Halloween 2011

We had a great time this Hallowee. It started off on the 22nd with our wards Trunk-or-Treat. Joss's favorite part was the cake walk, not because she got a cupcake, but because she could jump from spot to spot. She loves to jump.

Next up was the Wilkins' family Halloween party. We all came over to my parents' house for pizza. Then we played games like finding the eyeballs in the spaghetti noodles. (I'm still picking out pieces of noodle from Joss's costume.)We also went trick-or-treating from room to room. The kids LOVED it. They do every year. Its a fun family tradition.

Then we had Halloween itself. This year we went to my sister's neighborhood and went trick-or-treating with them. We had a lot of fun. Joss finally figured it out at the last house and was running down the street for the next house.

Here are our costumes.
I was Cleopatra, Joss was a flapper from the 1920's and Seth was Peter Pan. This was the only picture that I could get of him with his hat on.

Bowl Hats

Seth loves to pull out all of my plastic bowls and tupperware. Its pretty much the only cabinet that he can get into in the kitchen. Its that or the phone books. He much prefers the bowls though.

How cute and innocent he looks in this picture?

Tool Belt

For whatever reason Joss decided that the box for her crayons just wasn't cutting it anymore. She told me that they were her tools. She is too funny sometimes.

Shoe Fetish

Seth is really into shoes lately. Maybe because he has to wear them now since he is walking. Maybe because we have a huge pile to climb on. Not sure which, but he loves them. He is often found walking around with one or two in his hands.

Faces

Joss was drawing one day. She told me she was drawing faces. I went over to see them and this is what I found. She was trying to draw smiley faces like her daddy. Hers are a little sad though.

Phoenix Children's Museum Field Trip #2

We had another opportunity to take the kids to the Children's Museum at a discount. We love going there and getting to play.
This was Seth's first time being old enough to play and have fun with all the toys and centers. He thought it was pretty awesome!
And now to the pictures!

Here is Joss and Seth riding in the pencil car.


Seth loved this marble run that used golf balls. He sat and played there for about 15 minutes straight.


This marble run went all around the room and the kids loved watching the balls roll all over the place.


I'm pretty sure this was Joss's favorite this time. She spent a lot of her time scooping up the peas and weighing them. It was very therapeutic.

Here is Seth standing on the grate where the air comes up and blows his hair all over. It took him a while to get on it but he loved it when he finally got on it.


What kid doesn't love legos!?!


Seth pushing the car.


Climbing on the climbing structure. I was so glad that I never had to climb in there are get her.


Stuffing the handkerchiefs in the pipes.


Playing the chimes.


This place is awesome! My kids love going there.

Sleeping

Seth usually only sleeps in his crib but sometimes he just can't stay awake.

Hiding

Joss is really into hiding all of a sudden. She likes to hide in her closet, beside the couch, behind the pillows, and even in the tv stand.

New Glasses

I recently got new glasses. My plan was to get contacts and then a new phttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifair of glasses to wear depending on my mood. That didn't work out so well. :(

My eyes were fine with the contacts until one ripped and I went to get a replacement one. Now if they are in for even 30 minutes my eyes turn red for about three days. It is so sad.

On the plus side though, I did get new glasses that I LOVE!!! I got them from a site that my sister-in-law told me about. Its called zennioptical.com They have tons of frames at really good prices! I got my prescription glass for $15.00 including shipping! And I LOVE them! The only thing to worry about it making sure your script has all the information that they need to make them. Mine did so it was great!

Here is a close up of my glasses. They remind me of butterfly wings/stained glass. I love all the colors and that they are fun, but not totally crazy.

Wilkins' Family Reunion/ Labor Day Weekend

Every year for Labor Day weekend we have the Wilkins' Family Reunion up in Pinedale, AZ. We spend the weekend camping out on my Aunt Nadine's lawn. We always have such a great time there. It's great to get out of the heat for a while and there is always great food and great people to be with.
This was Seth's first long car trip, as well as his first time in his new carseat. We were really nervous about it, but he did great. On the way up he started crying about 15 minutes away from our destination. Not too bad. He and Joss actually ended up sleeping most of the way. The way home wasn't as great, but it wasn't too bad either.
It was also their first time sleeping in a tent. We borrowed a big tent and a pack 'n' play from my parents and the kids did great. Seth had a hard time the first night because he wouldn't stay bundled up and he would get cold. He did much better the following night and Joss did great both nights.

Here is Joss hanging out by the tent.


We had so much fun. There was a swing that was tied to a tree and you could run and swing around. All the kids loved it! Joss needed some help and her daddy loved swinging her high and all around. She would giggle and laugh the whole time.


Here is Raef "hiding" in the grass. He was so sure that no one could see him.


My Aunt and Uncle have chickens that they are raising. Joss loved getting to feed them the left over pancakes.


Sunday afternoon Ben, Danielle, Caleb and Raef took Joss for a ride on the golf cart.


It was during naptime and Patrick and Seth were both asleep on the lawn, so I had no responsibilities for a bit. It was so nice to just relax and read.


Ben brought up his corn hole game. You knew it had to be Ben's because of the gators logo on every piece. Joss and Seth loved putting the bean bags into the holes. Seth loved sitting on the end of it, which increased the difficulty level for Ben. :)




We also had a little family picnic. Seth really enjoyed smearing the strawberries all over his face.




