Our Christmas Cookies

The Happy Birthday Game

Michael was wearing one of my very favorite outfits that James had, so I decided to take a picture. I should note that these jeans are getting a hole in the knee from James crawling around so much, Michael doesn't even roll over very often! So I was trying to get Michael to smile and get a cute picture, which I did.

But James decided that Michael was getting too much attention and that I should be taking his picture instead! Of course he had to sit in front of Michael and not next to him. Oh well, someday I will get a cute picture of them sitting next to each other.

On Sunday we made Fudge. James thinks it is cake and always drags me over to it and asks for cake. Yesterday he got a candle out and then asked me to get him some cake. So I cut him a small piece and he took it to the table and put his candle in the cake. He then had me light the candle.

Now to explain, one of his favorite videos to watch is "Birthday Crying" which is the video from his 1st birthday. (Which I have always been unsuccessful at posting here.) So in this video after he gets Dad to blow out the candle he gets scared and starts crying. So I guess he decided to recreate this video.

What's For Dinner?

Wondering what to have for dinner tonight? Try one of these recipes. You won't be disappointed. I think we are going to try the Chocolate Bacon Pogo on a Stick: Bacon wrapped in angel food cake, battered and deep fried, dipped in chocolate and served on a stick! Yum! I think we would serve it with a side of Pepto!

Setting Up the Christmas Tree

*I have just posted several posts about our past week. So keep reading after this one.

Last night we decided to set up our Christmas Tree. I think James was scared of it at first. Here he is standing in the other room looking at it. He finally got brave enough to go look at the ornaments. He picked out my favorite one and pretended to ride it like a real bike. It is a little bike that one of my students gave me several years ago. I think it's my favorite because it is the only ornament that is only mine. I guess it is James' favorite too.

After the tree was decorated James decided it was time for the stockings. However he has a little different idea of what to do with them.

After he got them on he told himself, "Nice socks!"
While Doug was putting him to bed he snuck out of his room, grabbed two ornaments and headed back to bed to play with them.

Thanksgiving

We had Chad and Shannon's family over for Thanksgiving this year. It was a lot of fun. Myra and Lexi got to sleep in James' room. Doug always reads a book to James every night, so the girls had to join in.
Myra and Lexi loved playing with Michael and making him smile. Michael loved all the attention.

We tried to get a good picture of all the kids, but of course James wouldn't participate. He just kept screaming and getting out of the picture.

The picture was much better without James, but you have to have James in the picture!

We had a yummy turkey dinner on Thursday, it was a little difficult trying to cook everything in the same oven, and it didn't help that the microwave decided to break either. But it still turned out great. On Friday Doug went to the store early for the sales, and Chad headed over to Walmart to see what they had. In the afternoon Shannon and I went to check out the craft store, and ended up loosing track of the time! But it was a lot of fun. After naps (Lexi and Michael) we went bowling. James loved it a little too much and didn't want anyone else to have a turn. Then we got some take out Chinese food for dinner. It was a really fun weekend. Thanks for coming Chad and Shannon!

Playing With Michael

James has really started to notice and play with Michael more. It is pretty fun to watch them together. Here James is pretending to be Michael.

James often plays with Michael while he is in his jungle gym. Michael always just stares at his brother with a big smile on his face.

This was our favorite thing when James was a baby but we haven't been able to get it out much with Michael because James still thinks he should get in it to play. So this is better than James trying to get Michael out of the chair so he can get in it.

Our First "Big" Snow

We had our first "big" snowstorm today. Really we only got about 4 inches, but James was so excited. Here is Michael getting ready for Church.
I had to send Dad and James over to the neighbours to get our fresh eggs for the week. James wasn't complaining.

Doug just couldn't wait to get his snow blower out for the first time.

Here is a video James took of me. Not very flattering, but it was too funny not to post. He thought he was taking a picture so if you listen carefully you can hear him tell me how good my smile is.

6 Months!

I can't believe my little man is already 6 months old! Where did the time go? Michael turned 6 months on Wednesday and we had is 6 month check-up today. I have to say this was probably the easiest doctors visit we have had yet...because of James, not Michael. Michael is always very easy and I can count on him behaving very well no matter where we are.

Height: 25 inches

Weight: 15lbs 13oz (I think he said that was about the 19th percentile)

Head: 25in

He has dropped a little on his height and weight charts, but the doctor didn't seem too worried about it.

Things we want to remember about Michael at 6 months:

• He can roll over, but chooses not to!
• He can sit by himself for short periods of time.
• He still loves his Dad more than anyone.
• He is an incredibly social baby, and smiles at everyone.
• He loves his brother.
• He sleeps really well, except for he wakes up to eat at about 5am.
• He loves to play in his jungle gym.
• He likes peas, and rice cereal with Applesauce (not plain).

