"Girl" Cheese Sandwich

Today, at the Apollo Burger drive up window...

Me: Hey Jax, do you want a grilled cheese sandwich?

Jaxson (totally offended, with scowling eyebrows): Mommy. I want a boy cheese sandwich, not a GIRL cheese sandwich!

Photoshoot

We had our family pictures taken last week - our first real attempt ever. It went pretty well considering it was COLD outside and we had a 3-year-old (who makes some kind of weird face whenever a camera is around) and a 1-year-old to deal with. My friend and neighbor, Keli Blain, took the pictures and she did a fantastic job! Even though THIS is what was actually going on

most of the time...

She managed to get awesome pictures that we love. I think she's so good because she's a mom with 3 little girls, so she knows just how to capture a kid's attention and hold for long enough to snap some perfect shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

If you want to check out Keli's other stuff and information, go to: http://kelibphotography.blogspot.com

Finally!

Jaxson has been waiting and waiting and waiting for some good snow this year. It finally came! As soon as it covered the ground we all had to snow-suit it up and head outside. We didn't think Wyatt would like it very much, but we were wrong. Other than the fact that he couldn't sit up by himself or move his arms, he had a great time. He was in heaven slithering through the snow on his belly.

BiRtHdAy BoY

My little, tiny baby turned one last week. HOW IS HE ALREADY ONE?! I feel like I just barely had this kid. Wyatt is such a fun part of our family. He is very dramatic and is either really happy or really mad - you don't get much of an in between with him. He is a charmer and will stare at people and smile forever until they finally look at him and smile back.

He is a TEASE and already loves to push his parent's buttons. "What?" you say. "He's one, they must be exagerrating!" No we're not. He is so hard to say No to because it is always hilarious and I usually have to hide my smile as I tell him "no no". And tell me how, somehow, down through the genepool Wyatt inherited the exact same expression my older brother used to make all the years he teased and tortured me??? Seriously.

But he is so fun and we love to see him learn new things everyday. He's very passionate about food and loves everything so far (except birthday cake, apparently, as you'll see in the pictures). He worships Jaxson and army-crawls all over the house following him around. It is so cute to see them play together and hear them laughing at eachother. He thinks peekaboo is the funniest thing ever and never gets tired of it. He brings joy and laughter to our home everyday, and I almost can't remember what our lives were like without him! Happy 1st Birthday, Wyatt! We love you!

His favorite present of the day.

I love the expression on his face. "Um...I'm pretty sure that is my book..."

More presents...

This picture pretty much sums up how he felt about his cake.

We got him to pretend he liked it for a minute so we could get a good picture, but he really wanted nothing to do with it.

JACKPOT

I never posted these, but this was really funny. On Halloween, Mark was out trick or treating with Jaxson and Wyatt was home with me. In between doorbells, I ran upstairs to get something and this is what I found when I came down, like 10 seconds later.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So, the other day I was putting up our Christmas decorations, and Jaxson was really excited. It took forever to put all the fall stuff away and haul all the Christmas stuff up from the basement, so by the time I did that, it was nap time for him. He took a nap while I decorated away, and he slept for a couple of hours. He woke up just as I was finishing the tree, and he stood at the top of the stairs (looking down into our living room). He saw the garlands and lights and Christmas tree with huge eyes and he goes

(in complete awe)

"Oh mommy, there's Christmas EVERYWHERE!"

It was so cute. It reminded me how magical Christmas is when you're little. How fun to get to experience that all over again through your kids!

Santa's Workshop & Boutique

We're hosting a big craft workshop on Dec. 6th - kinda like a Super Saturday, but at a school in Murray instead of a church. There will be food, prizes, and vendors (Lia Sophia, ModBe, Usborne Books, Scentsy, Just for Girlz bows, and Discovery Toys). It should be a fun day, come check it out! If you would like to come make some cute Christmas presents, click on the link below for more info:

http://www.CreateSomethingCute.com

Orders for items made at the workshop are due Dec. 1st, but you can come shop that day even if you don't want to make something!

Feeding the Dang Ducks

Okay, so anyone who knows me from highschool knows I am not a big fan of ducks. I used to have a beanie baby duck hanging from a noose on the rearview mirror of my car when I was sixteen (all because of a dumb duck that ran (waddled?) out in front of a car, and caused the car to slam on its breaks, and me to rear-end the car less than a month after getting my license. And YES, it WAS the duck's fault).

Apparently, that animosity has traveled through my genes and on to Jaxson some how. Here is his cousing Cody teasing the ducks by eating the bread and running away--he had like 20 ducks chasing after him and he thought it was hilarious!

