Merry Christmas!

I know I'm a day late on this one, but I hope everyone got their Christmas cards in time. If you didn't get one here it is. The pictures are from my sister {She started up a business this year} and I designed the card myself. Stay tuned for a Christmas post - this year has been... hectic? Issac was very sick the week of Christmas, had him in the ER at one point. He is now feeling much better, but I am starting to feel sick. I'm not sure if its my "typical" gut issues or if its more so I guess we'll see. Either way I loaded up on my gut medicines to help me out a bit. Maybe if I'm not barfy sick and its just my everyday gut ache I'll be able to get caught up while Donavon is off hunting this weekend. Lets hope for the best, I think Issac and I have had the stomach flu 4 or 5 times this year. You know its bad when you lose count!

{Click on the photo for a larger view}



Happy turkey day!

It was Donavon's side this year. You know the drill. Mona, in the ward house gym, 200 people. The most un-thanksgiving ever. Ok, maybe not. I'm just being dramatic. I grew up having Thanksgiving with my family, my cousins from my Mom's side (all 3 that lived in Seattle) and my Grandparents. Nice and intimate, and don't forget delicious. Well, everything but Grandpa's giblet gravy. Ewwww.

I'm learning to embrace the "ward" style Thanksgiving. That's exactly what it feels like, a ward party. I even have the recent Halloween party to compare it to ;) just like it. I've noticed over the years I'm learning to just go with the flow and it is what it is. But hey, I have to give them props for having real Turkeys (I never said it was warm...), REAL potatoes (Donavon's Aunt peeled and mashed 50lbs!!) and even though the gravy is *gasp* from a can, its pretty tasty. Don't forget Donavon's Mom's stuffing. I'm picky on stuffing and it was good! Also cant go without mentioning my niece's Snickers Salad! Mmmm mmm! After we eat they do a talent show, whether you consider it "talent" or not is your choice. Following that is the big auction. Each Thanksgiving they do an auction, whatever money is raised goes towards next summer's activity, whether it be camping for a few days, renting out a pool for the night, etc.

Now this Thanksgiving was a little bit somber. Donavon's Grandma recently passed in late August. It was the first time we'd all been together as a crowd since the funeral, and the first since some of has seen Grandpa since then as well. You could tell it was really hard on Donavon's Mom and her sisters, I'm sure brothers too but they hide it well. Now Donavon's Grandpa put this rose colored bowl up on the auction table. I saw him walk in with it and Donavon's mom and one of her sisters wanted to know what the heck he was doing with it. I knew it was going to get interesting.

That rose colored bowl went for almost $200. The girls were in a bidding war over it, they weren't letting that thing go! The auction is always a fun thing to see, and there are always some interesting items.

Since this was Katie's first Thanksgiving I knew she'd just love it. Issac was too little on his first Thanksgiving to be able to eat anything, but my girl Katie. She loves food. Especially mashed potatoes and gravy!

{Here she is, first Thanksgiving modeling off the shirt Mommy made for her! Yes, I MADE that.}

 {Typical finger in her mouth, gnawing away on it like its a piece of meat}

{Its a joke trying to get a good picture of TWO kids. One is always goofing off or not looking!}

{Having her appetizer of Gerber puffs, she had mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, stuffing, a roll, snickers salad and some apple pie!}

The first snow

At least it waited until November 18th to snow. Well, at our house. Salt Lake had been dumped on prior but our weather tends to be different when storms roll through town. When SLC gets dumped on, we usually don't. When they get a trace, we probably got dumped on.

Issac was pretty excited about it. I wouldn't think finding snow pants for a 3 year old would be so hard, but it is. I've never seen them. However I've only been looking at places like Costco, Wal-Mart, Old Navy. I'm not a big mall shopper. In fact the last time I was in a mall - was last year for Issac's Christmas photos! Wait - no I lie. My Mom drug us to the mall once after Katie was born, she was looking for a Coach purse - and I went once while pregnant to get Katie a few blankies, in which I went to 1 store and was out of there before they even knew I was there! Now that I think about it... Maybe that isn't something to brag about? Meh. Whatever.