It is interesting because James was an easy baby, active, but easy. However Michael is far beyond anything I could have expected. He hardly ever cries, so we know when he does he needs something. He is so happy and talkative all the time. He is so easy going I don't really have to worry about him much.

One other thing, he hates having a dirty diaper. Doug and I were discussing how we could save some money each month. I said, "The best way would be to potty train James. That would save about $40 a month. The more likely way would be to potty train Michael!"

Happy Birthday Doug

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!

Few Things We Don't Want to Forget

Funny Story: James was in the bath the other day and started filling up a little bottle and drinking out of it. Then he would say "Mmm, that's good water."

"Funny" Story: Michael cannot get a good nap in. Every time I turn my back James runs in his bedroom to turn on his mobile and give him his pacifier. He always wakes Michael up, but Michael never seems to care.

So Michael started sleeping in the swing (at least somebody finally likes this). And once again when I am not paying attention James runs over to him and "swings" him. And waking him up.

This is Michael after a bath. He is definitely not as big of a fan of the bath as James is.

James is also learning to brush his own teeth. We got the kitchen bathroom all set up for him. He has his stool, toothpaste, two toothbrushes (one for me and one for him), and a cup. He loves it! He asks to brush his teeth several times a day. Now if we can only get him to turn off the water.

Some Pictures

I don't really have anything to post about, but I thought I would share some pictures. This is Michael's bath tub. He doesn't really use it any more because he is too big. The other day James got it out and I said, "That's Michael's bath." James responded, "James' Boat." Guess he told me.
The boys were sitting on the couch the other day. I thought it was pretty cute how Michael was snuggling with his Dad.

He was in a really cute mood.

Last week we had a play group at our house. I called a bunch of kid from the Nursery to come over and play on Wednesday. It was set up for 10:30, but then everyone kept calling and saying that different times worked for them. So we had Grace and her little sister over at 10:30, then Senica and her little brother came at 11:30, right after Grace left. We had a break for a "nap" then Alaina and her little brother came over with Julie and her little brother. James has a lot of girl friends, and if we were here long enough there will be tons of boys for Michael to play with. James loved having all his friends over, but I was a little tired at the end of the day.

Halloween

This is the first year we have done anything for Halloween. We felt it would be a little silly going Trick or Treating with a kid who couldn't even eat candy, and we have never been in a ward that has done anything, so we just skipped it. This year we thought James would have a fun time doing things, carving pumpkins, dressing up and going Trick or Treating. We even practiced last week so that we would know what to do. Also so maybe he would be more OK with wearing his costume. It seemed to work as all week he kept saying "Trick or treat."

Friday night we decided to carve pumpkins. This was as involved as James got. He really didn't care to participate at all.

Here is our family of pumpkins. I felt really bad for Doug because he spent so long on his pumpkin and I really couldn't even tell what it was.

Then we turned the lights off and it looked pretty cool.

He was a little disappointed because it didn't look as good on Saturday once it got a little dried out. Next year I guess we will wait until the day of to carve them. James kept saying, "Wow, look at that." when he saw the pumpkins.

James was a cowboy for Halloween. He had an awesome hat, and really cool boots. He was going to be Woody, but we couldn't find a yellow shirt, so he was just a regular cowboy.

He was pretty excited to go Trick or Treating. He kept trying to go in the houses. And he would say Trick or Treat all the way up to the door, but as soon as we got there he clammed up.

I got these two pictures then my camera batteries died. But we had a lot of fun and James really liked trick or treating.

Pumpkin Seeds

Tonight we carved pumpkins and I found this recipe for Toasted Pumpkin Seeds with sugar and spice. These are honestly the best pumpkin seeds I have ever had, Doug even likes them.

1 cup pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
6 Tbsp sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp oil

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread seeds in a single layer on baking sheet. Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted.
2. In a large bowl stir together 2 Tbsp sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle the remaining sugar over them. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar melts, about 45 seconds. Pour into the bowl with the spiced sugar and stir until coated. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Halloween Cupcakes

This week we got a package in the mail from Doug's sister. It was the consolation prize for not winning her contest. In it was the supplies to make some Halloween cupcakes. So last night James "helped" me make these cupcakes.

James also invited Uncle Tims over to share them with us. For some reason Tims was much better then his.

Thanks Amber! James really loves the little pumpkin, and loves sending the "dinosaurs" down the slide.

