Christmas is just around the corner!

We are so excited for Christmas in our home. Matt has asked Santa for a soccer ball. We've watched a lot of Christmas related shows. We made a fantastic gingerbread house. We've talked about baby Jesus and all the people in the Nativity story. It is so fun to share all of this with Matt! Another fun part of Christmas (for me) is the cute Christmas outfits. Nana sent Emma some gorgeous dresses and Matt some studly sweater vests. So I was very excited to get my cuties dressed up for church today. And I had to take a picture (or 3) of their adorable-ness.

Latest carving and our new front yard

Finished up my latest carving yesterday. It’s a pinecone Christmas ornament carved from pine (I think). I think it turned out pretty well.

 

Also, we had the pine tree in our front yard removed about two weeks ago. It’s nice to finally have a front yard to play in. Here is a before and after and then a couple pics of the process.

Halloween

This year's Halloween was a lot of fun for us. Matt got to be Buzz Lightyear, thanks to his pal down the street. Emma was a darling flower. We got to dress up for Toddler Time at the South Jordan Library, Josh's work party, and of course trick or treating. Matt really got into character and would fly around and shoot people with his laser beam, all the time doing sound effects and saying Buzz phrases. Its so cute to see him love characters so much and to get so excited about them. He also liked the candy :)

On Halloween, we got a visit from Princess Peach and her bomb. Becca and Katie stopped by to say Hi, and their costumes were the best I saw this year. We had a yummy Jack-o-lantern pizza with our friends the Smiths and our kiddos hit the rainy streets to beg for candy. They lasted 2 circles.

Happy Belated Halloween!

(Josh’s mad carving skills….wood, pumpkins its all the same)

South Jordan #18

Just saw today that money magazine came out with the best cities to live in the US. South Jordan came in at #18 because of 'strong schools, low crime rate, and an excellent Country Fest Celebration. Not sure about the country fest stuff and my kids aren't in school, but I do enjoy the city in which I live.

Link to Money Magazine Best Places to Live

Picture Frames

I finally finished the picture frames that I was working on for my moms birthday this year. The pictures are some paintings she did in college. For the past who knows how long she's had these in a closet so I decided to try and make some matching frames so that she could hang them up in the house. I think they turned out pretty okay.

Matt Singing Nusery Rhymes

More adventures with 2 kids

So our typical day goes like this:
"MMMMOOOOOOOOMMMMM!" That's my wake up call from Matt usually around 7 a.m., which usually wakes Emma up too. I then proceed to change diapers, get clothes on and feed the kids. Would you believe that usually takes until 9:30 a.m.? I then get Emma down for a nap and eat and get ready myself. Matt usually gets lucky and watches a show during that time. If I am getting out of the house at all it usually happens between 10-12 a.m. Errands work best for us then. Lunch is at noon. And then comes the epic battle to get Matt to take a nap. Its even more frustrating these days because I want to take a nap too! And I can't until he does.... So naps usually go until 3 or 3:30. Then its time for snacks and the 20th diaper change of the day and time to play until Dad gets home around 5:30. Oh and somewhere in there I clean and cook dinner. Josh comes home and I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief. Just knowing he's on his way home to use up some of Matt's energy and to give my arms a rest from Emma makes me relax. I don't know how I would survive without my sweetheart! Our nights go by super fast with dinner and baths and the bedtime routine. We finally get some down time around 9:30 (if Josh isn't schooling it). Whew. I'm exhausted just thinking about my day!

Also, I am finally brave enough to take the kids out on regular errands, outings, and what not by myself. The 3 of us have done everything from shopping to library visits, feeding the ducks to playing at the park, and even attending ward functions! You seasoned moms out there are probably laughing at me, but it took quite the courage and energy to attempt such things with a rambuncious 2 yr old Matt and a reflux-crying Emma. I go on such outings mostly for my sanity, but Matt has fun getting out of the house as well. So here are some pictures of our adventures...

Emma is a smiley cutie pie these days!

Matt's first bandaid. It's a Buzz Lightyear bandaid of course. He loved it at first and that lasted 3 minutes or so and then he wanted it off.

Matt and Blueberry feeding ducks and throwing rocks into water. We love Daybreak Lake!

Matt likes to push the limits. He's "staying in his room" to sleep, barely!

I can bathe 2 kids by myself! Mad skills, huh?!

I love my little smiley flower! She has the best cheeks for kissing!

Matt loves swimming. Just don't get his head wet.

Matt coming down the slide at the pool. Josh caught him at the bottom.

One time was enough for Matt.

Me and the kiddos on one of our family fishing outings.

Matt at Skye Park

Matt is climbing on the playground. Emma is looking at me, like I want out Mom!

Pictures of my day to day with 2 kids

Emma doesn't really like taking pictures.... A rare happy Emma (its not her fault! She has reflux.)

Matt entertaining himself while I take care of baby sis.

More of Matt entertaining himself.
Matt in the morning.

Getting ready for the day, almost.

Cute siblings

Matt is a sweet older brother!

Emma on her blessing day.

Two planter boxes

Here is the latest in my woodworking adventure. Pretty much right now I decide what to build based on what wood I have available (that's because I found a furniture shop who lets me come and get their scraps for free and so I only work with what I get from them).

So the latest project was building planter boxes for our back patio. I made the first one (the tall square one with the plants in it already) and Heather and I really liked how it turned out so I scrounged up just enough pieces of wood to make a second one (the rectangle one that doesn't have flowers yet).

Our new cutie pie

So I had some fun today dressing Emma up amd taking tons of pictures of her. Enjoy :)