Back to the fact that is snowed - and that has been the only snow we've had this year (that stuck and didn't melt before it hit the ground). Today is the official mark of December, not bad!

We let Issac loose in the backyard with his 4 wheeler, and then eventually let Diesel out too. They had a blast playing in it. Issac thought it was pretty funny to throw snow at Diesel and watch him try to catch it, then look around confused as to where it went.

It didn't last long. It was cold and his "globes" weren't keeping his hands warm enough.

Meanwhile inside Miss Katie who could careless about her first snow played happily in her exersaucer.

Extreme DIY

So this is what I've been laboring on for the entire summer. I purchased this bad boy last year on a whim. I was actually looking for a dresser for either Issac or the little baby girl who was on her way. I happened to see this gem on KSL for $150. Well... my max budget for a dresser was $100. A dresser could wait, right? I mean it wasn't like she was coming any time soon, I still have a couple of months. I emailed the guy and he said it was sold, just waiting for the lady to come pick it up. Bummer. I replied back to let me know if the sale falls through. A day later, he emails me back and the lady has yet to come get it so if I want it, its mine. Sweet! But will you take $100 if I come get it myself? Deal.

So late one night we convinced Donavon's parents to watch Issac while we went to get it up off Foothill Drive. It BARELY fit in the back of my Caddy. We got back to Donavon's parents and they drove Issac and I home while we followed Donavon, seeing as there was no room for Issac too.

My gem sat in the basement for quite some time. In the mean time I found a dresser and HAD to start on that one first. Then came the 'well you're pregnant' so its not really a wise idea to be huffing fumes. I finally had to come to grips with the notion that I couldn't touch it pregnant and I could kiss the idea of doing it after baby comes goodbye. So I made the decision in June that once I got back from a trip to Seattle I was going to get on it!

Get on it I did. I owe a ton to my neighbor Eleisha for holding Katie who knows how many hours while she sat and watched me work my fingers to the bone and the rest of our kids play out front. Seriously, I couldn't have finished this without her help, and an added bonus we really got to know each other! The garage had become my new home. I tried to work on it in the evenings, but lets face it, some days you just need to veg out and some days you just have other crap to do.

This was my "July project" and I had another "August project" but well lets face it, I finished this in October. So it was a July, August, September and good chunk of October Project. But you know what? I did it. All by myself, and it looks amazing!

{GF Milk Paint, Antique White. The "Brown" was a combination of GF Milk Paint Lamp Black & Outback Brown, with GF Van Dyke Glaze over the top, and then of course a top coat, I used a Satin from Minwax}

{Ignore that there is an extra hole on the center door... I thought I might try to reuse some hardware, then decided not to, and slightly forgot to fill in a hole... I need to go back and fill it!}

{So I didn't stain this wood, I used GF Milk Paint, a brown and black mixed together. The lady told me to paint it, then use a glaze over it and it would look like stained wood. So I painted it. It looked HIDEOUS. I ended up attacking it with a sander one Sunday after church and once I started to see the wood grain again I stopped and decided to then try the glaze. Trial and error - she forgot to mention only paint one coat, then glaze... Below is the back panel, which I had to have Donavon take off to get it really good.}

{In the midst of stripping... It took FOREVER.}

So there we have it. Its done. I started in July and just last weekend we finished putting on the hardware. That was about the only phase Donavon helped me with! Don't go thinking he helped with the rest! It probably could have been done sooner, however the hardware size was a off the wall size and I had a really hard time finding hardware I liked that would fit. Lowes and Home Depot had nothing, or just your very modern, it belongs in a dentist office hardware. I ended up finding the hardware at a nifty little hardware store, Silverstar Hardware in Salt Lake City. It wasn't cheap. However, the girl that helped me directed me to the clearance bin, which by chance they did have my size. $14 a pull (on clearance). While I was picking out all of them she came over and whispered "I'll give you another 50% off". I don't know why, but I was so happy to hear that! I was having a slight panic attack on the cost of it all. The hardware was almost as much as the hutch itself.

