Someone's having a birthday around here

Can you guess who it is?

Yup! My little Carter boy!

I know his Birthday is on Halloween, but who wants to celebrate when everyone's out trick or treating. So the poor boy will always celebrate on a day separate from his actual Birth DAY. We kept it super low key this year since he doesn't know any different. I tried to be fun and made "mummy dogs" for dinner (of which the kids did not like. But me and Paul did. They were yum and I don't even really like hot dogs. Something about having it wrapped in a breadstick made it much better than when it's in a bun.)

Carter opened his presents (with a bit too much help from his siblings). 

Among his favorites were his "Brobee" doll from "Yo Gabba Gabba".

And his "Christmas tree" book from his Grandma and Grandpa Briggs. 

I love when it's the simple things that make kids most excited.

So far he hasn't paid much attention to his Dinosaur Rescue Mountain, but I'm sure he will with time.

I got us cupcakes from "The Cupcake Tree" bakery cuz I heard they were going out of business (sniff sniff), but when I asked the girl behind the counter she said no. So either she hasn't been informed yet, or my information is wrong. I'm hoping the later. I'd hate to see that shop close. They are still my favorite cupcake shop in this Valley.

Carter may have blown out his candles (well, one anyway. Leah "helped" with the other), but he really had no interest in it. His awaited treat for the night was this little bowl of m&m's. It's the only candy he likes right now. 

Me and my little guy. I sure love this snuggle bug. He gives the best hugs and kisses.

So since he's too young to have a birthday interview, I'll do it for him.

I'm not sure his stats yet. His two year check up is next week. 

But here's some favorites (and not so favorites) as of lately.

He loves milk and baby food (still).

He eats crackers, but only vanilla wafers, cinnamon graham crackers and cinnamon ABC cookies.

He likes bread and bagels and go-gurts and popsicles. 

He likes to have whatever we are eating on a plate in front of him, but never ever eats it. Mostly smashes it around and then dumps it on our plates.

He's not too crazy about juice, unless it's in a juice box.

He loves "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "Color Crew" (some little show he found on Netflix).

His favorite movie is Toy Story (at least that's what he turns on the most).

He loves "lift the flap" books. Especially if they have to do with Christmas.

He has a VERY rigid routine when it comes to going to bed at night. He MUST take a bath, read a book (or two....or three), rock while I sing him songs (2 or 3), and then rock a bit more. Then and only then will he lay in his bed quietly and go to sleep. I'd say he has us a bit wrapped. But when the alternative is him throwing up from crying, I'll take the routine.

He likes to take his own diaper off at night and literally took it off after I laid him down the other night without me knowing. He woke up in a big puddle of (only) pee....thankfully. He's my only kid that has done that. We're working on teaching him to keep it on.

He talks A LOT and can repeat anything he hears.

He also loves to sing and dance and one time busted out Selena Gomez on my IPhone during Sacrament. Ya...that was "fun". He then turned around and switched the lights off. Sacrament is always interesting with him.

He loves to dump things out of their proper place. Games, puzzles, buckets of toys. You name it and he likes to see it on the floor.

He loves to have me sit with him while he drinks his milk on the couch and often won't drink it if I don't sit by him. 

He hates me to leave him with sitters, but always calms down right after I leave. It's the initial shock I guess, that he doesn't care for.

He's opinionated and demanding and often will yell at me to "GO" when I'm stopped at a stop light. HAHA...very impatient.

But he's also very sweet and very cuddly and loves his family most.

And we love him too! 

Happy Birthday my little 2 year old. You'll always be my Carter baby!

Lombardi with the Girls (and Carter too)

The girls had the day off from school. Brandon didn't, but since he just went to the pumpkin patch with his preschool, I thought it would be a great time to go with just them (and Carter too of course). So after quite a horrible morning with Brandon, fighting him to wear some stinking pants cuz it's getting cold and windy out, the girls and I headed up to Lombardi Ranch again for a fun morning. (We lost the Brandon fight btw.... darn boy kept taking them off as soon as we got them on him. Since I wasn't willing to let his behavior ruin the girls morning, I gave in and let the boy wear shorts. I think the natural consequences of being cold are gonna have rule here cuz he's not budging. If only I was really willing to send him to school in his undies.)

Anyway, back to the girls. It was quite windy this morning at Lombardi Ranch and there were quite a few field trips there today, but it was still a really fun morning. My friend, Becky, met me there with her kids and they all had a blast together running through the scarecrow alley and playing on all the fun toys around the Ranch. 

I compared these pictures with the ones taken this time last year and I was amazed at how much the girls have grown. Both look to have grown at least a few inches if not more. 

Fun times with good friends.

Carter could have stood here all day and watched this cow. It was too cute!

Sweet Leah.

And holy moly, when did he start looking SO DARN BIG!?

I sure love this guy.

