Short and Sweet

 I know that probably no one else besides Troy and I care about what's going on down in the basement but for those that may be curious...here is some of the progress.

Kind of exciting, I know.  The kids and I have actually been handling all the noise and hubbub pretty well.  They can even actually nap through all the pounding and sawing which is relief for me or else this would be a very long 3 months.

We got hit with another snow storm last week.  There was even a blizzard warning but the amount of snow that we got didn't even compare to the blizzard we had 5 years ago.  We probably got about 9 inches of snow overnight.  Troy and Brooke tried to go out and play in it but they didn't last too long.  I decided to dig out some of the hats that were given to us and try them on Connor.  I think this one is a little small for his noggin but doesn't he look so cute.

Brooke's new favorite thing to do with her kid brother is give him rides on her shoulders.  I think they all look like they're enjoying themselves.

We've been working on sitting up with Connor.  I think he's finally gotten things figured out and he can sit for a several minutes without toppling over.

Which leads to this posting of a video.  I think it's my own doing since I've been working with him to sit up on his own.

Both the sitting up and crawling is much sooner than I expected.  Brooke wasn't sitting up until 7 months and crawling at 8 months.  Connor turns 6 months at the end of this week.   I think I'm in for it.

It's November...

The royal 'we' have started work on the basement. Our involvement is pretty much over, now that we have moved everything out of the basement. Can you imagine a big play room here?

We were a little nervous about how much stuff we had in the basement, but as you can tell, it all fits nicely in the old guest room. Surprise holiday visitors will be sleeping on the couch.

For Halloween we had a cute chicken and a duck. Between the trunk or treat we had with our ward on Friday night, and Monday night, we have a six month supply of treats for Brooke (minus the Twix!)

Brooke's costume was 6-12 months, but she really wanted to wear it. The top fit fine, but as you can tell, the feet from the costume only hit Brooke's knees. Brooke really grasped the concept of Trick or Treating, and had a lot of fun circling the block.

Connor had fun as well, though this will be the last year that he wears tights! Next year we'll dress him up as something more manly, like a lumberjack or Mike Rowe.

All the excitement wore Connor out. He slept like a rock this afternoon.

Doesn't it almost look like his head is on backwards in this picture?

A couple of other Halloween pictures. We had a bunch of friends over on Saturday and carved pumpkins. Tracie made this cool spiderweb.

Connor's other talent? Drooling. Do see the neck sheen? With the weather getting colder, we've resorted to having him wear a bib all day so that he doesn't soak the full front of his shirt.

Family

How is it that we're already in the last week of October?  I don't know if it's because there's 2 kids now but life has seemed to fly right past.  Good thing we just got family pics taken so we could capture how much Brooke and Connor have grown in just 5 short months.

This last week both Troy and his brother, Shane, spoiled us.  Heather flew out for a few days and we were able to have a wonderful girls' week/end.  There was a lot of shopping, eating, and just plain 'ol relaxation.  Hopefully this becomes a yearly thing whether it be for my birthday or hers.  You know, I am turning the big 3-0 next year...hmmm.

 Brooke has enjoyed being the big sister in the family.  She is always ready and willing to keep Connor entertained and I know that both Troy and I really appreciate it. 

She even instisted on feeding Connor.  Unfortunately, that only lasted for 5 seconds but it was still cute to see her ask to feed him.

Up until now, Connor has enjoyed everything that we've given him to eat.  Yesterday was his first time with peas.  I think you can determine what his thoughts were about it. 

Lastly, for those that have been dying to find out what is happening in November, here's a little hint:

All of what you saw in the basement, will be put into our guest room for the next 3 months.  Brooke has already enjoyed the 3 storage bins that we've brought up with toys and our front room is a disaster.

Come February we'll all be able to breath a sigh of relief.  I'm so excited!!!!!

Yum!!!!

I thought I'd start off by making ya'll drool over this delicious dinner that we had Saturday.  I found this recipe for bacon burgers with an onion, bacon, balsamic jam and decided to be ambitious and make it.  I guess it wasn't really ambitious until I decided to make homemade hamburger buns.  Yes you read correctly, we made homemade hamburger buns.  I wouldn't call myself a baker but I'm definitely expanding my horizon.  And I would have to say that it was all worth it...even the homemade garlic parmesan fries.  (I may have gone heavy with the parmesan cheese but who wouldn't?  Really??)

 My dad is headed to Hong Kong and requested some pictures so I thought it would do a mini shoot of the kiddies.  Connor is definitely a happy baby and Brooke is a great big sister. 

Connor likes to show his distaste of having his pictures taken sometimes.  Sometimes he would prefer to chill without a flash going off every 5 seconds.

