Welcome to our World

Our local Children's Museum was a life saver. After being used to going to the park for so long we all had a case of cabin fever so Grandma Karyl helped me take my 3 to this wonderful place full of activities. We should go more often! Kaelah's favorite part was the wind room, Danny's favorite part was the jeep, & Michelle's favorite part was the toy train set. I assume Grandma's favorite part was the other Grandmas & my favorite part was not just being able to pay attention to my children instead of listening to the dishes in my kitchen calling my name. Actually, the real reason why we went on this certain Friday was because my oven really needed to self-clean & I didn't want us to be around the smell for 4 hours. (;

Grandpa helping prepare the pumpkin from our garden for dinner in a pumpkin. He is the tidiest mess-maker I know & is always good about cleaning up after. Here is Kaelah trying to clean up all the Tide laundry detergent she spread all around the laundry room & kitchen. I think this was the 3rd largest mess our home had since after #1: when the washing machine flooded the basement & #2: we replaced all the carpeting in our home. Danny having a good ol' time with his Go&Grow formula. All I can say, I'm glad he's fully on whole milk now. And his big sister helped me get up there. Just like she helps get to the treats above the microwave. But that's okay because he taught her how to get around all our child safety latches that have lovely things like cleaning supplies & make-up hidden behind them. Grrr. And don't think this little lady doesn't know how to create her fair share. lol.

We're so lucky our trips to the park lasted clear into December. There was many a moment when Danny could be found chasing squirrels... or trying to figure out how to push Michelle. Look at how nicely all these children are sharing the sand toys! Thank goodness for winter clothes and bouncy bridges. Look at Michelle, everybody! She's growing up way too fast. (; No wonder "the ball" is in the toy hall of fame. When Kaelah saw this picture earlier today she laughed heartily. FUNNY story: Kaelah used a green cup intended for making towers as a cup & a funnel as a lid. Saying she wanted to make pop, she asked me to find a straw. I found a little stick & put it in there. Showing her approval, she gleefully said, "Look Danny! Pop!" and handed it to him. Delighted, he tried to drink through the stick. Noticing that didn't work, he took off the lid & drank SAND! He was so upset & I tried so hard to finger sweep it out of his mouth for...

Michelle's 1st Thanksgiving! She & I had the most to be thankful for this year. Mostly because she & I were the only ones in the family who didn't get sick. After all that throwing up, it may be a while before we want to travel to Utah in the winter again. I'm just so grateful we arrived in safety. On the way through Wyoming I was very grateful for car heaters & AWD... and that I don't live there. P.S. Click on the photo to go to the Picasa photo album of 15 photos if you wish.

My 17-month-old son has turned into quite the little helper. He would like to help with anything & everything you let him. Here's an example of him taking out the recycling: Lately I just keep thinking, "Are you sure you're not even 1 & a half yet?" He is becoming such a little man & there is no wonder why everyone at the park assumes he's already two years old. I think part of it is having a big sister to show him the ropes, but part of it is simply that he's physically mature for his age. Amazing.

Here are a few highlights from last month: My dad, Dan & I ran in our very first Turkey Trot. The weather was as nice as you could ask for & we had a really fun time. The guys were only a couple spots away from prizes in their age group. I was quite proud of them. We all walked home excited to do it again next year. I loved the feeling of community it provided. Dads cheering on their little girls & boys was also a great thing to see. "Do you think you can make it to that stop sign?" has never sounded so loving as from some of the families I eavesdropped on. Our annual raking of the leaves. I liked this one b/c Kaelah is jumping, Dan is dancing, & it looks like Meigo just finished something up. ha ha. Our almost daily trips to the park have been reduced to about once a week due to weather conditions. An indoor activity all the children enjoy (& have to be supervised at to reduce fighting) is the fishing game we were given. I have no idea why on t...