I saved all the old hinges and just bought Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint at Wal-mart and a floral foam block to stand all the screws up in while I painted them.

I'd break down the step by step for you but it would be 10 pages long. If you decide to do a DIY furniture piece yourself I'm happy to give you tips on how to do it! I just wont do it for you...

Here's the kicker... its all done (well minus that one hole I need to fill) and what is missing??? A screw. At some point a screw went missing. These aren't your typical hinge screw, they are funky square screws. Ya good luck ever finding a replacement!! UGH. So, its missing 1 screw. I hope it turns up one day... I hope. Ya right.

Cuttin' kins

I've been cleaning all day, trying desperately to get caught up on my pockets of chaos list. I was determined to have this house spotless by the end of today. Its pretty clean. There is still some clutter but hey, I have two kids and we live. Most of my time today has been spent cleaning my bathroom. Specifically the shower glass. I'm going nuts over it. What was I thinking getting clear glass? Oh that's right, they want how much for frosted glass?! After last weeks barfcapades it really needed disinfecting. I used good ol vinegar and it didn't work, lemon halves dipped in salt? Nope, try again because now the shower glass is filthy. So we are soaking in vinegar now. I'm awaiting my shower for the day....

So my dear friends, while I fester in my funk for a tad longer I'll surprise you with another post. And this one isn't from 6 months ago. We did this, this month! Impressed? You should be, so act it!

Issac had been bugging me for a long time to "cut kins". So we finally went on down to the local pumpkin patch and picked us some 'kins. In our master development there is a family that lives on a ranch parcel that grows pumpkins every year, and they are free for the picking. However if you would like to donate there is a jar there to donate. This year the money was going to the PEF that our Church runs.

Going down there ourselves would be totally lame so we invited the girls next door... and Omar. Poor guy is in a house of all ladies! I'm not sure if Issac was more excited to go cut 'kins or go with his bestest friends. Either way, they all had fun picking out their pumpkins.

Of course he wanted to cut one when we got home. We convinced him otherwise. We held off for a night. His 'kin is now on the front porch totally rotten. It almost survived until Halloween.

Here are some pictures of our cuttin 'kins event. Enjoy!

{Which one is the perfect one?!}

{Issac, Kamillah, Annabella, Katie & Victoria - "The Girls"}

{Issac & Katie, he is the best big brother!}

{Give it here Dad! I'll play with it!}

{Ewwww! Gross! All this hype of cuttin kins and he wanted nothing to do with it!}

{I'll just sit and watch Dad gut it. Mom cut it.}



Still here!

So as I'm sure you've all notice I never blog anymore. Its probably in part to my lack of desire, lack of time and priorities. Blogging isn't at the top of my list that's for sure. Although now that my summer extreme DIY is complete almost complete, and the weather is getting chilly I'm hoping to revitalize the blog a bit! I cant wait to share with you what I was doing all summer, but I just need to finish up one last thing and then I'll debut my newest baby.

So at the current moment both kids are asleep. I'm not sure how I feel about this. A few weeks ago everyone got colds, well everyone but me. Amazing! Donavon never gets sick and I always catch what is going around. Now that everyone is feeling great again, Katie had to go and get an ear infection. She is finally feeling better and so she's napping again. Hallelujah! Thats not the point... insert story here...
The other week I had wrapped up the majority of my DIY and was itching to finish the next step, which turned out I had picked a project with funny misfit sizes and Lowes and Home Depot were of no help. I had a whole day planned of specialty stores I was going to hit up for the day and some crafts to pick up at Hobby Lobby.

