Christmas 2009

I wasn't nearly as good at taking pictures on this trip to California as I was last time, but that was over a year ago and things were much different. Back then I only had one child, and he wasn't even crawling yet. It was a lot of fun, though, and I'll post what I have.

We left when Robert got off work on Wednesday night, the 23rd. We were heading out of town by 4:45 and made it to Sonora at 5:00am, so it took just about 12 hours. And that was with stops and everything to let Craig walk around and to feed Ethan. Ethan is a great night traveler, but Craig struggled. We all went to sleep when we got there and recuperated pretty well. Christmas Eve we spent preparing the appetizers that were our portion of Christmas dinner, napping, and that evening we went to Laura and Dustin's house. Anna and Mark showed up and it was so fun to watch Craig run around with all the kids. There were nine kids, total, and four of them were 2 or under, so it was crazy. But we loved it.

We were staying at my parents' house but were planning on opening presents at Laura's Christmas morning, so Christmas Eve we just set out Craig and Ethan's stockings (I love the dollar store) and a train set.

This was what it looked like the next morning after they got up.

(Robert did this.)

Craig had fun and Ethan was oblivious. It was really fun for us to have a child who, for the first time, was old enough to play with the toys and really enjoy it, even though he still won't get the whole concept until next year.

I forgot to take pictures the rest of that day and the next, but we pretty much opened presents, talked, ate, and enjoyed each others' company. Dinner was great and I really loved being around my family again.

Saturday was our last day before heading home, so we went to Columbia (a little gold rush ghost town with some great little shops--it's a family tradition to go there whenever we're in town). Laura, Anna, the kids, my mom, and I went and met an old friend of mine from school. It was great to see Maggie and meet her fiance and her little girl. As a side note, I just want to say that I love the way all this modern technology and these social networking sites bring people back together. There are many downsides to the internet, but there definitely is a purpose for it, too.

We took naps that afternoon then headed out at about 5:00pm. It took us longer to get back and Craig had a MUCH harder time this time, but we pulled in at about 7:30 (that's with gaining one hour at the border) and went straight to bed. We all slept til about noon and were pretty lazy all day. It seems we're also coming down with some colds, so we're laying low, but glad to be home. I miss being around my family more, but life is what it is. I'm just glad we live close enough to go home for Christmas!


P.S. Here's some of the things they got spread out on our floor this morning (and you'll see our humble little tree in the background).

We got Craig some Mega Lego blocks and, his favorite thing, a real drill (it's on the bottom right). We just took the bit out. He loves any tools and anything electric/battery operated. There's also a Cars book from my parents in the middle there. Ethan got a humidifier and bath toys that he's going to share with Craig until he can use them. :) Robert got me a hand mixer and I got him a small mandolin slicer. Oh! And my mom got us girls the Pioneer Woman cookbook! I am so excited and have been trying to get to reading it all day. You can check out her website using the link to the right under Mommy Blogs.

P.P.S. Here's a quick picture to show how big Ethan is getting. I pulled this out today from storage and he loved it! It bought me an extra 20 minutes to do some work with my classes for next semester.

Roasted Applesauce and Spong Toffee

I forgot to take pictures, but I wanted to share with you an awesome new recipe I found for applesauce and one for something called sponge toffee or Honeycomb. They make great, inexpensive Christmas gifts that are also quick and easy.

Since we are tight on cash this Christmas, I made a batch of this applesauce, put it in jars, decorated the jars a little, and gave them to a few of our friends. It's really simple.

To make about three pints:
16 apples (peeled, cored, and chopped)
1 cup apple cider (or juice if you have to)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400. Mix everything in a bowl, spread on a buttered cookie sheet, and bake until apples are soft, about 30-45 mins., stirring occasionally. Mash the apples with juices. (A food processor makes this part super easy, but you don't need it.)

Honeycomb
AKA Sponge Toffee

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 tsp. baking soda

This took me three tries to get it right, so I will try to give you proper instructions to hopefully make it even easier for you.

