6 months

Well, it is hard to believe, but on November 14th, our baby hit his biggest milestone yet. . .6 months! He is bigger and better than ever and we can't figure out where the time has gone. It is funny how when you are uncomfortably pregnant, the months drag on and on, yet when you have a sweet little baby to love on each day, the time seems to vanish into thin air.

It's no secret here that our baby is growing by leaps and bounds. His official weight this time was a little surprising to me though. I thought for sure he would break the 20 pound barrier, but surprisingly, he was a straightforward, no nonsense, even. . .

18 pounds! Still huge, but not as over the top as I had thought. I guess packing around all this dead weight every day takes its toll and feels like more than it actually is! He is above average in both height and weight and his head is now in the average bracket. Indeed, he is growing and it is showing!

Not only has our boy been packing on the pounds in this past 6 months, but he has also been busy learning some new tricks! He does a funny thing with his tongue, pokes it in and out like a little snake! Who knows why?, but we think it is adorable.

He can sit up completely on his own now and that has made life so much easier. I don't dare leave him without the Boppy tucked around though, he tends to grab for anything and everything in sight and the Boppy transforms his falls from trauma and drama to smooth and sweet.

Once he's down, he rolls all over and I can never keep him contained on a nice clean blanket. I am dreading the days, shortly ahead, of having to keep the floor spotless. We are grateful, for the time being, that he is still pretty immobile and content to play with just about anything within his grasp not excluding his feet and fingers. He giggles and giggles when he is content (small spurts of time throughout the day).

He is still pretty high strung and NOT a home-body (like his mom) though. He much prefers to be out and about. He jabbers away like he is telling us ALL about his adventures! When I am at the store, shoppers always comment on how talkative he is:)

He is starting to inch his way into the "stranger anxiety" phase though. He will definitely let you know if you are invading his personal space.

He's happiest when his mom or dad or even his brothers are around; preferably holding him (making it increasingly difficult to get to that huge pile of laundry in the background there)!

Steve some how brings out the relaxing side of him. He is content to chill on Steve's lap for great amounts of time. He does not do this for me! He is usually more excited and CRAZY when I am holding him. I am not sure what Steve's secret is or what I am doing wrong?, but he pretty much tries to devour me when I am holding him!

Currently we have been using the nickname "Raven Claw" (yes, paying homage to Harry Potter) or sometimes "Razor Claw" because of his crazy need to claw at anything and everything! Eyeballs, hair, our faces are not excluded from his tiny claw grasp. I literally have to clip his nails every other day, it's absolutely mandatory!

The other day a friend of mine asked if he is sleeping through the night yet. I laughed! He is still not even close to that milestone, but I am not stressed in the least about it. He is getting better slowly and I don't mind feeding him in the night. I actually think I am cherishing it this time around. He is consistently waking at around 2 am and again at around 7 am. That's not too bad. Sometimes he'll even go back to sleep after his 7 am feeding letting me get a quick jump start on the day.

He did surprise us on his half-birthday though, with sleeping in his CRIB for the first time evah! We put him to bed in his crib (like we have tried to do dozens of times past) but this time, he ACTUALLY slept in it!!!!! This was huge for us! Up until that day he had been sleeping in his car seat. I guess he finally realized the benefit of being able to sprawl out!

Yes. This boy is crazy. He is particular, even persnickety about funny little things. But we love him, quirks and all! I remember when he was still in the womb and moving like crazy and even getting the nurses to scratch their heads at his above average need to move and groove, now we know why! He marches to the beat of his own drum and is perfectly content to do it!

One thing is for sure. This sweet little babe is just about the best thing that has happened to us in a long time! This year, when we look back on our blessings and start with the counting of them, this sweet boy will be at the top of all our lists! It would be impossible to love him anymore than we already do! Happy Half-Birthday Mr. Brayden!

The Blur That Was October

Along with the usual comings and goings of the every day. . .

October was a month that packed in a LOT of little "extra" festivities and celebrations. It was crazy and sometimes exhausting trying to keep up with it all, but we did our best. I made it to about 50% of what I needed to or wanted to, I guess there is some give and take in life.

