Christmas Already?

I can't believe that Christmas is already here. Honestly I'm not feeling all that excited about it. The holiday has recently become more about money that the actual gift giving and I find that frustrating. Anyway while I do feel that way I am just a little excited to break out the decorations and watch Wyatt experience Christmas. That I guess is what makes it all worth it.

Well it has been a busy couple of weeks. Three weeks ago my mom and dad and grandma and grandpa came up. Which was fun. Here are a couple of pictures. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving I know that I have a lot to be thankful for.


Joceyln at Riverfront Park


The view from one of the suspension bridges at Riverfront Park. I think that is Maple Street bridge.

Josh and Ella on the Island in between Suspension bridges


A Picture of Everyone at the park.

Lil' Punkins

Well Halloween has come and gone thank goodness! I am personally not in love with the Holiday. However, I do not dislike it so much as to deprive my children of the coveted candy. Wyatt caught on really quick and was absolutely giddy about the whole experience. I'll tell the story and post the pictures at the bottom.

Grandma Jane, and Wyatt, and Ella, and I went to pick pumpkins on Monday. We had a lot of fun. Wyatt didn't want his picture taken, but we still had fun. Then for FHE we all carved pumpkins. Everyone was supposed to help, but Tess and I were the only ones who ended up with them. Wyatt did a little. He liked the little electronic pumpkin carving knife which he used under the supervison of Grandma Jane.

On Friday we went to the Trunk or Treat, and then took pictures afterward. We have been having candy after every meal, and sometimes before, since.

The [pictures of Ella were taken outside while I was working on painting my very green bench. It isn't quite offensive and I actually like it. Now I can identify my house by saying, "The one with the obnoxiously green bench, you can't miss it" Everyone needs something like that right?

Enjoy the pictures. (Sorry about the music)

Apple Picking Grandpa Style

I got the chance to go down south to visit my family. We did apple sauce and apple pie filling and peaches. It was great to visit and see everyone. We even vaccinated some calves while I was there. It was just like old times except for my job used to be filling the suringes and now dad has a gun type thing to do that for him so I got Chad and Jesse's old job to push the cows up into the shoot. I only got kicked once so not too bad. Anyway we were picking apples for pie filling up to the park place and my dad or Grandpa helped us with the backhoe.

Wyatt enjoyed that.
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Ella had fun too chewing on Jocelyn's cowgirl belt. It must be a sign that she is going to be a cowgirl some day. Ya know chewing on a leather belt. I'll take whatever I can get.

Wyatt on the Tractor saying "Make it doh" or make it go. Pretty darn cute!

TAGGED

4 Things I love about my husband:How much he loves just me good, bad, or ugly. How he supports my interests to whatever extent our budget can handle. How he can't help but look at me in well... whatever I do or do not have on. How we grow together, I feel equally yolked.

4 movies that I would watch more then once: Mary Poppins, Ever After, Black Beauty, and Chicken Little.

4 TV shows I watch: Clifford, Dragon tales, and Syd the science kid. We only get PBS.
4 Places I have been:Idaho, Mexico, Argentina, and Spain

4 Places I would like to go: Canada, Scotland, the Galapagos, South Africa

4 People who regularly email me: Define regularly, Avista, Comcast, Verizon, and Downeast Basics.

4 Things I like to eat: Potatoes, fresh bread, fresh fruit, oatmeal cream pies

4 Things I look forward to in the next year: Going to Mexico, having a backyard with grass, not being pregnant, having Wyatt be potty trained.

ifiaskyawouldyawannabemybabytonight

I heard that song on the radio the other night and I had a laugh. Its kind of fun and we'll just pretend that its talking about baby babies instead of women babes and we'll be right on topic.
My babies are getting so big.
I'm disappointed I haven't learned more about potty training on these blogs because it is harder than one might think. There has been a lot of pooping going on around here. Kokoum poops, the stuffed frog poops, everybody poops including Wyatt who poops outside, in tubs, and on floors. I don't think I've ever talked about poop so much. However such talk has improved Wyatt's awareness on the topic which is the whole point. After 3 long days we're making progress, but I still feel like there are far to many accidents. It's almost easier just to keep him in diapers. Anyway sorry for if this more info than all of you bargained for but here are some cute pictures to make up for it.