James' New Shoes

For the past month James will only wear his sandals when we go places. I get his shoes and he yells "sandals" and runs and gets his sandals. So today I decided to take him to get new shoes, deciding that the reason he will only wear his sandals is because everything is too small, and at least when he wears his sandals his toes can stick out the end. They measured his feet and just as I expected his shoes were a size too small. So I started showing him some of the shoes I liked and he kept saying "No, No, No." to all of them. Finally he saw the pair he wanted on the shelf, just at eye level. "Buz Lightyear!" he said. I really think kids have a sixth sense about these things. He had to choose the 1. ulgyest 2. most expensive and 3. wont match anything, pair of shoes in the store. And they light up, which when he found that out I couldn't get them off of him! I thought maybe I would just buy a pair that I liked and once we got out of the store he wouldn't have a choice. But I am tired of having him wear his sandals everywhere. So I gave in, spent the extra $5 so that he would have a pair of shoes that he would wear. And really he's two, so who cares if his shoes don't match. At least they're not pink!


Funny story of the week: James just had a lesson in Nursery about saying prayers. So for the past week he has been saying prayers a lot. (Never mind that we have been teaching him about praying for two years with little success.) Yesterday he wanted to play Dodge Ball on the Wii. He brought me the game, and we sat down on the couch to play. I looked over at him and he had his arms folded. "Heavenly Father, Thank you..(for) Dodge Ball."

Trip to Logan

There were so many pictures that I decided to just do a video/slideshow of our trip to Logan. We had a lot of fun visiting family and James loved playing with his cousins.

Toilet Paper Pumpkin

I saw this cute idea at my craft store and thought I would share since it is so cheap and easy.

One roll of toilet paper

1 fat quarter of fabric

strip of green fabric

3-5 pieces of raffia

Brown paper lunch sack

To make Pumpkin, place the right side of the fabric down on a table. Smooth out the fabric. Place the toilet paper in the center of the fabric so the open end is facing up. Beginning at one corner of fabric and working around, stuff fabric edges into the center top of toilet tissue. For leaves, fold green fabric strip in half lengthwise with the right sides facing; insert fold of fabric into center top of toilet tissue. For vines, insert raffia into center top of roll. For stem, twist paper bag lengthwise, fold in half, and insert into center.

*I used some batting in mine to make it a little rounder.

Sorry Amber, I meant to do this yesterday but I wanted to ask Doug to answer some of your questions.

I love this picture. I am the clown and my brother is the Dinosaur. I love his face, it is perfect. I think I was a clown most of the time.

1. What is your all time best Halloween costume? Doug also remembers the Dinosaurs. One year my Mom spent a long time making me an Angel costume, then of course on Halloween it snowed and I had to wear my snow pants and coat. I was so disappointed.
2. What is your favorite Halloween tradition? We didn't really have many traditions, but I loved carving pumpkins and then baking the seeds after.
3. What is your favorite Fall tradition? We don't really have any fall traditions yet, but this year I picked apples and made applesauce. Don't really know if this will become a tradition, but I would love to do it every year. Also we are going to go to a pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkins.
4. What is your favorite book? I love so many books that this one is hard. Doug of course loves Ender's Game, which I really like too. I also love Jane Eyre. Doug wonders how I can read the same book so many times.
5. Name 3 great things that happened to you today. (this is going to be yesterday since it is too early in the morning) 1. James asked to go potty at nap time. Although he didn't really go in the the toilet at least he asked right? 2. We had Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner) which is James' favorite so he ate really well. 3. I finally got all the laundry put away.
6. What is your all time favorite dessert? I don't really know what my favorite dessert is, I know Doug's is Cheesecake. We had this really yummy fried Cheesecake for our anniversary. I love Apple Crisp, and I really love how it makes my house smell (like fall, which is my favorite season).
7. Tell me something you look forward to doing in the next month. Going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, and baking the seeds. Also trick or treating with James for the first time. Also shopping for Doug's birthday. I have a lot of great ideas this year.
8. Tell me something you are going to give someone else for Christmas (I need ideas!) We signed James up for the Disney Movie Club (if anyone wants to do this let me know, I have a coupon for 4 movies for $1 and the next 2 movies for $20) also Doug is getting Lasik next year. He says that is his Christmas present, but he will also get some other things. I can't think of anything for Michael, but I thought of making them a beanbag, or getting an art easel, or a play workbench. Also James needs new books (Doug is getting tired of the books he has) and I am working on a list of books that I want to get for them.

