over it

Is anyone else totally over Halloween? Man, it's been like the never-ending Holiday. And I have my own opinions on why we even celebrate it to start with. Bur its fun to see the kids all dressed up and I have a major love affair with candy, so I've always been a fan of that part.

This year I just feel its been going on too long. Im sure part of that reason is that Im on this crazy-hard diet and I cant have ANY sugar. So here I am, setting out candy corn and donuts for School parties, passing out candy to Church Trunk-Or-Treaters, passing up all sorts of goodies at Halloween festivities... its rough! But I have yet to have a single taste and that self-control has really surprised me.

So, I will be glad when all of the Halloween stuff is over and done with. Im off to eat my apple.

Happy Halloween

from a Pig, a Butterfly, a Strawberry Princess and a Chef.

This was a fun evening. Our Ward did a Trunk-Or-Treat party and the kids had a blast. Charlotte slept through pretty much the entire thing, yes even through the blasting music put on by DJ Jeff... a Ward member who's the best DJ I know. Luke and Ella ran around with their friends the entire time and couldn't wait to get their coveted candy bars. We were lucky in that that day it was around 75 degrees... almost unheard of this late in the Fall. So we were all celebrating that as well.

Olivia started out the night with a bang. She ran right out to the dance floor and danced for about a full hour before she got so sleepy that she wanted to be held the rest of the night.. a rarity for her. As we walked to the car to open up the back for candy goers she started to squeal with delight. She thought we were going home to sleep.

Poor Ella had a rough night. She got tackled to the ground a couple of times by some boys. One of which was pretty brutal. This kid was literally shoving her into a mass of bushes over and over again. I happened to look over there as it was happening and ran over there to stop it. I could see her screaming and stumbling up. As soon as she would get up he'd knock her right back done. I have never been so angry in my life. Poor girl was terrified. But she's way more forgiving that I am and was back to her joyful self in not time, though she woke up with a nightmare that night about the run-in.

All in all it was a fun-filled night. The kids got waaaay too much candy and now I have to stare at it all day as it calls my name.

good taste

Poor Sammy came over for a playdate today... he is a good sport.



I think Olivia needs a lesson in playing hard to get.

I promise... no more kisses next time Sam.

Charlotte Ryan's blessed day

Since the reason for our California visit was for this special event I thought it only right to blog about it first.

On Saturday, October 16. Dave was able to bless Charlotte at Dave's Parents home. It was a beautiful morning filled with our Family. In the past we have blessed our Babies at Church, but I can't express how beautiful this intimate, beautiful setting was.

Dave gave her a lovely blessing.. though, due to Charlotte needing to eat 5 minutes earlier, some may have needed to strain their ears to hear it.




Charlotte's middle name, Ryan, is from this handsome guy. My Brother and one of my best friends.



Good looking group, huhh. This was the smallest our little circle has ever been as we only had Family there.. okay, I see Bob as well but he's Family in our eyes.

She was much happier after she had a full tummy.. and after I took off her bonnet (which was my favorite part of her entire dress)

I had another dress that I was totally in love with. Unfortunately, due to the fact that someone was born 5 pounds, it was waaaay too big and I had to sell it. But I was quite happy with this last minute change up that I purchased.

Thank you to all who were there to make this day even more special. It was an extra treat to have Aunt Bonnie and 3 of her 4 gorgeous girls in town. We love you all.

Quad

This is the first picture we actually have of all of the kids together. Its not a great shot, Olivia did NOT want to sit still (as usual) but it makes me happy and I cant wait for many, many more shots of this crazy group together.

Big

This little knucklehead is not my baby anymore. He hasn't been for some time. He is big. 6 1/2 to be exact. And I marvel at how that happened.

When I was growing up I always wanted my first Child to be a boy. The big brother. The protector. So I was thrilled when I had that first ultrasound which told me that my hopes for a Son were confirmed. And I knew immediately that he would be sweet, kind and very handsome. And he is.

Luke is an incredible kid. He loves music, namely Band of Horses and Iron and Wine. He cant get enough out of learning and he constantly has his nose in a book. I never thought I'd hear myself tell a Child to stop reading but with Luke I just have to sometimes. He started football this year and has really been enjoying it. I think he still likes baseball the best but I have been so proud of his efforts at trying something totally new. He is a great friend and is getting to be so much fun. I could pal around with him all day long. He is super funny and I love to hear his newest jokes, they are actually starting to make sense. I feel like I could talk with him forever, and I try, until he tells me that he doesn't want to talk anymore. I think I wear him out with all of my daily questions.

Luke has started to get a little sassy since starting 1st grade. Its actually pretty funny. He has never been a kid who talked back or made rude comments. Never. He has always done what he's been told. He is a dream. But he's recently started to make little snide comments. And, as much as we need to be more stern with him here, we sometimes can't help but to laugh. Its just all so out of character for him. And sometimes he can really be quite witty.

I love this boy who is growing up before my eyes. He is turning into the coolest kid and I adore every second that I get to spend with him.

magic?

I actually went to the trouble to "get ready" yesterday. Meaning, for the first time since I had the baby I dried and straightened my hair. No ponytail for me. I know, fancy, right?

