Mr. Wonderful

See Scott. See Scott smile. See Scott smile and know what is in the little box. (He picked out the Fossil watch he really wanted.) Birthdays aren't totally fun when there aren't any surprises...

See Scott. See Scott doesn't know what is in the big box.

See surprised and smiling Scott.
Chandler decided the Rock 'em Sock 'em robots were a good gift for Dad. It really was a hit, for Scott and the boys.  They couldn't wait to put it together and give it a go.

Scott is a fantastic, involved, loving, empathetic, fun father. Chandler loves to spend time with him doing practically anything--racing cars, building Legos, playing the Wii. Watson gets so completely excited when Scott comes home from work because he knows Dad will play with him and make him laugh. I love to hear him with his sons and am so grateful he is so wonderful with them. On top of being wonderful, though, he wants to be better for them, and for me. He works so hard for us and is always looking for great ways to have fun as a family and make home a happy place. I love how much he is willing to help me. I don't know if I'm just lucky or really blessed to be married to Mr. Wonderful. Probably both. Love you honey--Happy Birthday!

Space Derby Spectacular

Chandler's scout pack had a space derby this month. Chandler worked hard with Dad and me to get his spaceship ready to go. He glued and sanded and painted and put it all together. He designed it to look like a space shuttle. I love to see the different boys creations.

Chandler's space ship was pretty fast. So fast, in fact, that eventually it hit the wall--literally--and the line connector broke off. It also went so fast that the left wing flew off.

He had a great time with the other scouts working on speed and accuracy. Great job Chando!

Watson's Latest Favorites

My baby boy is becoming more and more independent each day. I'm constantly amazed at how much he communicates and how opinionated he is already. Where does he get that? He got new boots for his birthday from Grandma Nettie and he looks for every opportunity to wear them--inside or outside. I'm grateful he has enough balance and walking experience to actually function with them on.  He has broken them the past few weeks by tromping through the snow. The next step is getting him to keep his hat on his head when he is in the freezing outside.

No matter where he is, at home, at the Kidscare at the gym, at Grandma's, or in the car--Watson always has his sippy cup of water. I have been trying to get him to drink milk more frequently but water is the beverage of choice around here. He will walk around all day with his cup and loudly say "Ahhhh!" after each sip. It is really cute.

Not only is Dad Watson's favorite person--unless Chandler is around--but Dad plays Watson's favorite game--Spaceship. This is the 3rd version of the spacecraft.  The first one fell apart due to its main purpose to contain toys in the living room, its woven parts not really conducive to flying through space. The second ship is usually busy holding laundry to be folded.  This third ship works perfectly every day. It makes for a good workout for Dad! Watson loves to stand as he flies and is getting really good at balancing in every condition.

Mr. Funny

This is the latest activity at our house--Watson trying to make everyone laugh. He puts on any and all glasses he can find and makes "pucker up" faces. He loves to get a reaction, especially a giggle, from any audience. He's pretty good about making you feel funny too, though. His courtesy chuckle is often heard around the house and from the back seat of the car when Mom and Dad are trying to be comediens.
Watson is getting FOUR top teeth right now. I'd say he's dealing pretty well with it most of the time. I'll take him being silly to crying anytime.

Halloween Festivities

When I see this outside my kitchen window I know exactly what the month will bring. Lots of baking, some costume making and spooky things here and there. I love October's colors and am so thankful I planted this little Maple tree seven years ago. It makes being in the kitchen in the fall so pleasant!

 I kicked off Halloween festivities with Chandler at Gardner Village. He and a friend did the Witch Hunt. It is always so fun to see their clever decorations. Chandler seems to enjoy it too, especially when there is a sweet cookie to be devoured at the end. The week before Halloween week we celebrated each night with some spooky dinner--Bats and Cobwebs, Monster Nachos, Brains and Meatballs. It was fun.

 My little astronaut and dragon. Chandler wasn't with us the week of Halloween so I did everything I could to be around when he was doing fun things at school. Watson and I popped in for the school costume parade. Watson even got to participate as Chandler insisted on carrying him the whole time. We did miss the class party though--the morning activity pooped out the dragon and the mom.

This year's dress up theme was about saving the princess from the dragon. Unfortunately the Knight in Shining Armor wasn't available until Friday.  So the two of us enjoyed the 3rd Annual Smith party without our Knight. He did make it home from Virginia and the dragon and he had a ball all night long.  The princess was finally saved!
The Halloween decorations were put away last night. I can't believe that fun little season is over. Its time now to gear up for the next big celebrations! It should be extra fun this year since Watson is a little older and wiser and eager to participate.

Pumpkins, Tractors, and Cornstalks

Watson and I ventured out a couple of times this week to different pumpkin patches. His favorite spot was in the seat of a tractor. And another tractor. And another tractor. He liked to be behind the wheel barrow as well.

