A Lego and the Peacock

Not a great name for a children's storybook... but a great title to the theme of our Halloween! Our little monsters had great costumes this year!

 

Photos courtesy of our most favorite Halloween photographer, Eric Gordon of Gordon Photography.

 Happy Halloween!

We Heart Mondays

Mondays I don't ever feel obligated to do much. It usually ends up being a day where we are really lazy in the morning, pajamas until lunch time, lunch with dad, then we (me) decide to be productive and put on real clothes and maybe do some grocery shopping or cleaning or something else that will make me feel like I am making my day worthwhile. However, showering is usually never involved.

Today to make myself feel productive I tried a new recipe (chicken cordon bleu casserole) and canned apple butter! Yes, apple butter. Do you see all of those apples in the above picture? We picked them almost a month ago. A friend of Cason's grandma has the most AMAZING apple tree. You stand in one spot and can pick half a laundry basket full.  After using 1/2 the apples in one laundry basket and producing 12 quarts of apple pie filling I knew I was in trouble. So I found friends who were also eager to can apples and shared the bounty! All in all I made 24 quarts of apple pie filling and 7 pints of apple butter. (I still have 9 quarts of applesauce left from 2 years ago- so I wasn't doing that!)

The kids of course had a fabulous time using the apples as balls. Creighton also tried to stack as many as he could on top of one another and Macey Jo tried to use her one tooth to snack on them.

Fall is canning time and this year I did tomatoes and peaches and pickles. Pickles for the first time!

Have you heard? Macey Jo LOVES pickles! We think it is because Grandma Chambers introduced her to lemons when we went out to eat with them at Cracker Barrel. She must be fond of pucker-up foods! Cason is obsessed with the pickles I canned and always giving Macey Jo one when he eats them. 

Speaking of the Chambers grandparents... We were able to visit them over General Conference weekend! Cason got us tickets to the Sunday morning session, his parents had the same tickets, so we all went together! However, the President got AWESOME seats and Cason and I were super far away. Still it was really fun (my first time) and I loved all the messages!!

We are happy that they are not too far away and that it is easy to visit!

Macey Jo is 9 1/2 months and growing very well. She is a happy girl, but contemplative.
Her hair is growing fast and Grandma Wilde put a pony tail in it for the first time a few days ago!
She is quite the talker! She says mommy and daddy but sometimes it sounds like she says so much more. She is good at imitating us with the sounds she makes.
She is so curious! I thought Creighton got into it all... Cason and I have agreed that she is worse! We are trying to teach Creighton to shut the bathroom door after he uses the potty. She loves the bathroom!
She also loves dog food so the pantry doors (where the dog food bowls are) must be always closed.
She has eyes like a hawk and can find the most disgusting things on the kitchen floor. She is constantly reminding me the floor needs swept or mopped.

But I am becoming more of a believer in the above statement... Don't judge.

It is her lucky day when she manages to find a blue peanut M&M on the kitchen floor left behind by a brother.

M&M's or Lucky Charms... both require a good tub soaking to ensure full sugary-mess removal. Especially when marshmallows are stuck in the hair!! I think she makes such a mess on purpose because she loves the tub!!

She loves to crawl but we are already taking bets as to when she will start to walk. She can pull herself to a standing position without any help but when she realizes she is standing without support she falls. 

She loves to eat "real people" food. She only likes a bottle first thing in the morning or at night. During the day she wants to eat solid foods.

And what about Creighton?

Well he has decided to get over the "anti-photo phase" because he doesn't like mommy to only take pictures of Macey Jo so he says, "Mom, take a picture of me while I walk away..." hehehe 

His milestone aren't as noticeable as Macey Jo's until one day I think, "Oh my heck! Look what he can do! I can't believe how smart he is!"

Right now I am trying to teach him how to dress himself. Who would of thought it was so hard? 

He can tell some WILD stories! He has such an imagination! He will take 3 things that really happened, 1 thing he wishes would happen and combine them into a story that he tries to convince us is true. 

He wants to know what everything is and usually remembers and tells me again the next time we see it.

I took him on a date last weekend to the movie theatre to see Turbo (for the 2nd time). We got popcorn and candy and soda. When we were sitting waiting for the movie to start,  in-between bites of popcorn, he said, "Mommy, thank you for bringing me to the movie theatre." It melted my heart! And daddy told him on our date Creighton must hold my hand and he sure did! We are trying to do more one-on-one with Creighton now that Macey Jo is here. Dates with Creighton are so fun!!

