Fun ride

I usually have to wake the little two up from naps in order to pick up Alec from school at 2:10. On Thursday, James was so tired he really wanted to stay asleep, so I just put him straight in the stroller as we walked over to pick up Alec. He stayed curled up asleep the entire walk there and back!

Smart Alec

Alec's teacher let us know that after testing, he ranked first in his class. They've also let him participate in an accelerated reading program, where he takes quizzes online for comprehension after reading books (he's begun chapter books-'the magic treehouse' series). He ranked so high, he qualified for a lunch with the principal, which normally the kindergartners are not allowed to do. Mostly, he was excited that he then got to attend recess on the big playground with the older children. We are super proud of him!

Thanksgiving!

We were so excited to have my brother and his family, and my sister and her husband come stay with us for Thanksgiving. The boys love having company to play with!

To start their trip out here, I got to make cupcakes filled with the color blue to announce that Kevin and Carly are expecting a boy in March! So fun!

We got to spend a day at the Springs preserve, play some football and eat food on Thanksgiving, then head out for Black Friday shopping Thursday night and Friday! Then we all got sick...

Colorful snot

Hilary was unable to make the color me rad 5K with me, that Tessy, Missy, and Tate all went. It was so much fun having people throw died cornstarch at us, but I had colorful snot for two days afterwards!

November 10-first teeth!

My mom noticed that Evy's bottom two incisors had come in. Poor little girl has been drooling and chewing on everything! It definitely makes her want to be held more often, which we love doing anyway.

Just keep changing....

The boys love playing dress-up, so after Halloween I hit the clearance sections to stock up their supply. My favorite is when they mix-and-match the costumes!

Sitting up!

Evy's been working hard to sit up properly & started doing it today! It was fun to catch it for the first time.

She has so much personality at such a young age. She absolutely refuses to be alone and will fuss and cry if she can't be in the middle of all the excitement that her brothers create.

Halloween!

I woke up James and Evelyn from their naps so that we could make it to Alec's school in time to see him in the school's costume parade. We just barely made it in time to see him, and then we stayed for the class party.

The boys have already been to 3 trunk-or-treats (our ward, my parents' & my brother's), so we collected the candy from those to distribute to the neighborhood kids. The boys still wanted to go out trick-or-treating, so Paul got volunteered to take them around the block. Final candy haul (which also got redistributed)!

We ended the evening on a healthy note though. We got a good deal on a juicer this week, so the boys help me juice some pears, cucumbers & carrots.

Trunk-or-treat

The boys get so excited to go trunk-or-treating every year! Our ward has a chili dinner first, costume parade, then we head outside for the main event! Paul joined in the fun this year and made a really cool spiderweb in the back of the van for us.

We convinced our friends the Lorenzens to join us this year, so Aubrey could join in the fun.

Starry Night

For our art/craft lesson this week we looked at some paintings by Van Gogh, then the boys made their own 'Starry Night'! We used the center of an apple to make a star stamp, and put stars all over a blue sheet of paper, then cut out buildings and trees from some black paper to glue on. I'm trying to make their arts and crafts slightly educational.

Sweet girl!

Evelyn is five months old now, it seems too fast! She's rolling over like crazy and still chewing on her fingers (teething?). I love her latest attempts in trying to talk, especially when she 'sings along' with me while I'm putting the boys to bed. She's also begun eating some veggies at dinner with us-mostly because she fusses if she's not sitting at the table with us, then lunges for spoons coming towards my mouth. She always has to be involved with everyone, so if we are in the kitchen getting dinner ready I have to put her in the exersaucer there. I love how excited she gets when she sees her daddy or myself-her whole body starts to wiggle and she swings her arms and legs! So sweet!

Pumpkin Patch with the Cousins

Classic Halloween here in Vegas includes a trip to the pumpkin patch. Alec's favorite is the bungee jumping, James just loves the large inflatable slides!

Flip 'N Out

Alec had a day off school, so I took the boys to an indoor trampoline play place. Last spring when we went, James was scared & hated it, but this time he had a blast!

Alec was really sweet, making sure his brother had a ball to play with & helped him up the slide!

James time

Whilst Alec is at play dates, I've been enjoying some one-on-one time with James. I let him choose our activities, so we've made play doh, read books, baked muffins, etc. He even got to choose some lunches, usually a salad. It's been wonderful having some time to just focus on him.

First Solids

Evy's first solid was sweet pirates. She was not a fan. She loves bananas, which I just peel off bits in my fingers & feed her.