Halloween 2010

Happy {belated} Halloween! :) It seems that I never post about Halloween until mid-November. Hm. I guess we're always busy (or recovering from our candy comas) until then. Er, now. Whichever... you get the idea.

This year for Halloween, we were Goldilocks and the Three Bears! :) It was fun. Jolie was Goldilocks- though due to her general lack of locks, she wore a wig. lol. And James, Derek and I were the Three Bears. I made all of our costumes (Jolie's skirt and shirt, even)- from scratch! I'm pretty proud of myself. In part due to my fear of patterns and in part to my pride of figuring things out on my own, I didn't use any patterns and decided to "wing" it. I think they turned out alright. We do look like bears, don't we? Hope so.

I didn't get any decent pictures of Halloween night, but my friend Li took some (thank you, Li!). Here are a few for your festive delight...

(Please disregard my funky stance. I swear I'm not (I hope!) as squatty and deranged as I appear in this photo. Holding Goldilocks and squatting down were not the best combination, apparently. lol)

James with his buddies Evan and Asher.

So silly already! And they hadn't even

gorged themselves on candy yet! ;)

Family Photo

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Fun, right? :)

A little back story: We generally go trick-or-treating with our cousins in Smithfield and have a blast doing so. There is a family in their neighborhood (whom we now know and love but admired even before that) that totally grills up hot dogs for everyone and anyone who walks by- complete with hot cocoa and FULL-SIZED candy bars! (I know; they're awesome!) Derek and I have been totally impressed with this and swore that "someday" we were totally going to do this.

Well, this year, we decided to give it a go- on a mini scale, anyway. So we decked out (minimally, but still) our garage and bought some Styrofoam cups and warmed some hot cocoa in our CrockPot... and voila! Instant coolness! :) Mostly we wanted to do it because it is just so NICE and neighborly. It's not something you see anymore, and it makes you feel so special as a recipient. It was especially good this year as it was cold and raining; it was a good chance to let people step out of the rain and warm up a bit.

I think it went well. Thank you, Derek, for pulling it all off. It was my idea, but (go figure) I got stressed and overbooked doing other things- and Derek (again, go figure) saved the day. Night. Whatever. ;) Also, thanks to the Packs for stepping up and playing host/hostess when we were too lazy/busy to get off our duffs and help people. (We love you guys!!!)

It was a fun night. Our house is finally beginning to recover from it all. And I'm seriously considering boycotting junk food from now until December 23rd. :) I do love me some chocolate chip cookies, though, so we'll see how that goes...

Happy Halloween! We hope it was as spooktacular for you and yours as it was for us and ours!

xo

Oh, and James really didn't wear flip flops with his costume. After the photo op, I made him change into real shoes with socks. It was freezing and wet that night (and spooky... definitely spooky). And as much as I try to convince myself otherwise, I really am a better mom than that! :)

Random October Musings...

Can you believe it is October already?? I seriously cannot. When did all those months fly by? Is my baby really 7 1/2 months old already? I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Seriously, time flies like CRAZY once you have kids. I'm pretty sure it's because they grow like crazy. It's hard to keep up... and sad that you always feel like you miss so much - even if you're always there and paying attention.

My baby Jolie can CLAP! Not sure if this is technically a milestone, but I'm still so proud. So is she. I'm pretty sure the first day she did it was October 1st. Here's a picture to prove it:

Notice the fact that she just might be getting hair now! Another milestone?? ;) And below, she is grinning at James- her favorite person in the whole, wide world. Really, she loves him so much.
Here's another clapping picture, this time when she was dressed and ready for the day. I actually took a whole bunch of pictures on this day (last Friday, I believe it was). It was just a lazy day... love those.

And here is a series of pictures I will now title "How To Get Fabulous Pictures of Your Children"... aka: "How Hard It Is To Get Kids to Cooperate for Pics." :)

1. Both kids are barely in frame... I'm pretty sure it was James who would not stay put.
2. Hey, everyone look at James' feet! Yes- perfect! :/
3. No, I said SMILE, James, not ROAR! (Side note: Jolie totally growls/roars like a dinosaur with/at James. It's their communication, apparently. It's pretty adorable, albeit not-so-ladylike.)
4. Okay. Good enough.

Here's another of my pretty girl... blow this one up to see it better. She's got such pretty eyelashes, such feminine features. Don't you just want to eat her up? I really do. Mmm... those cheeks!
Later that day, Daddy came home. He wanted to nap, but both kids just wanted to jump on him. I think they were supposed to be snuggling, but mostly they were just playing on Daddy. (Hop on Pop, anyone?) Check out this pair of photos... Watch Jolie.

Before...

After!

Funny, huh? Poor James. Good thing he totally deserves it! He pesters her all the time... lovingly, mostly. It's only fair that she occasionally returns the favor. :)

And in case you didn't get your fill of videos from the last post, here are two more. This one is of Jolie clapping for the first time (well, as soon after I witnessed it - after the time it took to snag the camera and shoot). Disregard the awful lighting and crazy shadows. The front door was wide open, letting in some warm, wonderful sunshine. Unfortunately, my camera didn't know how to "read" it... making it appear super dark and weird. Still- she's cute. So enjoy!

