Pumpkin Patch

Over the weekend we took Lincoln to a pumpkin patch for the first time. It was more than just a place to pick out pumpkins. They had a corn maze, train ride, petting zoo, roaming chickens, a bounce house, and big boxes with dried corn for the kids to play in. Lincoln loved it! Ricky and I had a good time too. None of us had ever been in a corn maze before so that was my favorite part. They called it a mini maze because it only took about five minutes for us to get through it. There was a full size maze that would take approximately 45 minutes but the only thing I could think about was, one - walking for 45 minutes would probably send me into labor and two - it would be my luck that I would go into labor and be lost in the maze and nobody would find me...so we stuck to the mini maze this time. Lincoln ran down the paths as fast as he could and we let him choose which way to go. He's like his daddy - blessed when it comes to always knowing directions! The boys actually went through it a couple of times while I watched the animals and took pictures. On our way out Lincoln picked out another pumpkin (his name is also Happy - see previous post for details on Happy) but this time it was smaller so it's baby Happy. I think a visit to the pumpkin patch will be an ongoing annual tradition or us. It was a great way to get in the fall harvest holiday mood.

I think I liked the animals more than Lincoln. They only held his attention for a few seconds.

Lincoln loves tractors - old or new, big or small, he loves them all.

Mini Corn Maze

I could barely get him to slow down long enough for me to take a picture.

I thought this corn box was a really cute and clever idea. So much easier to get corn out of your shoe than sand.

Daddy was a good sport and took Lincoln on the make shift train ride since he was to small to ride alone.

Happy Halloween!

Visit From Tutus and Cousin Erica

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Tutu came to stay and they brought cousin Erica with them. It was a nice break for us. They helped entertain the kids but really Erica and Lincoln play so well together that they do a pretty good job of entertaining themselves. We had a fun filled weekend with lots of activities. We went shopping, went to the park, went to October Fest, played at McDonald's playground, and carved a pumpkin. The kids were troopers and we didn't have any major breakdowns.

I thought it would be really fun for the kids to carve pumpkins. Lincoln was not even a year old last Halloween so we didn't do much of anything festive last year at this time. Erica wasn't too into pulling out the pumpkin seeds but it was probably a good thing considering Lincoln really wanted to pull out all of the seeds by himself. Once he was done I cleaned out the rest of the pumpkin and carved a little classic happy face on the front. Lincoln appropriately named him "Happy." We put Happy out on the porch and lit the candle. Lincoln and Erica were so excited that they would take turns sitting by Happy. It was cute to watch them try to interact with the pumpkin. Later that night as I was cuddling Lincoln and getting him ready for bed, he abruptly sat up, pointed down the hall to the front of the house, and with a very concerned voice said...Happy? I reassured him that Happy was alright and that he would get to see him in the morning. Of course, the next morning, Lincoln went to the front door (which he can open by himself if it's not dead bolted - scary - I know) and wanted to see Happy. He of course was sitting on the porch safe and sound. I think Lincoln was relieved.

We also spent a couple of hours Saturday night at October Fest. They hold the event at the spring training baseball fields that are by our house. It's an annual event where they showcase German food, music, dancing, games for the kids and a few crafts. Never having been before we were a bit nervous about how fun it would be. When we got there it was a much smaller event than I had anticipated but nonetheless we were able to stay occupied for a while. The kids rode on some swings, went in the bounce house and did a couple carnival like games. We shared some dinner and cotton candy (Erica wouldn't eat any cotton candy - I couldn't believe it. Nancee, you have to work with her on that!) and had a few other goodies that we picked up from the booths.

Thanks to Tutus, Ricky and I were able to enjoy a few hours out each evening. We actually even got to go to a movie which we haven't done in a while. We were also able to get some other projects done around the house in preparation for Logan's arrival. After their stay with us was over, they offered to take Lincoln over to Nancee's in Tucson where they were going to be visiting for a few more days. I was pretty hesitant to be away from him for that long but knowing that he would have such a fun time continuing to play with Erica that we let him go. It was hard and we missed him but it was also really nice for Ricky and I to have a few more days by ourselves without having to chase Lincoln around. It was an awkward feeling though not having him around to make noise and messes and we were able to actually stroll through stores without having to worry about how long Lincoln was going to last. It was pretty relaxing. Thanks Tutus!

