Halloween

Halloween night arrived with lots of trick-o-treaters, but Josh didn't want to go, he didn't want to wear his costume I had gotten him :( After awhile of running around in no clothes, trying to convince him to wear any costume, and seeing tons of kids in their costumes getting candy; he started to get the idea that just maybe dressing up would be fun!

His choices for costumes were monkey, elephant, or Dalmatian.

Finally he chose DALMATIAN and the excitement finally began.

Josh in a costume my mom made for youngest brother, it is so cute and in awesome shape!

Here he is running with so much excitement! It was also the most beautiful, crisp, perfect autumn night with a breathtaking sunset!

John lovin it just as much as the boys!

Halloween Zoo Boo

I've never been so excited for Halloween until this year and it is because of Nate's costume! My favorite part of this holiday is seeing all the babies and toddlers in their adorable costumes.

We went to Zoo Boo at the Indianapolis Zoo where kids get to wear their Halloween costumes and go Trick-or-Treat while seeing the animals.. It was a blast and such beautiful weather. It was so fun being together as a family and having John's mom out to visit us. I'm sad to say that we didn't get any pictures of her this trip because she was too busy getting pictures of our family. Next time, we are going to take a ton of pictures of grandma (Shawna you'll need to teach me how to use your camera). Josh refused to wear his costume even though he talked about being an elephant for over a month. Nate's lion costume was a hit with everyone who saw him and of course he smiled at everyone who passed us by. Nate definitely made everyone's day with his bright smile.

Josh thought that he could drive home. Nice try!

Josh's Loves!

Josh Loves so many things. It would be a way too long of a post to write everything, so I thought that I'd spread them out a bit.

We'll address two on this post.

1. His "Rainbow Blanket"

He cannot sleep with out it. He would love to take it everywhere with him, but he is really good about leaving it at home most of the time (thank goodness).

2. Animals, Animals, Animals!!!

Josh would live at the zoo if only I'd let him. Although, he would just fit in perfectly because sometimes I feel like I'm living in a zoo with Josh. Josh talks about animals all day long. He knows some crazy facts about them, things I don't even know that he is teaching me. The other day we were at the zoo when he exclaimed "Look Mommy, Baboons!!!" I just knew them as monkeys and looked over at the sign and sure enough he was right. Little did I know that he could distinguish between different types of monkeys/primates. His favorite animal is the elephant. Most days Josh declares, "Mommy, I'll be a baby elephant and you be a mommy elephant." He loves to pretend to be animals all the time. Whenever he wants to be a cat he gets the milk carton out of the fridge and pours it into a bowl and drinks it like a cat. This was a bit worrisome at first, but he usually doesn't spill and if he does he is very prompt to clean it up. His potty surprises have been animal figurines. He has basically collected his own safari and is finally mostly potty trained. At night time when it is time to go to sleep he talks non-stop about animals. When Josh gets to pick his own topic of conversation he says "how about we talk about animals." Lately, this has been 99% of our conversations.

Josh Safe after Close Call with a Car

This afternoon I took the boys on a walk outside around the block. It was a perfect day, warm and sunny with the bright array of fall colors. Josh rode his tricycle while I pushed Nate in the double stroller. We were having so much fun when all of a sudden a car that had just driven past us on the road starts backing up into the driveway that we were walking through. Josh was just in front of the stroller on his bike and she was within less than a second backing up right into him. My fight or flight response (adrenaline) kicked in and I jumped right behind her car screaming and pounding on it for the lady to stop. She just barely nicked Josh and he walked away with just a scratch on his right cheek. Luckily she heard me and stopped right away and Josh also is a smart kid and started pedaling backwards as soon as he noticed. The other scary thing is that I let go of the stroller to try to save Josh, but the stroller kept going with Nate in it and ended up right behind her car as well. Everything happened so fast. But I feel so blessed that both of my boys are okay and that she didn't hit me either since I jumped behind her car as well. I asked her what she was doing. Her response was I was backing in my driveway to drop off my daughter. My questions is who backs up into their driveway to drop off their child?!!! I then asked her if she saw my son or me(might I add that I was wearing a hot pink shirt). She said she had not seen either of us. I think she felt really bad. It makes me sick thinking about what could of happened if Josh was just a few feet further in front of me, I really don't think I would have made it in time to stop her. It just makes me sick to my stomach. Poor Josh is now a little scared to ride his tricycle. He now goes really slow and will only ride right next to me. At least he is being cautious.

"BABY NATE"

"BABY NATE"

Nate is officially 9 months old! How did my baby grow up so fast?!

He weighs 18 pounds (25% wieght) and is 27 inches long (75% height).

• The week Nate turned 8 months he got his first two bottom teeth, starting sitting up on his own and started to finally officially roll over (Nate has definitely been off to a much later start on these things then Josh because Josh did these all by about 4 months).

• Nate also started signing "milk" that first week of being 8 months old. Nate loves to talk, sing(which pretty much sounds like high pitched screaming). He loves to sing especially when I play the piano and to get attention from Josh. He can say "baba", "dada", "mama", "tth, tth", and much more(mostly vowel sounds). Whenever Nate starts babbling, Josh often says very proudly and enthusiasticly, "Mommy, Nate is talking! Ohh, good job Nate! Nate you're so cute!"

• Nate is pretty much always happy and smiling as long as he gets his naps in and eats when he is hungry. He is such a joy. Nate's best friend in the whole world is Josh. He copies everything he does, laughs at everything Josh does, and if you say the word "Josh" he lights up, gets a huge grin and giggles.

• Nate has eaten anything and everything I have given him to eat which I love. Today though was the first exception he didn't like pot roast and today he decided that he could do many things all by himself. Today he has begun in his own way declaring his independence. This past week Nate has started scooting and I'm sure he'll soon be crawling. I'm not in any hurry for him to start crawling and walking, it will be soon enough. I'm enjoying my last few days or weeks of him staying in one place, as Josh was walking by 9 months and running by about 10 months.

5 Years!!!!

I honestly cannot believe how fast these last five years have gone!  They have been so wonderful and so much has happened!  We've graduated from college both of us, graduated from medical school, have been blessed with two beautiful boys, lived in three different states(Utah, Iowa, Indiana), I've worked 4 different jobs (because of all the moves), John's had three jobs (I'm counting med school because that is a big job that eventually he'll get paid for, right after we pay off those loans one day :0).  We have been so greatly blessed and have overcome great challenges.  I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend and really enjoyed just going on a really fun date celebrating 5 years.

We went to the melting pot and had our own private room.  The food was great and best of all I got to talk to my best friend for 3 solid hours with no interruptions.  It was so fun!

We had two dates in one week!  Which is just awesome!  Just a few days before our anniversary we went downtown to PF Changs (which I have missed so much since we moved away from Utah) and then went on the downtown river walk.  It was the perfect weather.  This summer has been amazing for the record (not too humid and just perfectly warm).  I'm sad to see the summer ending:(

I thought this You Tube Video is very inspiring and is from one of my favorite talks from President Uchtdorf.  I really wanted to get it to fit the entire video on my blog, does anyone know how to do it, since it 1/4 of it is cut off?