Line a 9x13 pan with foil or wax paper. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium to large sauce pan (you want to have enough room for the the mixture to expand when you add the baking soda). Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat. Once sugar begins to melt, stop stirring and swirl the mix frequently to prevent burning. Swirl, don't stir anymore. Watch it carefully until it reaches a dark yellow color. If you're unsure of how far to let it color, it's better to err on the side of too light that too dark. Remember, it will continue cooking for a minute in the center even after it's out of the pan. When the right color is reached, remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. It will foam up. Immediately get it onto the wax paper or foil and let it harden. Once cooled, you can eat it plain or, as I prefer, break it off in chunks, dip it in melted chocolate, and set on wax paper to cool. When all I had left was a little chocolate and some small pieces and crumbs, I mixed it all together and spooned it in piles onto wax paper and let cool--it was sort of like a crunch bar.

Little Man

I just thought that Craig looked so much like a little man. He put on Robert's hat and shoes, so I had to take a picture. (He's so serious, too.)

This was the first time Ethan has really used his hands to play with a toy, so I had to take a picture. He's concentrating so hard, and it occupied him for quite a while.

Candlemaking

I made a recipe that called for Gulf Wax to be added to some melted chocolate, but I only used about 1/8 of what came in the box. It looked like I had enough left over to make a candle. I thought about it one night, then Googled some info on it, but came up with this:

The picture's not very good (it looked better on the camera). It's Peppermint Vanilla scented. All in all, I spent about $2 on this candle, and that was for the wax. There was a little left over, too. I already had the jar and for the color I used some broken crayons that I got from the primary closet. For the scent, I used food flavorings and for the wick, I just used some cotton string that I had for crocheting. Once I thought about it, I realized they are really simple to make. You just melt the wax in a double-boiler (I used a metal bowl over a pot of water), add the crayons until you get the color you want, then add the flavorings. I found it takes quite a bit of flavoring. I braided the wick (as I learned on Google) so it will last longer. Then you wrap the wick around a pencil and rest the pencil on the top of the jar and pour in the wax. As is cools, the center sucks in like a vacuum, so I just remelted the left over wax and topped it off when the jar was mostly cool. I read something that said to put it in the fridge to cool, but I'd say no. The wax begins to crack around the edges if it cools too quickly. When cool, just snip the wick.

To decorate it, I cut a fabric circle, screwed the lid down on it, and used a fine point sharpie to write the scent on the top. I had that red, spiral bead that I made at an activity last Valentine's Day, so I tied a ribbon through it, printed the star tag, tied it on the ribbon, and tied the ribbon around the jar. That's it! It was really simple and I think I've discovered my new hobby! I gave this one to a neighbor for Christmas.

Temple Lights

Last week we went to see the lights at the temple. I am so grateful to be living so close to a temple and to be able to begin this family tradition. They have live music every evening, too. Here are just a few pictures. Of course, a camera cannot do it justice--you really have to be there. But I hope you get the idea.


These next two pictures go together--that star was above the manger (and I didn't even really try to get them to match like that, but they go together perfectly.)

(I took this one as we drove by the front, that's why it's a little blurry.)

This last one you see often around here. When in Rome...

Ethan "Baby Face" Leal

I thought it was time to let you all know what Ethan's up to these days since he's now three months old. We've passed that milestone known as the Fourth Trimester. He's now more baby than fetus, and I'm more Me than Pregnant Me. Don't get me wrong, plenty of Pregnant Me is hanging on and she probably will be for a while, but it's just that I feel more like myself. I think most of you know what I mean.

(Craig likes closing the flash while I'm taking a picture.)

Ethan is still a very good, very peaceful little baby. He's easy to put to sleep (he mostly just nods off on his own once I take him over by is crib, stick the pacifier in, and hold him against my chest for a minute) and he's happy to sit and observe the world around him when he's fed and well rested. He's not a demanding eater, either. In fact, he's pretty flexible. As long as I feed within three or four hours of the previous feeding, he's happy. After 4 hours, though, he'll start to let you know he's hungry. But not too loudly. He also smiles a lot. He loves to be tickled, talked to, smiled at, and spit at (you know...ttthhhhppppttt). And he loves to blow bubbles and try to spit back. If there's chaos going on and everyone needs something from Mommy all at the same time, Ethan is content to sit and wait his turn, for the most part. He just requires the occasional re-plugging of the pacifier.