Oh, and he MUST have his zipper zipped up every time he wears his coat. 

Not a lot of big announcements from our family, just every day life. And I am totally ok with that. But sometimes I think, "It is almost Halloween? Where did September go? And most of October? What do we have to show for ourselves?" Guess I should stop spending so many Mondays being lazy!

But I do have most of our family's Christmas shopping done. Seriously, all but a few minor gifts. Jealous? I feel awesome.

Have a wonderful week! And try to do at least one thing productive...

Go Hogs Go! Go... Jigglers!!

After 6 months, Creighton's beloved Skycopter from Big Daddy finally gave out. Creighton is lucky it lasted that long. He is very hard on toys. And this toy he played with almost every day. He is so sad and doesn't understand why it doesn't work anymore. So Thursday night Creighton called Big Daddy to ask for another one for Christmas. Big Daddy also told Creighton to watch the mailbox Friday because there might be a present waiting for him... How exciting!

A few hours later at bedtime Creighton said, "What Sunday (day) is it tomorrow?" I replied, "It is Friday." He looked thoughtful and finally said, "Is it grandma and grandpa's day?" I said, "No. It is Friday so you get to stay home with me and play all day. Doesn't that sound like fun? What should we do?" Creighton didn't hesitate and said, "Get ready for grandma and grandpa's day!!" I tried to not let my feelings be hurt at his lack of excitement towards being with mommy.

Friday morning after grocery shopping we DID find a present in the mail for Creighton and Macey Jo from Big Daddy!

What was it?

We were not at all expecting this fun gift!!

Arkansas Razorback Jello Jigglers! Who ever heard of such a thing? Awesome!!

Of course Creighton kept screaming, "I want to open it! I want to open it!" But we had to wait until the groceries were put away.

Of course, if you want your Razorback Jigglers to turn out well you must put on your University of Arkansas attire.

Creighton was happy to help but the concept of waiting for them to firm up is hard when you are 3. So he had to watch a movie to keep himself occupied. Mostly for my sake so I didn't have to keep listening to, "Are they ready?"

When it came time to eat the Jello it was a bit confusing for Creighton. He is not experienced in Jello and wasn't sure how to eat it or what it would taste like. But he ended up deciding he liked them very much. They are like fruit snacks!

Yes the package was addressed to sister as well, but most of the time she was sleeping.

Thanks Big Daddy for giving us something exciting to do on Friday. Because being with mommy just wasn't fun enough!!

8 Month Old Macey Jo

Yes, she just continues to grow and is now 8 months! My mom keeps telling me, "She's not even a baby anymore! Look how big she is!" Yes... she is getting so big and independent... but she still lets me snuggle her to sleep at night! I love my baby Macey Jo!

She picked out this outfit to wear on her 8 month birthday. What would it be like to look so gorgeous in everything you wear? I wouldn't know. But when Macey Jo starts to talk I will ask her because she must know!

We both love our sweetie pie so much. I am just sure that no matter how many children you have the milestones that they meet are never boring or less meaningful. Cason and I have been just as excited to share news of Macey Jo's first signs of crawling and first words with each other as we were with Creighton. However, as a friend shared with me today, "But you will just have less pictures!"
True. I do have less picture milestones of Macey Jo, but I am sure I have almost 1 picture of her in every outfit she owns. I don't know if I can say that of Creighton!

Yes our Princess is now mobile! I am writing in the baby book that the date of the first official crawl is: September 13th. Grandma insists she has been crawling much sooner than that. She definitely has been mobile for several weeks. But not official crawling. It was more like a: lay on the belly, stretch out the arm and wiggle on the belly, and then stretch the arm out some more to reach what she wanted.

For weeks she has been pulling herself up to stand. It is wonderful to go into her room in the morning and see her standing at the side of the crib. Her beautiful smile greets me and I can't help but smile as well! (Even if it is VERY early.)

As far as talking... she says "Momma" but not much else. She can really start to jabber, but often she is very quiet. She mostly is talkative at nighttime when she knows she should be in bed. She also gets giggly then. When Creighton goes to bed Mommy and Daddy and Macey stay up to play and it is a lot of fun. But when she is ready to sleep she snuggles with mommy for a few minutes. How I love it.

