Family Halloween Party

My mom has a pumpkin carving Halloween party every year.  We had it the Sunday before Halloween, thank goodness the weather was nice so we could carve the pumpkins outside it makes it so much nicer than all of us cramming inside and trying to do it then cleaning it all up so we can eat. 

Ashton was really good with his pumpkin this year, he choose his design and I helped him tape it on then he poked the design all by himself, he also cleaned out most of the insides with only a little help from Uncle Leland.  I did have to help him with some of the carving but he did most of it himself.  Uncle Leland did have to a little fixing of the pumpkin, his stem fell off so he found a large bolt and put it in the top so we could lift the lid off. 

Noah, helped pick out a design and that was about it, he did help for a minute carving the top but I ended up doing the rest.  While I was carving his pumpkin he played with another on and put in some stick in decorations and poked at it. 

Caitlin was the hit of the party, I dressed her in the Halloween outfit I made for her, I figured she could wear it more than once.  She hung out with Daddy most of the time while I was helping the boys with their pumpkins. 

Daddy got in a little carving action after a while to, of course we had to get a picture with everyone and their pumpkins. 

The only reason I am even posting this photo is because of my cute nails.  Not sure what I was scowling at. 

I tried to get a cute picture of my mom with the grand kids, after about a dozen shots this was the best we got.   That's what so awesome about digital, you can take a ton and then get rid of the bad ones.

I loved this photo even though mom's eyes were closed.

It was a fun afternoon and a fun tradition that we look forward to every year.  This was the best shot we got of all of us and it isn't that great.  Oh well, maybe next year.

The Red Barn

So Ashton was out of school for fall break a few weeks ago.  I had big plans to do all sorts of fun things with the kids but alas we didn't do much which was okay in the end.  We did make the trek down to the Red Barn with my Mom.  I say trek because it is all the way in Santaquin which is 63 miles away.  It was a beautiful fall afternoon, it was a perfect afternoon to go they weren't busy at all the we almost had the place to our selves.  You pay for a ride out to the pumpkin patch and when you get there they have a bunch of fun stuff to play on and do.  We didn't get any pumpkins because we had already got them a week before.  They had some slides and a huge sand box with digger toys to play with, a big maze made out of wooden  fruit boxes and the best was the fun tractor bikes they had to ride.  Mom, Caitlin and I even got in on the action.  Before we left we had to buy some of the fresh apples from the orchard, they looked so good we couldn't all decide on what we wanted so we got 3 kinds gala, golden delicious, and honey crisp. 

Jason shared his apple with Caitlin, she loved it!  She cried every time he took it out of her mouth.  We did have to end the apple eating when she got a huge piece in her mouth with the skin on. 

36 Weeks

I can't believe Halloween is next week it is crazy how fast the time goes by, We have been trying to soak up this beautiful fall days before the weather gets cold. 

Caitlin loves to be outside, we have been spending the afternoons at the park and she is so happy.  She is such a good little eater, she loves food.  I haven't found anything that she doesn't like. 

She is a little screecher, she does it when she is happy it is the cutest thing.  That's why I choose this picture because she is mid screech and it is so her right now.

I finally bought a bigger size onesie for her to wear, I was still putting her in the 3-6 month ones, I bought 12 month size, so these should last for the rest of the photo shoots. 

She likes to talk, but nothing that really makes sense, she says dada, mama, and yaya. 
She claps her hands and will put anything she finds in her mouth.
She is getting really good at pulling herself up against every piece of furniture she can.  She has also started to cruise along the furniture a little bit too.

35 Weeks

I took these photos last week but I got busy and forgot to post them.  Caitlin is crawling all over the place these days, she has gotten pretty fast.  She also pulls herself up against any furniture she can these days. 

She has decided to be a little stinker about naps these days, she doesn't go down very easy and when she finally does its only for a short time.

Ten things right now - Noah

1. you are such a social child and try to make friends where ever you go
2. you are very opinionated about pretty much everything, what you wear, what you eat, what we do.  I am finding myself having to let go and not cause fights over things (this is really hard for me)
3. You love your baby sister, sometimes way too much.  I am constantly having to remind you to not be in her face so much
4. At night when I put you to bed you like to play in your room.  You shut the door and turn on the light, I let you because you are quiet and when you are done you turn off the light and go to sleep.  When I go to bed and check on you, I get quite the laugh at what you have built or done.
5. You love technology, Ipads, IPhone, whatever.  We have to limit your use of it cause you turn into a little monster if you get to much of it.
6. You still struggle with expressing your feeling, you usually just scream and cry when things don't go the way you want.
7. You like to be at home, when we run errands and go places you get upset when we go to far from home.
8.  Monkey bars are your favorite thing to do at the park, they are only fun parks if they have monkey bars.
9. You are a mini Jason, it is so funny how much like him you are.
10. You are very into Lego's and Bionicles right now.  You and Ashton love building and playing with them.

family pictures

As this time of year rolls around, I start thinking about family pictures and what we are going to wear and where we are going to have them taken.  I started  going through some old photos and I came across our old family photos.  I love looking at these old pictures and see how much our family has changed over the years. 