We picked up a couple of pumpkins and enjoyed the perfect fall weather.

Loads of FUN!!

Who knew Thanksgiving Point's Cornbelly's would be so much fun? I didn't. I think I've seen their ads and coupons and everything for a while but I never thought about going.  Until this year. I read about another family's visit on some other blog and thought it would be a fun activity. Our little family had a fantastic time. In fact, we all came home for Watson's bedtime and then Scott, Chandler, and Chandler's friend Alex, went back for another couple of hours. I think it is so funny how quickly kids are drawn to the "photo op" of face cut out characters. It seems we took pictures in all those available that day.

The boys had a blast playing on the spider web, the giant slides, the pedal tractors, the big bouncy pillow, and the hay pyramids. Watson was a good sport and played on the little slides, in the corn box, and watched the chicken puppet show. We all went through "the creature" but didn't quite make it to the end. Watson did get a little spooked by the loud noises and dark. We made it out alive, though. It was more fun than I expected and a great way to inally kick off fall. I love this time of year!

We'll see you next year Cornbelly's!

He is ONE!

Watson turned 1 September 4th. We had a great celebration with friends and family in Grandma Nettie's garden. We rented a bounce house, let the kids go wild and had a great time.  Watson loves to play with his cousins and brother and can keep up really well. Tori, Brooklyn, and Aubrey were fantastic helpers to him and made sure he got to do everything the other kids were doing: ride the scooters, bounce in the bounce house, jump on the trampoline, hang out in the play house, act funny and wild. He loved all of that. What he didn't love was cake and ice cream. He wouldn't even taste it. Or touch it. I did a trial run of birthday cake for his first year pictures. As you can see, though, he wasn't interested in eating any of it then either. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about his lack of interest in the sweet stuff. He'll discover it soon enough.

He is a busy, busy boy. He loves to dance, spin in circles to make himself dizzy, read books, help dad and brother with any and all remote control thingys, play with cars and blocks, talk on the phone, and be outside. I love, love, love him. He is happy and sweet and such a wonderful blessing to our lives.

SO Big!

I can't believe it. Chandler started in 5th grade. He is almost as tall as me. He is almost as smart as me. Actually, he is probably smarter than me in many ways. However, I'll hang on to my "mom knows everything" argument for a bit longer. Another year at Bell View. I'm so grateful he has been able to go to the same school since first grade. It really has been a blessing to have this kind of consistancy and stability for him.
This year he has two teachers. They job share--meaning one teaches in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Both are fantastic women and very different. He is loving everything about school so far and always comes home with a happy attitude.
In honor of his first day of school we had a special dinner outside. Fondue is always fun. He loves it! If you ever want to really get on Chandler's good side, let him cook his own steak in a boiling pot of oil! We love you Chandler! We know you will have a great year!

Last Hurrah

Thanksgiving Point is a great place to visit, especially when you are willing to pay full price. This is a lesson I learned quickly. As a last fun activity before school started I took Chandler and Watson to the Dinosaur Museum. I was trying to be clever and frugal so we took advantage of Two Buck Tuesday in August. Little did I know, a gazillion other people were working on being clever and frugal as well. So, we enjoyed a brief trip through the museum, stopping briefly to look at a few cool things. Chandler wanted to compare my chompers with the pre-historic ones.

This used to be one of Chandler's favorite places but he has no interest in being one of the crowd.

I think it will become one of Watson's as well. Especially if Chandler is there to show him the cool things to see.

We'll visit again soon. We'll stop to play in the sand. We'll compare our weight (at least the boys will) with dinosaurs. Maybe we'll even watch a movie...

Sun, Sand, and Sunscreen

It is official. Bear Lake is our family's vacation spot. It's tradition!  This marks the third year in a row to visit this playground.
This past year we stayed at the Fish Haven cabin again and managed to fit in an entire week. I guess it wasn't quite long enough for Chandler, though. He suggested next year we stay for TWO weeks, one with the dads and one without.  All the cousins and aunts and uncles came. We also had Grandma Nettie with us most of the time. The kids had a ball playing together, watching movies, going on walks with Uncle Travis, swimming, sleeping and eating. We were lucky enough to get Uncle Spencer for the weekend and he brought a waverunner and jet ski with him. The big kids got to drive them as well as the adults. When I was on the lake with Chandler driving I tried to throw caution to the wind. I allowed him to drive as fast as 20 mph. (I know, living on the edge.) When we were bouncing over waves and boat wakes he turned to me and asked, "Is this fun?" I assured him it was and he kept going. That is just the kind of kid he is, always concerned other people are having a good time too. We had a great time at the lake every day and it was nice to have the whole family there. Watson was a little out of sorts while we were at the cabin. It was hard for him to watch the kids run up and down the stairs, knowing he couldn't quite keep up. However, he's been practicing those stairs since and I know he'll be ready to run with the big kids next summer.