Last Sunday, I caught Brooke drawing with a pen on the wall.  She got a very stern talking too and I thought we had made it clear that it was NOT okay to use a pen or any drawing utensil on anything besides paper or her art board.  Well, clearly I was wrong.  I went into the guest bedroom to open the windows and turned around to see this.  I think I even let out an audible gasp.  Brooke had found my stamps and stamp pad and proceeded to ink the closet door.  Not cool.  Luckily, with the help of the Magic Eraser, I was able to get most of it out.  If you look closely you can see a hint of blue but for the most part it's invisible to everyone but me.

 Lastly, I thought I would include this picture of what I call organized chaos.  Obviously Brooke has a specific idea of how she wants her toys layed out but to the inexperienced eye it just looks like a crazy mess.

Troy thinks that she gets it from me.  I don't know what he's talking about...

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall

So I think we can officially welcome Fall to Colorado.  The leaves have been changing colors these past few weeks and it's gorgeous to look at.  Along with the leaves changing colors we were able to make our last harvest of the season.  We are (finally) done with our zucchini and yellow squash.  We got a ton of tomatoes and have a handful of pumpkins.  The big surprise was the last of the carrots.  Not sure how we grew such a giant but man oh man I think it could win a contest!

Luckily we had been watching the weather so we knew that snow was in the forecast at the end of the week.  Saturday morning we woke up to snow.  It was great snow for Brooke and Troy to go out and play.

 Troy thought he would teach Brooke the art of collecting snowflakes in the mouth.

 Building a snowman.  We used one of our carrots for the nose and a cucumber for the mouth.

Meanwhile, with all the playing going on outside in the snow Connor and I decided to stay indoors.  He has taken a great liking to his jumper and his bottom lip.  What a multitasker!!

Like all weather in CO, it only lasts for a short while.  By late afternoon the sun had come out and our poor snowman did not last long.

Today, the snow has all melted except for a little mound where Mr. Snowman used to be.  By the end of the week we'll be back up in the mid 70s.  Gotta love Colorado!!!! 

And...

We're back.  Much apologies for being gone for so long.  I know that everyone has been on the edge of their seats wanting to know what we've been up to so here, in a nut shell, are the goings on:

Last weekend we made our second road trip as a family of four.  One can never start a road trip without getting a nice "light" breakfast from good 'ol mickey D's.

 Both Brooke and Connor did well on the trips there and back.  The first couple of days we stayed at Shane and Heather's.  Brooke loved the freedom of being in a fenced-in backyard and took advantage of their trampoline and slide.  So much so that she fell asleep before dinner time and did not want to be disturbed.

It probably didn't help that she shared a bed with the girls.  The first night we were there the girls were up until 11:30 and were up by 6.  Brooke was definitely the one to blame for late night and early morning.  We moved her to her own room the next night.               

Connor got to meet his cousin, Easton, who is only 5 weeks younger.  I think they'll love being so close in age as they grow older.

The rest of the time we were in UT was spent with my family.  Will and Kristin took us to a place called Kangaroo Zoo.  It's a place with a bunch of inflatable slides and bouncy houses.  It tooke Brooke a couple of minutes to warm up but when she did she was off.

  The reason for the trip was to celebrate our niece's, my dad's, and my birthday.  It was fun to have the whole family together and I know that my parents loved having all the grand kids together. 

Besides our road trip, here are the things going on at home: 

Brooke loves reading whether it be to herself, Squishy, Connor, or Bear.

 She also likes to document her mad artistic skills (photography and drawing) 

Brooke is usually a willing participant when it comes cleaning the house.  Hopefully that is to stay as she gets older. 

Connor turned 4 months old on Sept. 14.  His dr. appointment went well and here are his standings:

Weight:  14 lbs. 1 oz (45%)

Length:  25" (50%)

Head:  16 1/2"  (75%)

The doc gave us the go ahead to start Connor on rice cereal.  Not surprisingly, he's a big fan.  I think it's because we mix a little apple juice in it to sweeten it up. 

Connor has found his toes and I think they come a close second to his thumbs and fingers.

In a matter of a week, Connor has become pro at rolling over. At the beginning of September I did tummy time with him.  He was not a fan.  The following week, I did it again and left to go throw something away and I came back to find him on his back.  Then last week, he started rolling completely over (from back to front then back).  Crazy how quickly they learn things.

Our garden is producing stuff.  Luckily the yellow squash has died down but we're still getting plently of tomatoes and some zucchini.

We were able to finally pick our very first apple.  We planted our apples trees 4 years ago and this is the first year that we had an apple grow.  Just one but we'll take it.  It was quite delicious.  Hopefully next year will bring more than one.

The kitties have been surviving with the craziness of last month.   

We're excited for a more mellow October but even more excited for November to come.  Stay tuned!!!