Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch a few days ago. They started out with a train ride. Super excited.

And then they got going and Saydi gave me this look the whole time:

"Mom, are we going to die?"

They loved Mark pulling them around in this cart and looking at the different pumpkins.

Weston had to have a turn pulling of course!

Right after this picture Saydi turned and ran frantically back out of the maze to find her daddy. Not her cup of tea I guess.

The next morning we painted our pumpkins and the kids loved it! Wow that's a messy project. All the fun things are right?

The finished product. Long story behind Jonas' pumpkin. Basically I started painting it and then Mark reminded me he did the same exact thing last year. So I changed it last minute and went with a shout out to my old school years. Weston's on the left, Saydi's on the right.

I had to throw in these last two pictures too. And let me just interject here and say that Saydi DOES wear pants. She takes them all the way off to go potty and sometimes she just doesn't want them back on. So I apologize for all the recent undie pictures! Anywho, I love it when Wes and Saydi play with Jonas, and so does he. They climbed on the table last night to get closer. So cute.

Having fun in the laundry basket wearing daddy out.

We are LOVING the fall weather and all the fun things fall brings. Stay tuned for LOTS of Halloween fun coming up!

Cute Videos

My kids love it when I wash my sheets. Apparently jumping on a bed and being crazy just isn't as fun with bedding on. =) Here they are being 100% silly. And adorable.

Speaking of adorable...Jonas loves his bath time and goes crazy in there! Such a cute guy. He had his 4 month checkup (FOUR MONTHS?!) and here are his stats:

Weight: 14.5 lbs - 24th percentile

Length: 26 inches - 84th percentile (he grew a whopping 3 inches in two months!)

Just Because

A random post of the randomness that is our life:

I let the kids paint the other day using condensed milk and food coloring (thank you pinterest) and they l.o.v.e.d it. They were sticky all over and I didn't even care. The 30 minutes of quiet was fabulous.

Wouldn't you love to be this chipper first thing in the morning?

Buster tried cereal for the first time yesterday. I know people who get paid to tell you how to raise your baby would frown on me doing this at 4 months but this guy was ready. He's hungry all the time and my milk just isn't cutting it for him. So we are adding cereal and people who "frown on that" or want to judge can just shutty. (Do you think it's a touchy subject for me?) ;)

He was hilarious. He would kick and smile and open up. Then I'd put it in his mouth and he would swallow it while making a yucky face. Then start all over with the kicks and smiles. =)

Weston went on his first field trip today! They went to the fire station and he was completely enraptured the whole time. My batteries died in my camera though so I didn't get many good pictures. =( It was fun for me to see him with his classmates. We are so glad that he loves school and learning so much!

Mentionables

I don't know about you, but every now and then I scroll through my pictures on my phone and I always have a ton that I think are just too cute to just sit there on my phone. So on the blog they go. Poor quality and all.

Wes loves the computers at the library. The giant headphones crack me up.

This melts my heart. In case you can't tell...they're watching the "propet".

Daddy getting his Buster. Buster getting his daddy.

Mark and Wes went to one of my nephew, Tyrel's, football games. I got this picture from them while they were gone. Love. Love. Love.

Jonas sat in Austin's bumbo chair for a bit when Sean and his family were here visiting. I want one. So does Jonas.

In case you're wondering what else is going on around here there's been lots of sleeplessness, fussiness, and pee every.where. from our second attempt to potty train Saydi. A whole lot of stuff not worth mentioning.

Stuff definitely worth mentioning however includes:

Jonas breaking out the hysterical baby laugh. LOVE.

Weston and Saydi getting impatient with Mark and I taking too long to get to the dinner table so they said the prayer on the food all by themselves. LOVE.

Weston and Saydi playing "bedtime" and having the following conversation:

Saydi: climbs into her bed "Night!"

Weston: "Night Saydi. I love you!" Shuts the door.

Saydi: "Saydi!" (which means Weston - even though she knows his name is Weston and her name is Saydi)

Weston: *sighs and goes in her room "What Saydi? What's wrong?"

Saydi: "I need water."

Weston: "Ok." Gets her a drink. "Now go to bed."

Saydi: "Saydi!"

Weston: "WHAT Saydi?"

Saydi: "I wuv you."

Weston: "I love you too. Now stay in bed."

Spot on. LOVE.

A Picture's Worth 1,000 Words...Or 500

Mark's family usually gets together for Conference weekend but the tradition has kind of been fading out since families have been growing and schedules conflicting. On Sunday we were all able to get together for breakfast and the boys went outside for a quick round of 500 before everyone parted ways. How grateful I am they did, because the pictures I snagged have had me giggling this whole week. I could post about 20 more but I did limit myself! Enjoy!

I love this one. You can just see Bryce's thought bubble: "Why bother?"

You would not believe how rough these boys can be with each other.

I discovered my husband spends a lot of time mid-air. Not sure if this is because he's got hops or because he's usually the one shoving people out of the way.

Ty got some air too though.

