"Gourd" Times On Halloween Weekend

This year's pumpkin: the silhouette of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

It's always a little bit of a bummer when Halloween falls on a weeknight. Everyone has to work or go to school the day of, and you can't stay out late without worrying about how exhausted you'll be the next day. Or maybe some people can, but I'm not one of them. We're early birdies in this house. Anyways, we were able to do some fun Halloween activities this weekend, and I'm so glad we did, since tomorrow will be pretty low-key over here.

We found out that our ward was going to have a Halloween party on the 28th, but they decided to buck tradition and not provide any trunk-or-treating activities. I was a little bummed, because Jace can actually walk this year, and one of his favorite words is "treat," so I was getting excited to be able to take him trick-or-treating. I knew we probably wouldn't go out on Halloween night, because our neighborhood is kind of hilly and remote and nobody trick-or-treats over here, and I didn't want to drive all the way into town to take my 21 month old trick or treating to three houses before he decided that he was over it. Thus, we felt the right thing to do, the ONLY thing to do, was to head down to my parent's house  for the weekend, seeing as their ward had made the correct decision and decided to include trick-or-treating as part of their Halloween party festivities. 

We drove down Friday afternoon, and Jace spent the remainder of the day playing with Papa and getting muddy in the backyard. In the morning, we went for a walk/run at a local park, and Jace carried a soccer ball up and down the hilly trails the whole time. After he woke up from his nap, we decided to spend the afternoon at Fir Point Farms, a pumpkin patch in Canby that we frequented every year when I was growing up. It's definitely changed a lot since I was a kid; they've gotten fancy with tractor rides, bounce houses, and more extensive dining options. But it's still beautiful, and Jace loved the slides, homemade cinnamon sugar donuts, and the animals in the petting zoo. He had so much fun. 

Also, just because I don't want to forget this, I have to share what happened when Jace went on the tractor ride at the pumpkin patch. First off, it's imperative that you know that within the last month or so, Jace has started calling me by my first name. When I leave the room, or if I'm outside his line of vision, I'll inevitably hear his little voice calling for me: "Sami...Sami? Sami?!", followed by him barging in on me as I'm trying to use the bathroom. When this began, I thought maybe he was just stringing random syllables together, because he'd often say my name over and over again for no discernible reason; however, countless witnesses have independently concluded that he is clearly using it for beckoning purposes, and we are now operating on a first-name basis. So, the story: Fir Point hooked up a train of little cars to the back of a John Deere tractor, and you could pay a couple bucks for a ride. My dad offered to take Jace on the tractor-train, and although little man was excited at first, he became a bit apprehensive once they boarded their car, and the tears started to flow. We knew once the ride began he would love it, but I felt bad that he was a little nervous. Anyways, the tractor started up and sure enough, Jace stopped crying, but he still looked a little bit worried. The train looped around on it's way out and crossed in front of us spectators, and as I smiled and waved to Jace, he reached his tiny arms out to me and plaintively wailed "Saaaaaammmmmiiiiii!" as he passed. It was hilarious and a little heart-wrenching, but mostly hilarious. I don't want to ever forget it, because I assume he'll decide to start calling me "Mama" again at some point, and I think I'll miss being his Sami. And, just for the record, Jace ended up enjoying the ride immensely. 

After an hour or so at the pumpkin patch, it was time to head home for dinner and get ready for the Halloween party! We decided to dress Jace up in the same costume I wore when I was his age: a blue crayon. My mom made the costume  for me 27 years ago, and put it in storage after all of us outgrew it. But she pulled it out, cleaned it up, and JJ got to wear it this year.  He also got to use the Halloween candy pails that we had as kids, and I think it made my parents a little nostalgic. As long as we didn't use the chin strap on the hat, Jace did a great job keeping it on, and he really seemed to enjoy all the action at the party. He loved trick-or-treating room to room inside the church building (although he was too shy to ask strangers for a "teet," so he just smiled and grabbed his candy, ha!), had a great time playing Halloween games, ingested way too many sweets and punch, and stayed out well past his bedtime. He had so much fun, and Colt and I got a kick out of watching him enjoy himself. I love that little boy (and my handsome man, too).

