Hot Choc-o-late!

So, this fall my mother-in-law gave us one of the greatest books. It's called 52 Weeks of Family Night by Tamara Baggett. For anyone one with kids under the age of 5 and having a difficult time with FHE I STRONGLY recommend this little book. It makes FHE so painless and simple. Owen loves it!

Anyway, this past Monday night we had our quick, painless, and simple FHE lesson and then enjoyed some of Kevin's famous hot chocolate while we watched The Polar Express (I love this movie). It made for a really enjoyable evening. And Owen actually sat and watched the entire movie, which gives us hope that we might actually be able to take him to the theater to see a movie. HUGE MILESTONE.


Owen enjoying his hot chocolate.


Cheers!


"Glued" to the television.

Happy Birthday Samantha!

Today my niece Samantha turns 10! It's hard to believe that she is growing up so fast. Sam holds an extra special place in every one's heart. She is a good girl, a great helper (little kids just flock to her), and she is extra smart. We hope you have a great birthday today Sam! We love ya!


Picture: Samantha, Megan, and Alyssa

Tender brotherly moments

It's moments like these that make being a mom so rewarding. Ahh, tender brotherly moments...but don't blink because they don't last too long!

The saddest face

Last week Owen was crying because he wanted some "monies" (he is fascinated with coins) and I told him no. He ran out to the living room and plopped his sobbing face right into a couch pillow next to Kevin. He stood there with is face laying perfectly still in the pillow for like 30 seconds...and created this masterpiece. Isn't this the saddest face you have ever seen?

Christmas Shopping

Owen is LOVING all the toy magazines that are flooding our mailbox this holiday season! When we get the mail and he finds a magazine he is quick to devour every page (with his eyes of course)! It's so fun to watch how excited he gets over the things he finds. Little does he know that we already have his Christmas shopping done...oh well, a boy can dream!


Of course he is stuck on the "cars" page.


Move over pizza!


On the edge of his seat...legs crossed.

Ogden turns THREE!

Happy Birthday Ogden! We hope you have a spectacular birthday! Owen REALLY loves spending time with you, and asks about you at least once a day. Have an extra fun day today! We hope you get the two motorcycles you are asking for! (;

Happy Birthday Carolyn!

Today is my mother-in-law's, Carolyn's, birthday! It's sad that we are never able to be with her on her birthday, since she lives in Illinois, but we wanted to be sure that she knew we were thinking about her all day and hoping she is having a nice birthday!

We love you Carolyn/Mom/Grandma!

Happy 5th Anniversary Kevin!

Five years ago today Kevin and I were married in the Idaho Falls temple. Here is a little "montage" I made for my man! I love you Kevin!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

All Hallowes Eve

A night when all the crazies come out!



We spent the evening in Idaho Falls where most of my family is. Our first stop was to my Mom's (my Dad was gone on a business trip...we missed you Dad) and she made us some spectacular Chili. Then we went to her Trunk or Treat, which was really great. They had hot chocolate, hot dogs, chips, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts...not to mention all the great candy they were handing out. And, Mom had such a great set-up at her trunk.

Then it was off to Jarom and Elena's house and we went door-to-door in their neighborhood. I didn't even get any great pictures of this, but they were so nice to let us tag along. Wesley and I stayed at the house to help Jarom pass out candy.

Then we hit Ben and Kaylin's house. Ben had a great set-up in front of his house (which he borrowed from my mom's cousin). It was so fun to hang out in his living room and listen to the adults and children scream and cry as Ben would jump out and scare them. He would always catch them when they least expected it (most of the time as they were leaving).

And, it wouldn't be Halloween if we didn't stop at my Grandpa's to get a full-size candy bar and show off our costumes. And last stop was Emily and Brandon's place!

Owen totally scored, and when we got home and put him to bed we dumped out all the goods, took what we loved, threw away what we don't want him to have, and hid the rest. Are we terrible or what? But, he actually totally forgot about his candy until I sat down to do this post and he saw the pictures. OH well! As Elena says, "Just let them eat it all today, puke it up, and let's get over it!"



Happy Halloween! Raise your hand if you are ready for Thanksgiving!

Halloween Party

Yesterday the boys went to their first Halloween Party. A fellow PT wife hosted the party and there were a TON of little kids there! It was fun to be able to dress the boys up earlier in the day and certainly helped the day go by faster.

They had a cute spider pinata, "Mummy Dogs", and adorable worm cupcakes. Owen really enjoyed himself, and had fun wacking the spider.

The stuff that Halloween is made of...

Tuesday night we made our Halloween sugar cookies and carved our Happy Hal jack o' lantern.

This year Owen was able to decorate his own plate of cookies and was so thrilled. He went overboard (as expected) and favored the sprinkles and M&M's. But, when it came time to eat a cookie he wanted nothing to do with his masterpieces...he went straight to my plate. What a clown!



We couldn't leave Wesley out. Lately he has been working on perfecting his growl to go with his Monster costume. He's certainly got it down, and it's cute 10% of the time.

Dress Rehearsal

Yesterday the kids donned their Halloween costumes and braved "Boo at the Zoo" at the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls. Elena (my sister-in-law), her kids, and my Mom joined us! Owen quite enjoyed wearing his costume for an additional day...especially since he has been talking about being a cowboy for the last couple months. In fact, he has had Cowboy on the brain and has temporarily (we hope)forgotten all the answers to the questions that are supposed to make his parents look good (What's your name? Cowboy; How old are you? Cowboy; When is your birthday? Cowboy). Wesley was a good sport and even kept a pretty tight hold of his pumpkin bucket...until Owen decided he needed to carry and fill both buckets...for himself.


