The Pumpkin Patch!

I've been a mom for 5 Halloweens now, and this is the first time I have ever taken one of my kids to the pumpkin patch! I always had intentions of going, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen. So, this year I really wanted to take them and made sure it happened! They loved it! They couldn't believe how many pumpkins there were . . . it was pumpkin heaven for them!

Here are 6 attempts at getting a cute shot of both the kids together . . . an almost impossible task! :) It is so hard to get both of them to hold still, look at the camera, and smile at the same time . . . Is that too much to ask for? I think the first one is probably the closest to my request. . . Not too bad.

Notice Ambree's little pumpkin that she claimed right when we got there. She loves her "baby" pumpkin!

She still has it in this picture, it's just kind of hidden.
Cade was more partial to the bigger ones, too bad they were to big for him to carry!

He settled for one that was a "little" bit smaller, but not as small as Ambree's, because he isn't a baby like she is . . . in his own words!
He was pretty disappointed, though, when his stem broke! He decided that he needed to choose another one that wasn't damaged, even though he did it. Is that dishonest to break the stem on a pumpkin and then to leave it there and buy another one that isn't damaged? I hope not!

King of the pumpkin tower!
The kids in the wheelbarrow, right before it tipped over with them in it . . . yeah, that was fun. Luckily they didn't get hurt too badly.
Of course they had to get up on the tractor, and of course I had to get a picture! Luckily they didn't fall of of this! It would have been a lot longer of a fall!
Now we have pumpkins to carve and paint and decorate with. Hopefully we'll get it done before Halloween!

Reason 101 that we don't have a dog and don't plan on ever getting one . . .

I love crocs for my kids in the summer time. They are so easy for them to put on themselves, they don't need socks with them, they can get dirty and we and you just clean them off . . . they are great! Well, Craig had just bought Cade a new pair because he pair from last year were giving him blisters because they were too small. After having them for a week or two they disappeared! I thought maybe he left them at grandma's house or something, but no. So, one day while I was outside and so was the neighbor boy I asked him if he had ever seen them in his sand box that Cade plays in quite often. The neighbor boy's eyes got big and he walked over to the side of the house, and brought me the shoes you see below. "Are these the shoes?" He asked. "I think my dog ate them." Uhhhh, ya think!? So, that was the end of Cade's crocs for this summer! Hopefully he learned his lesson about leaving stuff outside and will understand even more my many reasons for not wanting a dog!

Side note: they had jibbits and straps on the back that are completely gone now! I told Cade that technically they are still wearable, but he wouldn't put them on! Oh well, it's a good thing the weather is turning to tennis shoe weather anyway!

I love to see the temple . . .

A few weeks ago, Craig's cousin, Natalie, got married at the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. Craig's mom sent us these pics she took of the kids. I thought they turned out pretty cute!


Ambree looking at The Angel Moroni with Cameron (Craig's brother).
More fun with Cameron . . .
Cade is finally learning how to pose! Hooray! He even has a normal smile! :)
Muscle Man!

Cade turned 4!!

Cade had his four year old birthday party! He really wanted a Toy Story cake (surprise, surprise). He even suggested that it be a cake that looked like Andy's (boy in Toy Story) bedroom with all the "guys" from Toy Story. So, with some help from the Internet, this is what I came up with. . . . I used a regular sized cake pan for the bottom layer and a bread pan for the bed. I just used regular frosting for the "floor" and marshmallow fondant for the "bed" and the stars and the name. I got all the little "guys" on e-bay since I couldn't find them anywhere else. Oh, and in case you are wondering . . . NO ONE sells Toy Story party supplies! It would have been a lot easier if Cade loved Spider man or Cars, but of course it had to be something difficult to find! Oh well, things worked out and he LOVED his cake and the toy decorations of course! :)

Side View . . .

Make a Wish!

An attempt at a family picture . . . Looks like I'm the only one looking at the camera! :)

The food . . . Pizza from "Pizza Planet" (in movie) of course! Craig came up with this and decorated all the boxes of pizza! Cade of course loved that too!

Here's Ambree, wishing it was her birthday! She actually did a really good job at not being too jealous.

We just had a small family get together at the park . . . Here are some of the members of the Bird Family . . .

Grandpa Clegg (Craig's Grandpa), Carol (Craig's Mom), Andrew and Bryon (Craig's brothers)
My cousin and his cute family . . . The Vongsawads!
My brother Justin and his family happened to be in town this week, so he came and brought his cute little boy Brogan . . .

Cade was pretty wiped out after the party and fell asleep in the car on the way home. Usually when this happens at night time, we just carry him to bed and he goes right back to sleep, but not this night! Right when Craig picked him up, his head popped up and he said, "I want to play with my Toy Story Guys!" Sooo, we let him and he didn't get to bed for another hour or so, but he loved it!

A few things about Cade . . .