Jaxson, on the other hand, was TERRIFIED to have 20 ducks coming at him and totally freaked out. I am a mean mom and was laughing my head off. Don't worry though, we showed him that if he swung the sack of bread (like Ninja Turtle num chucks) then those dang ducks would back right off!

Jaxson seriously thinks this is me, and no one can convice him otherwise.

Seriously. Every time the commercial comes on or we drive by the billboard, Jaxson is like "look mommy--it's you!" Hey, it could be worse. He used to think Mark was Joe on Blues Clues. And anyway, it's only because she totally copied my hair.

Joy School Halloween Bash

We had Jaxson's joy school Halloween party at our house on Tuesday. It was so fun--the kids were hilarious. We have four boys and one little girl in our class, so there were four manly costumes (five counting a big brother) and one little princess, of course. Here are some fun pictures of our party:

Luke and Obi Wan, Donatello, Pricess Maddy, Bumble Bee, and Optimus Prime.

Playing a game with our "ghostly balloons". Umm, this picture is awesome because they look like REAL ghosts. (okay, not really, but kinda).

Check out this cool mummy calzone. If anyone wants to try it out on Halloween, the recipe is here.http://www.tisfortable.com/mummy_calzones.cfm

The kids eating their mummy pizza and ding-dong spiders (remember those?). A little hectic, but such a fun day. Thank you to all the moms who came to help and hang out!

Trunk or Treat at the Motor Vu Drive In

There is an awesome old drive in Erda that does a free (and secret!) trunk or treat every year the Saturday before Halloween. It's one of my favorite things to do, but this year I had to miss it because we had a big clock class in Idaho (it went great but I'm so happy that it is OVER!)

Mark is awesome and he took the boys by himself. Here is what you (and I) missed:

You scream, I scream

Don't let this cute face fool you for one second. Wyatt has always been a vocal baby, and his newest thing is screaming. Happy, sad, mad, you name it, he has to scream about it. And let me tell you. It is a blood curdling, migraine inducing, peircing scream. And. It. Is. All. The. Time.

Please, somebody out there--HELP US. I have had it by about 8:30 in the morning and I'm thinking of taking him and dropping him off at a park for some poor, unsuspecting stranger to find (just kidding, of course...). Seriously though, we are desperate and don't know how to help him stop or communicate what he wants more effectively--any and all ideas are appreciated, so comment away!!

F a L L F u N

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love the weather, halloween costumes, and fall treats (carmel apples, anyone?). I would have pumpkins on my porch all year long if I could get away with it. We're trying to take advantage of all the fun fall stuff going on, and this week was a good one. We went to Gardner Village for the costume parade and to see the witch displays on Thursday with Grandma Connie and Cami and the Rush cousins. Jaxson LOVED wearing his ninja turtle costume (he thought he was so cool) and running around with his idol, Connor (the ninja).

I think the funnest part of the day though was going to Grandma and Grandpa Harmon's (Mark's grandparents) and having lunch - soup, popcorn, and homemade milkshakes - the kids were in heaven. They all LOVE their great-grandparents and they are both so fun and involved in the lives of all of their children, grand children, and great-grandchildren. WE LOVE YOU!

Last night we took a drive up Settlement Canyon in Tooele and roasted some marshmallows. The weather was perfect - just cold enough to make you want to stay close to the toasty fire.

The boys loved playing in the leaves~

Three handsome guys . I love Jaxson's face in this one - Roasting marshmallows is serious business.

Wyatt was mesmerized by the fire and kept talking to it in his own language.

And then today, my fun mom and I took the boys to the Scarecrow festival at Thanksgiving point. I forgot the camera, so you don't get to see what a blast we had. Seriously though, it was so stinking fun. They charge a fee to get in, and then everything else is free. They had a huge line of blow up bounce houses and slides and obstacle courses and then 20 or 30 fun carnival games for little kids. Jaxson was totally in his element and wasn't ready to go home after the four hours we spent there. Too bad for him that his mom and grandma were totally exhausted after all the chasing, carrying, and kettle-corn eating. If anyone reads this before Monday, I think that is the last day its going on--go, you'll love it!

4th in the 4th Photo tag

My friend Annilee tagged me to post the fourth picture in my fourth folder in my picture files. I thought, hey why not--it is quick and then I will have updated my blog for the week! I tag Holly H., Anne, and Hillaree.

This is my cute little nephew Bo Daniel Huntsman at my brother Chad's wedding last July. Look at those blue BLUE eyes.

Pumpkins With Personality

That is what we were searching for at the pumpkin patch in Erda this week. We found some good ones, including the 'ninja turtle pumpkin' (read: totally unripe, green pumpkin) Jaxson just HAD to have. Here are some fun pictures of our pumpkin adventures!

OUR WEEK IN PICTURES...