Our first family photo in 2006

2007, we tried to get a family for our Christmas card.  Of course a one year old makes it kind of tough for pictures. 

2008, this was our first family photo of a family of 4, the boys were in there pj's and Ashton wasn't looking at the camera.  But it is a family photo none the less. 

Spring 2009, we were still trying to get a decent family photo of the 4 of us. 

Fall of 2009, we had Korie take our family photos this year and I was so happy with how they turned out.  We finally had a great photo of our family.

Fall of 2010, we were having family photos with Myron's side of the family.  I had them snap a few with our little family.  Its how I bribed Jason to go along with the family pictures I told him if we got some good ones then we wouldn't have to take them again this year.

Fall 2011, I had Korie take these again, we went out to Saltair to have these taken.  This was my favorite one of all, I loved the location. 

Fall 2012
I wasn't even going to post this one, I hate it of me.  I know I am pregnant and all but this just makes me look fat.  But it is a family picture so here it is.  We had gotten together for a big family picture on Dad's side of the family and then we did some individual family pictures to.

Spring of 2013, I wasn't even really planning on having a family picture taken till the very last minute.  I was planning on having the kids pictures taken and at the last minute I figured we would try to have a family photo done.  I love the outcome, it isn't the perfect posed photo but it is so our family. 

8 months

Caitlin is 8 months old!  I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly.  She is such a delight to have in our family.  She is crawling and all over the place these days.  She is also getting really good at pulling herself up into a standing position.  When she stands she likes to stand on her tippy toes, it is the cutest thing to watch. 

When she follows me to the kitchen she seems to think the quickest path is to go under the table.  Sometimes she gets stuck on the chairs, its pretty funny. 

She is like a little human vacuum cleaner, she picks up every little thing and puts it in her mouth. 

She is really a very happy baby, she loves her daddy and gets very happy when she sees him.

She has 4 teeth, and has bitten me a couple of times, she is a little stink sometimes.

She loves it when the cats come around, although the cats don't love it, she isn't very soft.

She weights a healthy 18lbs. 

It is getting harder and harder to take her pictures she doesn't like to sit still for anything these days.

iphone dump

I wish I could come up with a more clever name for this post but seeing how 90% of the photos I take are on my iPhone these days, this is the best way to capture our day to day lives. 


Way back in August before school started we went down to grandma's house and she took us to the fair in Spanish Fork.  It was a good idea in theory, but in reality it was ridiculously hot the kids had fun and the adults melted.  The boys loved holding the baby bunnies, these were only a couple of weeks old.

On our way home we needed dinner and I came up with the bright idea to take all the kids to Tepanyaki.  The boys ended up loving it and they ate better then they have in a long time.  Ashton had teriayaki chicken, fried rice and noodles.  Noah had the fried rice and the noodles, plus he also had some of the soup and salad.  I was shocked he liked them but he did.  They both caught the shrimp in their mouths, Noah liked his but Ashton didn't.  Caitlin even tried some of the food, I gave her some of the broth from the soup, and some rice she also loved it. 

We had a birthday dinner for Myron at our house.  I made fruit cookies, they were a hit for dessert.

Mom wanted to something fun with the kids before they went back to school, so we went down on a Friday and we were going to go to Trafalga, but they weren't open till later in the afternoon, so we had to come up with another plan. We ended up at Chuck-e-cheese.  The boys had already had lunch so we didn't need to feed them, but who are we kidding they wouldn't of eaten anyways.  I did get a salad and some bread sticks which were pretty good.  The boys had fun and they were excited for all their tickets and then being able to get prizes at the end. 

I am always curious as to what Jason is going to put Caitlin in.  He got her dressed and paired it with this headband, he is right that these colors are complimentary I just would of never put them together.  Never the less it is cute to see what he comes up with.

I have been trying a few different things with Caitlin's hair.  I did a faux hawk then put on her headband.  I think it was cute, Jason doesn't like it when I do this.

Caitlin has been teething and super grouchy, so I shared my otter pop one day.  I figured it would feel good against her gums.  She loved it of course.

Ya I looked down at my feet and realized I had put on two different shoes and left the house like this. 

Noah decided to work out with daddy, he managed to get a few push up in before his arms gave out.

Caitlin loves to sit like this in her stroller, with her foot up on the bar.  It makes me smile every time, her little feet are so cute.

Caitlin woke up bright and early one morning and wouldn't go back to sleep, at least I got to see this beautiful sunrise.

My beautiful little family, the boys like to climb in bed and we all cuddle on the weekends when we don't have to rush up and get going.