Applesauce

Fall is probably my favorite season of the year. I love summer because we get to play outside, but when the fall weather hits I just feel different. I really love how clean and fresh the air feels during the fall. This year fall brought apples from my apple tree. I was so excited about these apples all summer then when it came time to pick them I had no idea what I was going to do with this many apples. I am the only one who eats them in my family, Doug doesn't even like apple desserts. So I came up with this brilliant plan to make applesauce. The only problem was I had all the apples, but none of the equipment to make applesauce. Then in church two weeks ago they announced they were going to have an applesauce making class, and they also needed apples. So I volunteered my apples and Tuesday I went over to my neighbours to make applesauce. I was the only one to show up so I learned to make applesauce. We only did about half of my apples and got 30 pints! Next year I think I will borrow the equipment and do all of my apples. James likes eating "pink" as he calls it because it turned out pink.

Fall also brings stray cats to our door, wanting to get in from the cold. James was really excited about this cat because it looks just like Mittens from Bolt, and the first thing he said when he saw it was, "You kidding me!".

Two Cute Boys!

First of all I always wanted to say this, "I just saved $534 on car insurance." That said, on to the cuteness that are James and Michael.
We have always been very happy that James has decided to suck on his fingers instead of his thumb, 1. it is cute 2. it doesn't seem to be so bad for his teeth. So I have to admit I was a little disappointed yesterday when I got out of the shower to find this:
However I can't be too sad because it has always been difficult to get Michael to take a pacifier so at least now he can sooth himself.
As I have said before Michael loves, loves, LOVES his dad. I honestly think he would prefer if Dad could feed him instead of Mom. So it doesn't surprise me that Dad is the only one to get him to laugh like this. Did I mention that he LOVES his Dad.

James is also very cute and fun. And he prefers his Mom, so I guess that evens things out. I was thinking the other day that we could make a collage of James playing every sport known to man. This makes up for the fact that he has named his blankets pink and purple. Here is the one he decided to play last week. He decided to put the skates on himself. He even put them on himself. I was very impressed.

Potty training. James is definitely not ready for this big step, but I bought him some Pixar underwear anyway hoping to spark some sort of interest. I was actually hoping that by wearing underwear occasionally he would start to notice when he peed or pooped. It seems to work with the pee, as he starts crying as it is running down his legs! But he has yet to make any acknowledgement of when he poops. But he does love putting it in the toilet and saying "Bye, bye potty." as we flush it. Despite all this he still loves wearing his Buz Lightyear/Dash/Nemo underwear.

Finally, James it the only one in this family that is ready/excited for winter. I tried on his coat and boot the other day to see if he would need new ones. He would not let me take them off and was so excited to go outside. He even wore his boots (with shorts) to the park.

Also he found the sled the other day and insisted on bringing it inside. He is very excited for when he can actually use it in the snow.

Trip to Florida

We went to Florida last week, and I am so far behind on the blog that it is hard for me to even try to get caught up, so I am going to post about Florida then we will see after that. Also I don't have all the pictures because I forgot to get them from my Mom's camera, so maybe I will have to put more picture on later.
On Saturday we went to the beach when we got there. James hated the waves, but Doug loved them. James was pretty funny about getting too close and when we finally got him distracted from the waves he had fun playing in the sand, but once he remembered the waves he was gone! Monday morning, very early, Doug and I left the kids and drove to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens for two days. The park was a lot cheaper then Disney World, but we wish we would have just spent the money and gone to Disney. It wasn't crowded at all so we got to go on as many rides as we wanted as much as we wanted. Before we left on Tuesday Doug rode his favorite roller coaster 7 times without even getting off.
Wednesday we went to the turtle place so James could see some "Nemos and Doris" there were having story time and James enjoyed that. Then we went and got a picnic and took it to the park where we could feed the birds, ducks and turtles.

James liked throwing the bread in the water, but I don't really know if he understood that he was feeding the ducks and turtles.

Thursday we spent the morning at the beach. James was brave and got in the water in a little boat that my parents had. He was starting to really enjoy the waves and liked "riding" them back and fourth between Dad and Grandad when a big one came and Dad missed catching him and he rode the wave all the way into the beach. We were really glad he didn't tip over, but he was done with the boat after that. He did go back into the water but wanted Mom to hold him, not understanding that it was safer with Dad because Mom couldn't touch the ground when the waves came.

That night we went to a really fun restaurant on the beach. This is the best I think James has ever been eating out. He didn't eat but just sat in his chair looking at the water.

We had a lot of fun, it was a really cool place.

After we walked along the dock, you can drive your boat right up to the restaurant.

On Friday we went to the Everglades which is really cool and really pretty. We went on an air boat ride, Doug really liked it when we went two years ago, but it wasn't as cool this year. There weren't any alligators out because the water was so high they could go wherever they wanted.

James loved the boat, until it turned on, then he was content to snuggle with Grammy. Michael didn't like it at all, and finally fell asleep.

Doug got to go golfing twice, which he loved. James and me loved swimming in the pool. And James especially loved "surfs up" that is basically anything to do with something that looks like a surf board.