The kids are up and watching cartoons; I am in the potty and Issac is bugging me about his pee pee diaper. I ask "want to use the potty?" and he decides he wants to. I figured it was a rare occasion but thought I better ask "do you want your big boy undies?" and much to my surprise he did! Now a little background here; I purchased big boy undies quite awhile ago and he would have major meltdowns when I'd talk about them or show them to him. At his 3 year check the Dr said just forget about it, he'll do it when he's ready. Well he decided he was ready. Awesome, I have a million and one things to do and you want to give it a whirl. I spent most of my day wiping up pee. Day two, still wiping up pee, however he has decided that every 3-5 minutes he wants to go. For a potty treat. By the time he was done chewing the treat he was ready to go again. I wanted to strangle the kid. Potty treats became Poop treats. He refused to poop in the potty. Daddy told him he'd buy him a bow if he pooped in the potty. Nope. Then low and behold one night he says he has to potty, he was at the point he could manage on his own until he was done. I was sitting on the couch and he shuts the door... then I hear it lock. "Issac!! What are you doing?! Issac!!!" I got up and sure enough the door was locked. He's in there making a big ruckus and keeps telling me "mom poop". Oh lovely, I can see it now, poop smeared all over. He finally opened the door and there it was. Poop in the potty! The kid just needed some privacy! After 2 days he was a champ and accident free. We've only had 2 accidents since and he is doing awesome!

So long story short, that is why I'm afraid that I have not one, but two kids asleep. Mr. big boy undies is asleep on the couch {I just cleaned last week} after a nice big glass of chocolate milk.

I may as well take advantage of my time right? I'm so far behind in blogging I'm not exactly sure its worth trying to play catch up. Sure it would be great for journaling purposes but lets face it, I've probably forgotten most of the details anyway!

Carry on....

A ton has happened so I should try to break this up into smaller posts, but first I'll just recap a few "what we're up to" kind of things that don't exactly need their own post.

{The BIG boy}

Issac is potty trained! Way to go! I cannot believe how much he has grown lately. I was looking at pictures of when we moved into our house and he was a baby! Not only that, but I was looking at pictures of when I had Katie and just in the last 7 months he has changed so much! His vocabulary is growing each day. Our favorite is "no not!" Makes us chuckle every time. "no not mom! no not!". Katie was playing with his "beebs" {blankie} the other night and I said "brother is going to be mad Katie!" and he yells from the kitchen "no not Katie! no not! no not!". He is slightly obsessed with hunting elk. The weather is getting colder so playing outside isn't much of a choice anymore, and he really misses his friends! We're trying to make sure we hang out during the week. You have no idea how glad I am to see that he's more outgoing like his father and not shy like his Momma!

{Katie my lady}

Katie bugs is doing great! Well now that the ear infection is on its way out! Holy smokes! She was one cranky baby who refused to nap last week. I was wearing thin. The girl is one happy baby though. Just like her brother. Speaking of brother, she LOVES him. He is the only one that can make her laugh so hard without touching her. The other night I was getting her ready for bed and he kept coming in and out of her door and she was hysterical. In the mornings when he wakes up and we go and get him she gets the biggest smile on her face! If she's lucky enough to be in bed with me and hear big brother yelling in the monitor she will freeze and turn her head like did I hear brother? Is brother awake?! Once she hears him again she starts flailing her arms and legs with excitement. She loves all his toys, he's usually pretty good about sharing or if he's not in the mood he'll grab her some of her toys. I can already tell they are going to be great friends. I was so worried that they would be like oil & water since they are so close. I think it certainly helps that Issac's friends are in love with Katie and have been a great example. Katie loves to watch the big kids play, she's always wiggling trying to play with them. One day sweetie, one day.

Today Issac grabbed her arms and tried to pull her up to a standing position. "Walk Katie! Walk!". It was pretty cute, so I helped her stand up and he kept pulling on her arms trying to help her walk. Before he ripped her arms off I suggested he show her how to crawl. I put her on her tummy and Issac took off crawling "look Katie!". Oh was she trying! I was slightly worried that she might actually do it. Donavon and I aren't too sure if we are ready for the dreaded baby gates just yet. However I think by Christmas she'll be crawling, of course the Tree and all of its pretty and the crinkly paper under it will be the perfect incentive.