They weren't quite what to do at first and I don't think Erica was very impressed with the slimy seeds inside but Lincoln sure loved to pull them out.

Happy Halloween!

October Fest at Surprise Stadium. I thought it was cool that we actually got to go on one of the practice fields for the Kansas City Royals. They share the stadium with the Texas Rangers. That was the best grass that I've ever walked on....pretty fascinating.

Even though both Lincoln and Erica were a tad too short for the required height the guy working the swings still let them go on. They seemed to do fine - in fact - they went several times and loved it!

Lincoln is big into Diego and Dora right now. Grandma Tutu got him this new little backpack that he wore all over the house with his teddy and fire truck in it. He calls Diego, "Go Go." I think he looks so big and grown up with the little backpack on. It's sad and cute all at the same time.

It's Finished!

Our front yard is finally finished and what a relief. Everything went according to plan and we love it. I didn't think it was going to be such a big job. I feel like it makes our house more like home.

Before

After

Who Knew?

Who knew potty training would be so easy. I've only heard bad things about it and was not looking forward to going through that with Lincoln. We decided with the baby coming that we would wait until after Logan was born to start potty training Lincoln. We thought it would be best to get into a routine with Logan first and then start the daunting task of potty training. Well unbeknownst to us Lincoln had other plans. On August 1st, Lincoln came and told me that he needed to go pee pee and started pointing at the bathroom. I asked him if he wanted to go potty on the big boy toilet and his face lit up as he yelled, "ya!!" So we ran into the bathroom and I put him on the toilet. What do you know...he actually went potty! This process happened several more times throughout the day. We decided that since he was wanting to use the bathroom it was probably best to encourage it instead of make him wait and train on our time frame. We went out later and got a Lightning McQueen potty training seat and he loves it. He knows exactly what to do. We've even had a successful #2. He still goes in his diaper most of the time but for the most part when he actually tells us he needs to go, he actually goes. The funny thing is that I thought I would have to bribe him with treats but that hasn't even really been the case. We've given him treats as a reward for telling us but most of the time he could care less about the treat. He just wants to flush the toilet when he's done...I guess that's good enough for him. I know we're not there yet and there's still a long way to go before we're out of diapers but considering the fact that he doesn't even speak in sentences yet but he has come this far with potty training, I am stoked!

Neither picture is really good because he was done and he wanted to get down to flush the toilet. We didn't think of taking a picture until afterward.

Just Being a Boy

I've been taking random fun pictures of Lincoln this last month. Most of them aren't planned so they are taken with my phone which is why the quality isn't the best but it still captures his personality.

He loves music and he loves playing instruments. I think for being 22 months he holds the guitar quite well.

Climbing and wearing daddy's motorcycle gloves...what could be better that that?

Maybe he will take after daddy and have an eye for great photos.

He likes to hang out in Logan's room. We will often catch him in there either on this chair or in Logan's swing.

Who needs bath toys when you can just play with all the bottles of shampoos, shaving cream and conditioners?

He is big into dipping sauces right now. If there is something he won't eat, we just put ketchup, ranch or bbq sauce on his plate and the food seems to disappear.

We're Almost There

Our front yard landscaping has been a big project for us since we moved in. We had to have our design submitted to the HOA within 30 days of purchasing our home. By the time that we came up with the design that we wanted, got a couple of bids, got the HOA approval and finally was able to have the landscaper start the work, it's been about a month. It was really fun to come up with the design and see it become a reality You'd like to think that the final product will always look like what you've pictured but we know that's not always the case. Luckily, for us, each step of the way has gone exactly how we wanted it to and it's shaped up to be the yard we had in mind. We're not quite finished yet. The landscaper is coming back this week with a few plants for the backyard, more rocks for the front yard, he has to seal our pavers, and paint the retaining wall to match the color of the house. In a couple of weeks the turf company will be out to install the fake grass around the palms in the big planter boxes and possibly the backyard. We may wait to finish the backyard until after Logan is born - we're still deciding. I will post more pictures of our yard once it's complete.

Before we moved in.

Backyard before the work started

It took a total or four days and three guys working to get most of the work finished. I never would have guessed that it was so involved.

Again, mostly done but not quite complete.

Fake grass will be laid in the areas around the palm trees. Rock will go in the section closest to the house, the wall will be painted to match the house and rock will be laid in the section down by the sidewalk.