In Josh's family 'whitey tighties' were called man pants and so I've adopted that name too. It's kind of cute. Here is a picture of Wyatt with 5 pairs on. He was excited and far be it for me to rain on his manpant parade so I did aide in the expidition with the forethought of getting a cute picture.I've been trying to get some good pictures of miss Eleanore too, but Wyatt is such a good helper he has to be involved. Here are some of the latest staged pictures.

We have been having some odd weather. We had a big hail storm with rain off and on one day so I took it as an opportunity to show Wyatt about the weather. Of course the first thing he wanted to do was run in the puddle which was pretty big because we have a drainage area in our font lawn. I really enjoy watching him play and discover. He is such a boy and that comes though in the moments when he doesn't think anyone is watching. I think that one of the most rewarding things about being a mom is watching them become bit by bit who they really are and are meant to become.

Here is a picture from our trip up north to Columbia Falls, MT. Which is just minutes from Glacier National Park and north of Kalispel. We went for a wedding. This picture is Wyatt throwing rocks into Flat Head Lake. It was so pretty up there. The bottom was all round smooth pebbles and the water was surprisingly warm.

On the way we got to stop at 'the farm'. Josh spent summers there as a child with his Grandma. I would say that his time there had a great impact on who he is and gave him an opportunity to explore that living in the city wouldn't have. There is no power at the farm and for a long time the bathed in the creek and had an out house. Sounds like a boy's paradise. Anyway I really enjoyed the stop at the farm and the insight it provided into my wonderful husband. I'm also glad to see the place I've been hearing about in all of the crazy stories. One of which involves lots of little pairs of the afore mentioned manpants in a tree. Anyway the cabin was built by Josh's late grandfather who was a logger. He cut and milled the logs himself. I was impressed by the sturdiness and coziness for that matter of the structure. Not to mention the size. Enjoy the pics.

Happy Birthday Wyatt

Pictures from Wyatt's second 2nd birthday party


A John Deere Tractor ( Not bad for a Novice)

A Laundry room full of Ballons (Better than all the other presents)


Smarties (better than the cake)

I found my tongue!

He tired to sleep with all three but we wouldn't let him. We didn't want him to choke himself with the strings.

Vacation; Good for the Soul, bad for the Work ethic

We got to spend 3 weeks at the grandparents. Wyatt got acquainted with all the tractors and other farm equipment not to mention the four-wheeler and the motorbike. Uncle Chad took him for a ride on the motorbike. He loved it, and since then he has been obsessed.

We hiked Cress Creek while I was home. I didn't ever remember it being as pretty as it was of course it has been a warm and wet year. You could see my dad's cows down in the pasture on my camera. I was pleased with the zoom and the pictures that it took. It was fun to play around. Here are a few of the pictures I took. Wyatt got tired about half way up and needed a rest.

It was a really fun trip. We celebrated 4 birthdays and an anniversary all in three weeks. That was just long enough to go native, I was wading through puddles and running around bare foot. Wyatt really liked the bare foot part. He had a lot of fun pulling Jocelyn's carriage through the puddles. He didn't like the ditch water because it was too cold on his feet. As far as Ella's feet go they were toasty warm in these boots my friend Meag got for her (thanks again).

Lemons

Wednesday morning a week ago we got a great big welcome to homeownership in a word; WATER. There was lots of it too. The hose on the back of our fridge burst and leaked enough to saturate the sub-floor which means that, "everything has to come out." What new homeowner wants to hear those words? You can see the water stains in some of the pictures as well as the piles of debris from tearing out the floor. They did try and save the tile, but it had to come out too.
It is kind of hard to tell, but plywood shouldn't be that dark. So we got to move everything back out one month after we just moved it in.