Speaking of incentive: we went to a birthday party the other week for one of Issac's friends and Issac was sitting in front of Katie and I, eating chocolate cake and ice cream. Katie was between my legs and Issac was off to my right facing me, about 2 1/2 ft away. Katie was eyeing the cake. She went for it. The girl lunged like no baby has lunged before. She got it. "NO Katie!!! MINE!!" and she had the biggest handful of chocolate frosting headed right for her mouth. Naughty girl!

That is one thing that has not changed one bit, her "temper". The girl doesn't fuss much, if ever. She goes from 0 to 60 in half a second. Perfectly fine one moment and before you can blink she is screaming like someone is hurting her. I was at a party one night and she did this, and my sister inlaws mother said "what did you do to that poor girl?!" Absolutely nothing. Uncle Bryan didn't get the bottle to her mouth fast enough! Hahaha!

Its so nice to have a little lady in the house. I am more than enjoying myself making girly things for her and scheming up things for the future.

 {The Hunter}

Donavon went on a hunting trip in Northern Idaho with some of his buddies from the Army. They were hunting Elk, and the occasional bear. His trip was supposed to be 2 weeks, but he ended up coming home almost a week early. The weather got very hot in the mountains and the Elk stopped moving and he said all he was doing was trying to not get eaten by a bear or wolf. He is still continuing his efforts here in Utah... Other than hunting he's still working all the time, which we're all more than used to by now. Come March its time for re-enlistment again, aka lets play the game "where are you moving to now?!". Due to a change of "the rules" we cannot decide before March, but we have to decide IN March. So that is now sitting on our plates. There is a ton of detail about it but it gets pretty complicated and it gets old trying to explain it all to someone who has nothing to do with the military other than the fact they know us. So we just need to update "the list" of our top 3 state side and top 3 overseas.

 {The busy one}

Ok so what have I been up to? Or better yet what haven't I been up to? My extreme DIY project is almost complete and I'm dying to share it to you! Now that its done, well almost done I can start doing some smaller projects. This extreme DIY was supposed to be my July project. I finished in October. So August's 'paint the kids bathroom' is still waiting, and now I am over stimulated with holiday decor DIY. Oh my gosh. Hello! One of Donavon's coworkers has a wife who is just the trendiest thing and she keeps getting me hooked on stuff. Couponing? Yep. {However I gave it up because I valued my time with my kids and time to do things far more than saving $200}, the Silhouette from Silhouette America? Yup, waiting for my delivery any day now! I just might go MIA again once I get that baby. I am stoked. I sold my cricut and bought this with the money. This new thingy hooks up to your computer, no more $60 cartridges! Oh and don't get me started on Pinterest. Yikes! Donavon says I need to go to AA meetings for Pinterest. I will give him that. Yes I am addicted, and very overstimulated. That project list just grew by 3 years long. I get so excited! Helping my over stimulation is a little stimulation called Concerta. I hadn't taken anything for my ADD in a very long time and after I had Katie I decided to give it a shot again. I wasn't feeling myself anymore. Wow. Why did I ever go off that stuff?! Remind me to never do that again! However, draw back is my anxiety was getting worse. I mentioned it to my Dr and he suggested that with my lovely bowel issues that maybe I try an SSRI because I guess a lot of Dr's are prescribing antidepressants for stomach issues, since you have serotonin and dopamine receptors down there. So kill two birds with one stone? Ok sure. Yeah.... day 1 I felt like I was 15 again and at my rock bottom. It was a day from hell. Give it time I told myself. It sucked every bit of life out of me. So not worth it. Forget it. I'll deal with knowing where every bathroom is in the state of Utah and my slight anxiety. So I'm just on the good ol Concerta again, energy is back and haven't had much anxiety lately.


