Happy Halloween

Adam was very excited to go trick-or-treating this year. And he was even more excited for his costume. He wanted to be Optimus Prime so bad! I think this was a pretty popular costume this year - we had several Optimus Prime's come to our house too!
We decided to skip the Ward Trunk-or-Treat for another year. All too soon, Adam's going to know that it's going on and want to go do that craziness! We joined with our good neighbors and their cute kids and just went around to a few houses in the neighborhood. Here's the gang before heading out. Jackson isn't looking too happy - he decided to stay home and eat rather than go trick-or-treating. Adam had fun with his friends, and came home with plenty of candy. I'm so glad we have great friends that live right next door!!

Here's the monkey in a better mood.
Cute little monkey yawn.

And the powerful Optimus Prime!

Pumpkin Carving

For Family Home Evening this week, we carved the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch. Very creative Jack-o-latern's - huh?

This is how Jackson spent the evening. At least he was sporting his Halloween onesie.
Adam helped dad lay the newspaper out on the floor, and stuck his hand inside his pumpkin once. Then he decided it was too slimy, and he sat on the couch and watched us do all the work! He did help with the clean up, though!

Here's the family with the jack-o-latern family.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Do we have enough batteries?

It's been raining pretty hard around here. Yesterday, it rained a lot. All day long. A lot! Around 6:30pm, our power starting flickering off and on, and then it finally went out for good. Adam was very concerned at first, until I was able to get some candles lit and find a flashlight or two. Once he was calmed down, he walked over to the light switches, and kept flicking them off and on. Then he looked at me and said - "Maybe we need new batteries?"

I guess Adam knows how to fix things when they stop working...

When Scott got home, he found a perfect flashlight for Adam. He was very happy to have a light that went with him where ever he went.

Pumpkin Patch - THE FARM in Snohomish

Adam is in a little co-op preschool with a couple of other kids in our ward. The school rotates to each home, and the moms take turns teaching. Adam has really been having a great time - and I think he's even enjoying being the only boy in the group - at least he doesn't seem to mind being surrounded by cute girls!
This past week, we took a field trip to the pumpkin patch. We went out to The Farm in Snohomish. We have been there in the summer-time, but never for their pumpkin patch. We had a great time. Luckily - daddy was able to go with us - otherwise, we wouldn't have had any pictures!! :)
Here is the group of kids in the preschool. It's hard work to get 4 kids to all look at the camera at one time!!
Jackson came along as well. Here we are in the hay maze - you can just barely see Jackson's little blue hat sticking out of the carrier. He slept almost the entire time we were there.

There was a little petting farm. Adam liked the pigs. We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Here is Adam with his pumpkin.

And, here we are for the ride back. Not sure why Adam wouldn't sit closer to me... It was a VERY bumpy ride!!

Here's the group of kids with their pumpkins.

As part of the cost of the tour, they provided ice cream at the end. The kids enjoyed their ice cream, although it was rather cold for that. I would have rather had hot chocolate!!

The pumpkin patch is always a fun thing to do in the fall. I was glad we were able to go with a group a friends again. And, very glad that dad was able to go with us as well. It was a fun trip out to the farm!!

One Month

I can't believe Jackson is a month old! How did that happen so quickly!! Here are some picture highlights of his first month of life! This first picture was taken on October 21st - he didn't want to wake up that day, so it's a sleeping picture. Doesn't he look huge? Such a cutie-pie!! Adam wanted to pose like his brother! He's a cutie too! Some days I wish he would sleep a little bit more like his brother does!

Daddy and his boys!
Jackson and mommy hanging out before bedtime. He's just so kissable - I can't resist!!

Jackson asleep in the cradle. This cradle was made by my Grandpa Conrad - he taught high school wood shop and has made some amazing pieces of furniture for me and all of my siblings. I had asked him to make me a cradle shortly after Scott and I were married, and then thought for several years that we wouldn't be able to use it. It's very special that Jackson is now the second baby to sleep in it!!

Adam LOVES his little brother and he loves to hold him! He is a very big helper!

And here is our favorite picture of Jackson. His little personality is starting to emerge.

It has been a whirl-wind of a month! We are so happy to have Jackson as part of our family! He is still sleeping away most of the days, but we are enjoying the coo-ing sounds he's starting to make. He's starting to focus his eyes more and look around as well. It's fun to watch his face as he takes in the world around him! I marvel every day at the miracle that he is and the joy he has brought into our family!

HAPPY ONE MONTH!!

We start 'em young!

Scott has been a Dallas Cowboys fan forever! He's a big Cowboys fan! He's hoping his sons will also be Cowboys fans! Adam has started cheering for the Seahawks, so Scott decided to start Jackson off even younger (I think Adam's first Cowboys outfit was at 6 months). Jackson was proudly sporting his first Cowboys shirt at a mere 2 weeks old.

GO COWBOYS!!

Things that make Adam happy...

I have pictures and other fun stuff to add to our blog, but for some reason I'm having a hard time getting them off of the camera. Never fear - I will figure it out and get to it soon (or rather, Scott will figure it out and then I'll get to it!!). We've had a good couple of weeks since Jackson came to live with us, and I've been feeling very cozy in the little cocoon we've built around ourselves. We don't go out much - take Adam to preschool, go to the grocery store - stuff like that. Adam did start up swimming lessons again this week, so that's been an extra outing, but really we've just been holed up at home. I guess it all has to end sometime... we will be re-joining the world this weekend as we venture out to church for the first time since Jackson was born. I can't believe he will be a month old this coming Wednesday!!
Anyway - on to the title of this post - the other night Adam woke up around 3:00, stood outside his bedroom door and yelled "Mommy - I had a bad dream!!". Scott slept through it, and I had just finished feeding Jackson, so I was already awake, which meant that I went in to see if I could get him back to sleep. After I sent him to go potty, we climbed in his bed and I asked him if he could go back to sleep. He said he had a bad dream and couldn't sleep, so I told him to think about things that make him happy. We talked about it for a little bit, and he gave me a short and sweet list:
The Things that make Adam happy:
1. Optimus Prime and Megatron (of course!!)
2. Uncle Brian (this really shouldn't surprise me!)
3. Wrestling with Daddy
4. Baby Jackson
5. Noah and Talia
6. Primary
At first, I was a little miffed that I didn't make the list of things that make him happy, but I guess I can live without being on that list right now - because, when he was scared, he called for Mommy! It makes me so happy to have that name and to hear it come from a sweet 4-year old! I feel blessed beyond measure to be the mommy to two sweet boys! I may not make the list, but I know I make a difference in his life every day!!

Is it Adam or Jackson?

So, Sarah asked for some newborn pictures of Adam. Can you tell from the pictures below, which are of Adam and which is Jackson? The first are pictures of coming home from the hospital.

These are pictures from the hospital.

I know there are lots more pictures I could post, and I'll do more as time goes on. Did you guess that the top pictures are Adam?