But, there is a "but." I would consider this little man the absolute perfect baby, except for one thing. Gas. It's sad, really, because it's not his fault. The poor little guy suffers from the most troubling gas and intestinal discomfort. And I thought Craig was bad. Craig still slept well at night, for the most part, but Ethan is the baby that is restless, disturbed, and fussy all...night...long. For example, five nights out of the week, I get an average of 5 hours sleep, with no more than 2 hours consecutively. Once in a while, he'll sleep well. Like Monday night when he slept 6 hours straight and I kept thinking he was dead. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to enjoy it because I kept waking up every hour anyway, just to make sure he was breathing and to readjust my increasingly uncomfortable and growing load up front. I was grateful when he finally woke up. But, alas, that was just a fluke night. Last night I got 3 1/2 hours. Total. Sigh.

For the record, I LOVE the cuddly newborn/baby phase, but there is a reason they grow out of it quickly. The parents wouldn't survive it for much longer than a few months. I keep waiting for him to outgrow this discomfort/gas issue. We use the Mylicon drops and the gripe water, and they work a little. But his system just has to mature. I seem to recall Craig outgrowing it around four months. We'll see. In the meantime, I just force myself to find joy everyday in how easy he is the rest of the time. I try to overlook the time between 7:00pm and 6:00am.

Here's more from my Baby Face boy. This video is to show his cute smile, and how Craig acts when the camera's around.

Which one would you put on your desktop?

This, flying, and horsie rides are Craig's and my new tricks. (Is that grammatically correct? It sounds weird.)


I love the moments when I walk into a room and see things like this. I guess when you're a year and a half old, sitting on your car, on Daddy, on the couch is much more fun than scooting around on the floor.

I find it difficult to do photo shoots with Ethan like I used to do with Craig when he was a baby. When Craig was a baby, there wasn't an older sibling eager to run up and flip him over or take the camera away from me or shut the flash in the middle of a picture. Here, I was taking this picture of Ethan on his stomach, and Craig ran over and flopped down next to him. Okay, I thought, this is a cute one. This is now the wallpaper on our desktop.


But maybe this one should be. It's moments like these that make your heart happy...and make you grateful to have a spouse to smile and entertain the kids while you take a picture.

Mrs. Kringle's Bake Off, or The Cookie that Decided the Fate of a Kingdom

This post is my entry into a cookie bake off featured in the button on the right. Click on that button after Dec. 7th to vote for me and spread the word! The contest goes through the 9th.

Before I get to the recipe and reveal Santa's Favorite Cookie (that's the theme this year), I want to tell a little story about this cookie. This is a story of how I came across this recipe (or the original version of it), how it took root as our family's favorite cookie, and thereby why it is "Santa's" favorite cookie. (This is all part of the contest, too.) Here it goes.

There once was a young maiden who liked to cook. She enjoyed exploring various taste combinations, seeing what she could throw together from what she had in the cottage cupboards, and she especially liked to bake. Mostly she liked to eat. But that's another story. In this story, this young maiden went away to school. There, she had a most benevolent instructor who treated the entire class to homemade oatmeal cookies. The maiden thought they were yummy, but they could be absolutely delectable with a few alterations. She asked the instructor for the recipe and she kindly granted it.

Before the maiden could try them out on her roommates, she met a handsome young prince. As luck would have it, the dashing young prince was an accomplished cook himself! Who better to try a new recipe on than someone who knows food? So, as they continued seeing one another, the young maiden concocted a plan. She wanted the young prince to know just how much she adored him.