**New update. I started this on the 17th. Tonight it is the 23rd. In the mean time Monday night Katie started projectile everywhere. I had given her applesauce for the first time on Sunday, and then again Monday before her nap. Could she be having a reaction? Watched her closely. She continued to throw up, a lot. Insert Tuesday. I got the call I've been waiting a month for. My new Silhouette Cameo was in and ready for pick up. YES! I can finally start knocking out some of those awesome crafts I've been eyeing on Pinterest. Uh, nope Donavon was working late. Boo. Next comes Wednesday. We have dentist appointments this afternoon. I sort of feel funny. Car sick... ohhhh crap. I tried to convince myself otherwise. We went to the dentist. I got my teeth cleaned. I got out of the chair and Donavon went back and BAM. I'm hot, sweaty, dizzy, OMG I'M PUKING!!! Well that's putting it nicely. I abandoned my kids in the lobby and ran for their bathroom. I'm not even going to tell you what went down. Lets just say I'm NOT looking forward to ever going back. Quite possibly might find a new dentist. So lucky me, Donavon had gotten off early and had driven us there, so he drove us home - while I puked my guts out over and over again driving down the I-15. {Before we left I saw a towel sitting there and I grabbed it, and a big bowl just in case - boy was that the best idea ever!}. Poor Donavon had to smell it all as we drove home. This flu was the worst flu I've ever had in my entire life. I exaggerate not, I'm dead serious that I thought it was something more than just the flu, it was so painful. I seriously thought I was going to die. I have never lost so much fluid so fast. I'll spare you the details but it was horrific. So it was a huge blessing Donavon had worked late the night before and gotten off early because there was absolutely no way I could have cared for my children. Not possible.

After feeling better, then getting hit with it all over again I got some sleep. Well until about 4am when I heard Issac coughing in the monitor. I shot right up out of bed and grabbed the bucket and ran to his bed yelling at Donavon who was sleeping in the guest room. Yup... sure enough. He'd puked. Thanks for feeding him hot dogs Donavon! Sorry was that a TMI? So there we are 4am. Issac and I sitting in my bed sharing a bucket watching Phineas and Ferb. I was starting to feel a bit better, and both kids ended up taking a morning nap that day, and afternoon. Issac took it like a champ though, got sick once and that was that. He complained a bit of the "bug" in his tummy but he played Wii and even outside in the dirt that day.

After 48 hours of not eating we went to BK for dinner. I got a whopper. I wanted 5, but I knew after starving my stomach was the size of a golf ball. Oh man was that whopper good.

In the end I lost a ton of weight, and got an incredibly good ab workout. No really, my abs were killing me for 2 days. Its just unfortunate that the weight was water weight and I kind of needed to replenish that. Oh and don't even think about offering me some Sprite. I'm so done with Sprite for awhile!

So I've been in survival mode this week. Now I'm trying to pick up the pieces. So frustrating.

That's all for now... I better get off my butt. Donavon was doing the dishes when I told him and the lucky neighbor to go give a friend in extreme pain tonight a blessing at 9:45pm so I should probably go help him finish. Hate when a friend calls crying in pain :(



and no pictures... amazing huh? I told you I have no time these days!

Baby boy is 1...2...3!!!

Part One

Can you believe it?! Issac turned THREE years old today! Happy Birthday little man! Wow. One is a big milestone, then two its officially toddler years but three was a little bittersweet, three is more of the end of the line for the toddler years. Sad! How can it be that my baby is THREE?! Wasn't it just yesterday that the kid busted my tailbone and uh never mind... we don't need to paint that picture. You get the drift right?

Where has the time gone? So cliche, but its true! I love this little boy so much! He is adorable and he has been my best buddy since the day he was born! It wasn't until a couple weekends ago when Donavon took him camping with just the guys that I spent some time away from him. I've never left him for more than a couple hours. I was so sad all weekend without him! The house was so quiet and lonely. It was just Katie and I and we had some nice relaxing time but Issac is sure the life around this house! He can really be a stink sometimes but I sure do love his personality!