Lastly, Danielle taught Joslyn the joys of blowing dandelions. Joss loved it and I think she found every single one on the property.





We had so much fun on this trip! The kids loved getting to be outdoors and the weather was perfect. We are definitely looking forward to next year!

Oreo mustache

I gave Joss an Oreo one afternoon and when I looked at her again she had a chocolate mustache.

Happy Birthday Seth!

Patrick and I have decided that we don't want to have big birthday parties for our kids. At least not until they are older. We just like having it a small family day and with our kids so young they don't care about having parties anyway.



Seth was not too excited about opening his presents. In fact, he kept pushing them off his lap.


So we let Joss open them for him.


We got him a cool little car.


And some new outfits.


Seth shares his birthday with his older cousin Hailey. So I made a cake for both of them to share. The cake really didn't turn out how I wanted it to, but it still tasted good.

One Year Old

Seth was not wanting to get his picture taken so this was the best one that we got of him.

Seth is all boy! He loves to climb and stomp on things. He loves making messes and rough housing. He is all boy, but he is the sweetest little boy. He always comes up and gives me hugs and loves to be snuggled.

At his one year check up the doctor said that he is doing great. He has only gained 2 ounces since his 9 month check up but since that is when he started walking and running they weren't too worried about it. If he still hasn't gained much at fifteen months they will start looking at it more carefully.

I'm not sure how he hasn't gained weight, the kid eats like a horse. He can eat more than Patrick and I at times. He loves pretty much all food except for juicy fruits. In fact, he will throw any melon across the room.

We loves our little Bubba-Seth and are so glad that he has come into our home.

Playing in the Mall

One day I had an eye doctor's appointment to check how my new contacts are doing. We decided to take the kids down to the mall and let them play while I had my eyes checked. The kids loved the little playground. Seth's favorite part was trying to escape. Joss loved the fire engine and the slides.

Puzzles

Joss is really good at puzzles. In fact, one of the girls that we have babysit for us told me that Joss is better at the puzzles than she is. She can even put the pieces in when there isn't a piece next to it when there is a grid. She is so smart.

Stickers

One day I was shopping in the dollar spot at Target and they had a set of stickers. I thought that Joslyn would enjoy them so I got them for her. She loves them! Of course, when I purchased them I thought she would enjoy putting them on paper, but no she likes to stick them to her arm instead.

Exercising

For a few months now I have been going to our stake's women's fitness class. I'm really enjoying it. It's been really helpful for me because I'm not great at working out on my own. It's also nice to have somewhere to see other adults.
Joss and Seth love to go too. Seth really likes the CD player that we use. I'm always having to run over and pull him away from it. One of Joss's favorite things to do it to grab an extra yoga mat and curl up in it and pretend she is sleeping. She'll even fake snore on occasion. Most of the time they just have fun running around and playing with some of the nursery toys that we bring in for them.
Here is a picture of Joss with the yoga mats.
We've all been enjoying going and its good to know that I am doing something good for myself and the kids like to play and get out of the house every day.

New Glasses

Check out Joslyn's new fashion statement. She loves these glasses that she found in her daddy's car one night.

Two Little Monkeys...

Our first little monkey is of course Joslyn. She can hang from pretty much anything. Her upper arm strength amazes me sometimes. I swear she could be the best rock climber out there, if we would let her. She also loves to jump on everything or off of things. She especially loves taking all the cushions off the sofa and bouncing on the springs.
Our Second little monkey is Seth. He has recently learned that he can climb into/onto/ behind/up things. His favorite is the cabinet that we keep all those old phone books in. (Not sure why we don't just throw them out, we never use them.) He loves to climb in there and play, at least until the door gets closed on him and it gets all dark and scary in there. He also loves to climb in our computer desk, of course he can't get himself down though so he just whines until someone comes and rescues him. Here is Seth playing in the cabinet.

I think I need to sing my little monkeys the song about "no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" I would hate to have to call the doctor.

Painted Pretty

Joss had really gotten into having her nails painted. She loves it. She shows everyone her pretty nails. It's pretty funny because after a few days her finger nail polish is all but gone so people get kinds confused since they can't see the color on her nails.
Yes, he finger nails are blue! They are so cute on her. It's so much fun having a girly girl. Maybe someday soon she will let me do something cute with her hair. :)

11 Months!

Wow! This little guy is already 11 months old.

He is into EVERYTHING now. He can even climb onto our couch.
He loves to play with our cabinet doors. He used to climb into them, but one day the door closed on him and he got scared because it was dark and he didn't know how to get out.
He has started walking. He isn't great at it, but he is getting better everyday. Patrick and I think he is just to impatient to try and catch his balance. He just wants to GO!
He also loves the buttons on the tv, his dad's alarm clock and whatever he can reach of the computer.

He loves to eat. Except melon. It is pretty much the only thing that he will not eat. Whenever I give it to him he leaves it on his plate. If I put it in his mouth for him, he gives me a look like "this is the worst thing ever" and pulls it out and throws in on the floor. I am thinking its a texture thing because how can you not like watermelon?
He also has his first tooth. He was such a crabby boy for it too. My happy boy was gone and this monster came to live with us for a few days. I sure hope that he isn't like that for every tooth.
He also loves to sit like this. He will sit and play like that for a really long time. That is just how he is comfortable I guess.

I can't believe that it is already time to start thinking about what to do for his birthday! What happened to my little baby?