A little Bit of Sugar
On the other hand we do get to pick the flooring that goes back in so there is some truth to the afore mentioned statement by an enviously optimistic person.

Then there is the kids who make life the sweetest. I noticed in the other pictures that Eleanore looks a little angry so I wanted to post some where she was at least not scowling. You all know how cooperative infants are for picture taking so I did my best.


One More 'Sweet' thing
Since there is a gecko living on our kitchen table who leaves no room for plates we decided to have dinner outside on our deck. We moved an end table out there and threw together a surprisingly nice Sunday dinner. Steak on the grill, potatoes, and sparkling cider. All in all I thought it was rather picturesque. I didn't even have to worry about dirty little hands afterwards.

Welcome Home

Hello again everyone. It has been a crazy month between a new baby, moving and unpacking, and a baby blessing. It is surprising what good motivation having company is to unpacking. Still I wasn't able to get everything done, but at least it was livable. This is our new home.
I don't have a picture of the front view, but the porch goes all along the front of the house. It is a 3 bed 2.5 bath. We have a small back yard with a fence to keep Wyatt in. The front yard has tiny little blades of grass finally, which we are excited about. It is so nice to be out of an apartment, and most importantly off the third floor.

It was great to have everyone here for Eleanore's blessing. Grandma and Grandpa Hill came and my mom and dad. Also Uncle Craig and Aunt Jana. Our little house absorbed all those people pretty well. Josh's sister and her husband, as well as some family friends were able to come to dinner afterwards so our house was officially the fullest it has every been. It is so nice to have family and friends around for special occasions.

Eleanore is getting bigger by the day. I don't know if they measured her correctly in the hospital because at the 2 week visit she was 20 and a half inches long. I've never seen a baby grow 3 inches in 2 weeks, but hey who am I to say? Here is a picture of her in her blessing dress and a picture of Wyatt standing on the big rock in the front yard.
An updated family picture in front of the star on our porch. (I really like the star)
Playing with family. Wyatt had a lot of fun playing with "nonnen" as he calls Jocelyn.

Survival of the Trenches

Emma Eleanore Werner

Born Saturday, March 29th at 4:22 A.M.

She is a whopping 17.5 inches long and weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces

Well we all made it out of the trenches alive, and we have a baby and only a few battle scars to show for it. She has a purple beanie in stead of a purple heart but hey, I'll take it. Maybe she'll get her purple heart for valor in battle with Wyatt who can't quite decide if she is a doll or a real baby.


Right now everyone is sleeping and after I eat something, and take some pain killers, I'll join the ranks. This is a picture of my squadron doctor and nurse included.


Enjoy everyone and please excuse the cheezy references to battle survival. The sad part is that they have their place. Oh p.s. were going to call her Ella

Easter Fun for the Future Acupuncturist

Easter came with a blizzard so it didn't feel too much like spring, but it was still nice enough to go outside. A few days ago Wyatt got into my sewing stuff and pulled out all of the pins. I knew that the quiet was too good to be true. So he had all of my pins sticking into my mattress. I'm lucky I found them all without having to sit on them.












As for Easter, we got a kite for the family and have enjoyed being outside.

It has been a lot of fun.
Wyatt even got to fly it. He was a little distracted by all of the people playing soccer and basket ball, but he had fun.









Speaking of balls, Wyatt got a basket ball for Easter and I thought that he would be very excited, but he walked up to his Easter bowl chucked the ball over his shoulder and had three pieces of candy in his mouth in the next second. It was pretty funny.Wyatt didn't think his new suit was funny. He kept pulling at his tie and saying, "hurts". I personally thought THAT was pretty funny. His tie only lasted 10 minutes into sacrament meeting, but he looked good for the picture. Anyway it's been a good Easter and I'll be glad when I can chase the kite without a baby in my belly. Only 2 weeks to go. YEAH!