Saturday, September 29, 2012

Pumpkin Patch

 We had family visiting this weekend, so we thought it might be fun to hit up the closest pumpkin patch.  It is actually a working farm, so it lacks a lot of the hoopla of most pumpkin patches.  However, there is no fee to go there and you get a great price on a variety of different pumpkins and gourds.  Plus they are still out in the field and attached to the vine...it was fun to trek through.  I almost like it better, but I would have liked some kind of pumpkin cut-out for me to stick the kids faces through (I have been told, that will be there soon).  It was the first weekend they were open, so the pickin's were great and no crowds.  It was perfect to me.

I thought Jack was going to love the tractor ride, and he liked it until they started the tractor then he freaked out a little bit.  Joe was going to walk with him to the pumpkin patch, but I knew once we started moving and he saw that we were fine he would stop screaming.  I was right.  He still was a little nervous on the way back, but no crying so I would say it was a success. 


We bought four pumpkins, two dark, one white, and one odd shaped orange one seen in the picture above.  The other two were given to us.  We hadn't planned to get so many, but they were awesome looking and the total cost was only 12 dollars so I feel like it was worth it.  Plus, they are going to be used toward pumpkin pies and meals throughout the fall.  Below are pictures of our trip.  I'm so glad we got to go with Nanny and the aunties and cousin Eddie.  (Oh, and Jack can now say Ella and Eddie...melt my heart!).
 A corn box (like a sandbox...which they both loved).
 Family picture in the pumpkin field.
 We took a similar picture of Jack when we went to the pumpkin patch last year.  It was fun to recreate this.



 Jack found a tractor which was great.  It just scared him to see one that was turned on.
 I really had to include this one with cousin Eddie...isn't he the cutest?

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Jack is 2


It was two years ago that I became a mom.  I was excited and nervous for that day.  I always knew that I wanted to be a mom and that it was going to be so special in my life, but it really has been amazing.  I feel especially blessed to have this special little soul in my life.  He is so much fun and quite a happy kid.  I have been thinking about what I was going to write for almost a month now.  I wanted to remember the little things that he does and I always enjoy reading other blogs that include such sentimental thoughts about their children.  Especially in the everyday moments.  So here is my attempt to include some tidbits about my little peanut!


Jack has a really cute smile.  Not only does he have a large gap in his front teeth but they stick out a little (somewhat buck tooth style).  When we are in the car and I am stopped at a traffic light then I look back at him and he has the cutest way of smiling by curling his upper lip under and grinning with the biggest buck smile!

His ultimate favorite thing to do is ride his bike.  Not only is he very good at it, but he is riding longer distances everyday.  We try to get out on his bike at least once a day.  This also allows me to take Ella for a good walk in the stroller.

Jack has a hard time sharing.  He is great when at the gym play area or at nursery, but struggles with sharing while at home.  Sometimes he does it, but we here the word "mine" a lot.  On the other hand, there are times when he just randomly gives Ella his toys or hugs her.  I love those moments of kindness and hope we can continue to nurture that.

Jack has learned how to throw a temper tantrum by twisting and falling onto the floor.  He then proceeds to cry.  So far it has only happened at home, but he definitely is in those terrible twos!

We eliminated the pacifier last week.  It was really hard to get rid of it during naps, which happened a month ago, but thankfully that allowed for the final transition to happen smoothly.  He didn't cry once when we put him to bed without it.  Now it is an out of sight and out of mind thing.  Although, two nights ago when I put him to bed, he fell asleep sucking on the tip of his thumb.  I wonder if that will stick.

He has his father's stubborness (maybe his mom's too).  Yesterday he was so determined to hike all the way down from the climbing area.  He did good, but fell a few times. 

He likes to blow kisses when he says goodbye.  Even if he is saying goodbye to an object.  Or the grocery attendant.  He is a lover.  And usually a kiss is accompanied with his sign language thank yous.

There are a few things that he really loves: bikes, boats, buses, horses, and Elmo.  He also loves anything that moves, so airplanes, motorcycles, and such are also special. 

For entertainment, he likes to run in circles around the house, from the living room, then into the office, the dining room, the main hallway, and back into the living room.  He pretends he is going to school with his backpack on and he always blows me kisses and says bye bye.

He learned how to say his sister's name yesterday, and his cousin Eddie's too.

Although he definitely shows fear, he is extremely courageous and will try most adventurous things.  I often wonder how many broken bones I will have to take care of as he grows.

His favorite and only number that he can say is 2.

I have to watch the cups of water, juice, milk or any liquid that is left out, because I think he finds joy in picking them up and tipping them over.  Mind you, he also occasionally spills them on accident too.  I am tired of having to use paper towels to clean up the floor.

Jack loves to eat pizza, sweets, corn on the cob, noodles/pasta, broccoli fresh picked from the garden, apples, and chocolate milk.

If I let him, then he would help me to do everything.  He gets very excited to put dishes in the drying rack, unload laundry or move it into the dryer, sweep the floors, or pick up his toys.

I love that he knows to fold his arms after the music in sacrament meeting and it sounds so cute when he says amen at the end of the prayers.

Jack has always been a cuddly baby and he still likes to snuggle and give me kisses.  I will take them as long as I can!

Right now he goes to sleep in his toddler bed, which he has done since he was 16 months old and he wakes up at some point each night to come into our bed.  I still don't know how we are going to break him of this habit.

When we go to the playground he could spend hours on the swing. 

He is a super helper in the garden and he often picked things before they were ready.  I can't be mad though, since he was just trying to help.

Sometimes we will take him for car rides just so he can see horses and cows.  He really loves that and always asks for me.  Oh, and he thinks all birds are called ducks.  I correct him every time but he still calls them ducks.







We really love our little man and are so happy he is in our family!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Pinterest Ideas

It seems like everyone now has a pinterest page now.  Well, at least a lot of the crafty people I know are doing it.  I have been pinning ideas for a few years now, but I thought it might be fun to add some of my ideas into a blog post.  I would love to decorate more for the holidays, but Joe just looks at that stuff as clutter.  I have yet to find the right mix of decorating for a holiday and making it feel like it is meant to be there.

I am also sort of waiting until we are fully finished with working on our house.  I feel like it will make a HUGE difference once we have a kitchen that works better for us.  I crave a kitchen that is the heart of our home.  Right now it is just the place that we make food.  You cannot concregate there since there is no room.  We can't even open the fridge door all the way.  In fact, once we have that completed we will be so close to the end.  Then we only have two more rooms to do.  I am hoping as well to eliminate a lot of extra clutter in the next year or so as well.  We are going to have a yard sale next spring to get rid of some furniture that we don't use anymore and also a lot of baby stuff.  That will be so nice.

In the meantime, I was thinking since I am not really decorating for holidays, maybe I could just do one thing. Put a wreath or decoration on the door. So over the course of a year I am going to make that my crafting project. I plan to make some for each season or special holidays. And I figured I could start by at least coping some of my pin ideas onto the blog to get me started!

Fall Wreath Idea



Halloween Idea...I know it is a picture frame, but I thought I could use the same concept on a wreath!

 
Christmas Wreath...I like the frame, since it is something a little different!

Spring Wreath.  I will probably add a bow as well.

 
Easter Wreath Idea, spray paint the eggs a robin's blue and glue them on.  I love the idea!
 
Of course something patriotic during the 4th is important and I like that this ribbon wreath is something different.
I love this idea for a summer wreath by using an old book to make a sunflower.  I might even try to use some paint too.
 

Update in February

One might think that having several snow days would give me the time to write in my blog, but I have been spending a lot of time working on ...