Animals and Food

Cody and Macey on the way to church were discussing what things eat. Macey said, "Sharks eat people!"

Today we were having sausage links. Cody asked if they were legs of an animal. He's really very interested in where his food comes from. Then he informed us, "Meat comes from dinosaurs and animals."

And a quick random thought I need to remember about my kids: I can do it better and faster, but that's not the point. The point is to teach my kids.

I need to be better about involving them in day to day chores like setting the table, mixing ingredients or sorting laundry. And be patient!

A Name and a Blessing

Blessed October 23.

Some of her blessings were health and strength, that she would be an example to her siblings and peers, that she would follow the examples of them, be faithful, marry in the temple and one day have kids.

As if on cue, at the exact moment they announced her blessing, and said the word "bless," she started pooping. Then, as they blessed her, ringing through the microphone, she continued to poop. Then, as soon as she was done I whisked her away to change her and she pooped some more. It did leak on to her dress too. boo.

Aside from Mackayla's contribution, it was a beautiful blessing.

She has been a little sick lately, but is on the up and up thankfully. Also she has cradle cap...I have always been terrified that one of my babies would get cradle cap and now that she has it, I realize it's no big thing. Of all baby problems, this one doesn't hurt or bother them and will eventually go away. If you look close it's doesn't look pretty, but you can't even see it in these pictures.

We had visitors come join us this weekend for the blessing and to spend some time!! Jessi came too! Why she wasn't in these pictures is a mystery, it was kind of chaotic. Thanks for taking them though!

Here's some pictures of the munchkins after church. Cody smiling:

Wait for it

Macey smiling:

Wait for it:

Mackayla smiling:

Whadayaknow, kind of all three:

Cody and Macey fought over who got to sit by Jessi all week.

She got to sleep in their bed with them the first night. However, it ended poorly when Macey's water spilled and Macey was in her spot and sometime later Cody's water from the top bunk trickled out straight onto her face. She ended sleeping wedged sideways on the foot of the bed, and then opted to sleep at the hotel the next night. Good call.

We had a little Halloween party. Cody and Macey wanted tons of decorations and they decorated the table:)

The first day we went to a Pumpkin Patch with tons of activities. Jessi, Cody and Macey swinging on a swing:

We went through a corn maze and meanwhile, Jeff fixed my camera (imagine a choir of angels singing "aaahh"). Clear pictures. We went on a tractor/hay ride.

And Cody and Macey went on pony rides:

Macey's horse was named cookie. After her turn was over she screamed that she didn't want to get off and said "I love cookie!"

This man heard and must have been in charge because told the girl leading the horse to let her go again:)

They tried to feed the animals

On the way home, Cody pointed in the sky and enthusiastically exclaimed, "Oh my helicopter!" I was almost mortified that Jessi thought I was teaching my children choice words.
This is Cody and Macey doing one of their favorite things with grandma Bonnie and grandpa Jeff: playing on their phones. I really do feel bad that they ask so often.

Hanging out:

Swimming at the hotel:

The second day there we went to the OKC Fairgrounds and Ben, Jeff and the kids went to a team roping competition held there. Bonnie, Jessi, Mackayla and I went to a huge craft fair also held there. I love craft fairs:) Randomly, I was nursing Mackayla outside in the shade and kinda in the dirt (should've been my first clue that this was a bad place) a woman came about 2 feet away and started puking. Since I was nursing I couldn't really run away and just kind of quietly gagged. When we was done she literally just wiped her face and went on her way to keep shopping.

We got a bunch of pumpkins from the Pumpkin Patch and decorated them with faces. We also carved a huge one Cody named "Big Fred." Here's them and their pumpkin faces:

We are so glad Bonnie, Jeff and Jessi could come for the blessing and spend time with us. We love you guys!

A Night at the Races

Ben and I went to Remington Park with Oakridge Equine (his work) to watch some horse racing one night.

They rented a suite

that overlooked all the races

The rooms were beautiful and the food was amazing

This cute little girl tagged along. I think some of the people hadn't seen a baby for years. She was the star of the show. One woman said she would have LOVED to hold her but she was too drunk. Glad she could still reason!

It was so nice to spend time with Ben.

My only regret is that I didn't get a picture with my hair done:) I did it for the first time in a LONG time and then pulled it back to feed Mackayla. Oh well, I'm there! The track is huge and it was pretty fun to stand out on the balcony and see the races in real life!