One of the events I really enjoyed (and look forward to every year) was the annual Girl's Weekend event. It is the best time, getting together with the high school crowd and just relaxing and chatting the night away. I always come away from this event with my cup filled back up again! Such GREAT girls and amazing examples to me. The conversation never fails to be impressive and amazing. I feel like I need to take notes; so many great ideas, home remedies, advice about child rearing, marital counseling, and endless humor! It's the best:) This year, I was only able to make it to one night out of the two. Such a bummer, but it was still great! It was held in a beautiful cabin in Pine Valley and it could not have been more enjoyable. I didn't bring my camera but Erin, the amazing photographer that she is, got a GREAT group shot of most everyone (I wonder if we'll ever be able to swing getting EVERYONE there all at once?). You can click here to see it, plus some head shots of each beautiful girl. My favorite is the last group shot. I feel like they are all smiling at me! I love that I am not in this photo (especially since I am so overly critical of myself lately). I can look at each person and remember something funny or encouraging or motivating that she has said at any given girl's weekend/life event and it makes me feel so blessed and inspired and happy! I am a total product of good friends. Without their influence (and a lot of their families' influence) on me in high school and college, I think I would be a completely different person. What an amazing group of girls! Glad I made it to at least one night, oh and Brayden got to go too!

Actually, part of the reason I didn't get to go to the entire girl's weekend was because he was just getting over his first yucky cold. No fun! Actually, our family dealt with our share of illnesses and trips to the doctor this month. We did get our flu vaccines though, including H1N1, so hopefully we will be on top of our game come winter (fingers crossed).

Okay, so when we were all feeling up to par, we were able to make it to some fun seasonal, family events, like the Staheli Corn Maze. Laura's family invites us every year and it has been fun to see the boys grow and change at this same event each time. They looked AWFULLY big to be sliding down the slide and riding some of the rides this year, but I am convinced it is still fun for all ages! I even had my brother Kirk come along with one of his friends. They are 14 year-olds and they had just as much fun as the younger variety. Brayden enjoyed the crisp, fresh air more than anything I think. We played around on some of the fun "farm" rides for awhile, then hitched a ride on the trailer bed over to the actual maze.

We spent plenty of time getting LOST (the fun kind) in the maze. Conner was worried about everyone getting lost (the scary kind) so I sent him off with Steve to keep track of the bigger boys. I had a grand time chatting with the girls (all two of them) and looking after the smaller kids. Brayden fell asleep in the carrier thing I had him strapped in. He loves that thing. I swear, if he weren't so dang heavy, I'd pack him around in it more often!

Of course, we have to get a great group shot with everyone. This year, only mine and Dani's family joined Laura's so it is fun to see that ALL the kids in the picture are BOYS! Pretty crazy huh?! Yep, we are mamas of ALL BOYS and definitely outnumbered:)

Another fun fall tradition that we were able to make it to this year was the annual Peterson Pumpkin Party in Farmington at Steve's sister Shauri's house. I really love this event. It is such a fun idea and I love being at Shauri's house in the fall. She lives in the coziest, cutest little neighborhood that reminds me of days gone by. They just don't make neighborhoods like this anymore:

Shauri's house is the one in the middle and the other images can be found either across the street or right next door. I should have taken more pictures, these are not doing it justice. It really is so quaint and festive! Of course the kids had a blast with their cousins and I had fun visiting with everyone and keeping Brayden content. Shauri's family has a great little garden and they grow their own pumpkins. They invite all the siblings (and their families) from Shauri's side of the fam (which is a LOT of people) and we get to carve pumpkins and eat homemade donuts and other goodies! It really is so simple and so fun!

Capitalizing on the fact that most of the family was in Farmington for the P.P.P. anyway, Shauri's son Heath had his missionary farewell the following day. I can't believe it is his turn to go out into the field! His brother Morgan will be returning from his Australian mission in January. Heath won't get to see his brother for another two years and it has already been two years since HE left! I realize this will be the exact same situation for our boys when they go off on their missions. Their birthdays are EXACTLY two years apart. Just one more thing to test their faith. We are proud of Heath and his amazing example to our boys. He'll be an awesome missionary to the Spanish speaking people in California.

