All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth...

Last week Grey finally cut his first tooth on Tuesday. The lower left central came in. On Thursday the upper right central came in. Well, yesterday he got his wish and his upper left central came in, too. He now has 3 teeth and is quickly working on #4. He has been pretty cranky with this whole teething business, but he is still sweet!

Grey's First Tooth

Grey finally cut his first tooth on Tuesday (the 15th). He has been pretty miserable. He has a cold and teething on top of that. I feel bad for the little dude. He has been so miserable that I have taken him to the doctor twice in the last week, just to make sure he didn't have an ear infection. No such luck. Just one miserable baby! But, he did weigh in at an impressive 22.5 lbs. He is getting so big. I can't believe he is already 8 and a half months old. It has gone by SO fast.

Our First Snow

We woke up to our first California "SNOW DAY" this morning. What an amazing sight. Sadly, the boys still had to go to school. Cohen and I came home and hurried and built a small snowman with what was left of the melting snow. We live on a hill, so we got more snow than most, and even better, it stuck. Landon is going to be bummed to see that it is almost all gone when he gets home. We live in an amazing place. I am reminded of this over and over. Whether it be the 5 deer we saw in the neighborhood yesterday on the way to church, just sitting on the side of the road. Or be it the wild turkeys, grazing sheep, horses, mountains, oak trees, lakes, or an occasional snow fall in our own back yard. We love the area we live and hope to stay a LONG, LONG, LONG time.

Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward Christmas party this last Saturday and what would a Christmas party be without Santa? The older boys are asking for a snowboard (Landon) and a skateboard (Cohen). I hope they aren't too sad that those will not be amongst the presents they are getting this year. Grey was a typical baby on Santa's lap. He took one look at him and lost it. It was really cute and I love capturing those precious moments. The music was beautiful at the program, but other than that I didn't catch the rest because we were in the last row of a noisy cultural hall. The boys had a great time. We love this time of year and all the excitement and fun that goes along with it.

Thanksgiving week

Last week we spent some much needed time together as a family. We mostly spent time just hanging out at home and just laid low in general. With Steve traveling, his mother being sick, and three crazy boys, we needed some R and R. Steve played tons of football with the boys, we shopped at the mall a little, went and saw a movie, we ran a few errands, took naps at odd times, didn't make the kids nap, stayed up late and just had fun.

Thanksgiving day was super mellow. Steve took the older boys to Turkey Bowl with him in the morning. They had a blast. I stayed home and made pumpkin muffins and started on our meal. I had taken the time to look back at my post from last year so I not only remembered what things we liked, but I knew I had added some things I wanted to do better this year. The day before Thanksgiving I still hadn't gotten any table decorations (and I hated how pitiful my table was last year), so I took Steve, Landon and Cohen to the movie and ran to the mall and picked up a few things to pull something simple together. I ended up buying an orange table runner and some fall napkins and using some artificial pumpkins and real ones from Halloween and a flower arrangement and I think it was simple, but pretty. I did get to make rolls this year and I must say they turned out good, but it was a lot of work and I think I will just do the frozen dough balls next year. I am glad I can say I can make rolls now, though. Our meal consisted of a Honey Baked Ham turkey breast, rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans and a mixed berry pie. I let Steve talk me out of doing jello and stuffed celery and I wish I had done them both. I didn't get time to do the lemon meringue pie, but maybe for fun I'll get to it this week.

On Sunday we started putting up Christmas decorations and the boys are crazy with excitement. We really had a great Thanksgiving break.

Landon and Cohen played so well together all week. One day they played Easter for over 2 hours in the back yard. They traded off hiding and finding eggs. It was so cute.

Steve dressed Grey up and played while I was at the dreaded WalMart

After a long day of cooking, Cohen asked me to rub HIS feet! What?!?!

My fun Thanksgiving center piece.

I still remember my dad letting me help when he baked. The boys had a blast helping me make the pie this year. (Notice I did actually get ready this year. It was on my list of things I wanted to make sure I did and I am glad I wrote it down, because it reminded me that I needed to stop baking and take care of me for a second. :-)!)

My sweet boys offered to do the dishes after Thanksgiving dinner. I think Steve's comment was, "Let's have more if this is how it's going to be". They were so sweet!

The boys sitting in the massage chair one afternoon. I told you we were lazy.

The boys helping Steve get the angel on the tree. Cohen tried first, but it was too scary being held 10' in the air. Landon loved it of course.

