Baby Dinosaur

For Halloween, Sam is a dinosaur. An adorable dinosaur!

If you missed Optimus Prime and Spiderman...check out the entry titled "Sneak Peak."

My Helpers

These are my helpers...they are excellent at retreiving any number of items I ask for, especially if it's for Sam. Last night, they took helping to a whole new level. I had been trying all day to get something, anything, done. I finally found time to start dinner without someone wanting or needing to be held (all three boys have colds). But, sure enough...as soon as I started dinner, Sam woke up and was starving! Gabe quickly offered to feed him. I thought, why not? He did a great job! He also wanted to burp Sam, but I figured I needed to draw the line at that one!

Of course, as soon as Will saw what Gabe was doing he wanted in on the action. After I burped Sam, I let Will take a try at feeding him. He did pretty well, but I had to keep reminding him to hold the bottle up. Thankfully, Will tired of the whole process fairly quickly. Gabe was more than happy to step in and finish the job. It was great...I actually managed to get dinner made without three kids hanging on me!

I love this baby! What a cute milky grin!

Pumpkin Carving

For Family Night this week, we carved pumpkins! Ever since we harvested the pumpkins from our garden, the boys have been begging us for to carve them. But, with as warm as it is around here it just wasn't a good idea. We were able to hold them off until Monday...I'm pretty sure they'd been counting down the days, because as soon as they woke up they knew it was "the day!"

Even though our garden was a bit sad this year (we'll blame that on Sam!), we managed to get some pretty good sized pumpkins. We let the boys pick a couple of pumpkins, Gabe picked the one from his field trip to the Pumpkin Patch and Will picked a one from our garden. Will picked a design from a book, and Gabe drew the face on his pumpkin for Mark to carve. I think they turned out pretty good!

Will and Gabe at the Pumpkin Patch

Sam had a great view of all the activity! It won't be long before I'm hollering for him to get off the table...

Mark showing the boys the "guts" of the pumpkins. We saved seeds from each for next years garden.

The finished product...our ScArY Jack-O-Lanterns!

The boys posing with their new friends!

Sixth

I was tagged by a friend to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder of my pictures. Well, this is it! Gabe and Ray...this was taken while we still lived in the barn apartment, so I'm guessing Gabe is about 4 months old.


Now, I tag...Shannon, Jen, Molly, Amy and Kellie

Do And Say

Oh, the things these boys do and say! They keep me scratching my head, trying to figure out how they come up with some of these things...

Example #1

On Tuesday, Will went in the garage. When he came back in the house, Gabe asked "What were you doing in there?". Will's reply..."I was just making sure there were no penguins in there." Huh?

Example #2

While Mark's family was visiting, Aunt Nav and I played with the boys in the back yard. While Nav and I were talking, the boys invented a new game...bounce a ball off the bucket on your brothers head.

Example #3

This is what I woke up to this morning...

Gabe was a "good guy" and Will was a "bad guy." (Will managed to elude the camera, but if you look closely you can see his hat behind Gabe.)

Example #4

Who knew that golf clubs could help a little boy turn into a spider? Will has decided that he is no longer going to be Spiderman for Halloween...he is now going to be this spider. He even hung a bucket on one of his "legs" for his "tricking thing" (I asked for the definition of a "tricking thing," this is the answer I got..."You know, people want to put candy in it.").

Example #5

Sorry, Aunt Nav but I've got to share this one! To clarify this story, you need a little history...during our last trip to Wisconsin, Mark's brother Steve got married. The boys started referring to their new aunt as "the Princess," because of her beautiful wedding dresses. Anyway...

Shortly after the Wisconsin Pitons arrived, Will used the bathroom and started hollering for someone to come help him. I went to help him out, but as soon as he saw me he yelled, "No! I want the princess to wipe me!" Her reply was that she had servants to do those things (yup, I'm the servant for that job!).

Example #6

The other night at dinner, it was Gabe's turn to say the prayer. He blessed the food, expressed thanks for baby Sam, etc. and then said, "and bless all the people in the whole world, except for all the people I don't know."

Example #7

We were watching TV this evening and a commercial came on that mentioned Jodie Foster. Will stopped eating his popcorn and started laughing. Then he looked at me and said, "You're not Jodie Foster! You're mommy!"

Example #8

Gabe has two friends in his preschool class that are moving in November. Both children are moving close to their grandparents. Gabe is really sad that they are leaving. The other night at dinner (same dinner as the prayer, and we were at my parents house) Gabe asked if we could move away too. I replied that if we moved, we'd miss Nana and Grandpa. His reply? "That's okay, we can get new ones!"

