Pumpkins & Pumpkin Carving

On Friday we decided it was time to carve our pumpkins. We didn't want to do it too early, otherwise they'd get rotten. Before we did the carving I had to get some pictures of the kids with the pumpkins since we never made it to a pumpkin patch this year, hopefully next year we'll make it. We were actually heading to one and I forgot my camera, so this is our pumpkin patch this year...our backyard.

I thought this picture of the kids turned out really cute, even though it took several shots to get the boys to smile while making sure Jaedyn stayed upright, she kept falling over. I even got a few of her crying, but this was the cutest.


I then had to get individual pictures of the kids with the pumpkins. Jaron and Jantzen were posing so good for me, Jantzen even tried to make up his own poses, it was funny and cute. Jaedyn only gave me a couple shots to get one of her. Only one of them turned out, she was done with the whole picture thing. All of the kids look so cute!




After we were done with pictures we started the carving. First we had to gut the pumpkins, which Jantzen wanted nothing to do with, he thought it was gross, which made for a cute picture. Jaron was a trooper and helped me out. Anyone hungry?




We didn't actually finish the carving that night because I took Jantzen trunk or treating with friends and Jaron went to play at Jace's house, so we finished them on Saturday night before we went to our ward trunk or treat.

The boys picked out Star Wars The Clone Wars Troopers, which we couldn't finish Jantzen's because he picked out the hardest, most detailed one. I waited too long to get the princess patterns for Jaedyn and they were gone, so she got a happy face. Next year I will make sure to get the princess' early. I think they turned out cute and we got a lot of comments on them at the trunk or treat, some people even came over to take pictures of them.

Halloween Parties, Parades, & More Parties

On Thursday Jantzen and Jaron had their Halloween parties at school. Jantzen's was first and I wasn't planning on going, but I was going to Jaron's and that made Jantzen sad, so I decided to go to his too.

When I got to Jantzen's party they were just sitting down to enjoy some yummy Halloween treats. There was a lot of sugar in that room which isn't always a good combo for little kids...they were really hyper, but that's okay, it's Halloween.



After the kids enjoyed their treats, Tanya had some fun games for them to play. They played "Ghosts and Ladders", "Simon Says", and a few others. Jantzen seemed to have fun, especially when they were dancing to music and had to stop when the music stopped. I got the best picture I could of him dancing. I tried to record it, but I had my camera the wrong way so I recorded him sideways.



Jaedyn was also there enjoying the festivities. Laura was holding her and trying to get her to laugh so I could take a picture of it. I got a cute picture of her smiling. I'm kind of glad I wasn't holding her at that moment...she kept spitting up all over Laura's arm. It was covered in spit up formula, I get that enough at home. I am willing to share that experience with others.



After Jantzen's party was over we had to hurry over to Jaron's school to watch his parade. This was the first year his school has let them wear costumes and have a parade. I'm glad they did, that's the fun of Halloween. Right before the parade started I got a picture of Jaron's class wearing their vampire fangs.

The school played some fun Halloween music through the halls as the kids paraded down them. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. As Jaron was walking by I tried to get him to stop for a picture, but he didn't, so I got the best one I could while moving my camera with him. He, of course, gave me the signature goofy Jaron smile.



Did I mention that Jaron was loving the vampire fangs? While waiting to go back to their classroom to have their party, he had to show off his lovely new teeth. He was trying to bite Jantzen's neck with them, but Jantzen wasn't letting him do it.


For Jaron's class party, they too had a ton of treats to eat. Jantzen was a lucky kid, he got to enjoy another round of pure sugar. Yay for me later! They also watched "Goosebumps" and played a few games before it was time to leave.


Both boys had a good time at their parties and surprisingly they weren't as hyper from the sugar as I thought they would be. Hopefully they will get to dress up at school again next year too. Now we just have to get through two nights of trunk-or-treating, yay!

My Little Baking Buddies

Last night the boys and I decided to make some treats for their Halloween parties they are having today at their schools. Jantzen wanted cupcakes, while Jaron wanted brownies (that was no surprise).