So I came downstairs looking like this...

nothing too fancy. No make-up, no formal dress... just hair down.

Luke ran over and looked at me with a questioned stare.

" Mommy... what happened?"

"What do you mean?" I replied

"You look so pretty. What happened?"

and then came the best part...

"Did you use magic?"

I suppose I really should put in a little more effort so my Son doesn't think I need magic to make myself look presentable.

2 month stats

Charlotte had her 2 month appointment today. Its crazy to think that, at 8 pounds 6 ounces, She is an entire pound smaller than Luke was when he was born. I love how tiny she is, less than the 3rd percentile, though she looks big to me. It's a nice way to keep her small for as long as possible. Her hight jumped up from the 20% at birth to the 50%. She's getting longer quickly and the Dr. suspects we'll have our 4th tall kiddo.

I love these appointments because its so fun to see how they've grown. I hate these appointments because shots stink. I went ahead with a shot of my own, the flu shot, so that I could empathize with my girl.


gotta love those smiles early on. It almost looks pained... but adorable.

2 years old

This munchkin is so, so much fun. I really mean it when I say that I can't get enough of her. She is super silly and sweet. She loves to give hugs and kisses to our entire Family. She is kind and fun. I just adore her.



Here are a few things about Liv at age 2.

- She has gone from only being willing to watch "Elmo" to now enjoying Backyardigans, Yo Gabba Gabba, Blues Clues and Little Einsteins. I am grateful for this shift.

- She has been doing speech therapy, due to 6 month's of fluid in her ears, for about 6 weeks now and her language is coming along so quickly. She has been without the fluid in the ears since early August so we assume that is why she's picking up her speech so rapidly. Its amazing what happens when it doesn't sound like you're underwater!

- Olivia adores her baby Sister. She has transitioned so beautifully from our baby to a big Sister. She will bring Charlotte her blankets, binky, diapers. She holds her bottle and kisses her constantly. She's such a nurturer.

- She loves to play and climb. She has amazing balance and can even stand on 1 foot for extended periods of time. In her evaluations with the County she scored about a year ahead in her physical abilities. Dave hopes this means that she will be a good athlete. Okay, so do I.

- She still calls Dave Mama. Its hilarious. She can say "dada" perfectly but she just wont go for it. Dave has gotten used to it and now answers when called.

- Liv is our best listener. Its a beautiful thing.

-She's quite obedient and gets very upset when she gets into trouble.

-She is a great dancer. Really, she can bust out some pretty darn cute dance moves.

- A few days after we got home from the Hospital she decided she wanted NOTHING to do with her bed. She slept that night in a twin bed in Luke's room and never looked back. She loves to be big and has yet to get out of her bed until she wakes up.

- She wants to go pee pee on the potty so badly. She will take off her diaper and sit on the potty constantly. I know I need to jump on this excitement but I am really just too busy right now. Maybe after Christmas I will go ahead with it, if she lets me hold her off.

- She has gone from the 25% in height and the 10% in weight to the 90% in height and the 25% in weight. The Doctor and I had a big celebration at these amazing numbers. Her BMI is below the charts due to her huge difference in weight to height. This has proven to make clothes difficult to fit. We need the length but that makes the waist huge. Tall and skinny.. we may be in trouble.

- She loves the bath!

- We love her light brown hair and her big blue eyes.

- She is so, so cute and fun and angelic. And super, super silly. We have such a great time and are so blessed to have this girl in our Family.

4th

I almost forgot about this fun onsie.

2 months old

-I love my swing and my mama roo. I will finally fall asleep in my swing on occasion, my Parents are very grateful for this.

- I could happily be held all day long. I love it but my Mom say's Im being unrealistic.

- I still HATE to have a dirty diaper, I will scream immediately and stop just as soon as Im clean again.

- I have a pretty cute smile and I like to flash it. I especially love to smile at Olivia, I really like her.

-My head is getting stronger every day but its not due to tummy time. My Mom never remembers to do that with me... hey, Im the 4th.

- I sleep about 8-10 hours a night. Im pretty awesome.

- I can still wear a newborn diaper but size my Mom started to pull out the size 1's this last week.

- I love to be around lots of chaos and noise. Mom says its a good thing.

-I drink 3 ounce bottles now

-I never spit up and my Parents are so happy about it

-my 2 month appt. is next week but Mom suspects Im about 8 1/2 pounds.

- I cant wait to see my Grandparents, Aunts, cousins and especially Uncle Ryan (Im named after him so Im hoping he's as cool as Mom say's he is) in a week and a half. That warm pool at Papa's house is calling my name.

- I still love my baths and never make a peep when Im in it.

- I love to look at my toys, mobile, the balls hanging from my Mama Roo and the fish hanging from my swing.

- I really like music and white noise. When I have a hard time falling asleep my Mom turns on the hairdryer and I settle in almost immediately.

- I am still on the Neocate formula and Previcid. Both have proven to help me to feel so good and happy, Im grateful to have them.

- I am starting to coo and its super fun.Plus Mom says I look super cute when I do it.

- I pretty much hate the car these days. Is it too much to ask to just skip all of these car trips and to just stay home and be held?

- i am cute and tiny and awesome.