Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Sleeping Beauty and a tiger.  The kids had a lot of fun with Halloween.  McKay had no idea what was going on but liked to watch all the kids.  Brooklyn was able to dress up in her costume 5 different times (Brian and Brooke's party, preschool, ballet class, trunk-or-treat, and actual trick-or-treating).  She was totally in the zone when she was trick-or-treating.  She was running in between houses and we had to keep reminding her to slow down and not get to far ahead of her cousins.  She got a good amount of candy, that I'm sure will take her forever to finish.  As little as Craig and I like Halloween, it sure is fun to watch the kids enjoy it.

On the 31st, Craig and I had the final walk through of the house.  We met our contractor and our realtor out at the house and they walked us through everything and we marked any touch ups that needed to be done.  It was pretty exciting.  I can't believe the house is almost ours.  We are supposed to close on Monday November 6th.  Some other exciting news is that my sister Melissa and her husband Dallin had their first baby on October 30th.  They named her Brinley Jane Erickson and she is beautiful!

14 Months Old

10/15/2017
Size 3 Diapers
Size 12 Month Clothes

Well our little lumberjack is 14 months old.  He is all over the place, walking like a mad man, sometimes almost running.  He loves the freedom that it gives him to carry something while he is walking.  He is finally letting us read him books, occasionally he will even let us finish them.  Stan and Diane were in town for a few days to see baby Wesley and for Kiley's baptism and McKay sure loved having Pops read him stories.  He still only has 8 teeth, even though I think he was working on his molars for about a week, but they never did pop through.  Of course a few days after his runny nose stops from his teething he then gets a cold and has had it since.  So we have not had the best sleeping this month, but it really hasn't been too bad for the most part.  About half the time he still takes two naps and the other half just one.  It mainly just depends on what time he woke up in the morning and what we have scheduled for the day.  He still eats well, pretty much anything we put in front of him.  He loves to use a spoon and fork and throw everything off of his high chair tray.  He drinks two bottles of milk a day, one before bed and another when he first wakes up.  Still not the biggest fan of milk straight out of the fridge, but he does at least eat plenty of yogurt and cheese, so he does get his calcium in.

He is still pretty attached to me and since he hasn't been feeling well most of the month he has been a little extra attached.  He will at least calm down pretty quickly when I leave, at least most of the time.  Now that he can walk around like the big kids he loves to follow Brooklyn and his cousins around and will play with them without me in the room better, which does make family dinners a little easier.  One thing that I at least think is major that he learned this month is how to blow his nose.  Since it has been constantly running he figured out pretty quickly how to blow it.  After he blows his nose he like to throw away the tissue and will do it all by himself., same with his diapers after we change him.  He knows where his ears, nose, hair, tummy and toes are.  He discovered belly buttons and loves to stick his finger in as far as it will go.  He will just walk up to Brooklyn and pull her shirt up and stick his finger right into her belly button.  He knows how to do touchdown, like what refs do when a touchdown is scored.  Even though he hasn't been feeling super great, he still loves to smile and giggle and give you slobbery kisses.  Sure love my little munchkin man.

The day before McKay turned 14 months, my family had our annual MSA fun run.  We had a pretty good turn out, (especially since it was so cold) about 230 or so and were able to raise over $12,000 to help with research for the disease.  It is always nice to see how many people love and support my parents and also other people from the community that have been effected by this disease.

The house is getting so close to being done.  They are pretty much done with the interior, just touch up stuff.  We decided to put in a big concrete slab in the backyard (25ft x 42 ft) that will eventually become a basketball court (well just past the three point line).  It will also be really nice for the kids to ride their bikes and scooters and draw with chalk and not have to worry about them out in the street.  They still need to do the rest of the landscaping, but our closing date is still set for November 6th.  So exciting!

Pumpkin Patch Fieldtrip

On Friday October 13th we were able to go to the Farmstead Pumpkin Patch with Brooklyn's preschool class. It was a little chilly and would drizzle every now and then, but otherwise was a lot of fun.  The kids each choose out a little pumpkin during our hayride, we then went on the cow tractor ride, checked out the animals, and lastly played in the corn.  McKay had a cold so he was not super cheery, but he sure loved the corn and could have played in there forever.  Brooklyn had fun with her classmates and I did my best to talk to a few other moms. I am so glad that I am able to be home with the kids so that I can experience these things with them.