On Sunday, we were able to go and see my sweet Grandma Carol and visit with her for a little bit. Then we packed up and drove back home so we could get a head start on the week ahead. We had such a great weekend. Thanks mom and dad for letting us crash your party! I hope we didn't tire you out too much. 

Since we had such an eventful weekend,  I feel ok about not taking Jace trick-or-treating tomorrow. I think I'll dress him in his Halloween jammies and his monster hat, we'll make dinner in a pumpkin, and probably watch Curious George's Halloween Boo-fest for the last time this season. And I'm sure we'll munch on a little Halloween candy, for good measure. 

Happy Halloween! I hope all you ghouls and boys have a frightfully good time :)

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, our pumpkin was carved last weekend, not this weekend. Just needed to get that off my chest.

And Baby Makes Four

Well, it's probably about time that I share our exciting news here on our family journal. You read that right; we are having a baby! In March! AND, both my sister and my sister-in-law are also pregnant. My sister is having her little girl at the end of December/beginning of January, and my sister-in-law is due with a baby boy at the end of March. Our due dates are within two weeks of each other, so technically her baby could be born before ours. Or they could be birthday twinners! I'm so glad our little one will have cousins the exact same age, because cousin friends are the best friends. As for the gender...

WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!

Two little boys...I can't believe it. When I was growing up, I always thought it would be fun to have all boys (maybe because I grew up with all girls). That certainly seems to be the way we are headed! Early on in the pregnancy, I was super excited at the possibility of having another little boy, because is there anything cuter, crazier, or more fun than little boy brothers? But I was pretty sick the first trimester this time around, and I wasn't at all when I was pregnant with Jace, so Colt and I kind of started to assume we were having a baby girl! We exclusively discussed girl names, and I really only looked at girl nursery decor and clothing (I did the same thing the first time around with JJ. Will I never learn?)...but right before the ultrasound, C and I told each other that because we were so sure we were having a girl this time, we would probably find out we've got a little guy on the way. Sure enough, the universe surprised us (again)! 

When they pulled the baby up on screen, we got a perfect view of his little profile. We pointed to the baby's face on the screen, and Jace immediately tried to feed the image of the baby a goldfish from his snack container. My mama heart may have melted just a little bit. It took awhile for the ultrasound tech to identify if it was a boy or a girl, because the umbilical chord was positioned right between baby's legs. Ain't that always the way? The suspense was killing me. Towards the end of our appointment, we finally got a good look. She gasped, looked at me with a big smile, and I asked her: "Is it a boy?" She nodded yes, and my first thought was: "But we already have one of those!" Haha!! But just as quickly, I fell in love with the idea of another boy, and of little brothers, especially as I looked at Jace and realized how lucky I am to have two boys to love so much. I can't wait to meet this new, precious boy! A few people we've told have made off-hand comments about how they wished we got a girl instead, but I am seriously over-the-moon to be having another boy. Now that we know, I can't picture our family turning out any other way! I love that I still get to be the only girl in our family, that Colt will have two buddies to go camping with, ride motorcycles with, and wrestle with. I love that my Dad gets another grandson, that we get to give him my Grandpa's name, that Jace will have a brother to grow up with (something neither Colt nor I ever had)...I can't wait for all of the fun and special experiences we will be able to have with our little men. Heavenly Father is sending this special spirit to our home, and I feel so honored that the Lord entrusted me to be the mother of boys, of these boys. I hope I can live up to the responsibility, and raise them to be the men He needs them to be. I'm so grateful, so happy, and a little a lot scared to have a newborn and a toddler. How do you other mamas do it without going crazy?! Tips and advice are appreciated. ;) Wish us luck! 

First Pumpkin Patch Trip of the Season

I have a lot of catching up to do on this little blog! It's kind of overwhelming, so I'll have to start just a post at a time and see if I can get caught up sometime in the next couple weeks. Since my last post, we took a family trip to Disneyland (need to organize some pictures and videos before I write about that grand adventure), I started work, we completed our first trip to the pumpkin patch of the season, and I fulfilled a lifelong dream and dyed my hair red! Yep, you read that right: I'm officially a card-carryin' redhead and I'm loving it.