After getting home, we had lunch, Carter took a nap and then the kids all painted baby pumpkins that we bought at Lombardi Ranch. Last year we did this with Becky and the kids loved it. So I guess we are starting a new tradition. We didn't get to paint them with our friends this year (thanks to me and my nap nazi self), but the kids still had fun. 

Carter thought it was more fun to paint the plate instead. Oh well. Maybe next year. 

Ashlyn very carefully painted her pumpkins. 

Leah really got into this year too.

Even Brandon showed some good effort.

This was Leah's end product. A family of pumpkins. Super cute!

Until next year Lombardi Ranch. Can't believe Halloween is less than a week away. And we still have a 2 year old Birthday to celebrate! It's gonna be a fun week.

A Field Trip and Cheer Camp

I suppose I should break this into three posts, but that takes more work, so as usual, I'm doing one long one with a few different events in it.

Brandon has been big into covering his brother with blankets lately. Good thing Carter is a pretty good sport. At this moment, they are in the living room playing with a toddler bed mattress. I swear someone is going to get squashed. Either that, or something is going to break. Hopefully not a bone. Crazy boys.

Brandon had his field trip to Lombardi Ranch and Carter fit right in as one of the students. He definitely thinks he's a big boy despite me continuing to call him my "baby". (Brandon is in this picture. He's just behind the girl in pink boots.)

Brandon and his pal Carson having lunch made by Grandma K. Seriously, a pumpkin shaped sandwich, grapes, chips and a pumpkin cookie. How fun is that?

Carter opted for the pureed version of lunch....STILL. I'm not sure when this boy is going to stop eating baby food. But I guess in the mean time, at least he's still eating some fruit and veggies (even if they are in liquid form). Although I am proud to say I finally got him off of a bottle. He wasn't too happy about it, but after about a week (or two) he finally stopped crying and asking for it. 

On Saturday, Leah got to go to Cheer camp with her favorite babysitter (who happens to be a varsity cheerleader at Canyon High) and two friends. One from church (Lexi, who is pictured below) and also her BFF from school ( Gracie).

She had three hours of practice and then they performed a few moves and routines they learned.

This was actually BEFORE their little performance started. Leah just couldn't stop moving! So while all the other girls were standing their patiently, Leah was doing her own little routine. Funny girl! 

Afterward, I got lucky and snagged Callie to come babysit for me. Score one for me right! Paul and I went to the movies, and then out for a quick dinner and dessert. And we still got home in time to take Callie to her friends 16th Birthday party. What a day! 

Life goes on

I got to go out with some friends last weekend for Lauren's birthday. 

We sat and "tried" to watch General Conference. Carter got to do a little Superman Action. Heard some really great talks and I'm sure I missed some really great ones too. In fact, I got a migraine mid day on Sunday and ended up sleeping most of the rest of the day. So I DEFINITELY need to go back and watch what I missed.

Leah drew me a nice picture. She always likes when I save them for a little while. I like that I can take a picture of them and then "keep" them forever without actually having to KEEP them!

Brandon dumped the entire game cupboard out onto the floor the other night while I was in the kitchen making dinner. When I asked him why he did that, he simply said, "I was looking for something". What, he didn't know....just something. 

Got our official ballots in the mail. Can't wait to vote. GO Mitt!

And you know how it was blazing hot just a week and a half ago....well, that white stuff you see there is hail, so you know how our weather's gone. We got an awesome storm. Complete with thunder and lightening. It was great. Short lived, but still pretty awesome. Thank you Heavenly Father for answering Ashlyn's pleading prayer to "Please, please, please, please, please let it rain". 

She was one happy little girl.

Speaking of Ashlyn, she got the "Star Achiever" award two years in a row now for doing well on her STAR testing. SO very proud of her and all she's done. It doesn't always come easy for this girl, which makes me doubly proud because she works so hard to do well in school. Now to just get those multiplication facts down pat.

And for memory's sake, here's a shot of this months card club card I've been working on. I finally figured out how to use watercolor pencils and actually make it look like watercolor and not colored pencils. 

I was cleaning out my night stand the other day and found the journal I kept for Ashlyn when she was tiny. Like her first year of life....ya know....before my blog existed. It was so sweet to read some of the things I had written. Of course, I write much more personally when I know no one else is reading it. So although I love my blog and am definitely not going to quit working on it, it made me kind of sad that I haven't really kept up with journals for the other kids. I think Leah has one and Brandon has part of one, but I know I filled a couple for Ashlyn. I guess there have to be a few perks of being the first child, cuz I can guarantee there are days where Ashlyn's not sure there are any. Especially when all the girl ever wants is peace and quiet. 

I got to volunteer in the girls classrooms today. I only make it there twice a month, but I still enjoy it. I've decided I really like Ashlyn's teacher. I'm still not happy about her being in a split class, but at least she has a teacher who really cares about her learning. In fact, Ashlyn's teacher was one of only two teachers who attended the STAR testing awards last night. I told her today that it was so nice of her to come when she didn't have to. She just smiled and said going to nights like that are like Christmas for her. I thought that was sweet. 