Okay, let's see, what else happened in October? Oh yes! My birthday! I can't believe I am thirty-something! Steve and I are noticing that we are turning into those "older people" we always looked at curiously from afar-never imagining we would become them someday. . .
I had a nice little birthday this year. One of those events that drag on over a few days. Steve and Lewis were off hunting for the first part of the weekend, but cut the trip short after Steve shot a deer on the first day. It was a nice present to have them come home on my actual day (Sunday). Also included in the festivities; I went out to lunch with some girlfriends, went to my mom's for dinner/cake & ice-cream on Sunday, ate a yummy birthday breakfast prepared by the boys on Monday. . .all good stuff! I am blessed.

Alright, moving on. Let's cut to the chase. We all know HALLOWEEN is the main event in October. We had our fill of the holiday for SURE at our house. Lots to do. We managed to squeeze in a ward carnival:

School Halloween Parade and parties:

The Beaver Dam School Carnival (Steve's school-yes, he dressed as "The HULK"):

You might notice in the pictures that my kids had SEVERAL different costumes this year. This was the first year that I made a mandate that they choose their costumes from the large collection we have here at home. No need to fork out an arm and a leg for costumes when we have an assortment of perfectly great costumes right here. Conner ended up being really logical in his decisions to dress up for each event. For the church carnival, he opted for last year's Storm Trooper costume which was just down-right easy and comfortable. He had been planning to be a vampire for weeks leading up to Halloween and he ended up being a super cute version on the school parade day. However, later that night at the Beaver Dam carnival, he said he wanted to be a Karate Kid (again for comfort) and because he didn't want to have to do his makeup over again. Amen I said! Now he has an INKLING of an idea of what it's like to be a girl that has to be "made up" on a daily basis-sometimes twice when we have evening events to go to. "Man, I'm glad I'm a boy!" he said! So cute:) For the ACTUAL Halloween event, once again-he went for his GO-TO storm trooper ensemble. It was all about the candy at this point!

I really have no idea what Lewis would have chosen to be if he could have chosen from the store again this year. I am sure it would have been something "scary" but he was happy to bring "the Joker" back to life again this year. He wore the mask to the church carnival and we did his make-up for school. He opted for the "football player" costume for the other two events.

Then there was Brayden. Now, I confess, I know there are people that literally go NUTS over 'Baby's First Halloween.' I am not one of them. I am a little more laid back and VERY traditional. I ended up dressing him in the same dragon costume that his older brothers wore for their first Halloweens. It makes my heart happy to know that someday there will be a scrapbook page in our Fall family album with a picture of each of them as the dragon. I don't even know where we got that costume? Oh well, it's cute and warm. Brayden, our little chunky monkey, was a bit too chubby for it though. We weren't able to do the top snap because of those cheeks of his! Even though it is a size 12 month, it barely fit him. He is such a big boy! He was "sort-of" a pirate during some of our day time events (preschool party and the boy's school parade), but I didn't officially get him all decked out as a pirate. Let's face it, we were SWAMPED! I keep thinking I am going to dress him up with all the trimmings and at LEAST get a good picture! Better hurry or he'll be too big for IT too!

Oh yes. I did dress up as well. Of course, a witch, it's what I do best! Plus, I really like singing, "I'm a mean old witch with a hat. . ." to the preschool kids! Wouldn't be Halloween without that!

and then, of course, there was HALLOWEEN NIGHT Trick-or-Treating! Steve took the kids out while I stayed home and RELAXED (gave out candy)!

Needless to say, with all that runnin' around to all those different events, we ended up with WAAAYYYYYYYY too much candy! How 'bout you? What's the deal with people giving out FIST fulls of candy these days? I'm so old school. The candy seems more special if you have to work for it. How pathetic I must have seemed to the poor kids that came to our house and I was giving ONE measly piece to each person! The boys RAVED about the houses that just dumped in handfuls of candy! WHAT???

So there it was! October-what a blur! Now, I need to go put away all those darn Halloween decorations before Thanksgiving gets here!