Her favorite place to play is in her brother's room. The toys there are awesome! And he doesn't even mind that she slobbers all over them. She can be very happy to sit with a basket full of toys. She loves to take each one out and chew/suck on it and examine it until she is content she has explored it thoroughly and then discards it and is on to the next one.

She continues to enjoy baby food and recently tried Chicken and Rice. Which she loves! (Creighton wasn't much for "mixed" baby foods) Her love for fruit continues to increase but vegetables are her food of choice right now. She has been introduced to Cheerios and Saltines and just can't get enough. Of course the Saltines create a huge mess, so I am trying to coordinate that snack with a time I am already going to be sweeping the floor. Yet, she still has NO teeth! I am so surprised because Creighton had his first tooth erupt at 5 months. And no signs of any coming any time soon!

She continues to enjoy the bath though she is much too brave for anyone's liking!

We recently found out that Macey Jo and Creighton will get their first cousin on Mommy's side of the family- a boy! Macey Jo is happy that Baby Cook is a boy because 1) she likes all the attention she gets for being a girl and 2) she can't wait to be entertained by another (crazy, messy, loud, silly, rambunctious) boy. Just a few nights ago at a family get-together someone commented it was hard to get a reaction out of Macey Jo. (It can be true... ) Another person said, "That's because she watches Creighton all day! No one is as entertaining as him!" (Another thing that is true...)

Macey Jo loves her pacifier and hates the car seat. She doesn't mind being woken up suddenly but is not happy when I take away the shoe (daddy's muddy and grass-stained shoe) she is nibbling on. She also loves to eat grass and again, hates when I take it away or move her away from grass. She loves to see mommy or daddy when they get off of work and she can be stubborn when it comes to taking a day-time nap. Macey Jo dislikes strangers very much but she giggles at the funny noises daddy makes. Mommy loves to paint Miss Jo's toenails when she is sleeping but has decided not to pierce her tiny ears.

Happy Eight Months to our precious baby girl!

(another post below)

3 1/2 year old Creighton

Just a few days ago my sweet boy reached his half year mark!

 Well, only today can I call him "sweet". Why does everyone complain about the terrible twos? Maybe my memory of a year and a half ago is poor, but I am pretty sure that three years old has been much worse than 2. At the beginning of the summer I felt completely wore out with him. It just felt like constant disobedience and constant destructiveness and then throw in that we were STILL trying to potty train. Yikes! 

But at the end of July it felt like we crossed a bridge and all of the sudden his behavior reversed and we are now on the upswing of things. So today, he is sweet. 3 months ago, it would probably not be appropriate to type too many of my thoughts.

This summer besides being with Grandma and Grandpa a lot (post below) he has done some other things he loves. He has gone to two movies: Planes and Despicable Me 2. He loved both. My boy is a movie lover and sits through them very well. Though he insists he must have popcorn! 

He also went to the zoo (not as interested as I hoped he would be.) 

He has become a chef for a new brand of dog food... He likes to try to get the dogs to eat the apples that have fallen off of the tree. He asks, "Can I go outside and make the dogs some food with apples?" 

 Besides dog food he has also been making "real" food as well. He loves to help in the kitchen, but being gentle isn't a talent of his yet and frequently we get extra messy. Daddy and Creighton started shopping for Mommy's birthday several weeks ahead of time and apparently spoke of "cake" because he just can't stop talking about it and we have made several cakes since.

 He almost tried Buttermilk a few days ago! (Needed it to make his Big Momma Cake!) His palate is becoming more refined. Though if he doesn't like something he insists it tastes like soda.

He has become quite the artist and now is the proud owner of paints and likes to use them as well as decorate with stickers. Though we are still learning they only go on paper... He also would be happy to use up all stickers in a matter of minutes. Grandma Chambers sent Creighton six sheets of Thomas the Train stickers and they are being rationed.

 Creighton also loved "floating boats!" We have had several massive rainstorms (serious flooding) in the past weeks and daddy has taken Creighton outside to show him how to float boats in large puddles. Oh boy!! 

 Of course mastering a myriad of things was on his summer to-do list: forts (bigger and better), crashing things (louder and messier), and watching cartoons (memorizing theme songs and quotes). Speaking of memorizing... this momma now has the first several pages of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" memorized due to my son's serious obsession with it. 

