The one where Savannah eats rice cereal!

Savannah got her first bite of rice cereal a couple weeks ago (yes, I am a couple weeks behind on blogging).Anyway...she absolutely, positively LOVED it! Wanna know how we could tell? When Savannah gets excited, she stiffens up her arms and legs and starts to shake. Troy used to do the same thing, along with twirling his hands and feet. So far she just does the stiff legs and arms, but it is still so funny! She had her second take on rice cereal tonight, and once again, LOVED the stuff. Brooklyn really likes to help out and feed her too. It's still a novelty in this house.

Biggest.grin.ever. And hello double chin and huge cheeks!!! So kissable.

"Am I gonna get some more?!"

Erik found the hula outfit we had for Brooklyn when we went to Hawaii a few years ago, and he did a little impromptu photo shoot.

Aloha!!

Had to add this picture to demonstrate the stiff legs. :)

The one with Brooklyn in the gymnastics meet.

Brooklyn has been taking a little gymnastics class at our local community center and loving it! A couple weeks ago, a gym where her coach coaches hosted a little gymnastics "meet" for the preschool age kids. She had a blast! Brooklyn definitely has a natural ability. I find myself needing to reign in my competitive edge with her in gymnastics. I have "stage mom" qualities coming out that I never knew existed!! When she is in her class, I find myself day-dreaming of her competing in gymnastics and going all the way!! lol I also have to zip my lip when I see something she is doing incorrectly in her class and not correct her (because her coach will, and I shouldn't get involved right? Right?!). I like to think that it is just because I have a little gymnastics background that I do this (and kind of know what I am doing in the sport), but I have a feeling I will be like this with all sports/activities with my kids, no matter my experience in the activity. It's in my nature! So... stage-mom, here I come!

Brooklyn has since learned to get into kip position and do a full hip circle all by herself!

I love this picture...It reminds me of the many my mom and dad have of me waiting to get a ribbon or medal. And I know they have hundreds more of my other sisters. So fun!

Ta-da! "1st" place! ;)

The one in the chair.

Brooklyn and Troy are still completely enamoured with Savannah. They love her to pieces!! They especially love to hold her, and it's kind of nice for me too because she is sturdy enough that I don't have to help them (and she isn't mobile, so she pretty much stays put). Just about every time they do hold her, they want me to take pictures, so this time I obliged. They won't be this young and adorable forever!!

I can't get over how much they look alike in this photo. Savannah looks JUST like Troy did when he was a baby.

This is Savannah's grumpy face. We don't see it often, but when we do we can't help but laugh! She's so cute when she's sad. I know, we are so mean. lol

Brooklyn is such a sweetie to her baby sister. And I've said this before, but Savannah LOVES her! She gives Brooklyn the biggest laughs. All Brooklyn has to do is look at her and she laughs. Savannah is quite stingy with her laughs and doesn't offer them up much, but she is VERY generous with ear-to-ear grins!

Savannah at 4 months.

Troy around 4 months

Think they are siblings or what?!

The one with the sports class.

Troy recently participated and completed a sports class at our local community center. The class consisted of 2 weeks of soccer, 2 weeks of basketball, 1 week of track and field, and 1 week of baseball. The first class was a little rough (I think he was over-tired and just in a grumpy mood). But the next week and from then on out, he loved it! He sprinted his little heart out every week when they did their two warm-up laps around the gym, and played every sport hard. When he got tired, he would come up to me and say, "Mom I'm running out of energy!" And then proceed to get a drink of water to "give him more energy." Brooklyn and I really enjoyed cheering him on each week and he can't wait to start another session in the winter!

Troy is in the blue and orange, of course. He pretty much insisted on wearing his shorts and jersey every week. lol

Getting his graduation certificate. He took this VERY seriously, and wouldn't smile because he was trying to act tough.

Pretty awesome stuff!

The one with the big pile of leaves.

So, I am totally stealing an idea I saw on a blog somewhere. They had all their post title's like the names of past "Friends" episodes. I don't remember where I saw it, but I'm stealing it. Sorry if it was your idea. I tried to come up with something as creative, but let's face it, I wasn't blessed in the creative department when it comes to writing. Anyway, if it was your idea, thanks! And hopefully you'll be flattered. lol :) Now on to the real reason for this post (now that we have taken care of business).