One day, she called the handsome prince while he was away from home and told a lie...just a little one. Little lies are okay when perfect oatmeal cookies are involved between a young maiden and her handsome prince. She told him she had left her cell phone in his castle the day before and she really needed it and could not wait until he got home. So, she met him in the forest while he was hunting, got the key to his castle, and went over. Well, of course she hadn't forgotten her phone. She wanted to get in so she could cook him a lovely dinner, and have it waiting for him when he came home. She wanted the smell of those wonderful oatmeal cookies to be wafting through the castle to fill the prince's lungs as he swung open the door, tired from a long, hard day. Her plan worked, of course. She had even gone back out to meet the prince and return his key to him, so he could not possibly suspect a thing.

As the prince rode his trusty steed home to his castle, he called the maiden. They spoke during his ride, as they did every night. They spoke as he parked...I mean gave his horse to the stableman...as he pulled out his key, as he unlocked the door, and as he swung it open. And just as the maiden had imagined, the aromas socked the prince in the face. He paused mid sentence and said, "You're in my castle."

And she laughed a dainty laugh.

They ate, they talked, they enjoyed each other's company. The dinner she had prepared was simple, yet unbeknownst to her, it was a long-time favorite of the prince's. She smiled gratifyingly inside. Then the maiden presented the cookies. She had made some changes, some additions, and was anxious to see what he thought with his culinary expertise.

The prince took one bite...he tasted it...he then made a shocking declaration. He told her that oatmeal cookies are his favorite type of cookie. He said that he's had a hard time eating them homemade by other people because no one ever seems to get it just right. He said he always finds an element missing.

But...

but...

These were PERFECT! (And he wasn't exaggerating.) If you hadn't already guessed, the young maiden and the handsome prince went on to get married and live happily ever after. And it was all due to the oatmeal cookies.

By the way, since the prince went on to be "Santa" to his children, and since these really are his favorite cookies and they tend to magically vanish right before your eyes, I think it's highly appropriate to name these Santa's Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies.

(Yes, the maiden portrays moi, Queen Sherry, and the handsome prince is my husband, King Robert. And yes, he is a chef, and everything in the story is true. I really did break into his apartment and cook him dinner. I made chicken enchiladas, salad, and my now famous oatmeal cookies, or they will be famous after this. However, Robert wasn't really hunting when I got the key. He was working. Hunting just seemed like a more princely thing to do.)

Santa's Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (plus a dash more for you vanilla lovers)
1 1/2 to 2 cups flour (I use closer to 2 cups here in the kingdom of Mesa)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend the butter and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla (I use the extra dash). Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and oats and mix until well blended. Mix in the cranberries, chips, and nuts. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until tops barely begin to turn golden.

Note: I usually vary the additions at the end depending on the time of year, but Santa likes the Christmas-y ones. They're even fabulous without any additions.

Watch out! They'll disappear before you know it! (I'm surprised I was even able to get this picture.)

Children's Museum (again)

A couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to take Craig back to the Children's Museum. He had a lot of fun last time, but now he's several months older and seemed to pass a milestone in development when he turned 18 month. This time he was able to go up the stairs and down the slide by himself. He was more confident and ventured out away from us a lot more. Plus, we didn't have to worry as much about him getting hurt. This is something new:

He made that face just for the picture. I don't know if he was just trying to smile really big or if he was just being weird, but I snapped it anyway.

This was a favorite again. The pool noodle forest. This time we were able to let him walk through by himself more and not carry him as much. It was really hard to take pictures in there--those things kept getting in the way. But I got a few good ones.

This time we were also able to ride a "car" through the car wash. Last time he was just a little less stable and wasn't able to stay on the front seat while I "drove" so we pushed him in the stroller. But he loved riding through it this time!

And this is to prove that we really do love Ethan and we take him with us whenever we go somewhere. Those of you with multiple kids...did you spend the first several months of the second one's life feeling guilty for not taking as many pictures of them as you did the first? It's just that not only is Craig so active and doing more interesting things that are picture worthy, but he's so active that it's hard for me to put Ethan down and thereby have the opportunity to capture him on camera doing cute little things. The things I love about Ethan right now can't be caught on camera. :) He's such a good little boy (except for about four nights out of a week, the stinker)--he mostly just sits and enjoys what's going on around him when he isn't napping.