So let me tell you about Issac. He's a small little guy with a big heart, just like his Daddy. He's smaller than most kids his age, so he's more timid for that reason, however he is the social butterfly of our street! Bigger kids that are his age definitely intimidate him, especially boys. I've noticed that boys his age are more aggressive and that is just not Issac. He's not a big fighter and gets his feelings hurt easily. Sometimes (I know this is awful) but I wish he'd just be mean! Fight back! Don't back down, be bossy! However, its just not his personality. Maybe he gets that from Momma. Since he's more of a sensitive little fella he fits in really well with our street, of mostly girls. He's become best friends with the three girls next door. He just LOVES to play. He's always asking me "knock knock", smarty pants Mom started replying back "who's there?" and he says "noooooo KNOCK KNOCK". Issac will bug me alllllll day to "knock knock", it can really, and I mean really get on my nerves.

We spend 95% of our time out on the front "perch". Last year we spent truck loads of money on landscaping our backyard and putting in a fence, and even spent a hefty chunk on a swing set. I could probably count on one hand how many times this year he's played on it. Why you ask? Because he HAS to be out front. I tease he's the little watch dog. If you drive by our house I will be sitting in the rocker with Katie watching Issac play in the dirt. Anyone that walks by or comes out to just take the garbage out he instantly "hiiii! hiiii!!! HIIII!!!!" He will "Hi" you to death until you answer him! So just make your life easier and say Hi back! Although he's start up a conversation, so don't think you'll get off easy. If its an adult he'll ask where your kids are (assuming you have them) and then if they can play. If not, when they can play. Then he might tell you about what he's doing or what Mom or Dad are doing. There have been many times when he escapes and I'm upstairs and I see out the front window and he's out on the sidewalk shouting across the street chatting away with a neighbor.

Issac's speech has taken off at lightening speed. He still has his "ja ja" and "za za" that he puts in front of things but I couldn't put a count on his vocabulary. New words every day. He's also piecing together a lot of words on his on, and with help too. Sentences are about 4 words now. Last year at this time he had Mom, Dad, Deese and juice.

In the last year he's also learned how to "ride" a bike. All his bikes are too big to push the pedals but he pushes with his feet. Due to this, he had 4 stitches in his eyebrow this spring. Darn trike! He taught himself how to do somersaults as well as a almost headstand.

His latest passions are riding the 4 wheelers that are at our house on loan from Donavon's boss for the fall. He also loves motorcycles. Every time he sees one on the road he yells "mom catch!". We always have to try to catch up to them!

Anything to do with cars, trucks and dirt. All boy here! I've caught him several times this year dumping loads of dirt in his hair!

Some of Issac's mannerisms just crack Donavon and I up. We are always giggling over the cute things he does. We're always reminded of why we had kids, moments like those are just priceless!

Issac used to be a big time snuggler, however since Sister showed up not so much. I sure do miss snuggling with him every morning while he watched Disney and drank his "cot milk". He hasn't even been letting me read him bed time stories! Oh how I miss it! He just loves to find Gold Bug, and reading Corduroy as well as the Berenstein Bears.

Matchbox & Hot Wheels cars are the best toy. Anything to do with Cars from Disney, a motorcycle, 4 wheeler, (ok so anything with an engine it sounds like) is his toy of choice.

He hasn't been as much as a movie watcher lately, if he watches one it is usually Bolt or Cars. Phineas and Ferb, Curious George, Mickey Mouse, Chuck and Friends, and Chugginton are his favorite shows.

He's always been an excellent eater and eaten pretty much whatever we eat. Although he is human and he does have his favorites. Those would be mom's taco soup, nalley's chili, instant breakfast "cot milk", lemonade "nade", ice cream cones, pepperoni, chicken nuggets, BBQ chips, M&M's and lollipops. He does also enjoy a PBJ or turkey "mitch".

Oh my. I love this kid. I could literally snuggle him and kiss him all day long if he'd let me. So adorable I cant stand it and his personality just shines! I'm so glad he takes after his Daddy and is a social butterfly and he's got that big heart like his Daddy too!

One of our favorite things about him is that he's very polite. He always (ok so 90% of the time) will say "pease" and "au ju" (thank you) without being prompted. We absolutely love it and hope it lasts forever.