We have been having a beautiful fall this year. A friend of mine mentioned that she thinks this fall has been the most beautiful (leaves-wise) since she has lived here, and I think I am going to agree! Or maybe it's because I'm getting older and seem to appreciate the beauty around me more and more? At any rate, the colors and weather have been amazing. This week, I have really tried to focus more on the kids and getting them outside to play, and my play with them! So, we did the traditional thing and grabbed a rake. Think the kids liked it? More like LOVED it!! I remember growing up loving to jump in the piles of leaves my mom and dad (or older sisters and brother) would rake up. As I got older, I dreaded being the one having to rake them, but now that I am REALLY old, I really enjoy it. It may have to do with the fact that we really only have one big tree too, as opposed to the thousands we had growing up (ok, I may be exaggerating a bit).

The "wind-up"

Savannah even enjoyed it...in her bouncer from afar. She is such a sweet, happy baby!!

FACTS not fantasy

Immunizing children is a hot topic these days. But guess what? It shouldn't be. You want the facts? Here they are: http://factsnotfantasy.com/vaccines.php 

Clear and to the point. Any questions? Vaccinate your children!

Halloween festivities

It seems like Halloween was a week-long holiday this year. Maybe it was because it fell on a Monday, so the whole weekend was chalk-full of Halloween parties and activities. But we sure had fun! I was reminiscing of my own childhood and Halloween memories. My mom and dad were seriously the best and made each holiday special. Maybe it's pretty ordinary, but it was special to me. Every Halloween, my mom would take us to get pumpkins, then help us carve or paint them. And she was AMAZING at this! Being the artist that she is, her pumpkins were always the best. My brother Mike and sister Megan always had great ones too. I remember always trying to copy theirs, but I was not blessed with artistic talent, so mine always looked sub-par compared to theirs (and I'm sad to say, my artistic ability has not increased with age, but I fear I am actually regressing!). Then on Halloween night, all my older sisters and brother would be out doing their own thing with friends (I am four years younger than my closest in age sister), and my Dad would take me out trick-or-treating. Since we lived in the boonies, he'd drive me around wherever I wanted to go and he always knew where they were handing out king size candy bars. I few years, he even took myself and a few friends. I'm sure he really enjoyed that! But he honestly really seemed to enjoy it, and I never once heard him complain. I love that I have these memories with them. I seem to be reminiscing about them a lot lately. I'm sure if it is because they are getting older, or because I am. Either way, it's fun to look back on fun times with my mom and dad. Now I am really enjoying making new traditions and memories with my own kids. I hope when they are as old as me (yikes!!), that they will be able to look back on Halloween and other holidays with as much fondness as I do. Now, on to the pictures...the real reason anyone looks at blogs. lol
We hit up Fall City Farms again this year with friends. We went during the week this time, and it wasn't as busy, but they also didn't have everything running like they do on the weekends...like the hayride. But we did a little photo-op anyway.

Talking to the friendly goats.

This cow was so sweet!! The kids pet her and fed her for quite a while.

Our ward had a Trunk or treat and Brooklyn decided at the last minute (around 5:30) that she wanted to be a kitty. Fine by me! It's always my old stand-by costume too. Like mother, like daughter. But I dare say, she made an adorable kitty!

"Rawwr!!"

My costume was last minute (as usual) too. I like to dress up, but just can't justify spending tons of $$$ on a costume. So I looked at what I had on for the day, and coined myself as an 80's punk-rocker. A little (or a lot in this case!) of makeup always does the trick. Erik is a BYU fan. Troy was a horse, but kept telling us he would put on his costume "In 20 minutes." lol. And Savannah was a skunk for the night.

"Gonna make it. Gonna make it."

"Ah ha! I made it!"  Name that movie. :)

Checking out his loot.

Savannah got to hang out with Miss Jen for most of the night. She loves that thumb! Stinker!!!

I didn't take any pictures of Halloween night, but we have video that we will hopefully post...soon. Or next year, whichever comes first. ;)

Happy Birthday old man

I can't believe I'm just posting this!! It's been sitting in my drafts for a couple weeks now. Whoops!!

Another year, another birthday. Erik turned 33! It was probably a pretty lame birthday for him this year, we didn't do much, but we tried to celebrate a little!! The kids were super excited to pick out presents for him and help me wrap them up.

Happy Birthday!! I made pasties, per his request. Not my favorite, but he loves em!

And he thinks I wouldn't post this picture. Ha!

Everyone is gettin' in on the action. :) Sweet "birthday cake" huh? Ya, I'm an awesome wife. lol