Randomness of November in pictures

Kay with her painting from school

Love how little Wy Fi is "hanging" out of the basket here!

It's hard to believe these are all my kids!  Love them!

We have pretty much stopped giving Landon naps because it makes bedtime SO MUCH easier.  On occasion in the late afternoon he conks out though, he's so tired.  This particular day he climbed into our pillows on our bed and was out!

Kayleigh posing with her Thanksgiving Feast crown she made at school.

Helping to decorate the Christmas tree

 

Kay helping Wyatt golf

What a handsome boy!

Treasure Hunt

Clues in the treasure hunt

The "treasure" that told the kids about our trip

Kids with the paper chain countdown

 

 
  We wanted to tell our kids in a fun way about our much anticipated trip to Disneyland so we asked for suggestions on Facebook of how to tell them and then decided to do a treasure hunt.  I thought up some clues that would take the kids around our house and also to a few other homes nearby.
  After we did our song and lesson for Family Home Evening we planned to tell them then that we had a really fun activity planned and that it was a treasure hunt, but, as we were trying to hurry dinner along Michael said without even thinking, "Hurry and finish eating so we can do the treasure hunt!" Then Kayleigh said, "We're doing a treasure hunt?!" He felt really bad but it was ok cause it was almost time to do it anyway. Then shortly after that, without thinking I said, "Landon is going right to bed when we get home because he didn't have a nap today." So then Kayleigh got excited and said, "We are going somewhere for the treasure hunt!?" Oh man, at this point we both were mad at ourselves but luckily we didn't give the "treasure" away.
   So, once we did the lesson and song then we gave them their 1st clue, it led to the bathroom, then outside to the swing set, then to Wyatt's crib, then to our neighbor's house. As we went along I don't think Landon really understood it all but he very happily followed Kayleigh as she ran to each spot to find the next clue. He got excited because she was.
  At our neighbor's house (Michael had delivered a clue there on his way home from work) she was so sweet and wrapped the clue in about 5 different boxes with candy in each layer. It was very fun for them to unwrap. I can't believe she did that, so nice of her!! (Katie you are amazing!) The clue at their house led us back to our house to the freezer where the clue told us to stop and enjoy a treat from the freezer (our treat for FHE) then continue on to my parent's house. Kayleigh got so excited when she realized we were going to Nana and Grandpa's house. Once we got there she was running around trying to find the clue. Once she found it she had Nana read it and then she ran for the front door and wanted to get going, it was funny! We had to remind her to say goodbye.
   The next clue took us to Michael's dad's house.  On the way there Kay said she didn't want to find the treasure because then the hunt would be over and she really liked finding the clues. I was happy she was so into it!  Then she said she wanted to do one with Grace and Phoebe (her cousins) because she thought they would enjoy it, too.
   The clue at Michael's dad's led us back to our house where the treasure was. I had put 7 of our Disney character stuffed animals under a blanket on my bed. There was a clue that told them to count each animal twice and then that would be how many days until...Disneyland!
   When we took the blanket off it was hilarious cause Landon yelled, "stuffed animals!" He thought they were the treasure and he was so excited even though they were his and Kayleigh's own stuffed animals. Kayleigh counted to 7 twice and so I had her count them again and continue after 7 to 8 and get to 14 which was how many days til the trip. Then she said "14 days til Halloween?" She still didn't get it. Then we clued her in on the stuffed animals, what they all had in common and that they were a clue. So she thought out loud, "Disney, Disneyland?" And I shook my head yes and then said we are going to Disneyland! She got so excited and started throwing the stuffed animals and the blanket and screaming! So then Landon did too, of course. It was fun cause Michael got it all on video and also my parents were here as well as Michael's dad.  Michael's dad would be coming with us on the trip and he told the kids that night that he'd be coming.  
  After a few minutes Kay asked if we could go for more than one day. Ha ha! I had to explain to her that it will be a vacation and will take 10 hours to drive there and yes, we'll be staying longer than one day. I think she thought one day because that's how long we go to Lagoon for. She's talked about it every day since. 
   Fourteen days to little kids is a very long time!  We ended up making a paper chain to help the kids know how many days til we would leave.  It was really fun telling them about it and anticipating it with them. 

Halloween 2012

Kayleigh with her ghost sucker she made at school.

 

Wyatt in his "I want my Mummy" shirt.

Everyone ready to go trick-or-treating!

Kay with her candy she got.

Landon with all his candy.

Wyatt trying to eat a king size Twix bar.

Kayleigh carving her pumpkin at my parent's house for our Halloween party.

Daddy helping Landon carve his pumpkin.

Skunk and Dragon sharing a love, awe!

