Jenga

Pepper is really into building and stacking lately. It has been with juice cans or yogurts because we don't have blocks or legos. But on Thanksgiving we were looking for a game to play and it occurred to me we could use Jenga to build. Pepper loved it! She stacked the blocks laying down 10 high & standing up 4 high (she is at 3 in the bottom picture- I could hardly do four!). She also helped Uncle Spencer and her dad build, although that sometimes lead to earthquakes. Tabor was really good and just chewed on a block and watched. It was an hour of fun!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I LOVE going on walks with my kids (almost always). At the beginning of our walks they are both so attentive. Instead of sitting back in their seat they hold onto the bar and just take the scenery in. I must admit Utah is beautiful in the fall with all the different colors of trees. Just about the only thing Washington is lacking. Anyway I just thought it was cute how they both sit straight up, holding onto the bar with one hand.

First Hair Cut

Tabor got his first hair cut today. The combination of hair dangling over his ears, him always grabbing his hair while he eats so there is grime in it & waking up with crazy go nuts hair I decided to buzz it off. I did a #2 on the sides and didn't touch the top (other then to blend it). He was super good and did not cry during the whole haircut. He did turn his head quite a bit to see what I was doing... but for a baby I give him an A+. And he is so handsome.

Halloween!

Since we are in Utah, Halloween was on the 30th this year. First we had dinner at a ward Halloween party. Then we went trick or treating. Pepper L-O-V-E-D it! She kept pointing to the next house not wanting to stop. Korver would ring the doorbell and shout "trick or treating" (he added the "ing" the the trick or treat). Pepper just liked the excitement of going to the doors. She would forget to get any candy sometimes... but when we did remind her she would carefully look through all the candy and choose one out that twisted at the end such as bubblegum, tootsie rolls, smarties or hard candy. Very particular. We stayed out for only a half hour to the childrens dismay do to rain and wind. But we had a blast.

P.S. The videos are out of order. They seem to have a mind of their own. But oh well, they are only seconds apart so it wont seriously ruin any time lines.

Hee-Haw Farm

Robert came home early today so instead of sitting around the house we decided to go to hee haw farms. What an excellent decision that was. We loved it! We stayed there for over two hours no problem... Pepper was entertained the whole time! Petting zoo, slides (biggest one not pictured), hayride, swings, animal train, corn box and much more. And I decided pictures turn out so much nicer when you have hay in the background. And just as a side note... the outfit Pepper is wearing is from my cousin Baileys life size doll. Besides the boots, those are from Savors :)

A Simple Solution!

FYI Pepper has a wet shirt because she dumped water down the front of her... Tabors is from drool.

Well Pepper started out her life with a pacifier to match each outfit. As time went on we lost many pacifiers and scrambled to find whatever one we could pop in her mouth the fastest. But at least they were all girly. Then Tabor was born. He brought blue and green manly pacifiers (if you can call a pacifier manly) into the house. Now recently Pepper has an obsession with switching pacifiers with Tabor. They do it to often for me to keep up with. I figure if one gets sick they second will probably get sick anyway... they share a bedroom for heaven sake. But the problem arises when I am pushing the stroller around with my son with a pink paci and my daughter with a blue. It looks a little weird. So now they both have clear paci's. Solved that problem.

Next problem to solve...How do I get Pepper off the pacifier? I take it away from her and she just goes and steals Tabors. Any ideas?

It Ended On Thursday

What ended you ask? WARM WEATHER! Summer ended when Robert went back to school but at least we had warm weather to carry us on. No more playing in the backyard pool (daily), going to the Highland Splash Park (twice) or hiking to the hot-springs (twice). Today it is raining. Which I am not complaining about that... I love the rain. Rain & I belong together. It is just the fact in Utah you know the rain doesn't stick around long. It soon becomes snow. And snow and I do not belong together. At-least we have cousins on both sides of the family we can visit, even if the visiting is indoors.

P.S. Tabor is crawling!

Have you ever seen the movie "Confessions of a shopaholic"? Pepper has learned a new technique concerning "Magic cards". Just use someone elses'. She always seems to find Robert's wallet and immediately goes for his credit card. I worry for the day she learns to use one. Please don't look at the unmade bed.

House Cleaning

For over a year now I have stuck to this cleaning schedule...

Monday: Laundry (kitchen towels & floor mats)
Floors- vacuum mop & sweep
Tuesday: Dust & wipe down walls (rotate rooms each week)
organize a drawer or cupboard
Wednesday: Wipe down fridge/freezer or microwave/oven/toaster
Make bread, dry fruit or canning etc.
Thursday: Laundry (bed sheets rotating parents and kids)
Floors- vacuum mop & sweep
Friday: Bathroom
Grocery shopping

Anyway I love this schedule. That way I don't feel completely overwhelmed with house work all at once. When the bathroom looks kinda dirty on Wednesday I say to myself "It can wait 2 more days". This is an example of today, which is why I am on here blogging. I am taking time for myself instead of cleaning the toilet. If I clean till the house is spotless I never get my "Amber time". It keeps everything spread out, yet I know everything does get clean on a weekly bases. So choose wisely which day you come visit :)

Cloth Diapers

Yes we made the change to cloth diapers a week ago now. I love them. They are more attractive, eco-friendly (yes you use water to wash them but they are still better for the environment then disposables) decreases diaper rash and in the long run they are cheaper. I thought the cleaning part would get to me... but it hasn't. I worked in a nursing home for 5 years I guess baby poop can't scare me anymore :) My only regret is not getting them sooner. I wouldn't of had to dress my kids all summer with these. I think they are so cute! And they have so many color options. We have 2 different colors of blue, 2 different colors of green, white, orange, yellow and pink.

Pre Preschool

Since school started for Robert I have been doing preschool lessons with Pepper twice a week. On bug day we went on a bug hunt. We found ladybug, ant, worm, spider fly and grasshopper. We caught the grasshopper in a jar so she could examine it closer (notice the picture). We also read " The Lovely Ladybug" & "Buzz Buzz went the Bee". Then she put a whole bunch of bug stickers on a piece of paper. We finished by feeding crickets to our frog. For "tree day" we went outside and found a leaf from several different trees and then glued them on to a trunk on a paper. Additionally we read "Franklin Plants a Tree" and talked about how trees start out as seeds and grow into big big trees. (P.S. "big" is one of the words Pepper can say). We have now started the five senses. We have done taste and touch so far. Art and books with each. Next is I see. I am excited we are going to use glasses, binoculars, magnifying glass etc. I tried teaching her colors a few months ago but that was more of a struggle. She now is eager to learn and very cooperative. We will have to hit the colors again (we only did 3 colors, but she does know which one is yellow) now that she is understanding more.