Pictures from today...Happy Halloween!

We trick or treated (for the first time ever!) with our friends from small group. The boys had a blast and I was relieved at how well it went, considering Gray had been throwing fits all day (gotta love screaming through the church parking lot on Sunday morning!). He was really excited about the candy and would go say "Trick or Treat", get his candy, come running and shouting to everyone about what he got, remember he needed to say thank you, run back up to the house and say thank you over and over (getting in the person's face if needed) until he was sure they heard him. We only went around for a little while and then they were ready to be done, but throughly enjoyed it. Hopefully they sleep okay tonight because we did see a few scary things and Gray was telling me something scary was jumping out of his closet.
I squeezed into a tutu from middle school and wore my pointe shoes for about 10 minutes, Matt was a very cute nerd, the boys loved being superheroes, and Julia was such a pretty princess!
Don't you love Matt out front? This is the whole group (minus a few parents taking pictures).
In honor of the awesome Wolfpack victory on Thursday, I broke out the State dress for Julia this morning.
She definitely reminded us of Abby in this dress!
While Matt was on the search for his army glasses for his costume, he let the boys wear his army hats, which they loved and wore right up until we got to church.

My hands in the air, they're playin my song...

Pictures

Pumpkin Carving time! Matt did the big one (yes, it has a goatee...or however that's spelled) and I did the little ones, with a little marker drawing help from the boys:)
The pumpkin is lit, but either the camera or the camera girl isn't skilled enough to capture the light correctly.
Snuggle time! We watched Wall-E (and saw the robot save a plant so he could save a planet...which is why Joshua was telling me that the other day!) together on Friday afternoon. Julia was napping and Gray couldn't quite hang in for the whole thing. And Matt napped in the chair for a good bit of it (he was pretty tired from staying up till midnight on Thursday to watch the State game and then being at work at 6 on Friday). So I guess it was mostly a Joshua and Mommy movie time, but we liked it!
Julia drinking her first bottle of Sun Drop, but definitely not her last;) Just kidding...babies just love empty bottles though!
Joshua really likes making Julia lay back so he can hold her. He has also been really into caring for his stuffed animals this weekend and informing me of every move, such as all the different ways "Otis" likes to be held.

Joshua is cracking me up lately

We got the movie Wall-E from the library this week and Joshua was so super excited to watch it. I told him that our friends had seen it and he wanted to ask them about it last night. They told him that it was really funny and Wall-E tries to save a planet. Now Joshua's going around saying, "Wall-E is so funny because he tries to save a plant!" I told him it was planet. That's not as funny.

Yesterday he was spelling word with the refrigerator magnets. He said, "Mommy, what says "AW"?...Never mind, I found it." And then a minute later..."Mommy what does this spell?" He had spelled 'FROLG'. I said, "That is "FRAWLG" And he said, "Yeah, that's what I meant to spell! Frog!" Haha. Had to explain to him about Southern accents!

I have told him that watching movies is treat and I will let him know when we can watch one, but he should not ask me all the time. Yesterday, the boys came in from playing outside and I said it was an hour till lunch. Joshua came up to me with 2 library movies, held them up and said, "Mommy, what do you think we should do until lunch?" At least he remembered not to ask about movies!

The other day he was watching me change Julia's diaper and took a good look at her bottom and asked me about the girl parts. I explained a little and said, "It's kind of different, huh?" He got a big smile on his face and said, "Yeah, it's pretty cool!" I'm sure he like me to retell that one when he's about 13!

And finally, for those of you on my side of the family, when asked to name something he was thankful for, to be told in front of the church around Thanksgiving with the rest of his Sunday School class, he immediately said "Buckwheat." (Grandmama's kitten.) He continues to pray for that cat at every meal and though he's only spent a few hours with her ever and he has so much to be thankful for and he's allergic to her, she is who he'll be thinking about on Thanksgiving.

I'm glad we had this talk...

Seemingly fruitless conversations from this morning:

Gray: Mommy, when we went to the beach, there was this baby pool with a seal fountain and Abby and Carly brought a green toy alligator.

Joshua: No, Gray! That was a lobster.

Me: A green lobster?

Joshua: No, it was blue.

Gray: No it was a alligator!

Joshua: No, Gray! i know what it was and there was not an alligator.

Me: Joshua, do you know what a "know-it-all" is? You are acting like you know for sure that there is no possible way there was an alligator toy at the beach a year and a half ago and I know you aren't 100% sure. It is being a know-it-all to act like you know everything and there's no way anyone else can be right.

Joshua: I know because I didn't see it at their house last time.

Me: Let's think this through. Do you think there is any way that they could have brought that toy a year and a half ago and it not have been out for you to see when we went to their house?

Joshua: Yes.

Me: So you agree that someone could have brought something to the beach and then not have it out where everyone could see it or have lost it or maybe it got broken?

Joshua: Yes.

Me: So when someone says something and you think "that's not right", you need to think it through and when you are absolutely sure that there is no way that person is right, you can say, "I disagree."