Of course busy summers mean harder naps. And of course Creighton decided his nap time should be about 5:00 pm. Lucky me. He had many long nights.

 And playing with little sister lots was really fun. We had our occasional whacks in the head ("Sorry, Sister...) or incidents of smothering her with blankets and pillows (He was just trying to "make her cozy.") But really overall he is awesome! He is a big help for grandpa during the week and at home as well. He is happy to keep Macey Jo entertained when I need him to or assist in retrieving whatever I might need. Bath time is so fun for these two. He makes her giggle by splashing, so then he splashes more, and she giggles more, and then consequently more splashing. Of course I am a party-pooper and ruin all the fun by abolishing all water splashing.

He has also been given many nicknames this summer: poopsie (from another favorite book, "Zach's Alligator"), smoochie McQueen (he gives good smooches), porcupine-Creighton (don't remember how Daddy came up with that one), and of course whatever else we think to call him at that moment. Creighton doesn't like nicknames and says, "I am Creightion Eli!!" We have tried teaching him about his last name, but it is a concept he is still trying to grasp.

And lastly... the most exciting thing to happen to Creighton this summer (probably to our whole family...) is that he is now POTTY-TRAINED!! Yes. It is TRUE! I was sure I would never be able to say those words. He is 100% potty trained during the day and even during nap times. At night he wears pull-ups and about 50% of the time they are dry. I swear it all happened in about 2 weeks time. I have learned my lesson with child #1 (poor Creighton, the guinea pig).

I started WAY too early with him. I felt pressured by so many to start potty training him around 2 years but he just wasn't ready. I forced it so many times. We "tried" potty training more times than I have fingers for. Alas, it has finally happened. It is such a nice sound to hear him go into the bathroom, get out his stool, lift up the lid, hop on the toilet, go potty, and then go back to playing. Awesome.

HOORAY! CONGRATULATIONS CREIGHTON!!

(another post below)

Grandma and Grandpa's Day

Since I was working more this summer Creighton and Macey Jo had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with their Wilde grandparents. They spent 3-4 days there every week while I worked. They loved every minute. 

Creighton began calling it "Grandma and Grandpa's Day" and looked forward to it every evening. Most of the time we could get him to go to sleep by saying, "When you wake up it will be Grandma and Grandpa's Day!" He would rush into his room and pull the covers over himself so it would quickly be morning. And he wasn't grumpy to be woken up early in the morning when he knew he would soon be with his grandpa. 

Grandma and Grandpa's house is a lot of fun.

He loves to play in their dirt! They even bought him a special dirt toy. It is especially fun when you add water and it turns to mud! This little guy is so happy to play outside in the dirt with a shovel and bucket. Outside is also a trampoline! There are also cartoons there (like Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Doc McStuffins). And of course the treats... But the greatest part really is his grandpa. They are great buddies. Sometimes at home Creighton will say, "I miss my grandpa." And that is right after walking in the door to our own home after he has been there all day! I am glad they have a great relationship. 

Grandma and Grandpa were also a HUGE help in potty training Creighton. They bought him his own toilet seat (Cars) and were very dilligent in taking him to use the toilet frequently. Grandma also bought him a book (Creighton calls it the "poop book") to help him want to go poo poo in the potty. I think it really helped!

He is so lucky to have a wonderful Grandma and Grandpa here in Pocatello and we as a family are so blessed that they are willing to watch Creighton and Macey Jo while I work.

Just like Grandpa has a special place in his heart for Macey Jo, so she does for him! When he walks past Macey Jo she reaches her arms up at him and he will always pick her up! He just can't resist those beautiful blue eyes. And if he is nearby she will stare at him and try to get his attention.

Grandpa has also been watching another little girl recently, Ali, and Macey Jo doesn't like to share her grandpa very much. She does like Miss Ali, they are only a few weeks apart, and Ali has given Macey the courage to start crawling. However, Macey Jo will be glad when soon Ali is gone and she is the only girl grandpa gives his attention to.

Now that mommy is back to a 2 day a week work schedule Creighton has expressed his displeasure of only having "Grandma and Grandpa's Day" only twice a week. He asks, "Is tomorrow Grandma and Grandpa's Day?" I say, "No! You get to stay home with me and we can play together all day! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Creighton then replies, "No. Can I pack my lunchbox for Grandma and Grandpa's Day?"

But oh, how nice it is to know that my children are loved by so many than just me!

(another post below)