My parents came up for conference weekend, and we were able to do a few fun things while they were here. On Friday afternoon, Colt came home from work early to meet with someone about hooking up our generator to the propane tank. We took advantage of his half-day and spent the afternoon adventuring around our favorite pumpkin patch. Jace has been so excited to go. We've been watching a lot of "Curious George's Halloween Boo," and I always point out the pumpkins at the grocery store and let him touch the ones they place outside. As soon as the pumpkin field came into view, he ran over and started climbing all over the pumpkins. He loved the big hay slides, and had fun looking at all the farm equipment and animals in the petting zoo. He claimed a tiny white pumpkin as his own, and is currently snuggling with it upstairs as he naps.

I made my first-ever batch of cinnamon rolls for conference breakfast, and I must say, they turned out pretty darn tasty. I'm already dreaming about the leftovers tomorrow...

Storytime: At the patch, my mom was trying to make Jace laugh by making a big show out of lifting the heavy pumpkins. She would grunt and groan as she picked up a large pumpkin, and he would giggle and try to help. Well, the next day at home, anytime he touched a pumpkin, from the normal-sized ones to the tiniest mini-pumpkin, he produced the most unearthly grunting sound I have ever heard in my life. I seriously bust up laughing every single time. We can hear it in the kitchen when he's outside in the front yard, and I can only imagine the rest of the neighborhood is wondering why I don't address my toddler's obvious digestive issues.

29

Happy, Happy Birthday, Colton! You make being a 29 year old father look good, if I do say so myself.
Babe, this is your last year as a twenty-something! Although, I've heard lately that the 30's are the new 20's, so take heart; you get to do your 20's all over again, but this time with a wife and kids. 

I've known you since you were 23 (almost 24), and I gotta say, you've really held on to your looks. Good job, you sexy thang. But I've also got to say, as wonderful and good and kind and hard-working as you were back in your early 20's, I've been blessed to get to know you even better these last five years, and the depth and strength and goodness of your heart continue to surprise me (in the the best way). I've never known a better person. And you're only 29! 
Imagine how awesome you'll be when you turn 30. ;)

I love you, C. 
I hope you have a wonderful day full of steak, treats, and birthday love.

18 Months

I think this will be the last formal "monthly update" post (but definitely not the last update!). He's growing and changing so much so fast, and true updates would really be every other day if I wanted to keep up. So from here on out, Jace updates will occur a little less often, but definitely expect regular appearances on the blog from this little man! 

JJ had his 18 month old well-child checkup yesterday, and he's right on track. And he definitely does not have fond memories of the doctor's office or the nurse; this is the place he gets weighed, measured, and vaccinated, and if we thought he might forget about it, we were wrong. Poor babe got nervous and clingy as soon as we entered the office, and cried whenever the nurse got near him, ha! He is not unlike me in this way (I sat on my mom's lap once when I had to get blood drawn...in high school). But, thankfully, Jace is healthy and strong, and he doesn't have to get any more vaccines until he is four years old! I can't believe that one day, he'll be four...I'm pretty sure he's just going to stay my little toddler-pants forever. At 18 months, this monkey...

-Runs away whenever I say "It's time to change your diaper!" PUNK. He does throw his dirty diapers away all by himself, though, so there's that.

-Loves to do repeat hugs. Also, we are teaching him not to hit us when he's angry, and he likes to test the waters. So sometimes he'll come up and "hit" my face (not angrily, but not a soft pat, either), and when I tell him no hitting, he gives me a love. Then he'll "hit" again, and immediately give me a love afterwards. I'm not sure whether I should scold the pretend hit or praise the loves. The mood swings have my head spinning!