Getting Bigger

Mackayla had her two month appointment. She is 11 lbs. 5 oz. (65%) and 21 inches (8%), although I'm not banking on the height because she was curled in half and they just marked with a pen on the paper she laid on. Super accurate right? Not that it even matters at this tiny stage in her life:)

She also had her shots. She was a trooper and really she was a little tender on her legs, but never even cried about it and slept a lot more that day. She is really turning into a good natured baby. Now that she can put herself to sleep. phew! We LOVE this sweet little baby.

While at the doctor Macey said, while eyeing the doctor out of the corner of her eye, "I'm not going to get checked today so I'm not going to get shots today." The doctor asked, "How old is she??" "Ten," I said, "trapped in a two year old's body." Cody was going to get shots, but had a fever. Lucky on one count.

Here's some of our recent creations:

Cody was not super excited that I used one of his spiders for the spider web, but he also thought it was cool!

I've wanted one of these forever. That was my birthday request as well: time to sew. I love sewing even if I am terrible at it. And I have wanted to make one of these birthday banners for my kids' birthdays forever.

A few holiday festivities: Pumpkins. Two 4X4's (rounded). Chop, paint, glue. Super cheap and easy! And I Do Love that it is still shorts and t shirt weather. It almost made the deathly hot summer worth it!!!

Note to Self: Read Monthly

When you have a strong willed child...:

View Them Positively-as hard as it may be to acknowledge, being strong-willed is a gift. A beautiful trait that needs to be refined, but appreciated. They should never feel like having a strong personality is a negative thing.

Draw Clear Boundaries-“Clear moral standards draw boundaries within which a strong-willed child can flourish.” They need consequences, regimentation, traditions, routine, rituals and rest.

Give Them Some Say-most battles can be avoided, if you maintain authority, but also give your child some say…from eating to napping to keeping their room clean, you can work together to accomplish the goal.

Another Year Snuck By

I really didn't even realize another birthday was coming, it just snuck up and I'm even older! My day started bright and early at 5 when Mackayla woke up, which normally would be too early to be happy - but she slept from 8 to 5!! Happy Birthday to me! She's figuring out how to go to sleep on her own (cross my fingers) and it's making life a little easier. (I got right back into bed after I fed her...just as Cody and Macey woke up. Little kids are so loud in the morning even with a pillow on your head!:)

Birthdays aren't quite as exciting when you're old, but they are when you're young, which Cody reminded me of. As soon as we were all up he said, let's decorate for the party! He sang me happy birthday multiple times and insisted on making a cake. I wasn't planning on decorating, or having a cake, or a party, but I didn't want to disappoint Cody! He's pretty cute. (The party will be tomorrow since Ben is still working and it's almost 10.) Miss Macey had a fever which finally broke and she is finally getting over it.She asked all day today for some "birthday," which I discovered means cake to her. When I finally offered her some, she didn't want it.:)

These guys, especially Cody right now, LOVE 'projects' - making things. Here they are fingerpainting:

About half of the time when I ask Macey to smile, she does this:

with a don't you dare take my picture attitude. Silly girl.

Just When I Feel Better...

Mackayla starts being fussy. She cries from about 3 pm to 7 pm when I put her to bed for good. Not straight through and not every day. I love that newborns sleep all day long, it makes recovering so much easier. I can't even remember stages of babies, but I think it gets easier soon-ish? (And harder at the same time;)!)

One benefit of moving and not having any friends is that Cody and Macey were forced to play with each other all the time. And now they are Best Friends. That made this move completely worth it.

Conference Weekend and the best purchase ever

I decided to get the kids a sandbox right before conference to entertain them. It worked like a CHARM. Hours of fun. I heard more of conference than I have in four years. That's not saying I heard it all...that would be a miracle. But I loved it of course and all the messages. I can't wait to go through and read them again.

She even decided to sleep for much of Saturday. Look sideways at this cute girl:

She has moved to 3 month clothes. I can't wait to see how much she weighs at her next appt.

That evening Ben went to a young men's barbeque and then to the priesthood session with them. Meanwhile, we went to the circus! For being a family event, I was shocked and disappointed with the pole dancing, but aside from the few random additions, it was pretty fun. Macey waved at all the characters that came in.

Will someone please explain in simple terms why all my pictures are blurry???