Leah's teacher still isn't my favorite, but what can ya do. I feel like her teacher has a pretty short fuse and I wouldn't call her all that "fun", especially for being a 1st grade teacher. But on the positive, Leah is in class with a lot of her really good friends (which I can't say for Ashlyn). So I guess in my kids case, you get one or the other. At least they don't have neither.

That darn tooth

Can I just say that I do not like loose baby teeth. They are a pain in the booty. Seriously! Leah has had a wiggly tooth (her FIRST I might add) since early summer. Like June, maybe even May. I took her to the dentist for a cleaning and the dentist told her to start wiggling it a lot or else she'd have to come back and have it pulled (which I DID NOT want to have to pay for), since the two bottom adult teeth were starting to grow in behind it. But she didn't like wiggling it. I've been reminding her for MONTHS! We've tried pulling it a few times. She freaked out. And if you've ever seen Leah freak out, well you know how "fun" that was. 

Well, the blessed day finally arrived. Before bed tonight I asked Leah to please try one more time. The darn thing was hanging by a thread and food was getting stuck in it. It was gross. To my amazement, she agreed. So I slipped a dental floss slip knot around it and let her try to pull it (cuz heaven forbid I touch it). She tried for a little while with no luck. So I went to take the dental floss in my hands to take it off, she pulled away from me instinctively and bam.....it came out. HALLELUJAH!!!! She looked in the mirror, her mouth started bleeding and so of course she freaked out. I had her rinse her mouth and within a minute the bleeding had stopped and all the sudden it was the COOLEST thing ever to have lost her tooth. Man....I'm exhausted and I'm sure hoping every tooth isn't as traumatic, but I'm kind of thinking it might be.

But, isn't this THE cutest tooth fairy pillow ever. I found it last Christmas at a Holiday Bazaar, and this is the first time we've gotten to use it. Not many teeth have been falling out in this house lately, unless you count mine but that's a whole other awful story (ok, I haven't actually had any fall out, but I have been at the dentist A LOT this past month).

Note the baby tooth in the tooth fairies hand. Leah's idea of course.

And here's the happy girl, who is currently upstairs in her bed writing a letter to the tooth fairy, telling her the tooth is in the pillow. Haha....too cute! 

Say What.....?

You've seen this picture before? Maybe that's because we just can't stop going to the beach. And for good reason. It's October 1st and I think it hit 104 degrees in Santa Clarita today. The beach, however, was a beautiful and clear 80 degrees. So why not take yet ANOTHER trip down there for the day? It's the first day of Fall Break after all. The beach makes total sense on FALL Break right? Well, I guess it does in California anyway. 

It really was a beautiful day and parking went down to $6.00 a visit (thank you "off season") so it was a win-win. The kids had some friends to play with. I had some friends to chat with. It was a wonderful day! 

Leah and her friend Ashlynn (not to be confused with our Ashlyn), found GOBS of sand crabs. And had a lot of fun doing it too.

(Too bad I didn't get a shot of all of them.)

Brandon played with his favorite pal Elijah. Those two are getting dangerously brave in the water. I had to bring my chair to the edge of the shore to be in closer proximity to them. Well for that reason and also because Carter wiped out twice and was a bit upset. He learned after that to run away from the waves when they came crashing.

Ashlyn is making a new buddy Lexi. They played all afternoon making up stories and building things in the sand to go along with their stories. 

And these are my cute girl friends. I know you've seen them before, but I couldn't resist. They are some fun gals to be with!

Leah's little bud, Ashlynn, had to leave early, so she made herself a new friend. I should have gotten a picture of the little girl. Instead, I just got a picture of her giant beach ball. Her name was Paris and she's 6 and in 1st grade just like Leah. Leah wanted to give her phone number to her at the end of the day, but I told her that probably wouldn't work since we didn't live close by (and Paris probably didn't either). But I'm glad she had fun with her. I'm always impressed at how brave and outgoing she is. She just makes friends where ever she goes. 

Backing up a little bit.........

We had our first ever garage sale this past weekend. Our community does one once a year, so we thought why not give it a whirl. I set out a bunch of college cook books from the good ole days of "Ricks College". I've been moving them from house to house all these years and never cracked them open once. They sold first off. LOL. Who knew? We ended up making a little over $50.00 which wasn't fantastic, considering most of my college books cost me more than that for ONE of them, but oh well. It was only about 3 hours of sitting there. Plus it got me motivated to clean out the closet under the stairs. I threw a big bag of stuff in the garbage and still had two bins of toys to sale. This is what is left to keep. It looks pretty organized right now, but don't worry, the kids will have the closet destroyed again in no time. 

This is what Carter did a lot of on Saturday morning during the garage sale. Sat in a box with my IPad. He's so cute, I had to take a picture of him.

And despite the massive heat wave we are having right now, my trees are telling me that Fall is in the air. So I'm holding out hope that my electric bill will soon be making a descent.