Happy Halloween!

What a fun Halloween we had. This is the best picture we could get with all three of the kids. The boys had just come back from trick-or-treating at the neighbors and were anxious to get going to our family and friends homes ... I had just woke Zoe up so she's not quite sure what's going on.

{heading out to our first houses ... Pax is getting ready to do a Power Ranger move and Tyler won't let go of his bucket, which only had a few pieces of candy in it but they were his!}

Pax had a Halloween party at school and his favorite part was the slime table. He was excited another boy came as a blue power rangers and they played together. When I picked him up we headed out to Grandma Shepard's house. Tyler was the dog that he had picked out to be and we trick-or-treated. Ty normally gets shy when people talk to him or ask him for hugs but since Grandma had given him candy he was more than happy to offer up hugs ... this lasted all day. Then once Bryce got home I took the boys to the neighbors while Zoe slept and Bryce ate dinner ... Ty was really wanting Pax's costume but settled on being Spiderman. Then it was off to all of Bryce's aunt's houses ... all of whom spoiled the boys. They didn't even need their bags since they had other bags made up for them with candy, drinks, toys, etc. Too fun!

Zoe was our little lion. She looks so quite and peaceful here that I just had to get a picture. She is our car screamer. She just doesn't like it ... won't take a binky ... just likes to scream all the way to and from our destination. So as we headed home from Grandma Shepards she screamed for a second and then went to sleep. Its so nice to drive with her sleeping so the boys and I could actually hear what one another were saying. Hopefully soon she'll figure out its not so terrible to drive somewhere and she can just go to sleep ... as Pax says, "Zoe, if you're tired just close your eyes."

Pumpkin Carving

Last night we invited our cousins over for pumkin carving. I think its so fun to watch these four grow up together. Hunter is the oldest (6) and Pax used to ... sometimes still does ... copy everything that Hunter did. Now Kolter (2) does the same thing to Paxton. He always wants to play with him and I love to watch him just watch Pax. Tyler just loves to play with his cousins and brother. So they were all quick to carve their pumpkins and headed off to play instead ... except Pax. He really did want to draw the face himself and make it really scary. So I did the best I could to carve out what he had drawn and thought the scars he added were very creative. Ty just wanted to keep blowing out the candle.

The boys all proud of their hard work!

Zoe's Blessing Day

So I'm about 9 day late in posting this but we blessed Zoe on the 21st. What a wonderful day it was ... despite the fact that is snowed the day before and was cold. We had nearly all of our family come for the blessing. The only problem we ran into was that I couldn't find the Elmer's glue ... the only thing that keeps Zoe's bows in ... and that's not really a problem. So she went bowless but still looked beautiful.

What a beautiful blessing she received. The part I remember most was about her serving others and our Heavenly Father. I certainly hope that she becomes a young woman aware of others, their needs and uses her talents to serve them.

We got the boys to sit with her for a picture before church. This is the best one that we got and Pax is pulling a funny face ... he's ALWAYS pulling funny faces for pictures these days.

My favorite people! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family. Thank you everyone for spending Zoe's special day with us.

2 Months

I seriously don't know where the past two months have gone. Zoe is growing so fast. She is still so tiny and I'm guessing probably around 8 lbs. She has got a second chin now though and her little chicken legs are filling out. Her eyes look like Tyler's did as a baby ... is it possible we will have two blue eyed kids? We seriously don't know where those eyes are coming from. Her hair also looks like it is going to lighten up too but we'll see.

Zoe still loves to be held but has now also discovered that its not so terrible to be set down once in a while. She LOVES for Pax to come talk to her and it is always his goal to make her smile ... it doesn't take her long. She has started cooing and I love to hear her little voice. She holds her head up very well and is still a wonderful sleeper. In fact, she still sleeps a lot in the day much more than I remember the boys sleeping.

Life is definitely busy with three kids but it is so amazing how much love you can have for each of them. I think my favorite thing about being a mom is watching them grow and become their own little person. Its amazing how different each of them look and how different they are in personality.

My Sister

I have such a wonderful sister. She always makes the drive to Wyoming to see me when she comes home to visit our parents and brothers. I love being able to see her for a few days and always wish she lived closer so that we would get to visit more often. Thanks Sarah for the fun visit! Paxton had the most wonderful time playing with Uncle Marsden and Sammy (he's just 5 months older than Pax). Tyler thought it was funny to scare Hattie (5 months younger than Ty) and make her cry ... such a boy. She didn't think it was funny but the more she would react the more he wanted do his monster voice at her. Hattie is Zoe's only girl cousin and they are just a year apart so hopefully they will enjoy playing with one another ... even if its just a few times a year.

Silly boy faces. Sammy said it was hard to hold the face for so long ... they were waiting for Tyler to get up on the couch and make his face which was a VERY long wait. Sarah asked him if it was hurting his mouth and he said, "no, its making me drool." Pax and Sam had a fun sleepover and set up Pax's little tent in the living room. Ty had fun playing with the boys too and keeps asking, "where Sammy go?" and "Uncle Marsden go?"