Grandma and Grandpa came to visit.

The kids were super excited to see Andy's parents this weekend. They came Saturday evening and left Sunday afternoon. It was fun to have them even if it was just a short trip. Maddie loved having them play games, do puzzles, and read stories with her.
Reading bedtime stories with grandma and grandpa-
Maddie and the grandparents (Garen refused to have his picture taken)-
Just a cute picture of Maddie right before we left to church-

Daddy and the kids- (Garen was doing everything possible not to smile)

Some Family Time

Andy had Thursday and Friday off work, which was so nice to have him around! He helped me a ton with things I've been putting off, like scrubbing the bathtubs and bathroom floors and getting the boxes of Christmas stuff out. Also we were able to go do a few things with the kids that I've been avoiding because it is just to tiring to take them some places by myself.

Thursday night we went to Pizza Hut so Maddie could redeem her book-it certificate for a free pizza. She was very proud of the badge they gave her for reading 20 books.

Then we did a little Christmas browsing and let the kids point out some things they would like to ask Santa for.

Maddie was so sweet to not forget her baby sister that will be here before Christmas. She made sure and picked some things to put on babies list for Christmas.

Then we went home and had banana splits, put the kids to bed, and Andy and I watched a movie.

Friday we took the kids swimming as soon as Maddie got out of school.

Maddie has been wanting to go for awhile, but Garen is kind of a hard one to take-he runs away, he cries at the cold water and its hard to get me and 2 kids dried and dressed in this huge slow state I'm in.

So we were glad Andy could come with us. We had a left over water camera from Andy's fishing trip that we took. I was excited to see the pictures since we were getting some good ones of the kids under water, but when I went to pick it up at the photo place they said the film was to damaged-I was bummed.

But we had a great time swimming. Garen preferred the hot tub over the big pool that was a bit chilly. But Maddie was having a blast! After swimming we let the kids go to the play area for a little while where Andy helped them build a big block house.

Garen is trying to so hard to help, but just knocking it all over, pretty funny-

Of course a big block house is no fun without knocking it over-

Then we headed to our neighbors house for dinner. She made us some very yummy ribs and twice backed potatoes followed by a double chocolate cake. It was super good and I didn't have to cook! Of course while we were there Garen made a huge mess of his cake and managed to pull a ton of popcorn seeds out of their movie popcorn maker and throw them all over their carpet.

So Andy went back to work this morning and I am missing having him around already! At least he'll get some time off when we have the baby! It was definitely a nice two days having him around not just for all the help with the kids and cleaning either! ;)

Family Update...

Garen

Garen and I have been enjoying our alone time together during the day! He is so much fun and very entertaining! He can now name all his colors, shapes, and letters and he's about got his counting down. He plays with cars and trains all day long and if he has a toy that isn't a car or train he turns it into one.

One of Garen's favorite places to play is inside this storage Ottoman. He hides in there and makes beds in there-

We go to storytime at the library on Mondays, which Garen loves but still will not participate in the games. And we meet his playgroup at the rec. center on Thursdays. He loves going there except when the other kids touch his giant blocks.

It's been over a month since Garen has taken a nap so I have pretty much given up hope that naptime will resume.

We've tried introducing potty training to him, but he is terrified of the toilet and refuses to go near it even with the little potty on top. I am so not ready for 2 kids in diapers, but it looks like that is what's going to happen unless by some miracle Garen looses his fear of the toilet in the next couple weeks!

He's growing like crazy! He's big enough and strong enough now to take down his sister. Maddie hasn't had a growth spurt in awhile so he's almost as tall as her! Sometimes when I'm doing laundry I get their jeans mixed up!

Madelyn

I cannot believe how grownup this girl is getting!!! She was making a turkey the other day and we didn't have what she needed so she says, "oh well, I guess I'll have to improvise." When did she turn into an adult?

Maddie is loving school so much! She has so many friends and the nicest teacher. Her reading and writing are really coming along!!!

I have recently discovered she has a little worry bug like her dad did. She will complain about a stomach ache every so often and I will give her some tums, make her drink more water, or have her soak in the tub. Then after a few hours of complaining about her stomach she will bring up some topic that has her worried.

We went through this a couple weeks ago with fire drills and school fire safety.

It came again last night. Last night after I tended to her tummy she said she was afraid of the dark at school. After talking with her I learned they have been practicing 'lock-down' drills. They turn off the lights and all the kids have to huddle in the little kitchen area. Obviously the teacher explained that we do this if a bad guy comes to the school. Maddie thought bad guys weren't real and now we've had to discuss that not all people are good. I try to reassure her that no bad guys will come to school and her teachers will keep her safe, but she now worries about a fire starting and a bad guy coming to school.

Maddie can't wait for her baby sister to get here. She always wants to know exactly what day of the week the baby will arrive. She doesn't get that the baby comes when it's ready.

Maddie has been so helpful with clean up time and with preparing things for baby. She loves folding and hanging the tiny baby clothes and loves to ask if she used to wear it. We put up the bassinet and Maddie has put it to good use with her dolls and animals.

I don't know what I would do without my Maddie!

She is so good at taking care of Garen. She gets him his blanket when he's sad, she gets him a snack or drink when he's hungry. She plays cars and hide and go seek with him. And she even puts him in timeout when he's naughty (that one isn't quite so helpful).

Baby Girl

35 Weeks and counting-

I know, I"m huge! I have now surpassed my ending weight with Garen-dang it! But everything looks great. My blood pressure hasn't changed a bit from the beginning and I'm measuring just a touch big (so hopefully she'll come early). The baby's heart rate is perfect and she is head down and ready to come out!

