Dress Up!!

What a fabulous holiday! Halloween is the best time to play dress up! We know because every day this week we have dressed up in a different costume! Grandma Lewis is here visiting and we have had so much fun dressing up the kids! On Wednesday we went to the library story time. We took with us: A knight, Cinderella, and her pumpkin!


Ty: Sir Knight
Miss Mara: Pretty princess (Cinderella!)
It was nice to have good weather--we were able to walk to the library! It was fun to watch the people's reactions that drive by, they all smiled or waved to the pretty princess and Mara gave a good little wave back!
Caleb: One chubby pumpkin!
Wrigley and Caleb--what a cute little bee and pumpkin!

Have you ever tried getting SIX kids to smile for the camera? It's pretty crazy! We took several pictures but didn't get the perfect shot! Oh well they sure are cute!
My dream: I had a dream the other night I took all six of these kids Trick-or-Treating by myself! In my dream I kept chasing the kids all over the place and wondering where they all were! When I woke up I was exhausted! Glad it was just a dream, I can barely handle three of them!

A day with our dad!

"We're so glad when daddy comes home, glad as we can be......!"

What a relief to have our daddy home! It was one LOOOONG week! But we did it! We survived! And the kids were truly angels while he was gone. They did great and were so helpful and kind to one another! Saturday Ty played his last soccer game. He was sure glad to have his daddy there to coach! We had a nice little lunch provided by the YMCA after the game! Sweet-free food! Then we headed over to the beach to play with our dad! The weather was gorgeous! It was a perfect day to play hide-and-seek in the driftwood. We also jump roped on the beach--seriously! We found a long piece of kelp or seaweed and I showed Ty how to jump rope! It was hilarious. Then Nate and I turned the jump roap for Ty and taught him how to jump rope. By the end he almost had it! We kept saying 1, 2, JUMP! 1, 2, JUMP!

Nine months old already!

Nine months ago today I was holding a tiny-brand-new, chubby-cheek, perfect-in-every-way, precious baby boy....nine months later he is still that chubby-cheek, perfect-in-every-way precious little boy but a little bigger! How come nine months of pregnancy can last SOOOOO long and nine months with a baby goes by SOOOOO fast? I don't understand it?!

Caleb is Mr. Busy! He is always on the go! He loves to crawl. He loves crawling under things and inside things! He is pulling himself up on everything too!

Caleb's two favorite things right now are appliances!! He LOVES the fridge and every-time I open it he crawls as fast as he can to see what's inside! He also LOVES the dishwasher! He loves pulling out all the silverware and trying to pull out the plates! He's my little helper!

Caleb's finally decided that food isn't so bad! In fact he's doing a little better feeding himself table food--a little less gagging he's making progress! Tonight he tried a few noodles, he seemed to get more on his head than in his mouth! He's a pretty messy eater and usually needs a bath after each meal!
Caleb still loves bath time! Although now it's a joke to give him a bath because he's constantly trying to pull himself up on the tub, or crawl away only to slip face first, or if he's on his back he tries rolling over---ahhhh it's like trying to wrestle a little piggy! But he has a good time and we both get a workout!
Just for the record....
Yes I am taking a nap with my little boy! It is rare and I hardly ever take naps, but I must admit that it felt good to lay down with my baby and snuggle him! On Saturday I felt like I was getting a cold, but I also had an allergy attack--my throat and ears itched so bad and I finally gave in and took some allergy medicine. It knocked me out cold!

Here's something funny...
Same couch, red sweater, this is actually baby Ty! Caleb is now wearing these jammies and if you didn't know any better you would think that it was Caleb!

I kid you not I feel like I am going back in time...it's like having baby Ty all over again! Caleb reminds me so much of Ty, I don't know what it is! I know they are different boys but to me I see so much similarity! Take a look:

Well Ty and Caleb are both keepers and such cute little boys! I love them both so much!

Here is a funny clip of both my boys...in this 30 sec. clip you can see their cute little personalities!