Next, we want to go back to the zoo!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's the first picture we've managed to take of all us! I love that Ethan's smiling. :)

We spent Thanksgiving with some friends. I made a pecan pie and pumpkin roll. We also did the turkey (we wanted the carcass to make stock), mashed potatoes, and stuffing. They did rolls, a couple of different casseroles, and some pies. It was a lot fun. Like us, they don't have family nearby and they only have two little kids, so not many people to eat all that food. It was great. Hope yours was good, too!

Turkey...Cupcakes

First of all, I'd like everyone to know that if you don't have a Frys grocery store where you are, I'm very sorry. And this is why:

That's the real price tag off the turkey we bought yesterday. We got two, actually, but this one was the biggest. On the whole shopping trip we saved $42.26 off of what we would have paid without their Thanksgiving sales. And that wasn't even using any coupons or anything--just their in-store sales. We're getting together with another family for dinner tomorrow and our responsibility is the turkey, stuffing, and potatoes and I'm opting to bring Martinellis, a pecan pie, and a pumpkin roll, too. For all the stuff we needed for that, plus ingredients for dinner for the rest of this pay period, we spent just over $80. I love stuff like that.

In another, unrelated topic, I wanted to let you all know I made these cupcakes the other day. They're really moist and easy to make. I have a hard time finding "from scratch" cake recipes that are truly moist, but these really are. (If you check out the original website they came from, you'll be embarrassed for me when you see the picture I have of mine--but they tasted good.) Here's what the best-decorated one looked like, and the recipe follows (with my own notes added in italics).

(I thought the wrinkled fabric might add some interest. Instead it just looks like the cupcake is sitting on some wrinkled fabric. Oh well. I never said I was Ansel Adams.)

Apple Spiced Cupcakes with Cinnamon Spike Frosting
By: Conversations with a Cupcake

1 cup butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup apple sauce
2 Tbsp. caramel topping (I used brown sugar)
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
pinch of allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp baking powder (I used the low altitude version by adding an extra 1/2 tsp.)
3 drops candy apple oil (optional--I didn't do it)
2 1/4 cups flour (low alt.--plus 1 Tbsp.)

Cinnamon Spiked Frosting
2 lbs. powdered sugar
3 sticks butter
6-8 drops cinnamon oil
OR
about 1 tsp. cinnamon extract (to taste)
1/4-1/2 cup whole milk
2 tsp. Wilton red food coloring
(Note: if you want your frosting to turn the color of the original recipe, then you MUST use Wilton. If you don't mind it being dark pink, you can do like I did and use two little squeeze bottles of regular brand food coloring and still never get red, just a brighter pink.)
Mint leaves
Cinnamon sticks
(Note: this makes A LOT of frosting, so if you plan to decorate them like I did in the picture, which was how the original creator decorated her's, then you'll need almost all of the frosting. If you decided to just frost them with a knife, as I ended up doing with the rest, you can cut the recipe at least in half, if not quarter.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter, sugar, and eggs until light and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until incorporated. Spoon into cupcake tins and bake 18-20 minutes. For large cupcakes, bake 27-30 minutes. For frosting, beat all ingredients except milk and food coloring until smooth. Slowly add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. Add food coloring. Frost and garnish with cinnamon sticks as stems and mint leaves as apple leaves.

Major Crib Recall

I was watching the Today Show this morning, which I never do but was waiting to see NieNie, when I saw them announce the biggest crib recall in history. And guess what crib was being recalled...yep, ours. So if you're like me, you have a Stork Craft crib, purchased between 1993 and Oct. of 2009 from either Sears, Wal-Mart, Target, or Costco. Before 2004 they are also under the Fisher Price name. Not only that, but the one the Today Show used to demonstrate how they malfunction was the exact same model as Craig's crib.