• He's loved Toy Story for about two years now.
• He can quote lots of lines from the Toy Story movie.
• He loves to look at books, do puzzles, color, draw, etc.
• He loves to play on the computer and can navigate his way around sites like http://www.nickjr.com/, and http://www.pbs.org/ for over an hour without any help!
• He loves his family and gets so excited when we go on a family outing!
• He is starting to be very sweet with Ambree and talks her with this cute, high voice.
• He is very sensitive and gets very sad when I barely raise my voice to him.
• He is very intuitive and can tell right away when someone is sad.
• His favorite T.V. shows are, Super Why, Word World, Little Einsteins, and Diego.
• He loves the park, children's museum, the zoo, the pool, the beach, and Disneyland!
• He knows the first four Articles of Faith by memory.
• He loves fruit, juice, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
• He tells Craig and me that he loves us often, just out of the blue.
• He loves to sing and has very good pitch.
• He loves to cuddle and always wants us to tell him stories that we make up.
• He loves playing dress up and imaginary play.
• He is very friendly and will often tell me he made a new friend wherever we go.
• He's very gentle and not too aggressive (we'll see how this goes when he starts sports).
• He is very ticklish.
• He is doing much better with potty training . . . thank goodness!
• He is our little Cadester Badester and we love him soooo much and couldn't imagine our lives without him!

Potty Training . . .

I think we are making progress . . . Cade is finally putting his pull up on all by himself!! LOL

Some firsts and lessons learned . . .

Pony Rides

-When you go to Thanksgiving Point on $2.00 Tuesday, it will be very crowded!

-You will have to wait in line for over an hour for a 3 minute ride!

-Of course while you are waiting your son will find a mud puddle!

-It's never fun having to entertain kids in line, especially with lots of people everywhere!

-At least you had a friend to talk to!

Hike "Y" Mountain in Provo, Utah

-Don't attempt to do this again without the husband!

-At least I was smart enough to go with my cousin and his two kids, and my sister and her friend.

Aiden, Samantha, Cade, and Ambree with smiles on their faces because the hike has just begun!

Still Smiling! Cade actually did a great job and had lots of fun with Aiden!

This one on the other hand was smiling at the beginning and running, but . . .

about half way up started doing this . . . and I had to hold her about 60-70% of the hike!

-Just because a 2.5 mile hike isn't too hard for you, don't assume the same for a two year old!

My sister, Brittany, encouraging Ambree to walk . . . Thanks Brittany!

We made it to the top . . . now we've got to get down! Ugh!


Fishing
-Cade will think fishing is fun for like 10 minutes, until he realized you just stand there and don't catch anything . . . not that day anyway!

-Ambree will be more interested in the dirt and water than in the fishing . . . surprise, surprise!

-Cade will soon join her after the 10 minutes of fishing!

-They will both end up wet and very dirty!

-Our "fishing" trip will very quickly turn into a "hiking" trip!

Bowling (Ambree's first time, not Cade's)

-Ambree will insist on holding the ball all by herself!

-She will try to run up the lane and throw the ball wherever she desires!

-You will have to chase her all over the crowded, stuffy bowling alley!

-She will want to bowl whenever she isn't running around, even if it isn't her turn!
Cade will love it and take turns graciously . . . two years ago, this wasn't the case, so maybe there is hope with Ambree! We'll see!
It's funny how things almost always turn out differently than you picture in your mind! Oh well, I guess that's what makes life exciting right!?

Funny Cade Conversations . . .

It's amazing how much there is to teach children! Everyday Cade asks so many questions and carries on so many conversations with me that cause me to think and to teach. I am grateful that he is so curious and wants to learn, but sometimes I just want to sit in silence. I don't think that is going to happen for a while, especially now that Ambree is joining in his jabbering. Here are some conversations from the past few weeks that turned into teaching moments.

While "trying" to have family home evening . . .

Me: OK, it's time for the opening prayer . . . you need to close your eyes.

Cade: But, this is the opening prayer, so we need to keep our eyes open!

Then had to explain about opening and closing prayers and why they are called that.

Me: Cade, maybe we should have your birthday party at a pool.

Cade: I don't think that's a good idea.

Me: Why not?

Cade: Because we might get gasoline on the cake.

Me: How would we get gasoline on your cake at the pool?

Cade: Because there is gasoline in the pool water.

Me: Oh, you mean chlorine.

Cade: Yeah, chlorine . . . I don't want to get chlorine on my cake!

Proceeded to explain what the difference was between gasoline and chlorine.

While on a bike ride with daddy, passing Mc Donald's . . .

Cade: Daddy, what is a nugget?

Craig: Nuggets are little pieces of things, like chicken nuggets, gold nuggets, etc.

Cade: Oh, so Dino Nuggets are little pieces of Dino?

Craig then explained that they aren't really dinosaur pieces, just chicken shaped like dinosaurs.

Cade: Mom, I can't wait until Christmas when Baby Jesus will be born again!

Of course, I then explained how we just celebrate when Jesus was born, etc.

While playing in the backyard . . .

Cade: mom, that two headed bug is trying to get me!

Me: What two headed bug?

Cade: Right there on the wall . . .

Me: Oh, uhh, that's not a two headed bug, it's just two bugs that are touching each other.

Cade: Oh, well they are trying to get us!

Me: They don't look like they are trying to get you to me!

That's all the explaining I did on this one! ;)