What's not to love about a face like this:

A few other things about Caleb at nine months:

• He loves using his voice! He says 'ba ba ba ba' and makes lots of other sound!
• He loves strings: shoe strings, strings on pants or jackets, any kind of strings!
• His brother and sister call him: 'Little Chunkers'
• His favorite table foods are peas & corn
• He is a human vacuum: everything and I mean everything ends up in his mouth!
  
• He had his second haircut tonight--he's now starting to need them once a month like his big brother!
• He loves being outside and going for walks
  

Doesn't he look so clean and handsome after his bath and haircut?!
Caleb's all ready for bed: Good night!

My Eternal Family

"God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God."

(From one of the Primary Songs)

Today at church our primary children gave the Sacrament Meeting program. They did a wonderful job. They are so small but they have such mighty spirits. The theme for this year is "My Eternal Family" I couldn't help but think of my little eternal family and how much love I have for them. I am so grateful for each member of my family. I feel so blessed to have such great kids and a wonderful husband. I thought I'd write a brief little note on each of my cute family members and what they are up to and a little about them.

I love Nate so much--what a wonderful man! I am missing him like crazy, he is in West Virginia for a week. He has training for work. Usually we get to go along with him on trainings but this time it was too far! :( I appreciate him so much and all he does for this family. I am grateful he works so hard for us so I can stay at home with the kids. The thought of dropping them off anywhere while I go to work makes me completely nauseated! I'm so grateful for all his help with the kids, I definitely couldn't do it without him---on a permanent basis! (I think I can handle it for a week is all!) Nate makes me smile and is a fun dad to have around! He is constantly playing, wrestling, and laughing with the kids!

My Ty boy--he hit a growth spurt and is so big! I can't believe it! He is a mature little guy! Ty loves school, he is a good learner. He is full of imagination and curiosity. There is no doubt in my mind why he is the first child: he is a leader and has to be the boss! He loves friends and came home last week from school so excited about meeting two new friends: Rebecca and James. Ty came to earth with lots of energy--he loves to run and play sports, especially soccer. Ty loves to color, and do art projects. His favorite thing to play is dinosaurs. He is a sweet boy full of love for his family. His part in the program today said "I feel my Heavenly Father's love for me when my family plays candyland." Yes he came up with that line by himself and yes we do play candyland together. But no he did not say his line in front of the congregation his teacher said it for him. Ty is super-duper shy until he warms up and then he is Mr. Outgoing. I guess he hasn't warmed up to the congregation yet! Hopefully he will be warmed up before his mission farewell!
My sweet little Mara. She is growing to be such a beautiful little girl. She is also growing a little attitude that I am trying to curb in the right direction! Like her two brothers she is determined, and I hope she will always be determined to do what is right! She is such a good helper to me. She loves setting the table and emptying the silverware. She will be my right hand in the kitchen when she is older--although it has already started, she helped me make PB & J's for lunch today! Mara is a wiz at puzzles. She can put together 63 piece puzzles by herself easy. She loves to color, and her big brother is trying to teach her to stay in the lines! She is a nurturer--she loves taking care of her dollies and her baby brother. She loves to ride her bike and play outside. Her favorite thing to do is look for bugs. She found an ant today and brought it in the house to show me!
My baby boy Caleb--what a joy! I just think he is the most lovable little boy! He is growing way too fast. He has the most chubbiest little cheeks that I can't resist kissing all the time! I love to snuggle and cuddle with him--even in the wee hours of the night! My favorite thing to do is rock him--yes I rock him to sleep before naps and bedtime every day! (Call me a bad mom, but I love it! Babies are only small once and then they get too big for a rock-a-byes.) Caleb always has a smile on his chubby little face. Caleb is on the move and I know there will be a day, sooner than I think, that he will run away from me and I will have a hard time keeping up with him! He is crawling all over the house, and his new favorite trick is pulling himself up to standing position on anything and everything. I despise our hardwood floors and every time he falls down and hits his poor little head I want to cry for him. I love to hear Caleb babble and coo and sing, I am so excited to hear him say 'mama'!! What a sweet little boy!

Sorry for the long post---it was probably really boring to those that read it. My family means the world to me and I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent these sweet children and husband into my life. I am grateful we can be together forever!