Were back!!!

After a long break we are finally back! It's hard to be inspired to blog without photos, as you all know! I finally got a new camera, so no excuses now! Going 2 months without a camera is torture for a mom with a baby, I feel like he has changed already so much! This blog may overload on baby pics for a while. (Sorry in advance!) I did get a camera after thanksgiving but was not happy with it at all, so I took it back. I did have it for a few days so at least I have some pics of the baby for his first cereal feeding. He was so funny! He seemed to know what was coming. He was reaching for the bowl before I had even given him a bite.

Then he tried to take control and feed himself, I had to wrestle him for the spoon!

Rob wanted to feed him too, but Lincoln showed him who was in charge!

What a mess!

He is a good little eater, maybe too good. Anytime I eat anything now, he seems to think that he should have some and makes these grunting noises to let me know! I love this little guy!

Halloween!!

I know this post is super late, but thanks to my friend Ashley I am able to post some pics!! The boys had a blast at our Trunk or Treat. They hung out with their buddy Buzz (aka Jacob) all night. Ethan was a cowboy, and Porter was our little stinker! :)

Our very ferocious lion...

Thank you Ashley!!

Need help...

A few weeks ago we had my sisters and their children come visit and had so much fun together! Unfortunately in all the craziness of loading 11 children in the car after a long day at Disneyland I lost my camera. It's so hard to be inspired to blog when I don't have any fun pics. I've been dying without my camera!! I feel like I'm missing so much, especially with Lincoln. So, I really don't want to do all the "homework" that comes with picking out a camera, so my question to you all is....What kind of camera do you have? Do you love it? Hate it? Would you recommend it?Do you know a place to get a great deal on a camera? I'm just looking for a good small camera that I can put in my purse, so if you have some awesome really expensive camera, keep it to yourself! Don't make me jealous. :) Thanks!

Heaven

I have developed a MAJOR sweet tooth! It started with this last pregnancy, and the cravings have not gone away. I have been trying new recipes and baking a LOT lately!

My recent discovery...

Oreo Truffles!!

These are pure heaven!! (Especially if you are a big fan of oreos like me) They are so easy to make. You have to try it!! Here's the link to the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-OREO-Truffles/Detail.aspx

Dominoes

Ethan LOVES playing with his dominoes. He has gotten really good at it! Check out his latest set up...

He was really proud of himself that the last one fell down the stairs. He's getting more creative every time he plays with them.

4 months old!!

Lincoln turned four months old yesterday!! I love this little guy so much. He has brought so much joy to our family. His big brothers ADORE him, he is rarely left alone! Besides not liking his car seat very much, he really is the perfect baby. He's a great sleeper, and always happy. He just started rolling over a week ago...I'm so not ready for him to grow up!!

Ready, Set, Ride!

Last Saturday Rob surprised Ethan with his first "big kid" bike. He attached some training wheels and we were off to the park.

I was barely able to get a picture before they took off!!

Porter was just as happy on his scooter.

I think Ethan enjoyed the freedom.

Breakfast request

This was my conversation with Ethan this morning.

Ethan: "Hey Mom, how about we make cinnamon rolls this morning!"

Me: "Do you love cinnamon rolls Ethan?"

Ethan: "Yes, but I love you more than I love cinnamon rolls."

Smart kid, how could I say no?!

My preschooler

Ethan has always been my little perfectionist. For the longest time I couldn't get him to write or even draw pictures because he was so worried he wouldn't do it right. We had bought several workbooks for him to practice with, and he refused. What a difference a few months have made!! I told him that he would be starting preschool and that he needed to learn to write. He got really excited and took it upon himself to get out his workbooks and has really developed a love of learning. I wish I could take all the credit, but he pretty much taught himself mostly everything. He literally did his "schoolwork" every day during the summer. He has saved all his worksheets and kept them in his backpack convinced that he needed them to show his teacher! This is what I cleared out of his backpack yesterday!

Ethan has been counting down the days until he could go to school. He was beyond excited yesterday, and couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Finally at his classroom!

Ethan didn't waste any time finding something to play with.

Showing off ...

When I picked him up his teacher said that he did really good and was a great listener. I am so proud of Ethan and how hard he has worked to prepare himself!

Only in a house full of boys...

...will you find your kitchen table set up for battle!

My "Kiss" Baby

What does my sweet little baby have in common with this guy?

How do you think he would look in some black and white makeup for Halloween?

Waiting Patiently

Rob does most of his work from home. This is hard on the boys because when they want to see their daddy, they don't understand why they can't just go running in his office. I've been trying to drill it in their heads that if they hear Daddy talking in his office, it means that he's on the phone and they can't go in. So this afternoon I found Ethan asleep at his door. He must have been waiting for him.

