Halloween

This was the 1st year that my kiddos actually had an opinion

on what they wanted to be for Halloween.

I had to let go of visions of Nemo and Dori, hot dog and fries, He-Man and She-ra, etc.

(insert mournful sigh here)

Noah has known since April that he wanted to be Sonic the Hedgehog.

Well, he didn't really say he wanted to be Sonic for Halloween.

Mostly, he wanted to be Sonic in real life, but, he settled for a costume.

Begrudgingly.

It started with the awesome hat that Chris found online for a great deal.

I used a long sleeve tee and added some white felt for the tummy.

I used a matching tee to make the pants using this tutorial.

I used the sleeves from the extra tee to add some hedgehog spikes to the back of his shirt to match the spikes on his hat.

For Sonic's shoes I used a pair of Noah's that his Grandma got him that...

well...let's just say 7 layers of red paint improved the look of them.

Finish it all off with some white gloves

and a HUGE dose of Sonic attitude.

Sonic has never looked so darn adorable.

Eden was set on being Rapunzel.

I was thrilled with that.

I immediately started searching Etsy and Pinterest for inspiration.

I found a fabulous pattern here that can be adjusted to make pretty much

any princess getup you can imagine.

It wasn't as hard to make as I thought.

I was really happy with how it turned out, but, more importantly,

Eden was thrilled.

Especially with the twirly skirt.

And, of course, Rapunzel doesn't go anywhere without her sidekick, Pascal.

Oh, and just so you know, Flynn isn't the only one who can smolder.

Our 1st Primary Program

Every year our church has a Sunday when the Primary children do a program for the whole congregation.

It is THE most amusing Sunday of the entire year.

Inevitably, there is at least one kid that entertains the congregation with their antics.

I have been anxiously awaiting this Sunday since Noah became a Sunbeam at church.

TODAY WAS THE DAY!!

Noah's part in the program was to say,

"Heavenly Father lets us choose right or wrong so we can be happy."

It took him only a few times going over his part before he had it memorized.

We've practiced a few times a day for the last couple of weeks to keep it fresh in his mind.

When it was his turn to step up to the microphone to say his part

HE.NAILED.IT!!

I was so, so proud of him.

He sang all the songs in typical 4 year old fashion,

by belting out the last word of every line with enthusiasm.

Until, of course, it came to 'Scripture Power', his very most favorite song.

Then, he became THAT kid.

Once the song hit the chorus my boy wanted to make sure the cars passing by the church could hear the song.

I could hear the giggles throughout the congregation, even over my own giggles.

At the end of the program we all sang

'I Am a Child of God'.

I got a little teary eyed looking up at my boy while singing that song.

He truly is a gift.

I love you, buddy boy!

Little Letters

Dear Talk in Sacrament Meeting,

I'm glad we don't have to see one another again for a while. You make my tummy ache.

Dear Sunday Afternoon Nap,

I super-duper love you. I miss you every other day of the week.

Dear Chris,

Thanks for taking the kids out on the Power Wheels. It was really amazing having a quiet house to myself.

Dear Drumsticks in the Freezer,

STOP CALLING MY NAME!!!

Dear House,

I'm really gonna need you to start picking up around here. Honestly, do I have to do everything myself?

Dear Eden,

I thought you looked especially adorable at church today. Your welcome.

Two Is Better

I adore these two and they can't get enough of each other.

They both have STRONG personalities and opinions

yet, somehow, they just click.

Noah just lights up whenever he sees Taylor.

Their love for one another seriously touches me.

N-O-A-H

Noah and I have been working on writing his name. I picked up this art easel at Kid's Market and it turned out to be the perfect 'tool' for him. He LOVES writing on the dryerase board. I am so proud of him.



The one in the circle was the very 1st time he wrote it completely by himself. The one in rectangle was his second attempt.

Days Like Today....

Put a perpetual smile on my face.

Monday, Monday

I can already hear the collective groan I'm gonna get with this declaration, but,

I {BIG PUFFY HEART} MONDAYS.

How is that possible, you ask?

Because I get to have 'the girls' for the entire day.

Taylor and Bella

aka: Tator and Belly

This particular Monday the kiddos where having a hard time remembering that they are actually best buds.

So, out came some sugar cookies and icing.

Each hooligan got to choose their own icing color.

I already knew what color 3 out of 4 where gonna pick.

Belly likes to keep me guessing.

It was so amusing to see how they each reacted to the adventure.

Taylor was meticulous with her purple icing.

She didn't start eating until

EVERY LAST ONE

of her cookies where decorated to her satisfaction.

In fact, it got a little hairy at one point when she accidentally got icing on the BOTTOM of one of her beloved cookies.

NOT EXCEPTABLE!

Belly had no interest in her cookies but was infinitely fascinated with her yellow icing.

It took some convincing that the icing didn't belong in her hair.

Ultimately she decided that icing is for eating and finger painting, not wasting on cookies.

When I asked Noah to show me his cookie, this is what I got.

I'm sure showing me the cookie in his hand never crossed his mind.

This was the only picture I got of him because the next time I turned around all of his cookies and icing where G.O.N.E.

This kid doesn't waste time.

Eden really had me cracking up.

Her tongue was moving nonstop.

She would ice a cookie, lick all the icing off, ice it again, then eat the cookie.

Backwards much?

Yep, groan and moan.

Shake your fists at the heavens Scarlett O'Hara style.

Roll your eyes if you must.

But, I loves me some Mondays!