16 months!

My little Canden boy is 16 months old. WHERE DID THE TIME GO? I am such a dud and forgot to write down what the stats were at the doctor ... but I do remember that he was like around 20-21 lbs and no idea how long he was. . . maybe 37"??? He was 5% for weight and 40% for height. (I think). :\

Canden is FULL of life. He is ALWAYS on the run and looking for things to get into. He definitely keeps me on my toes and though he is always stressing me out because of him being on the run all the time.. that kid is ALWAYS making me laugh. He is such a tease. He will wait to get into something at the very last minute-- just so I can catch him doing it. lol I sure love that kid. He is such a cute thing -- everyone is amazed at his true toe head (I'm not sure why because there are tons who are toe heads.) But for me its not news--- have you seen his dad? Talk about a blondie!
Canden at this ripe age of 16 months now has 7.5 teeth 4 on top and 3.5 on bottom. He says many words now: mommy, daddy, puppy, sippy, bye, hi, num-nums (food), eat and I think some more but I can't think of them right now. He absolutely adores Araleigh. Usually you will find him right by her side --- covered in makeup or in her princess shoes . . right along with her. Cory keeps getting mad tell me to get him a G.I. Joe --- but babies are so much more fun when sister is playing too! lol He has been a blessing in our family and we just are amazed at both our kids everyday. We love him so much and are so happy he is in our family. Pictures to come (haven't taken any good ones lately!)

Pumpkin Patch

So last weekend we went and spent Friday and Saturday with Lacey's family. It's always nice to get away and be with family. It's one of the only things that has made this easier. The kids always have fun. We went to the pumkin patch and let them pick their pumpkins out. It was the first time we have done this . . Araleigh loved it. We then let her and Preston go through the maze. Let's just say -- after us guiding them through 2-3 times and once with them trying by themselves and then screaming and crying that they were stuck and lost, it ended up being a good night. During this weekend -- we did manage to get a date away from the kids -- WOOSH! Its so amazing how just getting away for an hour or two can rejuvenate me. Being up here with NO ONE and NO BREAKS . . its been so hard to stay sane -- but you do what ya can!

Pumpkin Carving

So for family night we did our pumpkin carving. The kids had fun . . and out of the big book of faces and things for pumpkins -- all Araleigh wanted was a simple smiling face pumpkin. She was SO excited. All she could talk about ALL DAY LONG was when she was going to carve her "Punkin"
As for Canden --- he just kept wanting to scrape the pumpkins out and when they were cleaned out he was so helpful to put all the goulash and seed back INTO the pumpkin. lol He is so stinking cute.

Following the leader

Canden follows Araleigh EVERYWHERE. He does whatever she does. He wants to do what she is doing. Now its gotten to the point that Araleigh is always wanting Canden with her now. This is an example of a normal day for us ---

1. They found bowls and decided hats were the appropriate use for them -- (don't mind the long stream of yummy drool going down his face . . he has 4 teeth coming in!)

2. Araleigh was walking around with my purse and my boots playing "primary" then out comes Canden in my one heel and naked. (He currently takes his clothes off all the time. Found his bed peed in twice now because of him ripping his diaper off at nap time.)

3. They love the car -- they fight over it all the time. This time Araleigh finally said -- GET ON MY LAP THEN. So here he is taking a stroll together. This is why I bought the 2 seater power wheels!

I love my kids!

Happy Birthday Araleigh!

Well, my baby girl is no longer a baby. :( I CANNOT believe Araleigh is 4 years old. We had so much fun going back to Idaho for it. The long drive to and from was completely worth it. Munchkin got VERY spoiled this year. I found a power wheels on craigslist for a reasonable price so I decided to get it for her. She also got an MP3 player, a baby, a stroller, art supplies, a jewelry box, some books, clothes, and princess stuff. She had SO much fun. So many people came and we were so grateful for all the support she got. I was so worried she wouldn't have a fun party-- but just playing with her cousins is always good enough for her. It truly was a fun day.

Araleigh truly has changed my life. She is my best little friend. She has always been such a daddy's girl but recently she has turned to me --- even though I am the mean mom sometimes. Dad comes home and sees them for an hour before bedtime and he is always the good guy. I will never forget when she was born and how everyone used to stop me and tell me how beautiful she was. She had thick long hair --- and its still growing! She had very defined, dark eyebrows which I never noticed too much on babies. She was the sweetest baby and I am so sad that the years are flying by too fast. At four-- she is getting smarter and smarter. School has been fabulous for her. She always has a way of stumping us with hard questions . . she is always seeking knowledge. She has a tender heart and gets very embarassed easily. At dance she had her feelings hurt because her shoes didn't come in and she was one of the only ones without tap shoes . . she was so upset she buried her face in my legs and wouldn't come up because she didn't want anyone to see her. She was so upset. She absolutely adores her brother and its so cute watching them pester each other. She gets annoyed with him a lot, but the minute he is in trouble she is being the mother hen. Now its got to the point where she is asking if Canden can go play with her whenever she wants to go somewhere. I love watching them together. Canden follows her every move and just adores her. When she is in putting on makeup -- so is he. When she is in feeding the fish --- so is he. He is her shadow. The other day I took her to school and I found him in sitting at her vanity brushing her dolls hair (yes very manly, I know!) He loves her so much and just wants to be like her. She truly is my princess . . I love her more than anything and I truly cannot imagine my life without her. It's amazing to me how much Cory adores her as well . . its sweet watching their little relationship unfold. I truly know she is special, she has become our life -- I absolutely cannot imagine my life without her in it. . and I am excited for the next few years as she grows and learn more. I love you, sweet girl!