Halloween 2014

Today was a loooooong and fun day!  Avery has been looking forward to Halloween for a good month at least!  She was so excited this morning that she got to dress up as a witch.  We didn't originally have plans for the morning, but I told Avery and Mary that they could get into their costumes right after breakfast.

I don't know why, but this morning our kids were crazy!  Like whiny crazy.  Louis and I decided it might be a good idea to get out of the house so we went to the Main Street trick or treating.  We had never done it before and it was a hit!  Many of the businesses participated and the girls got lots of candy.  Mary was quite exhausted by the time we got done.  We didn't bring the stroller so it was a lot of walking for her.

Some of the businesses that participated had someone sitting in the front of their shops, but many were very wise and had you walk through their stores so you could see what they were selling.  Hallmark was one of these stores.  They had the CUTEST little itty bitty Superman doll!  I want it for baby Hammer!  If anyone is looking for something to get for him, here you go!

source

After we finished with the shops on Main St we headed to Lee's Marketplace.  You can walk around and they have some treats, (mostly healthy even!) and a spook alley in the back.  We went last year and it was fun.  This year was good too!  They had a sale of chocolate milk for only $2.29 a gallon so we bought two.  Sadly we only got home with one of the two we bought.  Louis thought I grabbed both of them out of the cart and put the cart away without getting the second one out.  I really hope someone was able to get it before it went bad.  After Lee's we came home for lunch and for Mary to take a little nap.  After her nap we headed to the mall to do some more trick or treating.  We have done this every year since Avery has been alive!  She got to have her face painted for the rest of the day.  She was very excited about that!

Mary was not ready to be woken up from her nap when we left!

Avery with her good friend LynnDee

After the mall we went to our wards trunk or treat and then to Jake and Celestial's trunk or treat and carnival.  Avery and Mary had so much fun being with some of her cousins!  She also had so much fun having her Nana and Papa there!  

Until next year Halloween!

Nesting

I am currently 24 weeks along in this pregnancy.  Things are going really well.  I feel great, I'm able to go to the gym multiple times a week, I can eat whatever I want, I have energy, and I'm also nesting!  I have been sewing and organizing like crazy!  Here are some of things I've made:

This blanket was the first thing I made.  I really love it!  I actually bought the fabric squares before we were even pregnant.  It turned out smaller than I expected, perfect for a little newborn!  I'm going to use it as a car seat blanket.  So of course I had to make a matching car seat cover!

Here's the car seat cover I made to match!

I made the CUTEST binky clip with the left over fabric.  I love it!

I made a little diaper and wipes strap .  I don't love it.  I have made them before and they've turned out much better so I think I'll be making a new one.  It'll do for now though.

The latest thing I've made, burp cloths!  I did different ones from the ones I usually make.  They are just a plain ol' rectangle with a towel-like fabric on the back!  My cousin Nanette made me one like this with Avery and it was one I really liked!  If this baby spits up like Avery then they'll get some good use!

I can't believe this pregnancy is going so fast!  Already 24 weeks along!  I had an appointment today and baby boy is still growing great with a strong heartbeat.  He is still so low!  I'm hoping he moves up at some point.  How long can he grow larger and stay down there?  And I'm still a little smaller than I was with Mary.  That always makes you feel good.

We don't have a name for baby boy yet.  I have one I like, but Louis doesn't think it's his name.  If we don't agree on a name, we just may go with Avery's name for her brother.  Hammer.

We Love Louis

The last couple of days I've been trying to think of a way to show a little extra love to Louis.  It's been a tough week at work for him and wanted to brighten his day.  This morning I had the simple idea to cut out some paper hearts and with the girls write down reasons why we love Louis.  It was fun and really sweet to do together!

Avery also of course drew a picture for Louis.  It's of our family.  Louis, Hammer (and just in case you don't know, Hammer is not our child's name, just a nickname Avery gave him), Avery, Mary, and me.  We put up the hearts and the picture on our bedroom door for Louis to see when he got home from work.  He really liked it.  

Since I know you can't really read the hearts, here's why we love Louis.

Becca:

I love Louis because he has a big smile, he makes delicious treats for us, he's handsome,

 and he's an amazing dad.  

Avery:

Avery loves Louis because he goes to work, he's Superman, he plays games with her, 

and he sings songs.

Mary:

Mary loves Louis because he loves to cuddles, he gives lots of kisses, and he's so funny!

We love Louis so much and appreciate all that he does for our little family!

Black Island Farms 2014

The day before Louis' birthday we went to Black Island Farms for the second year in a row.  It was again so much fun!  We started by taking a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin.  Along the way we stopped and they taught the kids about how carrots and cabbage grow.  

Avery enjoyed picking out the perfect pumpkin and Mary loved all of the dirt to play in.  She really knows how to find dirt.

After everyone picked their pumpkins and was back on the trailer the workers brought over a sunflower and explained why they have them planted around the fields.  They plant them so the birds will eat the sunflowers instead of the pumpkins and other plants.  After they talked about it the worker gave the sunflower to someone on the trailer.  Avery was a little sad she didn't get the sunflower so the nice worker picked a flower from one of the pumpkin vines and gave it to her.

After getting our pumpkins into the car we headed in to look at the animals.

There was a very friendly donkey that thought we had food to share and bit Mary a little bit.

The goose once again honked back and forth with Avery.  I loved it!

After the animals we went over to the slides and spent a lot of time there.  The kids all loved it.

We only left the slides once some older kids came around and were being annoying.

As in sitting on the tops of the slides and blocking them off so no one could go down.

Where were their parents?  Who knows.

This is when our camera died so the rest of the pictures are from my phone.

After the slides we went over to jump in some old tank that was painted like a ghost.  Then over to the train.  Mary wasn't interested in riding the train so her and Louis went back over to some slides. 

 Avery got to ride on the train all by herself!  She's getting to be such a big girl.

During Avery's train ride Mary came and laid in my lap to eat her sandwich and we knew it was time to go so she could nap!  We were sad to go, but had so much fun together!

27 Years

So Louis had a birthday!  It was weeks ago now, but I haven't taken the time to blog about it yet!  

We started out the day with a delicious breakfast of scones and honey butter!  Louis' favorite! 

After breakfast we decided to do presents.  Avery was a very good helper and handed each present to Louis.  Mary helped by sitting on the floor playing with princesses.

I know this next picture is fuzzy, but Avery was SO very excited to give Louis her present.

After presents were opened, we attempted to take a family picture.

It turned out great!

The rest of the day was spent at home being together.

For dinner I made pork chimichangas and we had eclair cake for dessert.  

I am so grateful for Louis and for all that he does for our family.  

He is a very hard working dedicated man.  

He loves to have fun and play with our kids.  They both love him so much!

Happy 27 years Louis!