A Little Rodeo

Our stake held a rodeo today and we had so much fun! Eli started off with the chicken chase. Most the time he just stood there looking at all the other kids running around like they were crazy. :) Then we got some cotton candy, took a miniature horse ride, ate some popcorn, had Eli's face painted, and ate some yummy pulled pork sandwhiches. Eli loved watching the animals. He was too little to do the pig chase or muttin bustin. Maybe next year!

More Family Fun

Saturday night we helped Eli carve his first pumpkin. He loved helping us, except he thought cleaning out the inside was "yucky". (Could have guessed that one with his obsession of having clean hands.) He named it Bucky and was so excited when we lit it and put it on the front porch. He has checked up on him every day and constantly asks us to light the candle when it gets dark. Sunday morning I tried to get a few pictures with both kids together before church, since I don't really have a good recent picture with them together. That was impossible! Oh, well. Then when Eli woke up from his nap later that day he wasn't acting like himself and he didn't want to eat anything. He ended up throwing up twice that night and that was the first time he ever has. In Eli's words, "Mommy, I spit." Luckily it didn't spread to the rest of us and he was back to his regular self on Monday. I finished Ava's costume and I can't hardly wait! (I actually did put her in it while my family was here so they could see it. I'll give you a hint....red, black, & a tutu.) I'm still working on Eli's. If you have cowboy boots that would fit a 3 year old (size 7-8), a hat, or chaps, let me know!

Potato Harvest

Growing up in Idaho we always had a 2 week break from school around the end of Sept. or first of Oct. for the farmers to harvest their potatoes. A lot of kids worked for the farmers during this time, but since my mom taught school, this was often a time we would go on family vacations. My mom and aunt decided to spend their break with us and have been here for almost a week. We went to an indoor amusement park, did lots of shopping, went to the Arizona Museum for Youth, and had a picnic at the park. Here are some pictures from our fun so far.

Ava's 8 Month Pictures

My awesome friend Kelsey took pictures of Ava on Saturday and they are fabulous! I'm already having a hard time trying to decide which ones to print out to hang. Thanks again Kelsey! Here are some things Ava has been up to lately: Standing all the time, walking along the couch, loves cheerios, makes a funny scrunchy face, follows Eli around everywhere, trys to find a way to get up the stairs, still drools a lot but no teeth yet, and has the prettiest blue eyes. Eli goes between playing with and teasing/torturing her. He is doing really well still with going #1 on the potty, but we are having problems with going #2. It is frustrating. Kaelub is getting ready to apply to PA programs next month and I'm having fun with projects/crafts. I get to help with the Relief Society activities and we have some really fun ones coming up---a self defense class, Halloween costume party, and super saturday craft day!! It's going to be a fun/busy couple of months. Oh, and my family is coming to visit this weekend!! Can't wait to see them.

Edible Playdough

On Monday Eli and I made some edible playdough. I had seen a lot of recipes for it, but none of them looked like they would actually be that great to eat. And I knew Eli would think it was fun to eat the playdough, but only if it tasted good. So when I found this recipe, I decided to try it. I didn't have a white cake mix like it called for, so I used the one with the colored sprinkles in it. It was really easy and we pulled it out of the fridge today to play with again. Here's the recipe:

1 white cake mix
1 cube softened butter
2-3 Tbl water
food coloring (optional)

Mix cake mix with softened butter. (I used a pastry cutter to do this part.) Then mix water in 1 Tbl at a time. (I only used 2 Tbl in mine.) Roll into balls and add food coloring.

Tutu Cute

I made Ava a tutu a few weeks ago for her to wear when she gets her next pictures taken. I couldn't resist putting her in it and snapping a couple pictures of her--she was so cute! I can't believe how fast she is learning to do things. She loves to stand, eats anything & everything we give her, is usually very happy, (even though she isn't too great of a sleeper), loves to follow her brother around, babbles a lot, and makes some pretty funny faces. We keep looking for her first teeth to come in, but nothing yet!

Potty Training

It has been a week now since we started potty training Eli. Kaelub took him to pick out his underwear and I made a sticker chart and picked up some prizes at the dollar store. The first 2 days were not fun! We went through 6 or 7 pair of underwear the first day and he fought me a lot the second day. I told Kaelub I felt like I was cleaning up after a puppy with all the accidents! Finally one time the second day when I forced him on the potty as he was kicking and screaming he went! And then he got really excited as we clapped our hands and cheered for him. He especially loved opening a present. He pretty much has the potty thing down at our house and he went on the potty at Walmart a few days ago. One day when we were at our friend's house, he would not go on their potty and ended up having an accident. (Sadly it was on the tile in their toy room and Eli's BF slipped and fell in it---sorry Brookie!) But yesterday we were at another friend's house and he went twice, so he's improving when it comes to going potty someplace new. We still are working on him going #2. For some reason, he still wants to go hide to do that. Any suggestions from you moms who have potty trained kids?