look alikes

Grandpa Kleinman and baby James look so much alike and it makes me happy. I love the way their ears turn out just a little bit at the top. I think Thatcher and James look a lot alike in these two pictures too so that is why I included Thatcher. It is nice to know there is at least a little bit of me in my boys.

...two and a half hours later

We have been putting off pumpkin carving all week and tonight it finally happened. Ty came home early and even printed off a picture to copy in preparation for the big event. Thatcher was very excited at the beginning...he loves pumpkins and loved that Elmo was involved somehow...but soon lost interest. Thatcher, James and I made dinner, ate dinner, played, got ready for bed, roasted pumpkin seeds, and read stories while Ty was intently focused on the pumpkin. And...here is the end result. I was worried Thatcher's reaction wouldn't make Ty's hard work worth it, but we were not disappointed. Thatcher was so excited about his Elmo pumpkin and the fire inside it. I love this age and that Thatcher motivates us to properly celebrate holidays...he is so much fun!

family pics

We had these taken over Labor Day by Katie Dudley. She is an amazing photographer.

Our first costume party

Thatcher (and James) got invited to their first costume party. It was Lexi's 2nd brithday, and Lexi is Thatcher's favorite girlfriend. They painted pumpkins, made ghosts, spider cookies, did a bean bag toss, opened presents, and ate cupcakes. Thatcher left with all those things plus a blue pumpkin flashlight and a goody bag full of fun treats. Thatcher was so excited to go and I am pretty sure it exceeded all his expectations. We had a blast.

This is what James was supposed to be. I made this costume before James was crawling...and before his head grew bigger than any baby's head should be. It still is pretty cute on him, but oh well. I guess my shark and fish duo wasn't meant to be (the shark costume isn't really fitting Thatcher that well either).


Here is the lineup of all the cute kiddos in their costumes.

Painting pumpkins.

The bean bag toss.

Checking out the cool pumpkin flashlights.

A new problem...

Since the turning point when Thatcher decided that he hated the crib and wanted to sleep in the big boy bed, we have been able to use the crib as a threat, or form of compromise (that makes it sound a little nicer). If he ever would get out of his big boy bed when it was night-time, he would have to go in the baby crib, and that was not a desired option. He would get so upset about that option that Ty and I would usually give in after a few minutes of hysterical crying and screaming (and sometimes throwing up) and let him sleep in the big boy bed after all. One night after this whole drama played out, Thatcher got out of his bed again and Ty and I decided the baby crib would be where Thatcher would need to stay all night to learn his lesson. After a few minutes of the usual screaming we heard nothing, then a tear stained Thatcher made his way into our room. He had climbed out of the crib. We were shocked! I know kids do this at a super young age sometime, but it seems like so far to come down and he had never even attempted that before. So...that bargaining chip is now gone, but we are dealing with it.

However, a few nights ago we decided it was time to bite the bullet (again) and have both boys in the same room. It has been pretty funny seeing the two boys laugh at each other hysterically and keep each other up. Thatcher likes to push toys and stuffed animals to James in between the slats and a couple nights ago, when James was crying Ty heard Thatcher tiptoe across the room and say, "baby ok?". Having James in there has made Thatcher a little more obedient in regards to staying in his bed, or at least his room. Last night, long after putting the boys down we heard Thatcher calling for dad. When Ty went in there he found Thatcher in the crib with James. Even though we explained that we shouldn't get in the baby crib when it is dark, at 2:00am the same thing happened and Ty found Thatcher in the crib with James. It cracks me up that we went from Thatcher never climbing in and out of the crib...ever, and from the crib being the ultimate form of punishment, to Thatcher wanting to be in there to be with his brother and actually having the ability to do it.

Even though it is cute and funny and makes me love Thatcher for loving his brother so much, I hope getting stuck in the crib at 2:00am doesn't become a habit, especially one that wakes up baby James.

girls getaway

A couple weeks ago, the women in my mom's side of the family got together for a few fun-filled days. We all gathered in Salt Lake at my mom's house without our kids and ate out...a ton, shopped at the Park City outlets, went to Gardner Village, got pedicures, stayed up late playing fun games (and laughing harder than I have in a very long time), and had such a good time. I love my aunts, cousins, and sister-in-law so much and hope this becomes a yearly event. And lets not forget my mom who was an incredible hostess. She gave us all awesome hostess gifts before we left...even though I always thought it was the hostess who was supposed to receive a thank you gift.







My wonderful sister-in-law Mel and I ran the Layton Half Marathon and had a great time. We ran the entire distance, talked almost the entire time, and despite some sore joints and a little discomfort...we finished with a time we were really happy about! Then we came home and quickly caught up on the chocolate-covered-raisin and gummy bear eating we had missed out on that morning.

my boys

It is amazing how much can seem to change in a just a few weeks with little kids. I know I keep pretty updates on my boys, but so much has happened in the past few weeks I feel terribly behind. So...here is the latest with Thatcher.