They each took turns helping out. Jantzen went first while I made Jaron shower, he wasn't happy about that, but that's okay. As you can see, Jantzen was really excited to help. He's always asking me if he can help make stuff. After we were done mixing up his cupcakes I turned my head for just a second and he already had his little fingers scooping off the cupcake batter and licking it. He couldn't wait for me to take the beaters off, so I hurried up and gave them to him.



Then it was Jaron's turn. The whole time he was mixing up the brownies he was only thinking about licking the spoon when he was done. Jantzen was there and wanted to have something to lick also. Luckily there was a spoon and a rubber spatula, one for each. I do get to hear them argue over who gets what so I make sure that each utensil has the same amount of chocolate on it, even though Jantzen already had his own while Jaron wasn't around.



This is what the boys look like after they are done, well not Jaron. Usually he has chocolate all over his face too. Maybe he's figured out that the less he gets on his mouth, the more he gets in his tummy. It's so funny how much these boys LOVE their chocolate.


Here is the final product that we created. I'm no Martha Stewart, but for a mom that really doesn't do a lot of baking, I think they turned out pretty cute. Besides, what little kid is going to care about what they look like, they just want to eat them, I know my boys do.

Fieldtrip to Great Harvest

Jantzen's first field trip for preschool this year was to Great Harvest Bread Co. He was so excited to ride with his friends. All of the kids learned about harvesting wheat and turning it into flour to make the yummy bread. They got to feel the wheat before it is ground up and after when it's turned into flour. They also got to see the huge oven that the bread is baked in and the machine that slices the bread.



After they learned about bread making they all got to enjoy a couple slices of fresh bread. Jantzen seemed to really enjoy it...bread is the one thing I can always get him to eat, he loves it!



Before we left each one of the kids got their own loaf of bread and a big cookie to take home and enjoy. I also had to buy another loaf just for Jantzen...it was green for Halloween, of course. He just had to have it. He's been enjoying it ever since and he keeps telling Jaron that if he goes on a field trip to Great Harvest that he can get his own loaf of green bread. It's kind of funny how Jantzen wore his green shirt that day because he matches his bread so well.

Just "Hanging" Out to Get an Award...

On Tuesday Jaron had his monthly pack meeting for Cub Scouts. He finally received his Bobcat award that he was supposed to have gotten last month, but didn't. The leaders forgot to get it which made Jaron really sad. He was happy to get it this month.

As tradition goes in Cub Scouts, when the boys earn this award they are supposed to put the pin that goes with the patch on their mom while hanging upside down. Luckily Josh came so he could do the honors. Jaron was laughing the whole time and it made it hard for him to put the pin on me. He did drop it once, but I caught it with my arm, while I was holding Jaedyn.

After the awards, the boys enjoyed a relay race while the rest of us (and I mean Jantzen) enjoyed some Halloween cookies. Jaedyn was dressed for the occasion in her Halloween shirt and hair bow. She had on her Halloween bracelet, but her shirt was covering it.



Good job Jaron on earning your first award in Cub Scouts!

Jaedyn Is 2 Months Old

Yesterday Jaedyn officially turned two months old. I didn't want to post anything until I had taken her to the doctor to know what her stats are. I took her today and it wasn't as good a visit as I had hoped for. It turns out that she has a few problems, but we are getting them taken care of.

Jaedyn isn't gaining weight like she should be, I know it's because she can't stop spitting up everything she eats. At first we tried to add rice cereal to her bottles and then switched her to the formula that already had rice in it, that didn't help. We then thought maybe she had an allergy to milk so we decided to try a soy formula, it stinks horribly BTW, but that didn't work either. It all just came right back up almost as fast as it went in. She has been on Zantac for the last month which has helped her a ton with the burning that comes in her throat with the spitting up.

