Hey, Cheer Up

We rented "Monster House" this past weekend and Pax loved it. The new quote we have been hearing is, "Hey Cheer up, in 3 hours and 3 days its CANDY TIME!" It is hilarious to hear Pax saying this. I hope he sleeps well tonight because he is very excited that tomorrow is Halloween or "Candy time!"

Halloween Storytime

Pax loves to go to storytime. They read stories and do an art project. Yesterday they could dress up and Pax was very excited. He has been playing in his costume for a month now. I wasn't going to dress Tyler up for storytime but Paxton insisted that they both needed to wear their costumes.

Paxton has been wanting to take pictures by himself, so yesterday he took a picture of Tyler and I before we headed to the library. He's pretty good at holding the camera still as he takes a picture. He's funny since he just keeps saying, "Cheese! Say Cheese!" He does it for a while though so I'm not quite sure when he's actually going to take the picture.
Here's Paxton at storytime. They're "shaking their wiggles out." Pax wasn't shaking too much since he was busy checking out everyone else's costumes. I saw his eyes light up as one of his friends walked in as a Power Ranger.

Snow Day

It snowed off and on all day yesterday and then it began to stick last night. Pax was so excited and for his last drink had a cup of snow. Then first thing this morning he headed out to play in the snow. He got all bundled up and said, "I have too much stuff on!" He's right but it was cold out ... too cold to take Tyler out too so he and I stayed in the basement where we could watch Pax without having to get cold. Pax went running outside and dove into the snow. Then he rolled over and started making a snow angel.

I think his favorite thing to do was lay in the snow, scoop it up and eat it. When we were putting his mittens on from last year he said, "These look like socks." Another good point. Better get him some gloves this year ... definitely need some that are water proof since he loves the snow so much. Last year we'd just go out and play for a minute but this year he doesn't seem to want to come back in. I only got him to come in since we had to warm up and get ready for storytime at the library.
The first thing Pax did after he was bundle

Pumpkin Carving

Pax is quite the little gardener and grew 11 pumpkins this year (only 9 are pictured since the other 2 are sitting out front). He was growing them for everyone, one for Pax, Tyler, Dad, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Hunter, Kolter, etc. When we went to get the ones we were going to carve he knew exactly whos was whos.

(Tyler tried to stand up just as Bryce took the picture)

He was funny about gutting the pumpkins this year since he didn't want to touch the guts. He didn't want his hands to get dirty ... never the case when he's playing outside in the mud, finger painting, etc. but the excuse came in handy. We carved 2 pumpkins with faces and the other is a skull (the design came with the pumpkin carving tools I bought). Pax was funny about the skull because once Bryce was done he said, "what is that?" Bryce told him it was the skull he picked out. "Where? I don't see it." he replied. Those designs never do seem to work.

Pax making a scary face. The pumpkin in the middle has fangs like Tyler.

On the Move

Though not officially crawling Tyler is on the move. He rolls and scoots his way to wherever he wants to be. He is also pulling himself in his crib but gets very mad when he falls down. If anyone is around him he just wants to hold onto a finger so he can be standing. I'm still wondering if Ty will end up never being a crawler but just start walking. He has also begun developing strong opinions about what he wants to play with, eat or do. If what we give him isn't what he is wanting or he wants what was taken away he is sure to let us know. Its fun seeing him develop his interests.

Winter Wonderland

So I've been complaining that winter is here all day long. I just looked outside and it is still snowing but I remembered what I do like about winter. It is ... and will be tomorrow ... beautiful to wake up to the white blanket of snow covering everything. It will be fun to let Pax eat some snow ... he has been begging all day but it wasn't sticking and I didn't really want him eating dirt. It is fun to play in the snow ... making snowmen, snow angels and having snowball fights (which Pax will probably like this year) and going sledding ... so I will quit complaining about the cold, windy air and the dreary, no sun day we had and remember what I do LOVE about winter. I'll have to remind myself of this several times this winter since i also know it lasts a LONG, LONG time.

Paper Heaven

Tyler LOVES paper! While Paxton napped Tyler and I went downstairs to work on the computer. I heard him laughing and turned around. Silly Tyler ... he had the paper over his face and was loving it ... complete excitement. He didn't even try to eat it he was in heaven just playing with it and hearing the noise he could make with it.

Last Fall Day

Last Friday was a beautiful fall day. We worked on our list of things to do and then in the afternoon decided to take a break. We walked to the park ... Pax rode his bike.

Bryce and Ty relaxed as Pax and I played chase on the slides.

Its a good thing we took advantage of the nice day because today is definitely a winter day ... it has been snowing off and on all day. I was hoping it would stay nice a little longer but that never seems to be the case in Wyoming. At least Pax is excited for the snow to start. He's ready for the fun of building snowmen and sledding.

Our Past Week

We haven't been up to a whole lot this past week .. spent a few days in with a sick kid and went out of town for the weekend. We went to Logan to watch the USU Homecoming game despite the fact that the Aggies aren't doing so well this year. Anyway, we didn't even end up seeing the game since it was so cold and rainy but we did have fun playing with Aunt Nat, Uncle Travis, Aunt Crystal and Baby Carson. Plus Grandma Sue, Grandpa Hector and Hunter came to Logan too. So we had a good time.

Best Buddies
I'm so glad my boys love to play together. Pax keeps inviting Tyler to come play in his room. Pax is also very good at sharing his toys and loves it when Tyler finds something that he loves ... like the bus. Tyler lights up when he sees it since he can open the door, move the windshield wipers and honk the horn, then it will sing, "The ___ on the bus goes __, __, __." I'm so glad that Pax is able to share ... most of the time and Tyler is easy to switch toys with ... most of the time.