Joshua: I disagree.

Me: What?!? We just thought it through and you admitted you could have been wrong!!

Joshua: (no words, just grumps)

And then later....

I witnessed Gray run up the stairs and begin playing with a toy and then Joshua run it and take it from him. I sent Joshua out of the room because I was on the phone and he got really mad.

Me: I just saw you come up and take a toy from Gray. Why did you do that?

Joshua: Because we both wanted to play with it and he got up the stairs first.

Me: So it was okay for you to take it because you wanted it? Was that treating your brother kindly or being selfish?

Joshua: Selfish.

Me. And you took a toy out of his hands. Was that following our rules or breaking our rules?

Joshua: Breaking the rules.

Me: So you were selfish and broke the rules and you're mad at me?! All I am doing is loving you and being your mother. Should I just let you be selfish and break the rules?

Joshua: No.

Me: So did I do anything wrong?

Joshua: No.

Me: So should you be mad at me?

Joshua: No.

Me: So you did the wrong thing and I was just loving you and being your mother and you shouldn't be mad at me. Are you mad at me?

Joshua: Yes.

Who's comparing? Me, of course:)

These are all in the 9-11 months range. Some of Gray and some of Joshua at this age remind me so much of Julia. The tub "cheeks" ones just crack me up. Wonder which one is Gray:)

Recent pictures...

Playing outside, inside, tub time...nothing too excited but I like the pictures anyway!

Pogo strikes again...

Well our house guests arrived late Friday night and Pogo did his job to make them feel welcome. After getting them settled, I was drifting off to sleep around 11 and heard him barking. And barking. And barking. Then I thought maybe he was off int he woods but that I should probably check and see if it was loud on the guest room side of the house but I fell asleep before making that move. I awoke at 1:30 to Pogo still barking and got up to put him in the garage so he'd shut up. Turns out the mom, Katey, was up reading on our couch because our sweet dog had been barking so much that she never could go to sleep. I felt terrible! We went back to bed but I just lay there feeling bad for about an hour before finally getting back to sleep. Then I got up early with Julia and was soo tired! Our guests were ready to go by 8:30 and so we didn't end up talking a whole lot, but it was definitely neat that we ended up having so much in common with them. Aaron was former army and they had actually lived in Dupont for some of the same time we were there. And Aaron's sister was friends with one of my good WA friends so I had hung out with her a few times there. They were also friends with another couple that we got to know during our time in WA. They now have 2 girls, ages 1 and 3, who were so cute, with red curly hair. Katey does cloth diapers too so we had that to talk about and they even said we had a lot of the same furniture:) Aaron also was very into CrossFit for years so he and Matt had that in common. Would have liked to get to know them a little more, but it was not the weekend for that.

Anyway, soon after they left, I headed out to the baby shower with Julia. It was great to see friends again and have good food and good conversation and celebrate a friend's baby girl, who will be born in a little over a month. She has two boys and so I'm especially excited for her to have this girl, as I just love our "setup" with the boys and Julia.

I also got to have more girl time at our churches ladies' night. I really enjoyed talking with the other girls and especially having some good conversation with two ladies in our small group. It's strange now to think that the friends I'm making aren't just until "the next move" and I really need to make a better effort to get to know people on a deeper level. Anyway, last night was a step in the right direction and I was really thankful for the time.

Well I have one very cranky baby at my feet wanting me to read her book, so better run. Off to a quick supper and youth group!

Surprise, surprise

I was checking some old (really old) giftcard balances this afternoon and much to my surprise, I was carrying around 3 unused cards ($25 to Walmart and $15 and $50 to Target) and another Target card with a $78 balance from a return in 2008! I almost threw these away when I cleaned out my purse because I assumed they were used up. And I'm the money manager in our family...yeah. I'd like to think that I'm way more careful now that money is a little tighter, but just as soon as I say that, I have a feeling I'll make another big mistake! For now, though, I'm just excited to do some "free" shopping. I think we're going to use these to buy Christmas presents!

Being a mother is so glamorous, isn't it?

I remember the days when I could not spend any less that one solid uninterrupted hour in front of the mirror getting "ready". It seems like just yesterday, but fast forward eight or ten years and what happened today is more of the norm: I finally got around to taking a shower around 11. I rushed through it, because it had been bad timing and I could hear Julia up from her nap. Then I dried my hair sitting on the kitchen floor, with Julia climbing all over me, while I used the oven for a mirror and kept popping up to check on Gray playing outside and turning the dryer off so I could hear (and make interesting comments) as Joshua told me about his play doh creations. And then I had to stop before my hair was dry because Gray came inside and he and Joshua immediately got into a fight. I know all of you mothers can relate! I don't really mind though. I just think back on all the valuable stuff I could have done with all those hours of primping!! And when one day I have this serious, meaningful conversation with Julia and share this insight, I'm sure she will say "Whatever, Mom!" and get back to curling her hair:)

Sweet moment with Julia and more...

