Xander had his Halloween party at preschool. This year he is dressing up as Frankenstein and looks so cute in his costume. All of the parents joined our kids as they went around the club trick-or-treating and then helped them make Halloween crafts in the classroom. It was a really fun party and Xander had a great time.

A Visit with Friends

In March one of the very few good friends I've made here in Baltimore, Jenn Peterson, up and moved on me. Thank goodness we've kept in touch and I was so excited when she called to say they were coming for a visit. We were able to spend most of Tuesday with Jenn and her two kids, Andrew and Ashley. We got lunch and spent the afternoon talking and laughing...it was just like old times. Other than a few "sharing toys" issues with Xander, it was a wonderful visit. They even stayed long enough to see Savannah; Savannah really loves her kids and Andrew has always had a little crush on Savannah. We miss you guys and can't wait for your next visit.

Carving Pumpkins

Okay, so we waited until the night before Halloween to carve our pumpkins but better late than never. We're a little behind in our neighborhood where people decorate for Halloween like they do for Christmas! And the Halloween decorations go up the end of August, early September! This year we decided to attempt some of those cool designs that we've seen others carve on their pumpkins. Kelly was so great to send us some stencils and it turned out to be pretty easy to do although it took a LOT longer than usual. Xander picked out the Vampire stencil and Savannah chose the spider web design.



Cleaning out the guts!!!




The finished product turned out really well and the kids were very excited about our cool looking pumpkins!




Finally we can look like the rest of the neighborhood!

Tag - I'm It

Heidi tagged me about a week ago and I'm finally getting to it. So, here is my list of 6 things/habits about myself that people might not know.

1. I absolutely HATE talking on the phone. I hate when people call me up just to chat or shoot the breeze...I just don't have time for it. I don't mind talking to family members or friends that I haven't spoken to in awhile; I can see the point in having a good chat. But when people call me every day that I see often and just want to talk, FORGET IT!

2. I am a sports freak! My favorites to watch are football and basketball so this time of year I am in heaven. And I don't mind that my husband wants to sit around all day watching games because I'm right there with him.

3. I do not understand why people obsess about food. I have family members and friends who will spend hours talking about recipes and why this dish is great and that dish is just okay...I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong, I love food but I just don't spend time talking about it.

4. I don't like to shop. When I have to buy clothes for myself or the kids I just want to get in and get out.

5. I collect Gone With the Wind memorabilia. I've been collecting since I was 12 and first fell in love with the movie. I have tons of different music boxes, figurines, collectors plates, dolls, etc. David get annoyed with my obsession but I love it. In fact, Savannah was supposed to be named Vivien Leigh after the most wonderful actress that played Scarlett O'Hara but David was having none of that (though I did get Leigh for her middle name).

6. I love to do puzzles. Unfortunately it's hard to find a space where I can just leave a puzzle and work on it from time to time. But when I can I love to do them.

Well, there you have it...a few little tidbits about me. I now tag Kelly (weren't you supposed to have done this already?), Sally, Pam, and David (though I don't think David will do it). Have fun!

The Kids' Check-ups

This morning I took the boys in for their check-ups - Xander for his 3 years exam and Noah for his 6 months. They're both doing really well although Xander was very shy and didn't want to answer any of the doctor's questions. She finally coaxed him into telling her the colors of certain items she showed him. Both of them received shots and I must say how proud I am of Xander because he didn't cry at all. In fact, for his second shot he just pulled up his sleeve for her and took it like a little man. The nurse got him special treats for being so brave. Poor little Noah bawled through all three of his shots but who can blame him? Noah is still the little porker, weighing just over 22 pounds which is only 1 pound less than what Xander weighed at his 12 month appointment.

Xander's preschool class celebrated October birthdays today with cupcakes, drinks, and party hats. Xander got to wear a gold crown since he was one of the birthday boys.

Painting Pumpkins

For FHE we painted the pumpkins we bought at the Pumpkin Farm. The kids did a good job and now Xander has a pumpkin with teeth.