A few days later we were at the park and some leaves had fallen and the kids just couldn't help but to play in them.  Brooklyn loved to throw them up and make it rain leaves.

13 Months!

9/15/2017
Size 3 diapers
size 9 and 12 month clothes

Well our Mr. Magoo is already 13 months old.  I know all moms say this, but time just goes by so fast.  He is starting to walk more.  I would definitely still consider him a crawler, but he will walk 10-15 steps by himself quite often.  Most of the time he gets about halfway to where he wants to go and then decides that crawling would get him there much quicker.  I know that he will be running around before I know it.  He has also mastered going down stairs and getting off the couch.  He is a pro at turning around backwards and going down on his tummy.  One of the biggest things this month, at least in my eyes, is that he is obsessed with Craig.  If Craig is home he will go right passed me to go to him.  He will let Craig hold him at church and take him out in the hall.  I feel like I can breathe again.  It is seriously the best thing.  He still has major separation issues, but he will calm down a little bit faster now with people he knows.  It usually only takes him a few minutes to calm down if I leave him with my parents.  It is a relief to know that he is not just screaming the whole time, because that makes it miserable for everyone.

Still only 8 teeth.  I'm sure those molars will be coming soon.  His favorite word to say is DaDa, but he will also say Nana, which is his favorite snack, Mama, and ball.  Besides bananas he loves avocados, rice, pasta, sweet potatoes, meat of any kinda, pancakes, waffles, cheese, and ramen noodles and chicken nuggets are a favorite for lunch.  He also loves pretty much every fruit there is, especially berries.  He still drinks 3 bottles a day of milk, we will be dropping the midday bottle soon.  He takes 2 naps most days, but can get by with one if I need him to.  Sleeps about 11 hours at night and sometimes will still go back to sleep after he drinks his bottle around 6:30 am.

He has become very playful and loves to interact with Brooklyn.  They chase each other all over the place and push each other around on the play car.  He loves to tease Brooklyn.  He has even started to wrestle with her sometimes.  He always has a giggle close at hand and will always give you a big laugh if you are willing to tickle him.  He loves to take baths with sister and splash and make a huge mess.  A new thing that I find a little odd is that he loves to throw away his diapers after I change him.  If I try to throw it away he throws a huge fit.  I don't take him to the grocery store anymore, because he only lasts about 5 minutes, so thank goodness for grocery pick-up.  Hopefully someday that will change, because I actually like going to the grocery store.  He is such a sweet boy and his laugh and smile are contagious.  Love him to pieces!

 The weekend that he turned 13 months we were up in McCall.  We did a new hike on our way in to town.  We hiked to Blue Lake.  It was a shorter hike, only about a mile each way, but man was it gorgeous, especially at this time of year.  We had a lot of fun at the cabin.  We went for a lot of walks, went to the park, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores with Brooklyn, and of course ate at My Father's Place and Pancake House.  It was a great little get away.

They continue to make progress on the house.  They put in the kitchen cabinets and are working on all the tiling in the bathrooms and kitchen.  They have all the interior painted and finally finished the roofing.  It is really looking great.

kitchen

Tech room

master bath

laundry room

First Day of School

 My little miss Brooklyn started her second year of preschool on September 6, 2017.  She was so excited to get back to school.  She is still at the same school as last year, Harmony Preschool, but she now goes Monday/Wednesday/Friday and has a different teacher, Miss Michelle.  There were a few familiar faces from last year, but also a lot of new friends to meet.  She loves to learn and I can't wait to see where this year takes her.  I'm not going to lie I was a little sad to have her go back, now I have to entertain McKay all by myself for a few hours, I guess I'll have to figure it out : )  Love my little miss Brooklyn!!!

Brooklyn also started ballet this week. She was so excited to go buy her leotard and tights.  She has never done formal dance class before, so to say she is excited is a major understatement.  I know I am a little bias, but isn't she just the cutest little ballarina ever?