Just out of grasp. Not an uncommon thing. ;)

The Carlson brothers discovered they do some wacky things when they play football: Sean apparently mistook the football for a soccer ball.

Jakob proved that in fact, he does catch like a girl and is scared of the ball. (He's going to kill me for that but I don't even care. So. Funny.)

And my husband mistook his role and decided to sideline as a cheerleader.

This is probably the most common scene when they play

And last but not least, my sweet little Westy trying to get in on the action. He loves his cousins!

May there be many more games of 500, because that's at least how many laughs I've had!

Show and Tell

The first thing I want to show you is this:

I stole my friend's idea of taking a picture of her kid's school work so she can toss out the unimportant things while still remembering the things he has done at school. Love the idea. And here is Weston's work for the month of September. He is loving school and has already learned so much. Seriously amazing the progress we're seeing so soon.

The second thing I want to show you is this:

Apparently picking up toys is a lot easier (and more fun) if you are in your undies and wearing a backpack. They look like some new generation of superheroes or something.

And the last thing I want to show you is this:

My husband is a prankster with his work pals. Sometimes he gets carried away and the payback can be nasty. What you're looking at is paper shredded to be about the size of a grain of sand. They clean up about as easily as sand too. I won't say what he did to deserve it. I'll just say...he deserved it.

3 Months

Jonas turned 3 months old on the 22nd. Sometimes I can hardly believe it's been three months already and other times I feel like I can't believe it's ONLY been three months. =) Here's some things we're learning about our Buster boy:

-He is a people person. He is so smiley and friendly to anyone. My first baby to be this way and I love it! Forget the toys...give him people to watch and he is a happy camper.

-He is easy going when he's with his mama but can be kind of high maintenance with others. Only because his mama knows all his different cries and what he wants to have happen when he cries or fusses a certain way. =)

-He loves his hands. Loves them. He can suck on them so loud it's ridiculous. And adorable. And if you clap his hands together or put his hands above his head he will giggle for you. Every. Time. He sleeps with his hands clasped a lot too.

-He loves the bath. We switched to the big bath and he stays there and kicks until the water gets cold.

-He loves having his bum wiped. It's hilarious how quickly he'll calm down when you change him. He hates being poopy.

-He's gotten used to having someone in his face all the time. If Saydi and Weston aren't mauling him then mommy is smothering him in kisses or daddy is tickling him with his chin. Like it or not, it's his life.

-He weighs about 13 pounds and is outgrowing clothes because he's too tall, not too big.

-He is still figuring out how to sleep good at night. He went six hours in between a feeding for the first time two nights in a row but then last night we were back to being awake every three hours and not going back to sleep very easily after feedings.

-And of course, we have ourselves another blue-eyed baby. Love it. Love him.

A Little Honesty Never Hurt

Right now I'm reading this book:

Which is fabulous and I am loving it. It really is strengthening my testimony that Thomas S. Monson was foreordained to be a prophet of God and I'm looking forward to General Conference that much more. However, I have to say, the downside of this book is that is also makes me feel like this:

Now, let me be clear - this has NOTHING to do with how the book is written or anything about President Monson. It has to do with my own insecurities and need to be perfect. He mentions that his wife has always been a huge support and has "never complained". Say what?! No complaining? I mean, you take that away from me and what's left? I'm practically a professional complainer. But that is exactly the kind of wife I always wanted to be. I kind of had something like this in mind:

And what you don't see are my ten perfectly polished, polite, and quiet children who I have never once raised my voice to. Not to mention my sparkling clean house. Unrealistic expectations you say? Psssh.

Ok, maybe. But somebody should have given me more details on this parenting thing before I got started! I mean, for crying out loud, why did I never know that it was going to be entirely up to ME (and Mark) to teach them to be respectable people?! Shouldn't someone else share the load here? Or at the very least be responsible for them in the middle of the night. I KNOW I didn't sign up for that.

But as I was laying in my bed last night at 1:30 wondering if I should just abandon the illusion that I was going to get any sleep at all I realized that I am definitely not the only mom out there who feels this way. (...right?) And while a prophet of God is a good example to follow, Heavenly Father certainly doesn't expect me to live the same life he has; just to do my very best to try to emulate those same Christlike qualities.

Sometimes when I read other people's blogs I have to remind myself that people tend to only post about the very best in their lives. I mean, who would want to read the blog of a whining fool? Well, I do! That's who! Then I would know I'm not the only one who feels like they have no idea what they're doing. Or who does something they regret that you just know is going to end up being your child's very first memory of you. Or who lets their kids play outside in their underwear in the dirt because they're not fighting for once! Not that every post should be a Debby Downer, but occasionally it would be refreshing to read. Am I right ladies?

So, here's to real life and all it's imperfections. One day my kids will all sleep all night long. One day my kids will all dress themselves and wipe their own bums. One day my house will be clean all the time and I'll have lots of time to keep it that way. And let's face it folks - as much as I enjoy each day for what it is - there are days that I live for "one day".