The Pumpkin Farm

After Savannah's soccer game we headed to a Pumpkin Farm for our Stake Youth Fall Activity. First thing on our agenda was the Corn Maze. The maze was HUGE and there were a whole bunch of stations we were supposed to find. We had only found 3 of them when we happened to stumble upon the exit. Xander wanted to keep going but the rest of us were done with wandering. Every day we walk Savannah to the bus stop and every day Xander points out a pumpkin on one of our neighbor's porch. The people painted the pumpkin rather than carved it and it really is cute. It has huge squiggly eyes and a huge grin as well as teeth. Well, Xander loves this pumpkin and has been talking about it ever since he saw it. He says he wants a pumpkin with teeth. So, after doing the maze we headed over to the pumpkin patch so the kids could pick out some large pumpkins to carve and smaller pumpkins to paint. After spending about 10 minutes looking at all of the pumpkins, Xander came over to me quite upset. He said, "Mommy, I can't find a pumpkin with any teeth." It was so cute. Though there were none with teeth, we did end up finding some great pumpkins and the kids really enjoyed their time at the pumpkin farm.

Rivalry

Ryan and I have a pretty good time giving it to each other about our schools. I do have to admit that the Utah Utes aren't even close to being in the same league as the Ohio State Buckeyes but it is good fun and I love to get Ryan all fired up. For example, Ohio State is currently ranked #1 in the country but they played football powerhouses Akron, Kent State and Youngstown State and Ryan will respond with, "Who does Utah play next? LDS Business College?" FUNNY.....I did love it though when Florida whopped all over OSU in the Championship game last year and I'm hoping that somehow OSU is undefeated so they can go to the big dance and lose again......of course, they may not get past Michigan if they play like they did against Michigan State. Perhaps OSU is better off playing Western Kentucky or Brown University, wait I think they play Central Florida A&M next week....GO BUCKS!

6 Months Old!

Yesterday was Noah's 6 months birthday! I can't believe that he is already 6 months old...time really flies. It's so hard to remember life before my little Noah showed up. He has brought so much joy into our lives. He is the happiest little guy, easily sharing his smile with everyone he sees. He has been the easiest baby that we've had and I know it's because Heavenly Father took pity on us after sending us Xander...we deserved a baby like Noah. He's your average 6 month old baby, learning to sit up and eat baby food and all of those other "baby" things (okay, he is a little fatter than your average 6 month old), but he is such a sweet little guy and we are truly blessed to have in our family.

Xander the Protector

Tonight at dinner I was asking Savannah a bunch of questions about her friends at school. She was telling me all these different stories about the things they do and talk about, etc., etc. Anyway, I asked her if there were any kids in her class that were mean to her. She mentioned this one boy who evidently has been kicking her. That brought on a whole bunch of questions from me such as had she told her teacher, when was the last time he had kicked her, what did she say to him, etc. Obviously I was very concerned about this...and so was Xander. After I finished questioning her, I took a bite of my dinner. Xander spoke up, saying, "Vannie, I go with you." I turned to him and asked, "Are you going with Savannah to protect her?" And Xander replied, "Yes, I be mean to that boy." I was so proud of Xander for wanting to stick up for his sister and that he felt protective of her. Xander is quite the little man!

Our Halloween House

Tonight for FHE the kids decorated a Halloween house. This year I bought an already assembled gingerbread house so we would not have to deal with the waiting time it takes for the house to "stick" together or even deal with the assembly itself. The kids helped make the icing and then got to it. They did a good job decorating plus they did a good job eating the candy as well.



Savannah is looking mighty serious.

Sitting Up and Moving Back

Ever since I saw that Ashlyn could sit up at 4 1/2 months I've been working with Noah to be able to do it as well. His problem is he likes to throw his body backwards which makes for a very unpleasant bump to his head. But he is getting better, as you can see from the pictures. He still does the leaning tower thing but he is getting the hang of it.


He has also gotten very adept at moving around...backwards. He loves to be on his tummy and is doing the whole rocking back and forth thing...and the next thing I know he's halfway under the couch. What a cutie! And he's growing up much too quickly for my taste. I LOVE this age - 6 months - when they're not mobile yet but they can sit up and show some personality.