Jaedyn's doctor has labeled her as "Failure to Thrive". She said it's hereditary, I was labeled that when I was a baby too. Her doctor is very concerned about her lack of weight gain, so Jaedyn now has to take Reglan, along with the Zantac, 4 times a day before she eats to help keep her food down. Her doctor also said that where she gasps for air periodically throughout the day and night, that she might need to be on a sleep monitor too, lets hope it doesn't come to that. Jaedyn also had to get four shots today, poor thing. As if all her other problems aren't enough. She did pretty good with them, but now I have to watch her to make sure she doesn't get a high fever from them.

Jaedyn now has to sleep in her swing at night so that her head is higher than the rest of her body so she doesn't continue to choke on her spit up. We will be going through a lot of "D" batteries until she grows out of this, just like we did with Jaron when he was a baby.

Here are a few things about Jaedyn at two months:

She weighs 10.5 lbs.

She is 23 1/2 in. tall

She is starting to smile a lot

She is starting to make cooing sounds

She still loves her swing and bouncer

She still LOVES to cuddle with her daddy

She sleeps through most of the night

Her eyes are showing a little green color in them

She still has bad reflux

Her brothers still adore her

She likes going for walks in her stroller

She has very kissable cheeks

She's starting to look more like Jantzen

Jantzen and I were messing around with the camera and decided to take more pictures of Jaedyn...we can never have enough of her. Jantzen kept trying to stick in his hand so it would be in the picture, but I wouldn't let him so he decided he would give her a kiss instead.

We got a few good poses out of her. She had to show off her new shoes (that Jaron picked out for her) and her bracelets (Jaron made the pink and white one). Jaron and I have had a lot of fun making bracelets for her that match her clothes.




This is how Josh has always wanted Jaedyn dressed...pink, pink, and more pink. And boy, does she have a lot of pink! It looks super cute on her, not me. She does kind of blend in a little with her bouncer, but it's cute.


Jaedyn will go back to the doctor at 3 months instead of the usual 4 months so we can make sure she's gaining weight. With the problems that she has, she is sure a good baby. We love her so much!

Two Little Monkeys And A Tramp

A few posts back I had mentioned the fact that our trampoline was about ready to head to the trampoline graveyard...well, it's even closer now. Last week as Jaron and Jantzen were playing on it they heard about five loud popping noises. Turns out they jumped a little too much on it and more springs came flying off. It's a good thing that neither one of them got hit by one. So now 1/4 of the trampoline has missing springs all in one spot with a few others missing in other areas.

The boys decided they were going to make the tramp into a clubhouse since we don't have any trees that are big enough to make a tree house in. They re-attached the springs and continued to play, they are very creative.




When they got back on the trampoline to jump, I thought it was funny how it would flip up so I had to get it recorded. Of course, as soon as I start the camera they had to go all wild like crazy monkeys. They just love hamming it up for the camera. They are very entertaining to watch though.

It looks like it's time to go to Walmart to buy another trampoline now.

Jaedyn's Blessing

On Sunday we had the opportunity to bless our little Jaedy Bug. It's always exciting to bless a child, but this time I got to do the whole frilly dress thing which made it more exciting. Grandma and Grandpa King bought her blessing dress, Grandma Goddard made her hair bow, and I made her bracelet and painted her toenails (her blessing shoes didn't fit her). She looked so beautiful, as any princess should.

We were barely able to get some pictures of our family before we had to leave for church. The boys just loved having their picture taken with Jaedyn in her dress. They all look so adorable! Notice how Josh is the one who's holding Jaedyn. That's how he was the whole time at church, he wouldn't let anyone else hold her...I got to only for the picture of me and her together. He's so proud to have her as his daughter.

Before Jaedyn was blessed Amber took some pictures of her at the church in her absolutely beautiful dress. When I get them back I will post them. I need some more places for her to wear it, I just love it so much!




Josh gave her a beautiful blessing and then had to show her off after. He had asked me if he did a good job showing her off after he blessed her, I told him yes. After church we went to Josh's aunt's house for homemade burritos...yummy! This was one of the best weekends we have ever had. To be able to have two special ordinances in one weekend is awesome!