thanksgiving weekend

We had a wonderful, long weekend. I love it when Rich has time off! Wednesday Rich took off early from work and the two of us went to a movie (we saw Twilight). It was a fun start to the weekend.

Thursday was full of football, baseball, family, friends, food, and fun. I made pies in the morning (with one tragedy involving lots of glass breaking all over the kitchen). James was a big helper.

The boys loved playing outside at Grandma's house.

They got so dirty that they had to take baths before we even ate!

On Friday we avoided all stores and instead took the boys up to the high school baseball field.

James and Rich in the batting cage.

William thought it was so cool to play on a big field!

William playing on the big field!

I think he could play baseball forever! I tried to get some pictures of William's rosy cheeks but he wouldn't hear of it... this is the best I got. James, on the other hand, sat down to pose for me.

Saturday, while I was out, Rich and William finally carved our pumpkin! Laugh if you must but we couldn't let a perfectly good pumpkin go to waste without consuming it's seeds (that are roasting as I type.) We also ventured to one of our traditional holiday spots--North Pole City. The boys were in awe of the Christmas wonderland that surrounded them.

And this morning they awoke to a house decorated for the season. Tomorrow we'll tackle the tree.

do you see the resemblance?

Elise had this on her blog and I just thought it was hilarious.

I have been trying to play catchup on blogging since I got back from California a month ago. It's just been so crazy around here between Young Women in Excellence (and all things Young Women) and sickness and everyday life. I finally have California updates though. Enjoy!

oak glen
jacob's baptism
pumpkin factory
awesome uncle jacob
friends and family
little travelers

birthday celebrations

I think William's birthday was a success! (Warning: Lots of pictures and videos!)

In the morning, he got to watch his favorite Saturday morning cartoons... and Rich even bought him "special bird cereal" (aka Froot Loops) for breakfast.

William ended up not feeling too great that day so we took it pretty easy. He was super excited about opening presents and loved them all. We probably could've wrapped up some of his old toys and he would have been excited about those too!

William with all of his presents.

This year I decided to do cupcakes instead of a cake. William could not make up his mind about what he wanted! Everyday he told me something different. Finally we settled on baseball cupcakes.

Blowing out the candles.

Yummm!

William decided that he only wanted to lick off the frosting... even though he loves chocolate cake.

On Sunday, we went over to the Crane's and William got even more presents... and another cake! Lucky boy!

While he ate his dinner I found him and BenSam playing with all the actions figures he got. It was hilarious.

I even caught a little of it on video...

William is just so excited to be FOUR. (Of course, he keeps talking how he'll be 8 next, like Jacob... hopefully by his next birthday he'll understand that we can't just skip 5, 6, and 7!) He loves to be an even bigger help to me now because he's so big. One of the highlights for him was having everyone sing to him at Primary on Sunday. He thought it was so cool and told me, "I wasn't even shy!"

Yea for birthdays! Yea for 4-year-olds!! Yea for William!!!

William

Yesterday William told me, "It's hard being a 3-year-old." Well, today is his birthday... I guess it's a good thing he's not three anymore! I really can't believe I have a 4-year-old!!! William is such a fun boy to have around. Here are four reasons why:

*He loves to help. Whether it's making waffles and cookies or doing the laundry or emptying the silverware he's always a good helper.

*He likes to do the right thing. When I'm in the other room William makes sure that James doesn't get into any trouble (which James loves to do). I don't have to worry about leaving them in the room by themselves because William will make sure they don't get into too much trouble.

*He's polite. He's always sure to say "please" and "thank you."

*He's sweet and complimentary. Not only does he love to give great hugs to all of us but he often tells me how beautiful I am. You can't get better than that. (I think he's learned from his dad.)

There are a million other things that are endearing about William... but I have presents to wrap before he gets home!

Happy Birthday William!

the magic kiss

When I was a little girl and we needed to wake up my Grandpa Allred, my mom would tell us that the only way was to kiss him on the cheek. We would try other things but the kiss was the only thing that ever worked. And why wouldn't it? It worked for Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, right?

So when I got tired of being woken up by whining and poking and my eyelids being pried open, I told William that the sure-fire way to wake me up was with a kiss. It worked especially nice in the beginning because I could lay there, pretending to be asleep, for just a few more minutes until he remembered the secret. Now, however, he usually comes in, plants a big wet one on my cheek and asks, ever so sweetly, "Mom, can you please get me some more milk?"

This past week we were all feeling pretty crummy so when James stumbled into our room in the middle of the night I just let him crawl into bed--not something I usually do. Some time later I was aroused from my slumber by someone pulling on my pajama leg. I chose to ignore it. I was exhausted! But then I felt two little lips kissing my cheek! James must have seen William do it a few times and knew that it worked!

And so I continue in the tradition of my favorite fairy tale princess. Besides, who doesn't want to be woken up by the kiss of a prince (or two)?

for rachelle

My sister, Rachelle, needed us to do this experiment so she could get extra credit in her child development class. It has to do with "conversion"... you remember this from your days in child development right? Anyway, I tried to email it to her but it was too big... so now you all get to enjoy it.

climbing on up

While we were in California, James learned how to open doors and climb in and out of cribs.

This did not make for good naps while we were there. I didn't think it would be a problem when we got home because his crib is bigger and our door knobs are harder to open. Boy was I wrong! Within 5 minutes of putting him in his crib at home he was out and had the door open. And so, this past weekend we bought this:

I have to brag on myself. I put the entire thing together by myself (except for some heavy lifting from Rich and minor help from William). Yeah, I'm awesome.

So far it's working out great. William loves sleeping on the top bunk. Even during the day he asks if he can go lay down on the top bunk. This coming from a boy who quit his naps 1 1/2 years ago. He's always playing "pirate ship" up there. He's always asking if James can go up there too... and that makes me nervous. James is just too crazy. (Just this week he chipped his tooth on the bathtub.) I'm certain that James will fall off the top. Please pray that he doesn't.