I was finally able to get Caitlin to take a bottle, it has been really nice to be able to give her a bottle during the day.  I am still nursing her first thing in the morning and before bed at night.

Baby girl just hanging out at Ashton's soccer practice

Ashton has soccer practice every Wednesday.  It is fun to watch him improve a little bit, Caitlin and I hang out on a blanket watching while Noah plays on the playground nearby.

Another week of hanging out a Ashton's soccer practice.  Jason tries to come if he can get off work in time.

I found some pink bottles at Target, I couldn't resist, I had to get them for the baby girl. 

Caitlin and Hazen just hanging out together, she wants to grab at him all the time.  I forgot how babies don't know how to be soft with one another.  All of Caitlin's toys and things she is growing out of I am sending for Hazen to use.  It's fun to see this mat getting so much use.

I started the boys chore charts again and when they get 25 check marks then they get $5.  I asked Noah to clean up his room and make his bed.  This is how he made his bed, I was pretty impressed it was a pretty good job for a first try. 

 

 

 I got Caitlin dressed, then I got dressed and we headed down stairs for the day .  I then realized that we were matching.  I swear it wasn't on purpose.

 

This is what happens when you take, Noah and three neighbor girls and a croquet mallet.  They knocked down all the peaches off the tree.  I was pretty upset to begin with and Noah did get grounded for a day because of it.  Turns out the other parents were pretty mortified that there girls were involved so we got some flowers, and sorry notes.  In the end it was just some fruit and not a big deal.

 

I was going through some boxes and found the boys bottles.  They wanted to have their pictures taken with their bottles.  I though it was kind of silly but did it anyways.

 We finally found some stools for the counter.  They are just what I had in mind and we found them at Kohl's of all places.  The boys love sitting up to the counter.

I started bathing Caitlin in the big bath tub, she looks so tiny in such a big tub.

 We took advantage of the recent windy days and went to the school to fly the kite.  The boys usually last a few minutes then they head off the park to play and that leaves Jason and I to fly the kite. 

Noah was running off the play and I had to snap a quick picture

The boys love it when I let them go into Caitlin's room in the morning.  They sometimes climb in her crib with her till I come and get her out.  I swear it is impossible to get a picture with all three of them looking and smiling at the same time.

I was headed home from mom's house one afternoon and when I hit the point of the mountain I ran into a little snow storm, the first of the year.  I am not ready for winter just yet. 

It seems like Caitlin is hitting all these big milestones right now.  She doesn't love her car seat much anymore and is much happier if I let her sit in the shopping cart.  She looks so big and so little at the same time in the carts.

Jason got a guitar and is teaching himself how to play.  He is so good at stuff like this he is making awesome progress. 

 I  hope that one day my boys know how lucky they are to have Uncles so close by who love them as much as my brothers do.

 I tried my hand at making fruit leather, with all the peaches I had from our tree.  It turned out really good, Jason and I ate all of it within a couple of days.  The boys didn't care for it, I guess I shouldn't of been surprised, the orange fruit leathers are their least favorite kind.

Caitlin's hair is long enough to do a little piggy on the top of her hair, it's fun to have a new way to do her hair.

 Some day maybe I will grow out of the need to take pictures when my babies are crying.

 We got news that my grandma didn't have long to live and I was going to want to be able to go to the funeral if that happened.  I realized Caitlin didn't have her passport so I quickly got everything together and sent off for it.  The government shut down on Monday and I was worried about not getting it in time.  Her passport arrived Monday afternoon only a week after I sent off for it.  I was surprised at how quickly it came.  So good new is we have it and grandma is still hanging in there so we haven't had to use it yet.

I was trying to hang onto summer as long as possible, it was only 60 degrees and I was wearing Capri's and sandals, it was a little cool. I guess its time to pack away the summer stuff.

I had to go have some blood work done and we were down town so I took Noah to get a donut at banbury cross donuts, they are seriously the best donuts around Utah.

We went to Lunch at Café Rio with some friends, we like to go on Wednesday and get the special and free quesadilla for the kids.

 It got a little cold and rainy at Ashton's soccer practice so Caitlin and I climbed in the car to wait it out.

Pumpkin patch 2013

Here is proof that Noah can be sweet to Caitlin when he wants to be, it just doesn't happen all that often.  Usually he is in her facing bugging her.

Caitlin thinks she is a big girl now, she is can pull herself into a standing position.  When she does she stands on her tip toes.  It is so cute to watch her stand on those toes.

We went to a friends house to celebrate Mom's birthday, the food was delicious as always and I brought the cake. 

I found these cute jammies at Target and she looked adorable in them, I was going to keep her in them for the day, but of course she had to have a major poop blow out so we had to change right after I took these pictures.

Crazy hair baby girl, she has one headband that makes her hair crazy when she wears it.