Halloween 2018

Sarah has been asking if it is Halloween yet for months. Halloween is such a fun time with kids.

 Our week before Halloween was really busy, but we squeezed in pumpkin carving on Sunday morning. Kelson is the pumpkin carver around here. Chris is was much more interested in breakfast than carving pumpkins.

 Sarah drew the design for her pumpkin this year. It turned out really cute in the light and a little bit creepy in the dark. She also requested bats for the white pumpkin and a spider for the orange pumpkin.

 We took advantage of what may be our last year before Chris develops an opinion on his Halloween costume and made him dress as Prince Phillip to go with Sarah's Aurora. He turned out so cute! And of course Sarah was a beautiful princess. 

 This dress was completely evil. We picked out a sparkly fabric for the bodice, waist, and collar, and it was a nightmare. I tried every sewing trick in the book, and it just kept falling apart at the seams. I finally ended up super gluing the collar right before pre-school, and it was so scratchy that she didn't want to wear her costume. I may have threatened to cancel Halloween at that point. She did finally wear her costume, which had fallen apart in several places by the time pre-school was over. I stitched it back together one more time and it survived the night. No more evil sparkle fabric!

 I tried to get Chris to wake the sleeping beauty with a kiss, but he was not cooperative.

 Sarah wanted Kelson to be Prince Phillip's horse, but he went with Walt Disney instead. Thankfully that mustache was fake. 

I went as a very chubby Maleficent. We had a great time passing out candy and collecting candy at the church Trunk or Treat and then came home for trick or treating in our neighborhood. We get tons of trick or treaters, and the kids had almost as much fun handing out candy as they did collecting it. It was a great Halloween!

Chris: 2 Years Old

 Chris is 2!

It is hard to believe that it has been two years since Chris's rather eventful entrance into the world. We can't imagine our lives without him. It may look like the top picture was taken six months after the others, but it was only two weeks. He was badly in need of a haircut on his birthday. Here's a little about Chris at age 2:

• Still Mama's boy. Chris has finally allowed other people into his life, but Mom is still his favorite. He is going to have a rough time when his baby sister gets here. 
• World's best cuddler. Chris gives great cuddles, especially first thing in the morning. He loves crawling into bed with Mommy in the morning for cuddles and "choo choos" (meaning any cartoon that is about trains or cars). 
• Still a good eater, especially at breakfast. After a few minutes of cuddles and choo choos, Chris drags Mommy out of bed in the morning to make a smoothie, which he calls "three" because he gets to push the 3 button on the blender. There are usually two or three more courses of breakfast before the bottomless pit is full. Other favorite foods include bananas, peanut butter, cheesy soup, curry, and tomatoes fresh from the garden.
• Not a big talker. He understands most of what we say, but he doesn't repeat words unless he is really interested. He can say a lot of words but hasn't bothered stringing them together yet. Two of his favorite words are "yellow" and "purple". These can refer to the colors as well as just about anything else. 
• Loves following his big sister, "Rara" around and doing whatever she does. This doesn't always make Sarah happy, but they do play together nicely for at least a few minutes at a time.
• Sleeps with a pink blanket that Nana knitted for Sarah and his brown bear. Finally sleeps through the night and wakes up at a decent hour in the morning. Hallelujah! 
• He can throw an epic tantrum, but he has calmed down a bit in the last few months. 
• Loves books, puzzles, and learning his ABC's. He knows about 10 letters so far as well as the numbers 2, 3, and 4. He refuses to learn the number 1. 

I love two year olds. This age is just so much fun. We are watching him learn and change and become his own little person. I can't wait to see what this next year brings!

 We spent Chris's birthday celebrating the 50th anniversary of my parents' business, so Chris's party waited until the day after. We conveniently used leftover tarts from the anniversary party to make his very fancy birthday cake. 

 Chris definitely approved of the tiny pies. He didn't seem to mind having leftovers for birthday cake.

Chris is very reverent at prayer time. It is pretty much adorable.

 Opening his birthday present

Choo choos! I bought two big bins of trains second hand, and these two have been loving them. Greatest present ever!

2018 Family Photos

This fall, we took our last family photos as a family of 4. My sister-in-law, Amy, was kind enough to take them for us, and their beautiful property in Baker City made the perfect backdrop.

 I just love this little family of mine. 

 Soon to be bigger family! 32 weeks!

Sarah has entered the awkward photo smile phase. I have no idea what this face is. 

Chris was not about to smile for this photo, but we did at least get him to stay put by sticking him in the tall grass.