A Quick Trip

Rob was supposed to meet with a client up in San Jose yesterday morning. After booking a hotel for Wednesday night, they called and canceled. So we decided to make a family trip out of it. I was pretty nervous to go for a 6 hour car ride with the boys, but they did so good! I don't know how people did road trips before having dvd's in the car, that was a huge life saver!!! By the time we got there, all the boys wanted to do was go swimming in the pool. It was so fun to watch them. Porter has just figured out how to "swim" with his life jacket.

Ethan and Porter picked me some flowers...Ethan decided to swim with his.

These boys love their Daddy!!

Lincoln wasn't too happy when we dipped his toes in the cold water, so we hung out poolside.

This baby loves to get cozy. As soon as I covered him in a towel he crashed.

The kids had so much fun that when they woke up the next morning they went swimming again before we had to check out! We thought it would be fun to make a few stops on the way home. We headed for Pismo Beach, which we figured was a good half way spot. On the way there we stopped at the San Miguel Mission. The kids enjoyed looking around. I was a little nervous that they were going to break a 200 year old artifact! This was an oven that they used.

Of course they had to make some funny faces too!

When we got to Pismo, we saw that all the rocks were covered with a ton of birds! When we got out of the car it smelled so bad. The boys thought so too!

Showing off his muscles...

Next we stopped in Solvang. We got the boys some chocolate covered marshmallows. Ethan licked his like a lollipop, and Porter just got as messy as possible!

We had some dinner at the Red Viking restaurant and then headed home. As I was tucking Ethan in bed he said to me, "Can we go on vacation again tomorrow?"

Double Nap Time

Ethan loves Lincoln so much. I can't keep him away. He was just lying down by him, watching him sleep, when I look over to see this...

I guess they both needed a nap!

Happy Birthday Rob!!

While Rob served his mission in Uruguay, they often went into Brazil to eat at a churrascaria. These are all you can eat restaurants that serve many different cuts of meat. They have "gauchos" that bring you the meat that has been bbq'd on swords, and they cut a piece off for you right at your table. Any time we travel we look for one of these places. We have been to one in New York, Hawaii, and in Arizona. We've been looking for one of these local, but haven't been to one. So a couple weeks ago I was watching the travel channel and they highlighted one in Glendale. I knew that's were I wanted to take him for his birthday. So last night we met up with our friends Eric and Laura and headed out.

It was almost a kid free night, but who wouldn't want this little guy to come along. :)

Here's what was left of Rob's plate...notice the alkaseltzer wrapper! We were all pretty full when we left. Rob was a little disappointed he couldn't eat more!


Rob's dad was kind enough to watch the other boys for us. When we got home we noticed a burning smell coming from the house. Larry told us he had warmed up some chicken nuggets in the microwave for the boys. What he didn't realize is that he had followed the heating time for cooking them in the oven....he put them in the microwave for 8 minutes!! I'm not sure how much time had gone by before the microwave started smoking and he opened it to find this...


The even funnier part is that he put the plate in the grill outside. I guess he didn't think that we would notice if the smell was coming from the grill. We got a good laugh at the melted plate.
(sorry Larry, it's too funny, had to share!)

Happy Birthday Babe!!!

One crazy week

We blessed Lincoln on the 26th. The day started a bit rough when I got a call a half an hour before church to find out my entire side of the family was stuck in traffic behind a bad accident. We made some phone calls and our Bishopric were kind enough to wait until everyone was there to bless him. We blessed him just before the last speaker! Besides that small glitch, it really was a great day. We had everyone to the house afterwards, and it was so fun to watch all the cousins from both sides of the family hang out and really have fun together. We even got them all to go outside so the adults could hang out and play games. I'm so thankful for a usable backyard!!

That night my sister, Amy, and her family stayed the night so we could go to the beach the next day together. We ended up leaving a lot later than we planned but it worked out because Rob was done with his work by then and was able to join us. We were only there for a couple of hours since we needed to be back for my nephew's birthday party that night, but we still had lots of fun. I was a bit nervous to have Lincoln there so young, but he was a trooper as always, he is such a good baby!!

So we headed back home for the birthday party. It was hosted at a friends house. They have an amazing backyard, so fun for the kids. We were able to catch up with some friends, and the kids had so much fun in the pool. They had a water slide, and Porter couldn't get enough. He just went down over, and over again! The smile on his face was priceless.

We convinced my sister's family to stay one more night, and we played games until 3am!! I can't remember the last time I stayed up that late! They went home on Tuesday only to be replaced Wednesday by my other sister, Shannon, and her 4 kids visiting from Arizona. They stayed the night and planned to go to Disneyland the next day, but the kids decided they wanted to stay and play at our house instead. So, we were joined by Amy and her kids again and my brother, Brent, and his family for one big party...there were 14 kids in my house!!

Uncle Brent with Lincoln.

Once again we were up too late playing the Wii, but it was a lot of fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, thanks guys!! Oh, how I wish I used my camera that night. After the biggest "sleepover" ever at my house everyone packed up and left Friday morning.

My kids couldn't have been happier all week...they were in cousin heaven. I am so blessed to have such an awesome family. Thanks to everyone that made it a great week!!