Cowboy Owen and Monster Wesley

Owen loved being able to see the animals, looking at all the costumes, and trick or treating (he stopped at each booth at least twice). And while we were visiting the monkey exhibit we discovered a little Tamarin monkey having a baby. How crazy is that? The zoo keepers had no clue it was even going on. It was VERY interesting to watch this little mommy do her magic (pushing the baby out and cleaning/eating up the mess). I can't believe we didn't take any pictures, but we were in such awe that we just didn't even think about it. After we had seen enough Elena went and got a zoo keeper and they closed the exhibit.

It turned out to be a very eventful and enjoyable evening. So glad we went!


Alyssa, Wesley, Halle, Carter, and Owen; Alyssa was so cute with Owen; the monkeys loved Wesley; Owen doing his craft


Grandma and her grandkids-I love how you can tell they are all saying "BOO!"


Our tired Cowboy

Alyssa turns NINE today!

Happy Birthday Alyssa! I took this cute picture of you on my birthday earlier this week. You are certainly growing up to be a smart and adorable girl. We hope you have a spectacular birthday today!

Twenty-something

Owen, Me, and Wesley

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday! Actually, I kind of celebrated all weekend long (which is allowed when your birthday is on a Monday). I love birthdays! I love the cake, the icecream, the presents, the excuse to eat all day and not feel bad, and the fact that you aren't expected to lift a finger. What is not to love about that?

Sunday my mom invited us over for dinner as part of my birthday present (she knows that I hate making dinner on Sundays). So we drove to Idaho Falls on Sunday and just stayed the night. Monday morning Kevin made me a spectacular birthday breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and bacon) and then we went birthday shopping and out to lunch. We topped the night off with a birthday bash at my mom and dad's with most of my family (missed you Katie and Melissa)!

The day could not have been better! Thanks to everyone for making twenty-nine feel so good!


My birthday cake.


Happy Wesley.

Simply Irresistible!

Is it just me, or is there something irresistible about a chubby baby in his onsie? Last night as I was getting the boys ready for bed I had to take some pictures of Wesley playing in his onsie waiting his turn for the diaperchangelotiondownpjson ritual. It's moments like these...

Wesley's Baby Doll

Last week we made a visit to my Grandpa Freidenberger's (my mom's dad) home in Idaho Falls. We don't stop by there too often because they live "out in the country" and it's not too easy to drop-in. But, Kevin needed to interview certain age groups for his Geriatrics class and my Grandpa and his wife Shirley were two eligible candidates.

When we arrived Shirley presented Owen and Wesley with little toys. Owen received a cute little dump truck and they gave Wesley a little Bart Simpson "doll". I guess I had never thought of getting a little baby a Bart Simpson "doll" before since I am not much of a Bart Simpson fan and can't even claim that I have watched an entire episode of The Simpson's. But, we accepted the gift with gratitude and couldn't believe how thoughtful they were.

Well, over the last week Wesley has grown quite fond of this little "doll". It's so funny! Little Bart is just the perfect size for Wesley to get a good grip of and wave around. And, Wes loves to hold Little Bart's hands and chew on Little Bart's cute tennis shoes. When people come over and see Wesley' playing with a Bart Simpson "doll" they just laugh. It's too adorable!

So, there you have it. Owen was attached to his blanky, Wesley will be attached to his Bart doll.

Mom! I go potty, wash my hands, and get a treat!

I have been dreading this day for two years, but I feel like it's time to start. So, today when Owen woke up he put on his "Cars" underwear and we were off!

ROUND ONE: I was really discouraged when I sat Owen on the toilet and he just broke out into tears and wouldn't let go of me. No potty!
ROUND TWO: Still no potty! But, he has learned to hold himself up with his hands and gets excited about washing his hands. He jumps off the toilet and dashes out of the bathroom to Wesley to tell him all about it.
ROUND THREE: Now in his "Diego" underwear, he is getting a little more confident about not falling into the toilet and allows me to stand back and watch. Next thing I knew, Owen was looking into the toilet with a look of amazment and believe it or not...he was peeing! Hooray! He was so pleased with himself he jumped right off and gave me a kiss. He almost looked stunned at how easy the whole thing was. So, he washed and hands and grabbed his "potty treat"! "Mom! I go potty, wash my hands, and get a treat! Thanks Mom!"

Five minutes later Owen runs into my room yelling "Mom, I am all wet!". Oh, boy! So here we sit, Owen now in his "Thomas The Tank Engine" underwear, and I am dreading nap time and his first bowel movement. Wish me luck!

Contentment

As Wes gains more control of his "limbs" he becomes more entertaining to watch. We had to capture his latest display of control because it's too darn cute. When he is content he loves to kick his chunky little legs. It makes us smile every time he does it.



P.S. He was being supervised as he played with these "just right for swallowing and choking on" game pieces.

More studying

Yes, the copy cat is back...and we love it! Last night Kevin sat down to study and Owen was right behind him with his piles of books complete with a pillow on his lap. He really admires his dad!

Wesley's bath time

Wesley loves bath time now that he can sit up and enjoy bath toys and look around. He is so much fun (except for in the middle of the night)! We all adore him...especially Owen. In the last week Owen has really enjoyed entertaining Wesley. It's fun to see them interact together. My boys!