Part Two

On Saturday, the 3rd we threw a big party for Issac. Now that we're settled into our place, and he's got his little gang we, or I should say I, wanted to throw him a big party. So I did. I brought up the party themes online and started to give him a few choices and he knew exactly which one, he wouldn't even let me show him the other options. Construction it was.

The party supplies came in the mail and boy was that a long 4-5 weeks! Always bugging me about a cake and party!

The day started out with me running to get balloons filled and a few last minute things. I got home and Issac had just woken up. As I walked in the door with a huge bouquet of balloons you should have seen his face light up! Oh it was priceless! He lit right up, stood up on the couch and said "boons!" Oh my. My heart melted! He was beyond thrilled they were for HIM!.

We had a bunch of the kids from our street over, some his age and some older, but never the less, they are all so sweet to Issac and play with him, make him feel like a big kid and he loves it! We did pizza, cake and a pinata. The kids all played and all the parents had a good time chatting away. It was a big hit and I think everyone had a blast! Issac was just so excited and happy that all his friends (ok not all, some where away for the weekend) but most of his friends were there to play at his house and have fun with him! His friends were all more than generous and got him lots of cool toys. He has yet to put them all down. Talk about toy overload! He got lots of cars, that was pretty much what he got. Cars and trucks of all types, big and small. Mom and Dad got him a big fire truck, and the ladder extends and swings around at the push of a lever. Aunt Julie and Uncle Jim got him a motorcycle trike that probably has more buttons and lights than my Escalade haha! Grandma Strain got him a motorcycle with a "guys" that can ride it and Grandma and Papa Fuller are sending him money for new clothes!

Speaking of new clothes, he wore 12 month clothing for over a year, then 12-18 for awhile and 18-24 for a bit. He has finally grown out of his clothes and is wearing 2T, thus we have no clothes for the kid! Talk about expensive! Not to mention I have hardly any fall clothes for Katie! Ugh! So yes, clothes seems lame for a kid, but you have no idea how much he needs new clothes!

On Sunday, the 4th, his real birthday we had Great Grandma Elyse come over and Aunt Julie. Aunt Julie brought her two new little pups Cooey and Teag. Issac loves dogs, especially puppies! We had a nice steak dinner with them and then DIRT cake complete with WORMS! Ahhh!

For all the bugging for "cake!" Issac has done in the last 6 weeks he ate a grand total of 2 bites out of 2 cakes. Really?

Part Three

The pictures. Are you ready? I took a ton.

{He wasn't thrilled I was trying to take pictures. He doesn't like the camera these days}

{My masterpiece... I wanted to cry when Donavon cut it up}

{Really Mom? Just stop.}

{The decorations}

{The pinata - never got a picture of Issac doing it, Donavon was too impatient to wait for me to grab the camera!}

{Time for presents! Mom nailed it! Bought the fire truck @ Costco when he was with me even! He never knew! We just bought a fire man costume for Halloween!}

{Kids are sooo funny when it comes time for birthday presents! They all want to open them dang it!}

{Pretty excited to show off his cake to his friends!}

{When everyone had gone home Mom snuck out another one, I know Katie & I are matching, I didn't plan it, but it happens a lot that I match one kid.}

{....a GUN!! $6 at walmart, has a working silencer, scope and light too "shoot! elk!"}

{Oh the evil in his eye - Katie is thinking "Mom I don't think this is a good idea..."}

{"freeze dirt bag!"}

{looking through the scope, I had to giggle}

{"Stick em up sister!" "Moooom I told you this was a bad idea!"}

{swinging with Dad on his real Birthday, Daddy is his hero}

{Katie and Great Grandma Elyse - I love her look, sassy girl!}

{Aunt Julie got Issac a motorcycle for his birthday! Lucky boy! He LOVES it!}

{Pete & Repeat}

{"Do you like it brother? I picked it out just for you!"}

{Look at her! All by herself!}

{Birthday cake number 2 - Dirt cake}

{Cheerleader Katie}

{My neighbor Jessica was holding Katie during the party - she was in awesome filtered light I couldn't resist!}

{Uploading only took 3 days of attempts... fun}