Animal Sounds

Our little man is starting to talk here and there.  Here's a video of some of the words and animal sounds he makes.  Also, that bag he's playing with is one of his favorite toys.  He loves to put it on his head and run around.  Don't worry...we always watch him and don't let him play with plastic bags.

Hop on Pop

If Daddy is home at bedtime, a little rough housing is part of the ritual before we read scriptures and do family prayer.  These kids sure love playing with Daddy, and I'm glad I can sit by and just take pictures.  You'd think I'd be more into wrestling having grown up with four brothers, but nope!  I'll stick to the sidelines.

Thankful for Family, Friends, and Food

Can I just say that I did not help my mom out enough in the kitchen in preparation for Thanksgiving?  Making all of that food is a lot of work!  I don't know how she does it every year.  Unfortunately, I live too far away from her to make it up to her this year.  Luckily though, I had some friends to split the work up here, but I was still in the kitchen for two days.  It was fun, but can I just say that by last night...I couldn't wait to crawl into bed.  Oh, and thank goodness that there is always enough food for leftovers because the last thing I wanted to do today was cook.  I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm really not.  I enjoyed cooking, cleaning, eating...everything!

Look at my cute helpers taste testers in the kitchen.

Our dear friends, The Wagners, who have become family  (not literally) since we've been out here in Ohio invited us over for the day.  The Elders from their ward also joined us for dinner.  It was great company.  Also, Seth makes a mean turkey...so juicy!

Later that night our friends, The Bills joined us and brought some delicious pumpkin pie.

I'm pretty sure Charlotte thought Boyd was there to play puppets with her.

After the puppet show we all played Farkle...including Charlotte who kicked everyone's trash.  She had no idea what she was doing.  We just told her to roll the dice like a "gentle princess" and somehow she won the game before any of us even had a chance to be considered competition. 

My heart was so full by the end of the night.  I really do have so many blessings for which to be thankful.  I'm grateful for parents that taught me that I am a daughter of God and about what is important in life.  I'm thankful for my husband who works so hard so that I can stay home and take care of my precious babies.  I love being a mother.  I'm also grateful for all the women I know who have mother's hearts. They are all excellent examples to me and blessings to my children.  I'm grateful for the family I married into.  They have taught me a lot about being supportive and accepting.  I'm so glad I married my best friend and then gained another best friend in his sister.  I am thankful for my home.  Although it's referred to as the "ghetto" of the city we live in (it's really not that bad), it has given us a comfortable living space and some of the greatest neighbors who have "adopted" my children as their grandchildren.  I am so happy to have the scriptures.  The words in the Bible and Book of Mormon have really blessed my soul.  I'm grateful for my eyes.  I know that's a little random, but I've been reading a book that made me recall the eye trouble I had at the beginning of my pregnancy with C.  I'm glad I can see.  I'm glad I have my health and that my family is healthy.  And I'm sure no one is reading this anymore so I probably should go write these feelings down in my journal.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Charlie Brown

(This picture has nothing to do with the post - but isn't she cute?)



There are two "Charlottes" in C's class at church.  The other little girl has blonde hair.  To differentiate themselves they call one "the white Charlotte" and the other "the brown Charlotte"  due to their hair color.  Lately, Charlotte enjoys asking me what EVERY song on the radio is about when we're driving.  This song came on recently.

She asked  and I answered, "It's a Charlie Brown song."  To which she replied, "It's a song about me?!?!?!"
I couldn't help but laugh and say, "Yeah, I guess you are Charlie Brown."  I think we found a new nickname for her.

Excuse me? What do you think you're doing?

The other morning I was upstairs going to the bathroom.  Things were awfully quiet downstairs.  All moms know that unless it is naptime, quiet = trouble.  I promptly bounded down the stairs, my eyes scanning the living area until I found who I was looking for.

"On the table with my cell phone?  And just who do you think you're calling?"

I'm a little afraid for when he's a teenager.  I can hear the conversation now, "In my car with the keys during the middle of the night?  And just where do you think you're going?"

It's Easy..Like Taking Candy from a Baby

Trick-or-treating this year was a completely different experience than any previous years thanks to exhibit A.

Exhibit A

He looks cute, huh?  Little man was so excited to be outside and didn't even know what we were going to be doing that Halloween night!  So our little party started walking...Charlotte and Daddy hand in hand (this holiday kind of freaks her out).

We dutifully said our "trick-or-treats" at the first doorstep, and Charlotte took a piece of candy and placed it in her bag.  Being the experienced trick-or-treater that she thinks she is, she proceeded to show Jonas what to do.  We really hit the jackpot with the first house.  They were passing out full sized candy bars. Jonas walked away with a Hershey bar in hand and was in no way going to let go of it.  House number two...each kid grabbed a piece of candy.  Now Jonas had his Hershey bar in one hand and Nerds or something in the other.  He was a happy kid...as long as no one tried to take his candy.  House number three created a bit of a dilemma because Jonas only has two, very small hands.  There just isn't room to carry three pieces.  Charlotte and him both took a piece.

We then took his piece of candy and put it in his bag.  Then the night turned very frightening!  This is the reaction we got: crying, trying to run away, foot stomping, and candy throwing.

We dealt with this scenario after EVERY house.  The poor kid did not understand why his parents kept taking his candy.  We tried letting him hold the bag.  We tried letting him hold a piece of candy in each hand.  But with Jonas, it's all or nothing! 

I would like to have a talk with the person who first said taking candy from a baby is easy because they obviously did not go trick-or-treating with my baby!

It was still a fun evening though.  While we were out we ran into Charlotte's friend and they were joined at the hip for the rest of the night.

Isn't she a cute kitty cat?  I know she's not smiling in any of the pictures.  Like I said...she is a little leery about Halloween.

Halloween Party

Our ward puts on a great family Halloween Party each year.  This year they took some family photos.  Here's our photo with a sneak peek at our Halloween costumes.  I say sneak peek because Adam is NOT in costume (contrary to popular belief).  He came to the party a little late straight after work and everyone thought he had dressed up as a doctor as a joke.

Squire's Castle

This past weekend we took a little drive to Squire's Castle.  I've been wanting to go for a couple years now.  It was built in the 1890's by Feargus B. Squire.  It was never completed and just the shell remains.  We enjoyed walking around and exploring the area.  Charlotte was not happy that we made her come and take a picture when she was so busy being a "pwincess."

It's settled in one of the Cleveland Metroparks and so there are some nice trails to hike as well.

I made the mistake of telling Charlotte to make big eyes when she smiles a few months ago.  Now she tries so hard to make big eyes that she has completely forgotten how to smile on command.  This is the face we get when we say "smile."

And what would fall be without playing in some leaves?