What happens is the drop side railing detaches at the bottom, creating a gap for babies to fall through andget stuck between the railing and the mattress. It has been reported to happen 110 times and has caused 4 deaths by suffocation. Earlier this year there was another recall on these cribs. The support brackets have been known to break. We sent away for the replacement kit and got it right before we moved here. When I went to put the new brackets on, I found that they had sent me four blots but on three lock washers. So this company is not very reliable.

The CPSC (Consumer Protesction Safety Commission) recommends replacing the cribs althogether, but the company is supplying a plastic attachment that prevents the drop side from moving at all. Sigh. We have to get a crib for Ethan, too, and now this.

Something I didn't know until now is that the CPSC doesn't have any regulations on cribs! With all the hype about kids toys, playpens, car seats, and high chairs, what about cribs?! Just be aware that any of your cribs could have a problem because the CPSC has let the manufacturers use their best judgement, but some don't do any field testing before sending out their products for sale. They talked about that on the Today Show. The director of the CPSC admits they have been too slow in writing regulations for cribs and says they will be on top of it. They will probably even outlaw all drop side cribs in the future.

Go here to read the article about it. Good luck!

Here's the link in case the one above doesn't work:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34125890/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

Just for fun

Tiffany, yours was so cute, I couldn't help myself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Catching up

It's been a while, I know. It seemed to take a long time to get everything back to normal after Craig and Ethan were sick. Craig was really cranky from being couped up for three days straight and it took three days more of being healthy andgoing out every day and getting some fresh air before he began to regulate again. But he was still suffering slightly from a yeast rash he got from the antibiotic he was taking for his ear infection. That was done last night and since Monday we've been putting some cream on his poor little bum, so he's been much happier this week. He did get a shot today, though, but handled it well. He forgot all about it until after dinner when I took his overalls off because he got food all over them. He walked into the kitchen, saw the band aid on his leg and looked at me and started whining. He wouldn't move or walk or anything. I couldn't figure out what the problem was at first, so I picked him up and set him on the couch. He sat there and would not move from that spot for a good 20 minutes, periodically looking at me and whining. Finally, after watching him pick at the band aid and whine, I figured it out. I put him pajamas on him, covered up the band aid, and he forgot all about it.

Here are some pictures of things going in our lives lately. Today we went to the Children's Museum again and had a lot of fun, but I'll have to post about that later.

I came down the stairs one day and this was the first thing I saw. Craig thought Eeyore might like to go for a ride, I guess. I thought it was really cute.


Kisses! I love that Craig has seemed to pass a milestone and understands things better and I can trust him to be more careful around Ethan (a little). Also that Ethan has started to get a little solid and stable himself.

The first picture with the flash. Whoa!

And then this one. :) Oh!....I got him to laugh the other day! What a cutie. :)

Robert got me a gift certificate for a pedicure the day I was in labor with Ethan and I finally went last Saturday and used it. It was so nice! I've never had one in a real salon with those big chairs that have the back roller massage thing. The pedicure cost $5 less than what was on the gift certificate, so for the extra $5 they painted flowers on my big toes. :) They also did a neck and shoulder massage after. I had a friend come with me, too, so it was a little bit of a girl's hour, but with Ethan there. He slept the whole time, though.

I don't know when I'll be able to post next. I'm already sacrificing sleep to do this one. Ethan has NOT been sleeping well lately. I'm thinking he needs to be put on a schedule already. He needs regular nap and bed times, maybe, and a darker, quiet place to sleep than the baby seat on kitchen table or in our room with us coming in and out. Wish me luck that I'll get more than 4 hours tonight, which was my record last night. And that wasn't even continuous! This too shall pass.