Big Buzz. He was obsessed for weeks with the idea of big buzz. He would talk about big buzz, we would tell him stories about big buzz, and the promise of a big buzz (one day...like Christmas) was enough to encourage him to do almost anything. So...when my mom and I were at target one day I was showing her what the best Christmas present would be, and sure enough, she bought it and gave it to him that day. It has been his inseparable companion ever since. He loves his big buzz. Thatcher loves that his wings pop out, that he has a song, that he says, "to infinity and beyond", his helmet, that he can stand all by himself, basically everything about him. It has been so fun to see him get excited over and over again. His nanna is the best.

Gymnastics. We have been the last two weeks and it is heaven for Thatcher. For two hours he gets to run around, jump on trampolines, jump into pits of foam, slide down slides, hang on ropes and rings, play basketball, and get pushed around in a fun ball. I think it is going to become a regular activity of ours even though it is pretty exhausting for mom. When we came home the other day Thatcher kept taking about how "Skyler push ball at gymastics" because Skyler would push Thatcher in the ball. It is amazing to me how fast Thatcher's sentences are coming and the things he chooses to talk about...all day long.

Flying dragon. When I was at Time Out for Women last weekend with some friends, Ty and the boys watched the movie, How To Train Your Dragon. After seeing the movie, Thatcher decided that his lizard was his dragon and the little skeleton man he has was the guy who should ride the dragon. So...the skeleton and the lizard went for many rides as Thatcher re-enacted the movie. I love seeing his imagination take off. He always love to feed his friends and help them do whatever he is doing. He is the sweetest kid and it is interested to see his kindness manifest in his imaginary play too.

Letters. He is a little obsessed right now. We make letters out of everything...jump ropes, cheerios, anything he can find. He is so smart and loves recognizing sounds. I love seeing him learn and love being his mommy.

Friends. Thatcher is the best little friend. He is such a good friends to me, to James, and to the little kids he likes to play with, especially Lexi and Skyler. He talks about them all the time and gets so excited whenever he sees them. These are a couple pictures of Thatcher and Lexi frosting Halloween cookies on two separate occasions. I thought the second time would go a little smoother, but instead, Thatcher went straight for the frosting with both hands and ate as much as he could before I said it was time to clean up. He is the best big brother to James and the two of them get each other laughing so hard it is hilarious. James is such a ham and does whatever he can to get Thatcher to laugh back and Thatcher usually plays along. I love the two of them together.






James:
Standing up. James has become a pretty sturdy stander in the last couple weeks. He is starting to cruise a little, but will pull himself up to standing on anything or anyone. It is so cute to see his little feet on tip toes with his short legs, tiny calves, massive thighs, and huge head. He gets so proud of himself and I don't blame him. It looks like quite the feat with his funny body.

Climbing stairs. He hasn't made it to the top of the stairs yet, but every day he gets a little close and it scares me to death. Thatcher is learning to put his toys that he doesn't want James to get to on increasingly higher stairs (we are working on the concept of sharing). One day James made it up five or so stairs and then scooted his way down. I would love to have a baby learn to crawl down the stairs at the same time he learns to crawl up them...that would be awesome!

Uh-oh. Ty had the boys for a few days in Salt Lake while I was at my girls' getaway and when I was reunited with my baby James, he was saying, uh-oh. It is so cute. He will usually repeat it when you say it and sometimes he will even say it in context.

Shaking head no. James is such a comedian. He is starting to learn what things make us laugh and he will do them just to get a reaction. One of those things is vigorously shaking his head no. It doesn't have any meaning, but it is silly and he always seems satisfied with the response it invokes.

No more bumbo. We retired the bumbo. James is officially out of the baby bath, out of the bumbo, and out of the pac n' play (we had him in there for when it didn't work to have the boys sleep in the same room). He is getting so big. Thatcher is now going to eat his meals on a stool and James is taking over the high chair. It is silly, but it kind of feels like the end of an era for me.

9 month stats. Last week James had his 9 month appointment. He is doing great in every way. He is fatter than he is taller (last time his stats were reversed with height and weight) and his head is off the charts. The one developmental question I didn't know how to answer was, "Does he understand the word, 'no'?" but the other day I firmly said no when he was getting close to the fire place, and sure enough, he started crying. I think it was maybe the first time he had ever heard no, but he definitely got the message. James was a trooper with a toe prick and two shots and is the best big-headed baby in the world.





I love my kids. They make me laugh so much and I never knew I could love like I do. My love has multiplied since having James more than I ever thought it would. We have had a rough week with both boys teething and both fighting colds, but they still melt my heart every day.