Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween from the Toy Story crew! 

Here is Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Woody, and Bo Peep.

Jordan wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween and so I made costumes to go with. Preston and I think it's really fun doing a family themed Halloween costume. We'll see how long we can keep it up. It makes me stretch in my sewing skills, but maybe that's a good thing. 

Here is Buzz Lightyear hanging out with his buddies: Peter Pan and Captain Bones the Pirate. 

We had a really fun time at our ward Halloween party. I always get a kick out of seeing everyone's costumes. It'd fun to see the creativity. And I must say that I am so grateful I have a husband who is happy and willing to dress up in a costume. I think it's so fun he'll do that. I LOVE him!

Buzz and Bo. So cute. 

Pumpkin carving was a success this year! Last year Jordan played Linus and cried, not knowing we were going to kill it. But this year he was all for cutting into the pumpkins. Natalie was brave and stuck her hand in her pumpkin to feel the slimy insides. 

Ta da! Glowing Jack-o-Lanterns next to an excited boy equals fun times. 

Time for trick or treating! Jordan's friends around the culdesac Landon and Ethan had fun running around in their costumes. They would hardly hold still for a picture. They didn't even have sugar in them yet!

Trick or treating was fun. Jordan and Ethan went together. Jordan enjoyed having a buddy to run up to the doors with. Natalie will be there with him next year for sure to fallow his lead. 

We did have dessert experience while trick or treating. So Jordan isn't always the best at watching where he is going. He was turning a corner on the side walk and got too close to the plant life (aka cactus) of someones yard. He got cactus pricklies on his right shin and his right wing. Hence the reason the wings look a little droopy in the picture. 

Luckily his costume had an extra removable layer where the cactus got him on the leg. So we took that off and took out the remaining cactus spins off of his leg and then we were quickly back trick or treating. In Jordan's defense, there aren't street lights here to help someone see where they are going. He dealt with it well. Needless to say Preston and I are still not fans of cactus. 

During part of trick or treating Natalie kept herself entertained by chewing on a glow stick. 

Mmmm... delicious. 

Eating the spoils from Halloween night. Yummm... all of the peanut butter candy was free game since Jordan doesn't like peanut butter... score! Until next years Halloween adventures! "To Infinite And Beyond!"

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Marana Pumpkin Patch! We loved it so much last year we knew we couldn't miss the chance to have so much pumpkin fun. But this time Natalie got to come with us. When we went last year, Natalie hadn't made her big debut into the world yet. We had a wonderful time doing all sorts of fun fall activities. 

Sweet siblings. 

The first thing Jordan wanted to do was to ride the pony. We also checked out the animals at the petting zoo and Jordan lassoed a bull. What a cowboy!

Our little October pumpkin. 

I don't know who was more excited for the pumpkin shooting... Preston or Jordan. They both loved shooting off little pumpkins into the air. Boys will be boys at any age. I thought it was pretty cute. 

This year the pumpkin farm added an awesome play area that looked like a barnyard. Jordan and Natalie loved it!

The huge hay mountain they build at this place is always fun to see. Here's a picture of Jordan and Preston at the top. Then we went for a little train ride. Jordan was all pictured out at this point. Yes, I know... I take a lot of pictures. No apologies... I so enjoy capturing these special family moments.

Jumping on the big bouncers.

We told Jordan he got to pick which ever pumpkin he wanted from the patch. He was so excited and quickly started looking for the largest pumpkin. Later he decided on one he could carry. He liked carrying his own pumpkin better then having the largest one in the end. Mom and Dad where happy about his choice too. 

Jordan looking for his special pumpkin. 

Dad holding two pumpkins... and a stuffed animal that must come with one of the pumpkins.

Daddy and Natalie walking around the pumpkin patch. 

Our cute kiddos having a good time together. We love to see them begin to laugh and play together. We all had a wonderful time at the pumpkin patch. Jordan wondered about the "Great Pumpkin" that Linus talked about from the Charlie Brown Halloween movie. We didn't see him, but maybe next year... who knows? 

Natalie's 1st Birthday!

Natalie is 12 months old. 

Here are her stats from her check up:

Length 29.25 in. 50th percentile

Head Circumference 47.25 cm 95-97th percentile

Weight 20 lbs. 11 oz. 50th percentile

We went with some friends to the zoo the day of Natalie's birthday. She enjoyed the view from her stroller while eating her animal crackers and sipping her water. Natalie enjoyed all the new sights and sounds of the animals. 

