A little of this, a little of that

Kelvin: Growing like a weed! We are in 3m and 3-6m clothes. Size 1 diapers - although I think they are getting a little snug, but we have a few boxes left, so I am trying to use all of them up. He is down to about 3 solid naps a day. We are eating every 3 hours and at night he can go about 7ish hours.  The bumbo seat is out now as well as the exersaucer. He loves them both and thinks he is big boy.  Bath time is super fun! He loves it! He did pretty good with our road trip to Iowa. I would say it was what we expected. His smile and laugh are adorable and usually happen right after he poops. :)

Our little fatty

Aunt Missy with Kelvin and Harrison

Ayla: Diva and sassy more than ever! She likes to be naked. Whenever you get her dressed or undressed, she gets up and runs away laughing! Her naughty side is coming out more and more - even at church. Which makes me happy because they all think she is a perfect angel. Ayla will do something she isn't supposed to and watch you to see how long it takes you to get on to her for it. When you do notice that she is doing something naughty, she will giggle and run away. She will take something of Asher's and watch him as she walks around with it, just waiting for him to notice. Crazy girl. We had our first road trip with all 3 over Thanksgiving. Ayla did great with the tablet and was a happy camper. She was overly concerned when Asher fell asleep, but other than that, no complaints. More and more words are coming out of her like BUCKEYES! She says that well.  If we could just get that paci out, she would say more!

Any time Mike sits down with food, Ayla finds her way in between his arms and legs and sits there until she gets her bites. 

One morning she just fell asleep while we were playing. She must have been tired. 

Asher: We have a wild card here. There are days that Asher surprises and impresses me with what he can do. We got out a sticker activitiy book and he was tracing, connecting numbered dots, matching...I was surprised. He counts up to 100 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,16,18,20, 100!) He can count backwards from 10 to 1. He knows his letters and colors too. I give credit to his teachers at church during the week. He retains so much from Bible Study Wednesdays. I love hearing what he learned during study when we get in the car afterwards. Then there are days where a switch goes off and he throws massive fits. When he really gets going, there is nothing that can stop him. He has to calm down on his own. They definitely throw me for a loop because it will be over the craziest thing so I am not expecting it and am not prepared (I want to take a bath! then in the tub, I don't want to take a bath! then we get out, NO I want to play in the tub! and this goes on for 30 min of full on screaming rolling on the bathroom floor)

Both asleep within 15 min of hitting the road home from GamGam's

Rough morning

Cousin play

I enjoy seeing the sincere love shown from all the kids. Ayla will just walk up to Asher and look at him while giving him a big hug. Asher will wrap his arms around her and finish out the hug, then they will both go on with whatever they were doing. Melts my heart every time. They both love on Kelvin and give him hugs and kisses all the time. When Kelvin is crying, Asher will go over and try to calm him down by say, "Mama, I think he just needed his big brother." We have started having slumber parties on days I need a break. Asher brings his pillow, baby and blanket out to the family room. Then he helps Ayla bring hers out too. We put on a movie and pop popcorn. They love it and ask to do it often.  Ayla will now hold the carseat stroller when we go into church or the YMCA and walk. Sometimes she wants to hold Asher's hand, but the fact that she is walking and not making me carry her is great.

I am excited for Christmas and more time to hang out with family and friends. It sounds like I am bragging, but I want others to see my great kids. They can turn anyone's day around (usually from bad to good, but on some days they can help your day get a little worse ;) ).

Ashe likes to walk when we go for stroller rides. I like it too because it wears him out!

First slumber party

Yo dude!

Cousins with Gam Gam

We dedicated Kelvin at church. Our family couldn't be with us, but there were with us in spirit and watched it all online! Love Technology!

Best picture we got

Uncle Bry is awesome. My kids can be crazy and loud and a handful, but Uncle Bry handled it well and they love him so much.


I haven't taken many videos....sorry. 

Shine with the Light of Jesus

Halloween came and went, but Asher noticed this year. People have asked me how I handle Halloween with the kids as a Christian. Asher doesn't care about anything but dressing up and getting candy.  That is what I remember as a kid. For us, there is no deep dark meaning. It is a day to get candy, dress up and have fun. Asher actually grasped the concept of trick-or-treating (although here in OK there is no trick involved like we had to do in Iowa).  He watched some cartoons and learned that if you dress up, go to the houses in the neighborhood and say 'Trick-or-Treat!' you get candy. Done! He asked to be Hulk...over and over again. Good thing a friend had a costume we could borrow. We had numerous opportunities to dress up and every time he wanted to be Hulk. You can see from the pics below that I put Ayla in a variety of costumes.  We dressed up for the Fall Free For All at church, for Tuesday and Thursday church, Friday to Trick-or-Treat at the mall, and Saturday for trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. At church during the week, the kids made Jack-o-lantern crafts that said, "Shine with the light of Jesus". I thought this was a great way to make a 'scary' holiday into something great!  

Supergirl, My Little lion, and Hulk!

 Fall free For All at church was Candyland themed in the preschool area. They had tons of inflatables and games to play. Ayla wasn't sure about it all.

Church dress up days.

Buckeye Cheerleader for one costume

Church day dress up

The mall was CRAZY busy.  It was cold and rainy out but I was not expecting so many kids! Ayla was scared, but Asher knew what he was doing.  We hit up about one-fourth of the mall, then went to the Disney Store (Mickey mouse grocery store) then ate at the food court. I would do it again, but I would probably start at the other end of the mall.

Mall trick-or-treating

By the end she was happy

Pumpkin Pizza of course!!!

Our neighborhood wasn't great last year for Halloween, so we went to the Russell's. Ayla loved it. She did it a little slower, but wanted to walk and strutted up to each door with attitude. The kids got TONS of candy. We had to dump the buckets under the stroller because they were overflowing.  It was fun going with friends too.

We went to the Russell's neighborhood and it was great! The kids had tons of fun.

The boys: Hulk, Lion and Link (Atticus is Asher's best friend)

The Girls: Supergirl and Alice (NaLora, Atticus' sister)

We painted pumpkins this year. Ayla loved her purple one. Asher made Hulk, Superman and Ironman.  I didn't have them under the awning and the rain washed the paint off...oops  Asher also helped put spiderwebs up on the house.

Overall, we had a great Halloween! The kids had fun and we definitely were able to teach a lesson on manners when they received candy.  It is fun seeing the kids grow up and catch on to more and more each year.  With the excitement of Halloween, I can't wait to see what Christmas brings!