Grey's First Word

Grey said his first word today. Ball. I am most certain that he really wanted to say Mama, but "ball" will have to do. It was so cute. Steve was holding a football and he would slap the ball and say "ball" to Grey and Grey would look up at him and slap the football and say "ball ball ball". Love him. Could literally eat him up.

Here is a sneak peak at our family pics this year. There are so, so many good ones, but here is one of my boys.

Something to Be Thankful for...

Steve's mom was taken off life support today. We are thankful.

Things to Remember

This last week has been so crazy. It has been super emotional with all that is going on with Steve's mom. I have had a lot on my mind. I want to remember the raw emotions of what we are going through, but I don't have the heart to write them down. Maybe someday I will.

Grey had a rough week last week. He didn't sleep all night Wednesday night and Steve finally made me take him to the Dr. on Friday. He has his first ear infection. He was finally feeling a little more like himself yesterday after 3 days of the antibiotics. He weighed 21lb. 8 oz. at the Dr. on Friday (he is 7 1/2 months old). He got the H1N1 vaccine and his flu vaccine booster. I am so glad I took him in because I tend to wait too long sometimes.

Cohen has really turned a corner in his fine motor skills the last 2 weeks. He is coloring so much better and he is really staying in the lines. He mostly colors things one color, but it is such a big improvement.

Just a few things I wanted to remember.

Outside Looking In

Lately, Grey has spent a lot of time sitting or kneeling at the back door. Waiting...watching...hoping... But, being the little guy, he is always left behind. Watching him sit on the inside watching the boys reminded me of the same kind of pictures I had taken when Co was about Grey's age. It is cute to remember how Cohen wanted to be a part of everything Landon did, just like Grey is with Landon and Co.

Landon was so cute in these pictures. He wasn't potty trained, but he loved to wear big boy underwear. He has his Nemo ones on over his diaper and he has a plastic spoon and a paper plate and he is digging in the mud.

Soccer

Steve got Landon his own goalie jersy and gloves. He thought it was so awesome!

Soccer season is over. I am really sad. We have SO enjoyed watching Landon play this year. He has done so well. He played goalie most of the time, but occasionally he played defense and very rarely offense. He has grown leaps and bounds. Especially since we played him up a division. He started out the only 5 year old on the team and a lot of the kids were almost 8. I am so excited for him to play again. I wish the season lasted a little longer. It just went by so fast. I am so proud of LW. He had so many saves, he really improved on his drop kick, he got much more aggressive and he never complained about going to practices or games. This is by far his favorite sport and we are excited to play with the same group again next year.

So You Think You Can Dance

This year we decided to take the boys to the SYTYCD concert. They have been obsessed with Philip since last season and he did the dance off to Kanye Wests' "Stronger". They have practiced and practiced and they actually got a chance to meet Philip and show off their best popping, thanks to my friend Amber. We had backstage passes and despite the LONG, LONG wait after the show, they stayed awake and were brave enough to show off their dance moves. I was so proud and surprised. It was a great family date and some much needed distraction.

This is LW practicing his Philip dance. He and Co were entertaining everyone around us.

Boys Movie Night

The other night I went out to dinner with some friends and Steve stayed home and watched the boys. They had a movie night and these are the pictures I found on the camera. I love when he thinks to take pictures of something I am missing. I love these guys. Movie night is a big production here. We take all the pillows off the couch, all the covers off our bed and make a big area to lay. We do popcorn, soda, the whole nine yards. I just thought these were cute.