Dolphin (Grace), Ladybug (Sami), Butterfly (Phoebe), Cowgirl (Kay), Skunk (Wyatt) and Dragon (Landon)

  We had a fun Halloween this year.  I am super behind writing about it, but I'm really trying to get caught up!  The Saturday before Halloween we were with my family down at my parent's.  We carved pumpkins, played Pin the Wart on the Witch, had scones and of course had some candy!  We love seeing our cousins and family.  Trying to get a picture with all the kids proved difficult, but hey, 6 kids six and under is a little tricky. 
  In years past we've trick-or-treated at my Mom's with my sister and her girls.  Since Kayleigh and Grace are now in school, it's harder to do things on a school night.  So this year we celebrated the holiday at our house and went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  It was really fun, actually! 
  As we went along we saw all our friends and neighbors and it was fun to chat with one another and see all the costumes.  We had invited Michael's dad to come with us and I'm sure he got sick of us talking to everyone but it was fun to have him be with our kids.  Landon needed a pit stop along the way and it was nice to just ask some friends in our ward if we could use their bathroom. 
  We are quickly outgrowing our house but it's little moments like this when I realize that we'll be sad to move and leave all this (friends, etc.) behind.  Ok, enough sappy stuff, back to Halloween!  Landon loved being a dragon!  He still talks about it almost every day, seriously.  This was his second year in this costume and he just loved to growl at people and try to scare them.  He also loved to get candy, what kid doesn't?  There were quite a few days after Halloween that I was convinced he'd be sick from eating so much candy but nope, he's good. 
  Kayleigh liked being a cowgirl and wanted Michael to be a cowboy on Halloween night.  He's such a good dad that he played along with it.  Wyatt was a skunk for his 1st Halloween and he made a cute one!  Everyone loved his costume, it really is cute.  My sis made it and all my kids have worn it for their first Halloween. 
  It was kind of a bummer to have to get Kay up for school the next morning but that's life now that she's started school.  They are all still enjoying their candy.  I'm hoping it will be gone soon! 

Could it be, finally?!

  Folks, I think we might finally have a potty trained two-year old!!  Wahoo!  I am so excited and proud of Landon.  He caught on to the #1 think pretty quick and was doing great.  #2 was a completely different story!  After accidents, going to Pull-Ups, forcing him on the potty, some Miralax and lots of hope, he is doing great.
  Yesterday he told me he had to go #2 (it's funny, he refers to it as #1 and #2) so we went in the bathroom and he sat down on the potty and he went.  No drama, no crying, no nothing.  I almost couldn't believe it!  I don't know what switch flipped in his brain or what, but he's good to go now.  Today he also did great, acting the same way as yesterday.  I thought the day would never come, but it finally has!

Wyatt is 9 months

  Oh my gosh time is just flying by!  Wyatt is getting bigger and better every day.  A few days ago he celebrated being here for 9 months.  He is such a stud!  He is learning to crawl, but only backwards.  It's amazing how well he can get around going just backwards and rolling around.  He is talking more now, lots of babbles.  He still doesn't have any teeth which I am fine with.  It took Kay and Landon awhile to get teeth as well. 
  He has started to pull himself up or half way up to things.  Michael had to lower the crib in order to make it safer for him.  His hair is growing longer, especially on the top of his head, not so much on the back. 
  He likes to be in the same room as others.  If you walk out of a room and leave him sitting there he immediately starts to cry.  It sure makes it tricky to do things around the house.  I think he'll be happier when he can crawl forwards and just follow me around. 
   He is 29 inches tall (72%tile) and 21.3 lbs (59%tile).  That seems so small for us, we are used to our kids being in the 90th or 100 percentile.  Ha ha!  Maybe he'll be the runt of the family.   

Fall photo shoot

Taken on the Lagoon Trail by Sherri Jamieson Photography.

Some October Pictures

 Thanks to IKEA for the great tunnel

General Conference

  Awhile back I'd heard of this idea on Mormon Times, I think, for a fun activity during Conference.  I finally remembered before Conference this time and had the kids help pick out some treats.  We ended up taking it all down to my parent's house so everyone could help us eat.  It was a big hit and I think I'll do it again!

  What a remarkable announcement that was made at Conference!  I was sad to not be able to hear it live (I was at work) but I did watch it later on the DVR'd version.  It is incredible to live in a time where we have a prophet on the earth that receives modern day revelation.  I am excited to see the benefits of this new change of the missionary minimum age. 

Wyatt is 8 months

  Our little baby is growing right up!  This past month has brought a lot of changes I feel like.  Wyatt has become so much more aware of the world around him.  He responds to his name when you call it, he likes when his brother and sister “play” with him and he doesn’t like to be held by people he doesn’t know very well.  I’ll admit there’s a little part of me that likes it when he cries when someone holds him and I get to “rescue” him and comfort him. 

 He has also figured out how to launch himself from a sitting position to his belly and then scoot back.  It’s so funny because he always gets stuck under something like his bouncer or my bed, it’s so cute.  I know he will be crawling soon.  I really hope he doesn’t start while we are on our trip, I’d hate to miss it.  Nana would probably like being the first one to see his first crawls.  

 He loves eating, as have all our children.  It’s hilarious to watch him when he sees a bottle, his eyes get big and he puts his arms out and he starts to grunt and almost shake because he wants it so bad.  He has also become a fan of his binky.  I always kind of force this on my kids because I love it when they’ll take one, makes it so easy in church and other places to help them be quiet.  He had put up a pretty good fight in the beginning to resist it but now he likes it.  I’m sure when I have to wean him from it I’ll regret it.