pumpkin carving

wishing you a happy halloween!!!

xoxo

sixteen months

i don't know what i did to deserve such a great son. he's been sleeping 11+ hours every night. it's quite heavenly. and right now...he's on hour 13 of sleep. (i checked him--he's alive.) maybe j thinks he's 16 years old and not 16 months? but it doesn't matter. i'll take it. 

so besides being my little angelic sleeper (and i just know because i've said that he'll decide to not ever sleep again...) he's also a master climber and thinks he knows how to jump. j will move chairs, boxes, furniture, toys, anything and everything to climb higher. and when he does he stands proudly and lets out a high-pitched giggle--sometimes he even covers his mouth in disbelief over his accomplishments. cracks me up every time. i was making bread last night and he pushed the chair over to the counter and climbed on up to watch. sometimes i just stare in disbelief at his abilities. 

his favorite thing to climb onto is the coffee table and dining table--for different reasons and purposes. the coffee table=for jumping. the dining table=for snatching handfuls of halloween candy and touching the sewing machine (if it's out...which it is 95% of the time...pray i finish bert's quilt in time.) but the jumping is my favorite. right now he holds my hands and tries to jump up and down in the air. it's awesome and so adorable how much joy he gets from leaving the ground for a split second. he's become a bit fearless up there. he'll walk right off the edge because he knows mom and dad will catch him. soon he'll be jumping from the coffee table to the couch. such a boy.

talking more and more. bird, kitty, flag, binkie, no, oh no! that's probably my favorite...oh no!!! his voice is so sweet and soft and high. such a tender little guy i have. (when other kids shriek, he thinks they're mad at him and he'll instantly just fall apart...so sad.)

he snuggles and cuddles and loves to play and touch my eyes and stick his fingers up my nose. i love it all. i love that he loves me and wants to play with mommy and daddy. he loves wrestling and bouncing on scott's stomach. he loves "i'm gonna get you" chasing games. he'll raise his little hands to his face and run in place like he's gonna charge. love it. 

i love that he smells like maple and brown sugar oatmeal--his go-to breakfast. i love his independence and how he's starting to "run". i love how his eyes get all big and round when he first plugs that binkie in his mouth for some comfort. i love how excited he gets over a tray full of cheeseballs and then how concerned he becomes over his messy, orange, cheesy hands. 

he's simply the best. and he's still sleeping. bless him.

trunk or treat

i love trunk or treats! they remind me of Newhall 2nd ward--the ward i grew up in. back then we had spook alleys and cake auctions and t.p.-ing parties. (we t.p.ed out of love :) and the adults all dressed up. it was a big deal. (there was this one year though where my mom forbade my dad from dressing up in a big, pink bunny costume...but that's a tale for another time.) so imagine my surprise when we enter the church building and find that scott and i are pretty much the only adults in costume. unacceptable! but there are perks to being the only adult costume-wearers...we got awards!!! the missionaries (the judges) didn't want to give any of the kids the "creepiest" and "ugliest" awards. haha. so we got them! good thing we have the cutest puppy in the world to balance out our freakishness :)

j just couldn't wait. he started in on the candy first chance he got....wrapper and all. 

it was so fun to walk around the parking lot with him and help him hold up 

his little pumpkin bag for candy. love that sweet puppy.

 at home, j proudly waved around his parents' awards. he was so happy for us ;)

i think they are his new favorite toys.

pumpkin patchin'//part two

we ventured back to Riverbend Farm with scott the following week. j was enamored with everything he saw, just like the time before. he stomped in a pile of gravel for a good 10 minutes. i'd say that was his favorite part of the day. and the slides of course! with my e.c. at my side i felt better about taking j down those slides. j squealed with delight every time he and daddy went down. i took j down once--i barely fit haha. i think it was meant just for kids. the pumpkins this time were slim pickings. but we scavenged and followed the farm beagle to some good ones :)

 is this slide not crazy looking!!? it was super slippery and fun!

we were soo happy that daddy could spend the day with us at the pumpkin patch. he makes everything more fun! love my little family and our adventures.

 

 happy pumpkin carving y'all!
 xoxo

pumpkin patchin'//part one

j + i hit the pumpkin patch twice this year--the first time with friends. the pumpkin patch was held at Riverbend Farm aka someone's backyard. but what a backyard! if these people have grandkids i'm sure it's their favorite place on earth. slides, emus, a pond, a straw hut, a school bus on stilts....what more could a kid want??? i'm sure the word, "FREEDOM!!!!" was running through j's head as he ran all over the place looking at this then that then back to this then that again...and with all that exploring he gained a few raspberries on his forehead and hands, too. those pumpkin roots are hard to maneuver around :)

Farmer John (not his real name...or is it?) drove us out to the patch on the tractor pull so we could pick out a punkin. there were so many good ones but i just couldn't manage j and a 25# pumpkin. so we left with just a tiny one for the time being. j was intent on picking up a pumpkin/gourd. (he thinks he can pick up anything. boy is he upset when he finds out he doesn't have super baby strength.)

This picture cracks me up. It reminded me of a picture my family has of my sister, Brittany, at Seaworld. She's sticking her hands through the horse fence right next to a sign that says, "Horses Bite!" haha. i guess j is taking after his auntie bertie.

 the end. of part one.