Tonight I took Julia up to her room and got her ready for bed. She didn't seem too tired, but I asked her if she was ready for milk. She just scooted over to her toy box and played around in there for awhile while I sat by her on the floor. Then she came over and crawled into my lap and gave the sign for "milk." So sweet, and she's never done that before.

In other Julia news, she continues to learn to say new words, and then not say them...ever...again. A few days ago she said "Uh oh." Well she said "Oh" a few times and "Uh" a few times, but in the context of dropping stuff and copying me, so we knew what she meant. Haven't heard it since. Today she saw the cows next door and said "Doggy" (now that's a word she does use every day!) and I told her "cow" and she clearly said "cow." Bet we won't hear that again for awhile. Anyway, it's so fun to hear her talk and I really love the feeling of knowing we can understand each other and communicate, even on this very limited basis right now.

Gray has had another typical Gray week. I told some of you these stories already, but if you haven't heard, some of Gray's antics on Saturday were to tear a cover from a book, put it in a potty, and poop on it. He also was playing outside and observing some water inside the tire swing and decided to add to it by peeing in there. He's also been charming, like when we played our "star performer"game a few days ago and he kept hopping up on that stool and belting out various tunes, while dancing, very enthusiastically. And then he's been dramatic, throwing a crying fit about everything from not getting another bowl of cereal to the tire swing being too fast.

Joshua is still thrilled to be 5 years old now. Today he just randomly announced it like he had almost forgotten and was so happy to remember. He has been thoroughly enjoying all his new birthday presents...he's been building, puzzling, and play-doh-ing like crazy! He has such a love for animals, real and pretend. He's been loving his new Thumper stuffed animal and puts him down for naps in the office. He also likes when we learn about animals in preschool. We read a neat book about wild horses this week and it's fun to teach such an enthusiastic learner.

I have been losing my mind this week....I know, no surprise there:) I keep losing things and finding that I must have thoughtlessly put them in random places. For example, the other day I was making Matt's smoothie and went to put the yogurt top back on and couldn't find it. 4 days later, I went to open a new container of yogurt and it had 2 lids on it. Aha. Also, last week one of the nursery volunteers emailed me to let me know that she would be out of town during her normally scheduled 3rd Sunday, so she had switched to the 5th Sunday. I emailed her a few days later, reminding her she was scheduled to serve on the 3rd Sunday. She emailed me back to remind me she had switched to 5th Sunday. This week, I also emailed her to remind her she was serving this week in the nursery. She again emailed me back to remind me she had switched to 5th Sunday. Yikes.

We really enjoyed having Jeannie and Sawyer with us for a few days... and all the recent family time. The boys really love it and they have continued to talk about all of you. They of course ask when we're going to Mimi and GrandGene's house again. They pray for Buckwheat almost as many times as they thank God for our food. Joshua keeps telling me that we need to go to Nanny and Pa's house because we haven't been there in a long time and "I bet they miss us!" and he also says he hopes we go to Lydia and Jackson's house soon. I told him that if we get to move, we'd be closer to their house and could get together more. He was so thrilled by that news that he said we should just go ahead and take our stuff and move into the house beside Stacy's. If only it was that easy! They have also been talking about stuff they did at Abby and Carly's house (Joshua apparently is now very interested in Tinkerbell) and how funny Sawyer is. I'm so thankful that we have such great families and can live on this side of the country with everyone (minus Constance in London, of course).

Looks like this weekend will be an interesting one. A friend of Matt's family called and asked if friends of his could stay the night with us tomorrow, as they were in town for a wedding (Matt thought, really it's a baby shower) and had nowhere to stay. We said okay. We've gotten an email from them that also mentions bringing their girls. We have very little other info, so hope everything falls into place. Don't think I've ever hosted strangers before. Saturday morning Julia and I have a baby shower to go to and Saturday night I get to go to a Ladies' Night for church. AND Sunday I get to go to a meeting about starting a youth group at church. It's going to be a very out of the ordinary few days.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Joshua party pictures

We had tons of fun today celebrating Joshua's birthday with Matt's family, Jeannie, Sawyer, Mimi, and GrandGene! Thanks to Matt's side for all the birthday gifts...lots of legos, play doh, clothes, and of course Thumper!

birthday movies

Happy Birthday Joshua!

We had a good day today. Joshua opened a present this morning...a dinosaur (from donated toys at church!) and then the kids and I headed to a friend's drop in party. The boys had a great time playing with toys and other boys and I enjoyed talking with some friends from our old church. This afternoon, we gave Joshua his bike (also a donation! so thankful!!!!) and went to Joshua's restaurant of choice for supper, then the park. We also read the birthday letter I wrote for him (something I do every year) and looked at his scrapbook pages of this past year. Now we're getting ready for bed and the party tomorrow. I finished the batman cake, but we'll save it for tomorrow.

backyard fun

Sorry but these are a week late. I'm getting behind with blogging with Matt having the computer...but I'm probably getting more done around the house!:)