And this last one is of the crazy kids we do Preschool with. A handful of moms in my neighborhood (on my street, really) got together and decided to teach a basic intro-to-academics kind of preschool to our kiddos. We trade off every week, thus having to teach only about once a month- though the kids get school twice a week. James is LOVING it! This last week, I taught for the first time. It turned out really great, actually. (I was nervous.) The kids are really well-behaved, sweet kids. I think that contributes hugely to the success we've had so far.

This video is one I ran to record after observing their crazy, kid-directed game (we were in transition from snacks to washing hands to waiting in the living room... apparently they got bored and invented some fun). :) It was especially enchanting to me because I hadn't realized that kids this age were old enough to invent activities all on their own like this. I love the creativity that James (and his peers, it seems) is developing lately. Love, love, love.

Anyway, here's the video:

It's been a great October so far... and it's only the fourth! We had a busy, enjoyable weekend just barely- full of General Conference that is always so peaceful and sweet and harvesting/canning out at Jon and Ashley's (aka: Julie's) place. Canning in and of itself isn't the bomb shiznat, but the results sure are! Mmm... Homegrown and handmade really do take the cake. Or, er, jam. :)

Okay. Derek is home from class, and I need to get moving to get ready for work tonight... so I'm gonna jet. But hooray for October... bring on the fun!

Charades... or not.

James wanted to play a game the other day, so I broke out the Memory game we got him for Christmas. He did pretty well- much better than the last time we played (ie. months ago... I'm really not a very fun mom)! Anyway, once we had done a few games of regular ol' Memory, James wanted to change things up. I decided to try our hands (does that work in the plural?) at Charades. James loved it! Here is a lil' video demonstrating his mad-awesome skills.

{Just kidding. It's too big, apparently... lame.}

Hm. Well, there are more videos I've been wanting to share as well. I'll try and toss those puppies up here, too. One is of James playing the uber-cool harmonica. Look out, Hollywood! The other is of Jolie showing that white girls can jump. And the final/third one is of James and his buddy Kona and... well, just watch. :)

Also, I'll throw in an adorable picture of our Jolie-- for Aunt Dena & Co. {Thank you for the sweet dress, you guys! She loves it... or loves eating it, anyway! :) It is such a pretty one and fits her perfectly! Oh, and don't judge us for the wrinkles; I'm pretty sure this is post-nap.}

xo

So far this September...

Here is an update... and a few pictures (though quite frankly, each of these items deserves its own post):

1. James hit a milestone this month... his first day of PRESCHOOL! It's really more like pre-preschool (myself and four other moms are on a teaching rotation, cycling our five kiddos through each week and introducing them to the concept and basics of school), but still. What a big boy! He's loving every minute of it. On his very first day, he fought with me when I came to pick him up (just down the road). He dramatically declared, "I want to live here FOREVER!" Pssh. Thanks for making me feel missed, buddy. Oh, well. At least he had a positive experience. :)

2. Jolie hit a milestone as well. She has now officially conquered SITTING! She started getting the hang of it around 5 1/2 months, but she was still pretty tipsy. She now can sit and play for a good, long time without face-planting it too often. :) She's growing up too fast. My sweet baby girl...

(PS. This picture was taken while she was still in the wobbly stage... hence mommy's legs helping her stabilize.)
3. We got to see DENA & CO!!! Dena (my sister) and her family were up in Idaho for Labor Day, so we drove a couple of hours to visit them. (A couple of hours is no fun, but quite frankly- 18 hours is much, much worse!) It was super wonderful to see them all. They had never met Jolie, and it was sweet to see them loving on her so much. Dena pretty much didn't stop snuggling her the entire day! I loved seeing them... and was super weepy and homesick afterwards. Still, it was worth it. We really love you guys! Let's never let another year and a half (yikes, I know) go by between visits. Okay? Okay. :)
4. I had a birthday! I'm now the big 2-7, and I tell you- I'm feeling it. ;) I'm never going to make it to 100 at this rate! (Maybe it's the cheesecake...) lol. But really, it was a fabulous day. Derek spoiled me like none other. I didn't lift a finger in the kitchen (or altogether) the entire day... and we all ate super well! I was able to relax and nap the day away. I got sung to about SIX times (Derek and James sang a different version of "Happy Birthday" to me at every meal!). I was wished a "Happy Birthday" by about FIFTY different friends and family (seriously- could I feel more loved?), and we topped off the day with some yummy cheesecake with friends. It was a good day. Thirty... bring it!
Hooray for September. Let Autumn commence...

I'm baaaaack! (Warning: LONG post!)

My gosh. Where to start? So much has happened since I last posted. Shoot- so much had happened before that, things I never got around to posting. Sorry about that. I suppose I'll start with one thing at a time and work from there (genius idea; I know).