Weekly update

We have been sick again this week. When I say we, I mean Landon and Steve. Steve is traveling, so he is not around, but Landon has missed 3 days of school this week. I got my first call from the school nurse this week telling me to come pick up my boy. He had a fever and needed to go home. He told me when I came to get him that his teacher asked him if he felt ok. He said "yes". I asked him why she asked him. He wasn't sure. I am guessing because he had the sad, fever eyes. Maybe he wasn't playing at recess. He wasn't sure. I am glad they pay attention. He was afraid he would be in trouble for not feeling good??? So sad. It has been nice having him home. House is a little messy, but nice to have my boys around. I love the noise. Crazy as they may make me sometimes. Hope we are getting all the sickness out in the first part of the flu season and this isn't a sign of how it's going to be this winter.
Grey is a super speedy crawler. It is a constant job to keep small things picked up. I know I say it a lot, but I sure love that baby. He is a perfect mix of needy and independent. He has his moments where he just wants to be held, but then he also plays a ton by himself. He loves the dog, and the dog food for that matter. He loves the tree moss. He loves to be right in the middle of whatever the older boys are doing. He spends a ton of time just standing at the ottoman and watching them. He is doing great with pretty much all food. Green beans and peas are his least favorite, but he eats everything now. Carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, squash (his fav), green beans, and any fruit. He loves those little fruit star things and thinks Cheerios are fair. He likes bread, and water through the straw. He has figured out how to suck from the sippy cup and is taking a bottle, albeit unwillingly. He cries when I leave the room at nap time. It lasts about 30 seconds then he walks around the edges of the crib, talks and eventually lays down and goes to sleep. He is taking 3 naps a day. When we are off schedule they are short, but if we are home a few days, they get longer. He has been terrible at night. Getting up somewhere between 3-4 times. Last night he actually slept through the night. (8-7) Hope he has turned a corner.

Halloween week

We have been SOOOOO busy lately. It seems like the beginning of this "holiday" season is starting with a bang. I forget how crazy this time of year is. I look forward to Landons' birthday, but Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Cohens' birthday seem to follow in a mad panic sort of fashion. Pretty much every year Grandma Carter comes for Landons' birthday. She came this year, but Grandpa came as well. We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm, Apple Hill, Trunk or Treat at church, a soccer game and had actual Halloween. It was a crazy last few weeks. I am still sick and seem to have had a very short break and now am sick again. I don't have a voice right now from coughing so much. I was just going to post a few quick pictures, but decided I may as well post as many as I feel up .

Bishop's was fun this year. Landon was getting over his fever/illness and so we lasted just a little while before the fever was back. We were able to do all the fun things. My boys all loved the train ride and the hay ride. They picked great pumpkins and Cohen loved the pig race, but Grey thought the lady was too loud and cried most of the show. Overall it was fun, but with me being sick too, I am glad it was short.

Apple Hill was fun. I think it is such a beautiful part of NorCal. We were in hopes of picking apples with the boys this year, but it seems we were a week too late for that. They were picked out. We did do the pony rides, got apple donuts, apple cider, got carmel apples and just wandered around and saw some cute crafts and orchards.

Landon has been riding his new skateboard a lot lately. He is doing amazing and is loving it. He does things a little backward by peddling with his front foot, but he is so talented and can already turn and ride quite a ways. It is cute. Steve is so excited that the two of them will be able to go out and ride together soon.

Trunk or Treat was a little crazy. We did Apple Hill that same day, so I was really pooped out (seems to be a pattern here!). I had to rush home to make soup that I had signed up to bring and get the kids dressed. They were SO excited and had so much fun. They both started on their own this year without needing us to help. It is nice being in the same ward for a few years, because the boys are getting so comfortable and know so many people. We are so lucky to have so many great friends and to love our ward as much as we do. I went really simple on costumes. I borrowed Grey's (thanks Rach). It was the most amazing hand made lion costume. I reused Landon's lion costume for Co, and just bought a hat and whip for Landon and I had a lion tamer and two adorable lions.

Soccer was fun. Landon is growing so much. He is really enjoying being goalie and did particularly well playing defender on Saturday. We lost 4-3, but we put out a great effort. Man is it a lot of pressure having your kid play goalie! (I need to remember my camera!)

Halloween was a bit of a bust. Since the church event was the night before, the kids really had all the candy they needed. We carved pumpkins, but the kids weren't dying to get out. We dressed them up, again, and headed out to about 5 neighbors houses. Pretty much we just said "hi" to a few people, so we maybe went out for 20 minutes. We were all starving, so we headed to pizza. We were literally the only people in the whole place. It was perfect. We have had so much fun over the last few weeks. It is a bit of a blur, but it was fun. I can't believe Thanksgiving is just 3 weeks away.

Grey is pulling up on everything now. He is so confident. He is pulling up in his crib and stands up every time I try to put him down for a nap. The last week has been a bit of an adjustment for both of us. Today he pretty much played and napped all day. I sat and played with him a while, but he is so happy just crawling around and pulling up everywhere. I have to go rescue him from time to time when he bumps his head, but he loves being so mobile. He has already started to get in trouble and is pulling the moss out of my artificial trees, chewing on every shoe he finds, and getting in the dog bowls, but he is still just so much happier. It is amazing how fast he is getting at crawling. He is a sweetheart!