I had lots of fun with Natalie being an October birthday! We had Pumpkin French Toast with Apple Cider for dinner and her cake was orange with festive sprinkles. I'm sure she didn't care, but everyone else thought it was fun. 

Here is Natalie working on destroying her birthday cake. She had a lot more fun taking it apart when we gave her a fork. She didn't end up eating much of it, but at least she had fun. Bath time followed soon after.

Our little Natalie does the most adorable things. It is so fun to see her personality, likes, dislikes, etc. developing. Natalie loves to cuddle, hold soft things (like stuffed animals and soft blankets), suck her thumb, give stuffed animals hugs, give kisses, and smile. 

Natalie can walk with speed. She falls down often but gets right back up again ready to go chase a ball or see what her big brother is up to. She can say (more or less by saying the first half of the word): Mama, Dada, bear, ball, no, moon, book, and dog. 

Natalie's favorite foods are raisins, craisins, and grapes. Notice any similarities there? She is getting used to cow's milk, but will only drink it if it's warm. Also, she has gone from one tooth in September to four with two more on the way. 

Here is a little photo shoot of Natalie. I got a kick out of her different expressions. She is our sweet little girl. We can't believe she is a one year old. It seems like she just arrived and yet like she has always been here as a part of our family. We love the sweet, loving, and joyful spirit she is in our lives. Happy Birthday Little Lady!

Fall colors on Mt. Lemmon

We took a Saturday afternoon to go in search of Fall colors. We found them on top of Mt. Lemmon. I LOVE this picture of Jordan and Natalie with the fall leaves around them and beautiful colors in the background. They are smiling so big because Dad is making funny faces. What cute kiddos. 

We love the changing leaves of Fall. The crisp cool air brings back so many fun memories of this season. We were soaking it all in. 

Exploring the beauty outside and playing with the leaves.

Pretty.

Both kids had so much fun exploring the woods. They were a little chilly, not being used to anything below 70 degrees. We stayed until is got too dark to see. 

Can't take enough pictures of colorful leaves. 

"I found a leaf Mommy!" 

Colors galore!

Here is an interesting contrast of forest and Evergreen trees on the mountain looking down at the desert below. It's amazing what elevation can do with the terrain of the land.

We had a wonderful afternoon enjoying Fall. Now it's time for some hot apple cider and pumpkin bread!

Natalie's Walking!

It's official, Natalie is a walker! 

She has been practicing for weeks and can now stand up on her own and walk to wherever she wants to go. It is so exciting to see her accomplish this big milestone! You can see in her face that she is thrilled with her accomplishment. We are so proud of her and can't believe how fast she is growing up before our eyes. Way to go Little Lady!

Aunt Heather's Visit

We were lucky enough to have Aunt Heather come to visit! She had some time off and drove over from Albuquerque, New Mexico to spend a couple of days with us. Here is a picture of Heather, Natalie, and Hillary at the park taken by Jordan... pretty good picture for a 3 year old. 

Swinging at the park. This is Jordan's absolute favorite thing to do at parks and he will swing as long as you let him... one hour straight isn't even close to being done for this boy. Because of her brother's example, Natalie thinks swinging is pretty cool too. 

In September Heather had a birthday, so we thought we would make her some cupcakes to celebrate. Jordan and Heather had lots of fun making the frosting different colors. Jordan and Natalie had fun eating the cupcakes... well, Jordan licked all the frosting off of his and called it good... as he always does. 

A friend of mine told me about a neat place called Trail Dust Town.
It is a mini Wild West town. We loved it! 

Oh ya, cowboy and cowgirl. Yeehaa!

Turns out Preston is a wanted man. 

And this is what happens to outlaws; Sheriff Jordan lassos them and takes them to jail. Poor outlaw, he looks so sad. 

Shoe shinning time. 

Jordan was thrilled to find Bulls-Eye, his friend Woody's trusty horse. He loved that you could put money into it to make it move. He said Bulls-Eye is, "My very best pal."

We had a wonderful time exploring the town. It was so neat to be in this place where you could really imagine what the Wild West was like. 

Taking a break by the gazebo. Snack time!

What's a cowboy town without a train ride? Choo choo!

Natalie was all tuckered out by dinner time. She needed some cuddle time to make it through dinner. Good thing Daddy was there to help her out. 

After dinner at Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse we went on a Merry-Go-Round ride. It was all we could do to get Jordan to leave that ride. Heather and Jordan went on a little Ferris Wheel also. It was a great time at Trail Dust Town in the Wild West part of the country. We are so glad we could enjoy these times with Heather. Thanks for visiting!