Sorry, no pictures

I don't think you want to see pictures of what has been going on in our house the last two days. I'm sure you've seen enough of it yourself. Craig had a runny nose and a bad cough on Sunday night so we took him to the doctor on Monday. The doctor said he has an ear infection and just a little cold virus but to call if it got any worse. Well, I found myself half asleep and running down the hall at 1:30 Tuesday morning when a scream came from Craig's room that I'd never heard before. I knew the minute I opened the door--he had thrown up for the first time in his little life. The poor little guy was scared, sticky, and smelly. After a shower, temperature check (101), and some water, I laid down with him in the spare bedroom and he went right back to sleep. In the morning, Ethan started throwing up a little and they were both sick all day. They've been sleeping a lot and today they are definitely better, but still fighting off the last of it. Robert and I feel fine, so far, so we must have miraculoiusly missed this one, somehow.

So, needless to say, I have no pictures to go with this post. Just imagine pajamas, a messy house, and lots of Resolve carpet and uphosltery cleaner.

Who, Me?

If you happen to be within 10 miles of my home and heard ear splitting screams coming from this direction yesterday morning, don't worry...no one's been murdered. We're all fine. That was just Craig getting his finger nails clipped.

I'm amazed that with all the squirming and screaming I didn't draw blood. On purpose.

Candy (Thanks for sharing, Craig!)

I got Craig, Ethan, and myself all dressed up again on Saturday and, since Robert had the night off, we all walked around the few doors that were open in our complex and went trick-or-treating. Craig really seemed to have a lot of fun. As the bag got heavier, he couldn't keep it from dragging on the ground, so he'd just sit down with it. I guess he had to rest, it was so heavy. :) He didn't get a lot of candy, but enough to to occupy him for about 30 minutes that night and make him down one and a half sippy cups of water before bedtime. :) He slept fine, too, amazingly enough. Robert and I helped him with the things he couldn't really handle (like Milk Duds) and other things we really wanted and knew he didn't care, as long as he got something sweet. All in all, it was a successful Halloween, I think.

I wanted to include this picture that I took today to show off Ethan's cute little cow lick. It's right in front, on the right side of his head. It was the first thing I noticed the second they laid him on my chest. I felt a whoosh a relief knowing he came with his own little mark, not to be confused with any other baby in the hospital! I immediately told Robert he could put the Sharpie away. (Anyway else see that Office episode?) :)


Poor little guy hates Tummy Time. :(

Halloween traditions begin

Craig is finally getting old enough to begin enjoying some holidays and festivities he didn't really get before. He actually turned 18 months today! Kind of a milestone. Wednesday was one of Robert's days off so we went to a pumpkin patch here in Mesa. It was a lot of fun but windy and therefore very dusty. Ethan didn't do much while we were there, so here's the obligatory picture of him and what he did the whole time:


And yes, that is a hat on him and long sleeves! The weather's been great! It's been down to the 40's and 50's at night and topping off at about 65-70 all week! I think it's perfect, but most people here say it's too cold for this time of year. Whatever!

Craig loved the animals and just wanted to touch and grab and poke them all. This was a cage of little chicks.

They had a little kids pumpkin patch where they pick their own little pumpkin and decorate it. Craig just really enjoyed rearranging them.

In this picture Craig and Robert had just finished the little maze and I said, "Yay Craigers!" and then he clapped for himself. :) He's such a cutie.

Cows are one of Craig's favorite animals other than our cat. I'm glad he got to see one in person.

You can kind of see how dirty he got here.

And here we are walking back out. They gave us these stickers to show we've paid and I put mine on his head as we were walking, just to play with him, but he didn't even notice. I decided to leave it on and take a picture. He didn't realize it was there for about 20 minutes. :)

We took Craig's little pumpkin home to carve and bought a big one, too. This morning we carved them.

Can you guess which one's mine? We had Robert's at the ward party tonight and everyone loved it. :) I'm just amazed that he can do this, just from looking at a picture printed off of the internet.

Robert had to work during the Halloween party tonight, but I was somehow able to get us all costumed and ready to go by myself! I even made cornbread for the party. (Today was a day to be proud of such small accomplishments...it was one of those days.)

We had a skeleton, a tiger (complete with a little velcro tale in the back), and an Indian lady.
(Tiffany and Bonnie--do you recognize my outfit? Diny gave it to me in Chapel Hill. I hope she wouldn't be offended that I wear it for Halloween!)