Trunk-or-Treat

This is a Halloween Costume party we went to before the trunk-or-treat. The hostess was so awesome in her planning! She made green jello with gummy worms, and she had apple cider, candy pumpkins, and a few fun crafts for the kids. They made those popcorn hands, ghost suckers, and play-dough stuff. It was really cool. Here's us at the trunk-or-treat with some friends. Our theme was Cinderella, but at the time of the ward trunk-or-treat, Ian's pumpkin costume was missing in action. We found it later, just in time for the the real trick-or-treating.
While I was getting ready for the trunk-or-treat, Brooklyn kept saying, "Is it Halloween yet, Mom?" She must have thought that the moment the party started (Thursday night) it would be Halloween.
Here she is with her friend Rylie, who dressed as a princess riding a unicorn.
Here's Ryan and his dad. Ryan's costume was the real deal! Chaps, fancy big-buckled cowboy belt, boots, and all! It was so cute!
Gabe was a robot! He even had flashing lights! He wins the creativity award!
We even had the characters from Super Mario Bros.! Here's Mario himself! His mom was the princess.
A ghostbuster even made an appearance!
Then there were the blue dinos. Gotta love 'em!
And, last but not least, the WILD THINGS! And Max! We have some fun and creative people in our ward. It was a fun night!

Ian: 11 Months

Doesn't he look so grown-up here? Maybe it's the angle that makes his legs look really long.Observe the common theme of the facial expression? The drools never end, but I guess I can't blame Stephen for that...
He loves reading, thanks to the example of his sister. Pictured here, he's examining D.W.'s Guide to Preschool. I let Brooklyn choose her own library books and her current favorite series is the Arthur books. I can't blame her, they're pretty dang funny and cute.
He tries to follow her and I caught him standing here the other morning. Just like his sister.

He even took his first independent ride on the carousel at D-land when we went with Dad last Friday.

What about this one, Mom?
Here he is sitting next to his cousin Lilly, who is exactly 3 months younger.
There goes that tongue again!
Hello Lilly!

Camping

Stephen and Brooklyn braved the ward camp out while Ian and I had a regular stayed at home and began the halloween costume sewing projects. Call me a party pooper, but I don't think Brooklyn minded staying up WAY later than I would have allowed, and eating all the hotdogs and s'mores than she could possibly desire.
The nights festivities included special musical performances involving an accordion, a violin, and a guitar.

Brooklyn loved the campfire music and being a social butterfly.

I liked this tent picture the best even though Brooklyn's eyes are closed because it shows her static hair and Stephen's eyes don't look as tired as in the other pictures. This was probably taken and 11PM, mind you.

Did I mention she LOVED staying up late?

The next morning the bishopric made a yummy pancake breakfast.
The happy camper. The whole time we talked about camping in a tent the week prior, Brooklyn couldn't separate the concept of a regular camping tent from that of a conference tent. Kinda like she can't separate the song "Ol' MacDonald" from the name of the fast-food restaurant.
Thanks, Stephen, for braving the outing. I'm glad you both had a wonderful time.

Conference Weekend

We love listening to conference. It has become a special event for us to listen to the prophet, apostles and other church leaders. We have started a tradition of building a conference tent to nestle into during the meetings. Brooklyn made sure to organize her tent with all the note-taking, beverage, entertainment essentials.We also enjoyed a yummy dinner of BBQ chicken salad...
and cornbread smothered in butter and honey. Yum.

Quail Botanical Gardens

Awesome tree house! Brooklyn reigns from her preferred vantage point.
the view while crossing the parking lot to the other children's area
Tate, Brooklyn, Megan, and Ryan (in stroller)
The terraced area for moms and kids to hang-out near the cool tree house.
Beneath the shady "roots" of the treehouse, the kids chilled.
Ian, of course, crawled around and tasted all sorts of earthy delights!
Brooklyn again decided he needed to wear this outfit. It's her favorite look on him. I guess it goes along with the outing. It has a picture of Oscar the Grouch and the earth, then it says "love it, don't trash it."
Brooklyn and the twins, Beck and Tate, who are in her nursery class and are one day younger than her. They took turns holding her hand, but it was mostly Beck who initiated.
Below is the second time they were holding hands. We were happy to capture it on camera. I won't mention who is taking charge in the journey, but I'm sure you noticed.
Da kids. It must have been Tate's naptime, or close to it. He was sucking his thumb.
A playhouse
The train display
The kids, mesmerized by the working mini-train
The kids got to plant little succulents.
A parting picture. This time the pots are not hiding their faces. The other kids had left already.
Fun times!

The "Real" Deal

I know the Disney trips are getting pretty routine, but we're definitely getting some use out of those annual passes! This time Brooklyn met a live Cinderella. It was pretty cute. I can't wait 'till Halloween... this years costumes (parents included, fingers crossed!) will be Cinderelly-themed.Minnie Mouse, decked out in her Halloween dress, was standing in front of a huge candy corn.
I actually got to ride the bumper cars with Brooklyn this time because we went with our friend who kindly watched my boy (and hers) while I enjoyed the ride.
It was pretty fun bonding. I felt like a child, can you tell?

Ian: Months 9 & 10

Once again, I'm guilty of not posting a monthly update on Ian! Here he is! A little about him...
He loves adventures. And, anytime he is able to eat sand or dirt or any outdoor ground covering, it IS an adventure and he WILL partake!
He's been crawling the real way for a couple of months now. He stands and walks with support.
And he still thinks he is in charge. He has two new pearly whites up top, and the "Mark of Intelligence" (as Grandpa Norton says) right between them (translation: a trademark gap which he has inherited from both sides of the family ;)
He also still likes to pour on the charms, especially for all his female admirers...
And especially when it procures tasty treats!
He's a WIGGLE WORM who rarely sits still for pictures or diaper changes.And he SO thinks he's a big dude. Meaning, he wants to eat the real stuff like big people do. He now turns his nose up at the baby cereal and only takes pieces of fruit or bread or cereal. Maybe it's those Honey Nut Cheerios that Brooklyn introduced him to! Once he tasted the sugar in those puppies, there was no turning back!
He still loves to explore. Especially when it means undoing any type of order.
We love our buddy boy. He's a keeper.

I forgot to mention his highly sophisticated communication style. It goes a little like this: a reach and an "eh" or a reach and an "EH!" or a reach and an "AAAHHH!" So intelligent!

He also loves to be with people. He loves just taging along and watching/being entertained by the big sis', especially. Also, he doesn't mind being held by me as I cook dinner, make breakfast, or just do stuff around the house. I was amazed that even the other day when I swept off the back balcony, he pretty much watched the whole time. I think he was just eyeing the dirt and trying to devise a way to get to it for his eating pleasure!