Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! Hope you have a super fun day!

Carving Pumpkins

We carved our pumpkins last night.

Drawing on the faces.

The boys did not like touching the insides of the pumpkins!

We were obviously vigilant about knife safety :)

Their favorite part was turning off the lights to see the pumpkins glowing.

Check-ups

We went in for Layton's 3 year, and Parker's 18 month check-ups. I hadn't been to the Dr. with either one for over 6 months! So I had no idea what they would weigh, or how tall they were.

We talked a lot about being brave and what was going to happen at there.

Layton did so so well, he sat super still for his exam. And then after did all the things the Dr. wanted (jump, walk on tip toes, walk on heals, etc.) and was super happy about the whole thing. Which is a major improvement for us.

Layton weighs 32 lbs (54%) and is 38 1/2 inches tall (75%)

Poor Parker did great for his exam, but then had to get several shots. Needless to say, he was not happy about it afterwards.

Parker weighs 23 lbs 8 ozs (20%) and is 33 inches tall (67%)

I was so surprised by these results. Layton seems so skinny, and I am constantly worried about how much he is eating. But he is right at the 54% and is perfectly average!

Parker seems like such a chunk, but he is only at the 20%!

I was way off I guess :)

Both boys LOVE the fish tanks.

Captain Layton's Pirate Party!

Last night we had Layton's birthday party. We did it at the swimming pool, with a pirate theme. Layton had so much fun, and loved all of it.

This was my first attempt at making a cake with fondant, it was a learning process. But I thought it turned out really cute. The little pirate on top took some time, but I thought he really made the cake.

All the kids (there were 14!) got a pirate hat, hook, and eye patch.

My only regret about the party is that I didn't start it an hour earlier, the kids loved to swim. And were super bummed when I made them get out, so we could have dinner. :)

Giving me his "pirate look"

The kids were all so cute in their hats.

We gave Layton a "kid tough" digital camera, because he loves to use mine. He was super excited about it.

Blowing out the candles,

then finally getting to eat the little balls that were around the cake!

Layton got spoiled with way too many presents, you guys are awesome!

Thanks so much to everyone who could make it. We really appreciate the effort!

Sloppy Joe's and Grape Salad

For those of you who asked. These are the recipes for our dinner at Layton's birthday party.

Sloppy Joe's

2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion
1 can chicken gumbo soup (drained a little)
1/2 c. brown sugar
ketchup

Brown your ground beef, add in chopped onion and a little season salt.
To that, add the soup (I drain it a little so they aren't quite as "sloppy"), brown sugar and ketchup,(I pour it straight from the bottle, until I think I have the right consistency. about 3 cups?).
Cook as long as you want, yesterday I made it in the morning and so it sat in the warm crock pot all day, but sometimes I just mix it up and eat it as soon as everything is warmed up.


Grape Salad
2 bags of grapes (fun to do red and green)
1 cup sour cream
8 oz package of cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 c. white sugar
brown sugar
chopped pecans

mix sour cream, cream cheese, and white sugar. Mix in grapes. Top with (don't mix in) brown sugar and pecans to make a crumbly crust.

Thanks guys, I'm glad you all liked the food enough to ask for the recipe.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Layton!!!

Today is Layton's 3rd Birthday! I can't belive he is getting so big. He keeps us laughing all the time, and is such a special part of our family.

I am so grateful to know that we will be a family forever.

We love you bud, Happy Birthday!

Clips

The boys found these little clips in a drawer and sat forever the other morning clipping them on each other, and themselves.

What funny boys.

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

The other night there was this crazy goose wadling around our neighborhood. It had a hurt wing and couldn't fly.

But the boys loved watching it.

They fed it bread . . .

Then, after it was full and left. They got down and picked up the bread it hadn't touched, and ate it. They thought that was hilarious.

(I am aware that there are VERY poor quality pictures, I think my little camera is about to bite the dust :)

Alone at last!

Parker LOVES when Layton is at Joy School. He runs around and you can just tell that he is thrilled to be his own little person and not be bothered by Layton. He loves Layton and is always so exicted to see him when we pick him up, but poor little guy needs some alone time :)

I was getting ready and heard Parker dump all the lego blocks out, then he just sat and played and yelled and was so happy to play alone at last!

Fire Station

For FHE on Monday night we went to the little open house that the Fire Station did. They had hot dogs and root beer for dinner. The we waited in a long and very cold line to ride the fire truck. The boys had a ton of fun and loved the fire truck ride especially!








My attempt at a family photo while in the fire truck :) Too bad it was so dark, you can't even tell we were in it.

18 Months!

Wow, Parker is 18 months old today! I can't believe how time has flown by, he is getting so big and is the sweetest little boy. He is talking so much and thinks that he can do anything that Layton can do. I can't imagine our lives without him.


I hope and pray so so much for him, I hope that:


he can be as wonderful of a man as his daddy is
he can love school and love to learn
he can be successful in whatever he chooses to do
he can respect women and treat his future wife like a princess
he can go through the door slamming, I hate you, years quickly
and most of all.. I hope that he will love us forever and always love to come home.


We love you Park Man, happy 18 months!!!

Overalls . . .

So when Layton was about 3 months old I bought him a pair of overalls. And HATED them, and I haven't even looked at a pair since.

But when I was buying the boys fall clothes, the little boy in the gymboree ad looked so cute in his overalls that ... I bought some.

They have stayed in the boys drawers for about 2 months, I was still undecided if I was ever going to put them on.
The other day I decided it was time to try them out.

And guess what, they looked pretty darn cute! But, I think my boys are always cute :)

Chubby Cheeks

I love Parkers chubby little cheeks, I just want to kiss them all day.
He always gets this little expression when he is concentrating, with his tiny little mouth closed and his cheeks all cute and chubby.
Anyway, I saw him doing it and it is just so classic Parker, so of course I had to take a few pictures :)