I go to the doctor every week now, so it's just a matter of time.

While we wait I've been trying to get a few things ready like Christmas shopping and going through all the baby stuff I already have and deciding what else I need.

Getting ready-

Well, that's what we have been up to. I can't leave out Andy. He's been helping me around the house a ton and he works all the time-that's about it!

I'm a winner!!!!

Alisha had this amazing giveaway at AJ's Bow-tique and of course I took advantage of it and commented my little heart out. And it payed off! I won 7 out of the 12 bows she was giving away! You're the best Alisha, I am so excited for the beautiful new bows and headbands for Maddie and the new baby. You really are so very talented!!!
Here are the ones I won!-

Two winners a day for 12 days...

Check it out!

Preschool Name Help!

Okay so I am planning to open a small preschool in my basement next Fall and word had got around quicker than I thought. People are anxious to register and make sure their kid is in because the trusted safe preschools fill up very quickly around here. I really need to get a move on with the set up of my preschool. And I better start with a name!

I am having a really hard time deciding on a name, I don't want to be to cheesy but I want it to sound like a reliable fun place parents want to send their kids. So I'm asking for some help. Please tell me names you've heard of, names you've come up with, any advise you have. I want some opinions and some ideas! Help me out!

Here are a couple I've been thinking about-let me know what you think about these:

*Tiny Footsteps Preschool- "Taking small steps toward big futures"

*Little Learners Academy-"Taking learning to new heights"

*Discovery Station (Use trains in logo)

I'm not even sure if I'll use any of these, I'm open to other ideas!

Parent/Teacher Conference

Last night we went to our first (of many) parent/teacher conferences. Maddie has such a great teacher and she really loves it and that's the most important thing. The teacher had great things to say about Maddie. How quickly she catches on to new concepts and how well her reading is coming along.

The teacher did tell us that they just got two new (wild) boys in the class this last week and Maddie has befriended them. This new friendship has also got Maddie put at the timeout table-a first for her. The teacher said Maddie does very well on her work and follows instructions except for this week. I just had to laugh when Mrs. Magnuson said Maddie was chasing the boys around the room.

I guess you can't sit quietly and work all day long, right!? I know I didn't when I was in Kindergarten and I was only there for a couple hours a day not 6 hours.

Maddie made this picture just now and really wanted me to post it. It says I love Garen, Jann, mom, dad-

Also last night, in the middle of the night Garen woke us up with crying and a bed full of throw up! I don't know what the deal is-we all keep getting sick. I have been washing and lysoling and cleaning everything. I went and got us all new toothbrushes this morning. I don't know what else to do to keep these nasty bugs away.

Garen did recover very quickly and was fine today, but I've about had it with this flu bug going around!

Someone's taken over my bed...

I've given up making my bed these days because it has become Maddie's and Garen's new favorite play place. They drag their blankets and toys in there, they hide in the covers, they jump on the bed, and just play all their made up game there. Even though they destroy my bed and knock any clean laundry onto the floor, they sure are cute doing it!

WE VOTED..

Have you?

It's sad to say I didn't know as much as I should about the Wyoming candidates and propositions, but I did vote for president! I hope everyone else was able to get out and vote. It will be interesting to see what happens today and in the next few months.

Got to love Twilight.

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.
Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Halloween! And finally feeling better.

(Maddie spotted one of her friends just as I was taking the picture)

I didn't think it was possible to get the flu twice in the same week, but I was wrong! I got horribly sick again on Wednesday afternoon and the vomiting finally died down around midnight. My body ached and I was so exhausted, so of course Maddie starts throwing up about 2AM! But after a full day of rest on Thursday for us all, we finally are feeling back to normal. Maddie missed her Halloween party at school, but we had fun on Friday.

Princess Cinderella Maddie-

I had fun doing Halloween crafts and things with the kids in the morning and trying to make their food look spooky (like pumpkin sandwiches, crackers oozing green frosting, blue drink with eyeballs (frozen grapes) and later spaghetti with faces made out of olives and cheese.

Garen eating his monster cupcake that the kids help me make-

In the afternoon I took the kids over to the library Halloween carnival where they won lots of prizes and played lots of games. They got to shoot a which, throw darts and ghost balloons, golf, fish, and throw bean bags in a ghost. They had a great time.

Garen hiding under a chair because the kid behind us had a scream mask on and he did not like that!-

It took some major bribing to get his costume on, he did not like it at all, but soon found out that you get candy if you are wearing a frog costume so he left it on the rest of the time-

Maddie shooting the which, I think she hit the glass window every time-

Maddie fishing for prizes-

Then at six Andy got to come home and we headed to our ward Halloween party and trunk-or-treat. We were glad our ward was having a party because we didn't really want to take the kids around to houses we don't know. They got tons of candy and had a lot of fun. They had games and dancing and good company.

Garen liked the bubble machine best-

Maddie and he friend Elizabeth-

Andy and Maddie-

Garen had more than enough chocolate as you can tell-

Trick-or-treat-

Maddie dancing at the church-

We left the church about 8 and then spent some time with our neighbors who were outside passing candy out with a fire going and of course a keg of beer. Don't worry we didn't dip into their beer supply.

Maddie and her friend and neighbor Zoe-

Garen and neighbor Cody playing with their glow necklaces-

We got the kids to bed by about 9:30. Then Andy and I made a pizza and watched The Incredible Hulk movie.

It was a pretty fun day especially because no one was throwing up! :) I can't believe Halloween has already come and gone! Time is flying by!

I hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween!!!