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Pumpkin Time

We're about to have our courtyard party of carving pumpkins, pizza dinner, treats, and costume parade! I'm excited to get a picture of everyone in their costumes. Alec and Charlie look adorable! Or I should probably say, rugged. Pictures of the evening are coming soon.

Here are some pictures of a pumpkin patch we went to a few Saturdays ago!

Bitter Sweet

But mostly sweet, so maybe I should say Sweet Bitter. We bought a washer and a dryer! Someone from the ward was selling their hardly used super nice washer for a good deal and so we found another good deal on a dryer on craigslist. That means no more trips to the laundry with a baby in a wrap, 2 kids stuffed in a wagon with 7 loads of laundry. Ok, that only happened a few times. Mostly Chris did the laundry (all 7 loads) after bedtime. But at least it means no more pausing our evening entertainment for 40 minutes so Chris can go switch the loads and wait for that one washer that takes 20 minutes longer than the rest. And no more realizing we forgot that stinky bib stuck behind the highchair forcing ourselves to smell it for another week until we do the next batch. Maybe now I'll wash my sheets and towels more. Maybe folding laundry (if I can manage to do it after each load) won't take 4 hours. This is all the sweet side. So goodbye to this:

And hello to (eventually a cleaner) this:

(Eventually) Beautiful, right? What could possibly be bitter about getting to do laundry at home while kids are napping? Well, its all about space. I have to give up my sewing station and kitchen cart. That doesn't sound so bad except I won't be able to leave my machine out to easily jump back into a project with the small 15 minute windows I have to sew with every couple of days. And at night when I have more time, I have to hurdle the "I don't feel like doing anything after putting all the kids to bed" feeling and get out everything to work on a project. Its already hard enough to muster up the energy to simply sit down at the sewing machine and remember what I was doing. Plus, I have to find room somewhere else in my tiny apartment for all my sewing and playschool supplies, microwave, toaster-oven and some food storage buckets.

I wish I had a picture of my sewing/microwave corner but I didn't get one before we put the washer/dyer back there and I don't feel like scouring through all my many pictures in hopes that I might have one somewhere.

Boy, now I sound really grouchy and ungrateful. I think I really will be glad for the washer and dryer and I'm sure it won't take too long to figure out a new sewing system. Also, I probably won't be sewing as much for the next 6 months or so anyway once I finish my current (TOTALLY EXCITING) project since I tend to sew in spurts.

Birthday Boy!

Our little Charles Leland is 2 years old today. I can hardly believe it. He thinks he's 5, if you ask him how old he is, he'll tell you so. His voice is so adorable. I even think his occasional, "Doe away, Mom!" is sort of cute. I know he really doesn't mean it.

Chris told me he wanted Charlie to feel special today and I think we did that. Alec started the birthday prep yesterday by telling him (even before talking to Chris or I) that the next day would be his birthday. When the boys woke up we asked them if they knew what today was, and Charlie said, "my duhday!" Super cute. We had a new (to him) Radio Flyer trike waiting for him downstairs and the present Alec wanted to give him - a train that goes by itself.

I taught playschool for Alec and his friends today and Charlie joined us and did his best job yet of listening and acting big. Immediately after we had a little indoor (because of rain!) picnic party for Charlie. We had helium balloons and cookie dough cupcakes/cake. Charlie loves cookies.

He loved getting basketball shorts (like Alec wears all the time) and brand new rain boots! He refused to take them off for nap time.

Then came a Primary Program Practice Pizza Party. Whew. What a day. I enjoy being Charlie's mom so much and want to hold and cuddle and kiss his cherubic cheeks all day. Sometimes I do and sometimes he likes it. We love you, Charles.

Answers..

Anyone surprised?

Baby pictures

So this isn't really a game because it would take way too long for me to format it, but here are a bunch of pictures of all three kids. See if you can guess who is who. They look similar to me and in some pictures its hard to tell the difference but with lots of different pictures together like this, their individuality is more apparent to me. Oh, and sometimes Gwendolyn is wearing her older brothers' old clothes for camouflage.

Illustrators and authors

Last weekend there was a big book event with free books, crafts, food etc... for all the graduate students and their families. The craft table had supplies for the kids to make their own books. I started helping Charlie draw/write down his favorite activities and Alec was scribbling something next to us. It wasn't till we were done that I asked Alec about what he was drawing and I realized his pictures were both original and they looked pretty darn close to what he said they were supposed to be! I was blown away.


And then, today for playschool my friend helped the kids make a similar book, but this time they also wrote the words themselves to their pictures. I am so impressed with all that Alec is learning and realize how big he's getting. As I type this, I'm trying to ignore the fact that he "accidentally" threw something on Gwen earlier and that he just woke up Charlie early from his nap and they are now throwing things around their room... books maybe? It sounds hard. Man, did I say he was growing up?

AHH!! Now they are throwing everything down the stairs. If I ignore it, do you think it'll stop? I know, I know... "probably not." Well, I guess some things like obedience and common courtesy take longer to learn than pencil coordination.