Where is Tyler?
Tyler is on the move. He is so close to crawling ... today he keeps getting up on all fours and then looks around like now what? I frequently find him underneath his dresser. I'm not sure what's so interesting under there but he loves to play there.

Kindermusik
Pax goes to a Kindermusik class on Wednesday mornings. Its just 45 minutes long and moms go in for the last 15 minutes so Tyler and I go and just wait upstairs until the kids yell ... "Grown up time!" Anyway, last week they learned about the rain and got rain shakers. Pax had this red bowl in his backpack and I asked what it was for. He put it on his head and said, "Ms. Kari let me borrow her rain hat." I'm sure Ms. Kari doesn't want it back but I had to get a picture. He thought it was so fun!

Jammie Day
Paxton got sick Sunday night. He had a fever all night until about 6 a.m. when he was finally able to sleep. We're not sure what's wrong with him. He just hasn't been feeling himself all week so we've been staying in. On Monday we decided to all stay in our PJs. Tyler and I actually did get dressed but seriously as soon as I put my shirt on her puked all over me, him and the carpet. So I decided to put him in some PJs so his tummy would be comfortable in case he was getting sick. Then I put my PJs on too since I didn't have any clean jeans and figured I wasn't going anywhere anyway. So we made the best of it and played games, watched movies and relaxed.

Tyler woke up from his nap with the craziest hair. Pax and I had a good laugh and decided it was worth taking a picture of.

8 Months

Our little Tyler is 8 months already. Once again I can hardly believe how quickly time is going by. He is such a happy little guy. He loves getting his picture taken and gives me a huge grin whenever I pull the camera out. I was having a hard time keeping Pax out of the pictures today too.

He now has 5 teeth ... two on the bottom, two daggers which are quickly coming in and now the left front tooth is beginning to poke through his gums. He is rolling all over the place and trying to pull himself up on things. I finally put up the gate on the stairs so I could quit worrying he would roll down them. He would have a long way to go from the living room or his room but I feel much better now that we're secure ... and Pax is VERY good about keeping it locked.

I'm so glad these two enjoy each other so much. Pax continues to be a good helper and has been having fun trying to teach Tyler to crawl. He's not in a hurry to learn since he is so quick at rolling and can be on the other side of the room in no time flat but he is getting very close.

I just couldn't resist a picture of these two wrestling.

Since We've Been Home

So Paxton had missed two weeks of preschool since he was sick and then was in Disneyland. I was a little nervous it would be hard to get him to go back but it really wasn't. He loves to go and play with his friends and LOVES his teachers. I'm so glad. I don't know how I will let him go to Kindergarten though since I miss him the whole time he is gone to preschool and so does Ty. As soon as we pick him up Tyler goes crazy with excitement.

Tyler is getting very close to crawling. He is getting anywhere he wants to be by rolling and reaching and scooting when he's on his back. He has just decided that he doesn't want to sit down he just likes to stand but is so wobbly! He is daring though since he'll hold onto my fingers and then just let go of one and dive for what he's trying to get.

Tyler has been sick since last Thursday. We thought maybe he was just getting more teeth. He got two teeth on vacation on the top ... not the middle ones but the incisors so he looks like a bat. Paxton's came in like that too. The rest of us are still healthy and hopefully it stays that way. Today Ty is finally feeling better ... not 100% but at least he doesn't just want held all the time.

Ty also learned to say, "Mom!" and we think he knows what it means. He reaches for me while he says it ... usually when he's crying but other times too. Its cute!

Seaworld

SeaWorld was a great way to end the trip. There were hardly any people there ... definitely their off season. We started by going to see the sharks. Once again ... Pax is a little nervous. We had to walk down this dark tunnel and but it was really cool at the end. There are sharks swimming all around you and above you.

We were walking by the Sea Lions and you could buy some fish to feed to them. So we thought it would be something fun for Paxton ... we probably should have skipped it. The Sea Lions bark really loud for the food and the Seagulls start swarming you to get it too. They take it right out of your hand if you aren't quick enough.

It took us until the last day at Disneyland to figure out that the boys could ride in the stroller like this. They thought it was tons of fun and were usually laughing ... plus it gave Bryce's shoulders a break from carrying Pax if he didn't feel like walking.

We also went on a tram ride across the bay at Sea World. It was an awesome view of the beach and San Diego. Tyler liked it too.

When Bryce went to SeaWorld as a kid you could touch the stingrays. Now they just have an open pond of starfish but that was good enough for Paxton.

There was this tramp with the bungees to jump and do flips. We thought Paxton would have tons of fun on it since he loves to jump on the tramp. He did think it was fun.

The funniest part was watching him try to do a flip. He wasn't quite strong enough or big enough to flip himself all the way around. He would go forward and flip backward and then back to the front. He wanted to do it himself so the lady helping him would try to grab on without him knowing.

We ended our day at SeaWorld with Paxton playing at Shamu's Playground. We watched Shamu and sat in the splash zone but didn't get wet. Pax was disappointed although I wasn't so sad. The people that did get wet were drenched! The show was amazing though ... Paxton pretended to be riding Shamu like the trainers did.

He also played at their playground. His favorite thing was this play area with probably 30 punching bags hanging down. The kids could run all around in it and push them and get hit with them. Paxton thought it was tons of fun ... even when he came out with a scraped arm. Then he went to climb the rope which took you up to the tunnels.

I wish Bryce hadn't had the camera and I had. He went through the tunnels with Paxton and it was so funny. Paxton was clear ahead of him and would just stop and wait. I had to go in with him too and am sure I looked just as hilarious.

We ended our trip with one last trip to the beach. Paxton built one last town of castles as we watched the sun go down. It was a very fun family vacation. Paxton asks every day if he can go back to Disneyland.