-Can put all the shapes through his shape sorter independently, and can say "circle," "star," and sometimes "square."
-Thinks it's hilarious when we smell his feet, wave our hand in front of our noses, and say "P-U! Stinky feet!" So now, he smells his own feet or our feet and waves his hand in front of his own nose. 
-New words: trash, bus, wash, bike, brush (he asks for his toothbrush when he sees Colt or I brushing our teeth and sucks all the toothpaste off the bristles. But he HATES when we brush his teeth for him). He loves words with the "sh" sound in them. 
-Started going to nursery all by himself last week. Up until last Sunday, we stayed with him the first hour. This week, however, we dropped him off, said bye-bye, and left. I peeked in quickly right after, and he was just playing away with a truck. They did have to bring him out about 20 minutes later, though, because he was inconsolable after he had his toys stolen by some of the older kids. It's like survival of the fittest in there with all those big, greedy three year olds. 

I haven't been feeling so hot lately, and Jace has been so patient with me-letting me rest while he plays independently, and waiting for Dad to get home on the days when I don't want to go outside or take him to the park. Sure, he has his moments when he is demanding, and conveniently accidentally locks himself in the laundry room, and I maybe wait a few minutes longer than I should before I let him out, but overall I've been lucky with this kiddo. In fact, his good-naturedness makes me very afraid of what our future children will be like. I'm sure will show me just how hard babies and toddlers can be. At least Jace will have a little friend to join him in the laundry room. ;)

One Fine Day

One of the best parts of having a kid is that you basically get to relive childhood (to some extent). I love adventuring out of the house with Jace on these hot summer days, and I have to admit, there is a selfish component involved. Taking him to the park or to story-time at the library brings back happy memories of my own summers growing up, and it makes it that much better experiencing it all again with my own little guy. 

Yesterday, we ventured to a new park, complete with a sandpit and a very fancy splash-pad. And today, as luck would have it, we showed up at the library just in time for a magic show. Afterwards, we met Colt at home and had dinner outside on the patio. It was still pretty hot out, so we put Jace in a swim diaper, turned on the hose, and placed it on the top of his little plastic slide to make a homemade water slide. He loved the water, even though it was ice cold, and we giggled watching him jet down that slide at warp speed. Then we put him in the tubby, got him into his jim-jams, turned on Cars, and relaxed until bedtime. He's currently sound-asleep (fingers crossed it stays that way for the night). I'm loving these fun summer days!

17 Months

Jace just had the best weekend with his Mimi and Papa Todd, and is getting back to his regular old "life with Mom" routine. He turned 17 months old yesterday and his little wrist rolls are disappearing. The last remnants of babyhood, vanishing before my very eyes. He's starting to look like such a big boy. Colt showed me a picture of JJ taken when he was about three months old, and I just laughed: "Is that even the same kid?!" It's crazy how much he's changed in such a short period of time, especially lately. Every other day, Jace says a new word, or does something I didn't realize he knew how to do. At 17 months, this little monkey...

-Goes and gets a fresh diaper from the diaper basket when I ask him to, and after he's been changed, throws his old diaper in the trash all by himself. On occasion, he will go grab a new diap, set it on the rug, and lay down to be changed without me saying a word. HA! "Ready, Ma."

-Folds his arms when he is asked to do so, or when hears anyone say the word "prayer." He's always so pleased with himself after we say "Amen."

-We play a game sometimes called "Raise your hand if you...(love your mom, are the cutest baby in the world, have a stinky butt, etc)." He raises at least one hand, and sometimes both.

-He has a book that shows pictures of a little baby doing different actions (i.e. sitting, waving, jumping, etc). He always stretches up his own arms on the stretching page, dances on the dancing page, and waves on the waving page. He knows the book well, so he'll start the action before we even turn the page. 

-Has a few new words: Pizza, catch, truck, papa, Jesus, circle, wow, and thank you.

-Loves his shape sorter, and selects all the circles from the assortment of shapes, puts them through the circle slot all by himself, and appears very self-satisfied after he's finished. 

-Loves to load and unload anything he possibly can.

-Wakes up in the morning or after his nap and just reads his books quietly in his crib. I don't actually know what time he wakes up, because he's sat in there for anywhere from 30-45 minutes reading, talking to himself, and playing with the small cars we keep in his crib.

This gentleman is funny, opinionated, sweet, silly, determined, smart, and pretty much every good thing to be. We love you to pieces and pieces, little man. Thanks for being you.