1. 8/13/10 Jolie got a pretty great present for her 6-month birthday: her two (bottom) front teeth! I was playing with her on my bed, just letting her chew on my knuckle... when I felt something pretty sharp! It got my attention, and I sat up to investigate. Whaddayaknow? Two teeth! She hadn't been fussy or anything (go figure; really, she's such a good baby!) so I didn't suspect. But yep- our girl's got some chompers. (Beware: they're sharp!)

Look at her goofy grin! Mama's funny! :)

2. Later that night, we went to Derek's 10-year-friends-reunion... a casual, up-the-mountain hangout with his buddies that graduated when he did. The official reunion was the next night. It was WAY less fun, albeit tasty. Though it was also cancer-free, and that's always a perk. (Seriously, that nasty smoke was carcinogen filled; I'm sure of it. Ick. My throat is better now, but if I get lung cancer later on, I'll know what to blame.)

3. 8/16/10 James had an appointment with a specialist (pediatric GI) at Primary Children's Hospital... at long last. It was a pretty decent experience, as you can tell from the not-sobbing-but-smiling picture below. Dr. Wu was super great; the whole hospital was! After a pretty thorough examination- which included a bit of bum-probing by Dr. Wu (ick- James says Dr. Wu is naughty cause he got poop on his finger... sorry for the tmi)- and some blood being drawn (which got him a TOY CAR as a post-draw prize... not bad, I say), we discovered that he's just severely constipated (ha- just...). Nothing is wrong with his plumbing, and he doesn't have a disorder or anything. He just needs to get cleaned out- and stay that way. Dr. Wu explained a lot and put us on a good regimen (diet, medication and routine) that has been helping quite a bit so far. Yay!

Jolie was at Micah and Brittney's (thanks, Britt!) while we were at the hospital, which helped a ton. Afterward, we took James to Red Robin for a James-only date. It was fun. We never really do that, and I'm glad we did.

4. Jolie is working hard on becoming even more GORGEOUS. Really, look at her! Just thought I'd share this picture. I really just love it... and her.

5. 8/19/10 I hosted book club at my place in August. It was fun! I love our book club- and all the fabulous women in it!

6. James loves reading, and he loves being outside (mostly because then he might have a chance to escape to Kona's house... sneaky boy). Here is a picture of how I found him the other day... doing both. Seriously, I love this boy!

7. Buzz and Woody (aka: James and Kona). BFFs. Need I say more? ;)

8. 8/23/10 When a computer is not available, the men in our family turn to the Xbox. :) James got to play video games with daddy for the first time... and loved it! Derek would tell James, "Good job!" and James would positively BEAM from the praise! Really. James is totally and completely in awe of Derek and wants more than anything to be like him. He copies his every move and misses him like crazy when he's gone to work or school. I love to see it. And I can't blame the kid; his daddy IS pretty fantastic! I quite love him, too.

9. You're still reading? Wow- good for you!

10. 8/28/10 I cut James' hair for the first time EVER! Though it took quite a while, he did really well with it. (Thank you, neighborhood girls who distracted him. I cut it outside.) I think it turned out pretty well, though you can't tell from the pictures. Ugh. He was NOT in the mood to model for me. Lil' punk. But yes- I was quite proud of myself. He looks even MORE handsome when he's not quite so shaggy! :)

11. Nope. That's all. I'll post again with other stuff...

The End.

12. I lied. Here's a pic of Derek (and James) with our new computer. I don't know if you can see how ecstatic he is about it all, but I promise you- he is! :) I love my handsome geek. But you can't blame his enthusiasm. We all share it. (It's a pretty awesome new toy!)

As James put it in a recent conversation with me...

Me: Don't you just love our new computer?

James: I love BOTH our computers!

Me: Me too.

James: Yeah, they're pretty sweet.

Cute, right?

Okay. I'm done.

Really.

R.I.P.

Our computer died. It was pretty old and had lived a good life, but losing it still ... well, sucked. Because of this, however, a miracle has occurred. We are forking out the cash to get a new one {cue "hallelujah" chorus}! Derek is seriously so thrilled. He's like a kid in a candy shop. A fat kid.

Because of this tragedy, I have no access to our pictures. So... until next week, I won't be posting anything really. Too bad, too, cause I actually want to! {That's a lot of 2s.} Oh, well. And yes- if you want to see us pimpin' it nerd-style, swing by our place sometime next week. It's gonna be sweet.

My Shiny New Toy

So check out what I got yesterday... a pretty new bike!!! {Pause while I do a happy dance.} I'm so excited! I don't think I've ever had my very own bike, so it's a bit of a personal accomplishment for me. And look how sweet it is! :) It's an old-school Shwinn Cruiser. It fits me perfectly (which makes me less terrified of riding... seriously, I screamed like a little girl when I attempted to ride Derek's). And I got it for fifty bucks! I know. I'm a little jealous of me, too.

Disregard the awful sun-in-face shot and admire me and all my pimped-out-red-bike glory. Oh, and I got a haircut today. Gotta clean up for Derek's ten-year reunion this weekend (scary). Now I should get going... need to paint my toenails. And wax my back. (Ick!)

Just kidding on that last part... Or am I?