The main portion of the backyard will be grass but we will have some plants along the back wall. Also, we painted the wall an accent color of the house. I was amazed at how much that alone has done for the yard. It was originally just the raw blocks but now it looks so much nicer. My queen palm looks tiny now but give it some time and it'll be big and beautiful!

Micah's Wedding Takes Us Back to Idaho

Who would have thought that just five weeks after we move out of Pocatello that we would be returning for Micah's wedding. Kolissa is from Pocatello and most of her family still lives there. They had a really nice wedding and everything seemed to go according to plan! They both were very happy and made a cute bride and groom. Believe it or not the weather was actually nice for their wedding day. Of course, the nice weather didn't last long and it was back to rain the day after the wedding.

We drove up and on our way stopped in Vegas. Lincoln loves the lights and I think he likes people watching as much as Rick and I do. We got upgraded to a really nice room at the Luxor, which was really nice, and unfortunately we were only staying one night and it was a quick turn around. While Lincoln and I were coming out of the M&M store, getting on the elevator on the fourth floor, a lady and a two men got on with us. The second I saw her I knew she was famous but I couldn't think of her name or why she was famous. The entire time she just kept talking about how cute Lincoln was, how beautiful his eyes were, how pretty his skin was, what a cute smile he had...I'm not kidding...she went though it all. She loved him. As we exited the elevator Lincoln blew her a kiss. I immediately walked over to Rick to tell him of our experience. Because I couldn't think of her name I just described her as a body type and personality similar to Dolly Parton except that she had a thick Spanish accent. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember her name. I later called Dana who quickly said, "Oh, that's Charo." Of course it was! The second she said her name I knew it was right. It was such a relief to finally have figured it out. More importantly...why the heck do Dana and I know who Charo is? Anyway, we do and I think it will be fun to tell Lincoln one day about how she adored him. I found out that she has a new show in Vegas which I'm assuming is why she is there.

Anyway, once we were in Pocatello it was nice to know our way around and to stay at a familiar place with Grandma and Grandpa Tutu. Lincoln was excited to see them and Freckles, the kitty cat. We got to see all of the work that has gone into Tutu's new house and Lincoln got to play on grandpa's tractor!

The triplets are now all married.

This is Charo. Now can you see why I described her like Dolly Parton!? By the way, she's a lot older now then she was in this picture.

Lincoln loved looking at all of the big Vegas buildings, especially the lions.

I'm not a fan of SpongeBob but Lincoln has seemed to enjoy the cartoon. It was fun for him to see this statue in the Excalibur lobby.

Papa (Rick's maternal grandfather) came to visit when we were in Idaho.

Apparently Lincoln Really Likes Nectarines

We had just finished dinner and headed out to the grocery store. Lincoln was sitting in the grocery cart and I asked him if he wanted to help me pick out some fruit. I handed him a bag to hold and told him to open it so mommy could put the fruit in it. I proceeded to pick out a perfectly ripe nectarine and put it in the bag Lincoln was holding open for me. I turned around to pick out a few more pieces of fruit. After selecting a couple more nectarines I turned back around to face Lincoln and put them in the bag. To my surprise, Lincoln had taken the first nectarine out of the bag and had taken several large bites out of it. I wasn't quite sure how to respond. He had never done that before, I didn't have my back to him for more than a minute, he had just eaten a huge dinner, and he was eating fruit that hadn't been washed or purchased. So...I started busting up laughing. A few seconds later Rick came around the corner from another aisle and saw the result of what had just happened. He, like me, just started laughing. What else do you do. You can't punish your child for eating fruit. In fact, Lincoln was quite proud of himself. He continued to chow down on the nectarine until he got to the pit and half of the fruit was gone. He ate it as if he had never eaten before. I of course started taking pictures; trying very hard to keep the camera still as I continued to laugh at the situation. Then Rick and I turned to each other trying to figure out how you pay for a half eaten nectarine when they charge by the pound!? Needless to say, I put the half that remained uneaten in it's own bag and proceeded to checkout after our shopping was complete. I was so embarrassed as I confessed to the clerk that Lincoln had eaten half of the fruit and I wasn't sure how she would ring that up. She assured me it wasn't a big deal and not to worry about it.

I'm sure this is one of those stories that is more funny if you were there - but trust me - it was pretty dang funny. Here are a few pictures to prove it.