Example #9

Up until about 2-3 weeks ago, Gabe was the pickiest eater I have ever come across. His diet pretty much consisted of cheerios, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, bananas, raisins, vanilla yogurt, and chicken nuggets (but only a certain brand of chicken nuggets). Out of nowhere one day, he offered to try a carrot (dipped in ranch dressing). He liked it! It was quickly followed up with lettuce and a tomato, both of which he liked! Who is this kid? As of today, his diet now includes steak, mushrooms, spagehtti, lasagna, sloppy joes, brocoli, pears and burritos! He has tried, but didn't like green beans and asparagus (or "ascubas" for the Reyes family). We are thrilled with his new willingness to try new foods!

Example #10

The phrases Will uses! His current favorites are:

• "I can just imagine!" I was later told that just kids and dads have imaginations, not moms.


• "My whole life!" As in, "I'm starving for my whole life!" or "When's my birthday? I only had one birthday in my whole life!"


• "You're the bestest mommy in the whole world!" You can substitute "mommy" for brother, daddy, friend, dog, etc.

Last of all...

I could go on and on! These boys really keep us on our toes! They are so much fun...I just love them!

I Can Do It!

What does it look like when a 3 year old insists on tying his own shoes?

This...

Will is VERY independent and this is what it looks like when he ties his own shoes. I think it took me longer to untie all the knots than it took Will to do it in the first place!

2 Months Have Flown By...

Look at that sweet face!!!!

Mr. Sam is two months old today! The last two months have flown by and we certainly enjoy our newest little guy. We're still trying to decide who he looks more like, Gabe or Will. One minute I think Gabe and the next minute I think Will...so, I guess maybe he'll be a nice combination of both!

He had his doctor's appointment on Friday and is doing great. He did great with his shots and his collarbone has fully healed. At a little over 14 pounds and 24 inches long he's a big boy, but not off the charts.

He is still rolling from tummy to back. And even though Sam has tried to go from back to tummy, he hasn't been successful yet. He's consistently sleeping about 7 hours straight at night and taking a 4-5 hour morning nap. Yes, I know how lucky I am! I'm just hoping it continues! He smiles and even laughed today.

Sam likes to eat, look at the fish tank, stare at his giraffe's face while getting his diaper changed, and take baths. If the car isn't in motion, he doesn't like his car seat.

Gabe and Will are anxious for Sam to grow and be more interactive with them. But, in the meantime, they are happy to hold him and love on him and so are we!

Will's Birthday

Will started his birthday helping me bake cupcakes. I'm pretty sure his favorite part was licking the whisk!

While the cupcakes were baking, Will's friend Hunter came by with a gift. Hunter decided Will needed a little bit of help opening the gift! It was a Transformer book, a huge hit with both Will and Gabe! Thanks Hauberts!

For dinner, Grandpa (Nana was in Utah) took us out to In and Out Burger! Yum! The boys loved it and were super excited to get hats. All the way home, and for several days, I heard "And what do you want to order?" or "Here's your hamburger!" (and they had to wear their hats).

Will opened presents after dinner. He got a backpack with a few things in it and after each item that he pulled out he'd run around the room shouting, "I sooo happy! I just sooo happy!" It was quite cute. (I picked this picture because of the expression on Gabe's face...)

Will also got a set of pajamas from my parents and us. Lucky for Gabe, one of the sets was too big for Will. Lucky for us, they were both happy about the set they got!

Happy Birthday Will

Happy Birthday Will!!

Today we are celebrating Will's 3rd birthday. He doesn't quite get that his birthday is the whole day and not a place/party. He keeps telling me "we need to go to my birthday!"

Here are a few things everyone should know about Will...

Words/Phrases he uses: yikes!, afterwhich, actually, probably, maybe not, I'm bery hungry!, what does that mean?, I'm so happy to you!, oh yeah!, I've got a great idea!, and many others

What he currently can't be without: Cookie Dog (see picture below)

His favorite shows: Transformers, Go Diego Go!, Backyardigans, and Scooby Do

Things he loves to do: ride his bike, sing, swing, play any sport, help around the house, ride horses, kiss Sam, and eat

He is an adventurous little guy, it doesn't even phase us anymore when he falls, runs into things, etc! It's all part of life with Will! He is constantly on the go, can tell great stories, is wonderful to his baby brother (and usually to his big brother too), loves life and everyone around him. We absolutely love Will and can't believe he's already three!

That was then...

This is now!

Family Fun

While Lucy, Steve, and Nav were here we also...

Rode horses...

Celebrated Will's birthday...

And enjoyed hanging out...

Kaweah and Reimer's

On Friday, we decided to head up to Kaweah Lake for a picnic followed by ice cream at Reimer's. Again we left Sam with a friend (no room in the van, someone had to get left behind and we figured he's the only one who wouldn't complain about it!) and headed out on another adventure!

I love this picture of Lucy and the boys. They're just hanging out on the rocks, eating animal crackers. Does it get any better than that?

From the lake to ice cream!

Everyone should have a brother to share ice cream with! (Or in this case, trade ice cream with...Gabe decided he didn't like his after he got it. Good thing Will isn't picky!)