October fun, Halloween Time, Addie is 22 months, and Joey is 8 months

I finally got a toothy smile from my little boy!! What a cutie, love his smiles! It took me forever, but it finally turned out. 

Our little girl was interested in putting on a shirt by herself....I immediately jumped at the chance! Addie, wanting clothes on? This never happens, usually they're flying off her. SO I grabbed Princess Aurora's dress. She was so excited by the sparkles and loved feeling the fluffy skirt. We might get her girly yet!!

I went for a drive around Kaysville and found this cute park named Castle Heights. I remember it from when I watched Kevin's kids when he lived down here, but had totally forgotten it. It was perfect!! Gated to keep Addie from running away, two swings that both kids could sit. This was Joey's first time swinging. He was so cute and had fun. He is just so easy going, it's hard to say what he wouldn't enjoy. Addie LOVES to swing and wanted to stay in it forever. But we had to share with the other kids. She also enjoyed the castle with various platforms and a slide. Joey was a sweetheart and stayed in his stroller while I went back and forth trying to keep my eyes on both.

Grandma came to visit us Oct 18-20. It was fun to have her visit and love on the kids. We also went to Gardner's village. It is a place that we often go to for so many years. We both enjoy the atmosphere and cute things to buy or attempt to make for ourselves. This time it was decorated for Halloween with witches everywhere. 

She is so sweet to all of her family members. She is always taking the time to call every child and grandchild each Sunday evening. She will talk as long as they are wanting to talk. It's important to her that they know her and feel comfortable. Addie has started to remember who she is and runs immediately to her. Grandma is a special person!! Joey has special smiles and snuggles for Grandma too. She brought us pumpkins grown from her garden. 

We decided to let the kiddos paint their pumpkins. I was hoping they would have fun doing that and thought it would be messy, it would be worth it. I think they did really enjoy it....maybe too much! They discovered eating paint isn't that bad....is it?

We dropped the kids off at my parent's and Kevin's so that I could have a surgery (see following post). It was so nice to have the kids comfortable and happy with their family. They really enjoy their cousins, aunt, uncle, and grandparents. Addie especially started to warm up to Grandpa Hebdon and would back up into his arms so he could help her with the feet of her PJ's. Even after I arrived to pick them up, she reached up for him after I had taken her out of her crib. So cute!!

I was going to have Addie dress up in a princess dress and Joey in a Snoopy costume, but it was way too cold. So I had bought these costumes from Savers for future years. They actually ended up fitting pretty well. Addie is a cute little flower, and Joey is a cute little lion. We walked around the McCammon Elementary for their trick or treat walk. I think that they were done after a few minutes. Next year, hopefully they will understand how fun it can be.

Adam with Joey.

And I have made it my goal to always dress up for Halloween....Joe and I have since our first year together. I have so much fun with it. I think it will be fun when the kids get bigger too. Hopefully they will always get excited for this fun time of year. Oh, this was a pic I sent to Joe through a text, just to make him giggle.

Addie walking around in Grandma's high heels after church. She walked from the living room into the kitchen. I couldn't believe she was that coordinated!! So cute! 

My handsome little boy. He is really growing up and loosing his baby look. Makes me sad, but  he sure is a lot of fun. His jabbering is increasing every day, his appetite as well, and I swear his hair gets lighter too. He rolls around and enjoys the independence. He now has 6 teeth!! His top four and bottom two.

Some fun stories about our little ones...Addie is 21 mos and Joey is 7 mos

Every day our cutie pies make us laugh and smile because of their genius or mischievousness. We know that it's only a matter of time when we are in trouble with both kiddos working together...Heaven help us!!

Joey has been getting his top two teeth and left incisor on the side now. They are showing their little white tips and have been causing this poor little guy some pain. I thought Addie had a lot to deal with together, but I think Joey has taken the lead. I guess that it will help him eat his solids and enjoy food that much more.

He rolled from his back to his front for the first time today while we watched General Conference. He has been flirting with it for quite awhile and got 75% the way, just to roll back as happy as can be.  I think he will be one who takes his time, enjoying life and not being in a rush. At least that seems to be our first impression of his personality. His smile is pretty darn cute with his two bottom teeth sneaking out, but I cant seem to get a good pic of it. Oh well. 

Last weekend of September we visited my family in Idaho. It had been 2 months since we have been there and we wanted to catch a couple of football games too. It was a very fun visit, relaxed. Joey is at the age where we can go out a little bit more and enjoy activities. And Grandma (Linda) Hebdon was very helpful in watching the kids too. So it was fun taking everyone out for Ben's and Adam's football games. Joe and I enjoyed pacing the lines occasionally pushing Caleb and Addie in the stroller while Joey basked in the attention of his Grandma at the end of the field. The boys did an excellent job! However Joe and I told Kevin that we really didn't want Joey to play football due to the accidents and long term problems he might have to deal with if he was to get hurt. Kevin said we better let him play if he wants too. That if he could do it again, he would play again. He LOVED/LOVES football. LOL, so when Joey was having the time of his life playing with the football, I couldn't resist a photo sent to Kevin. I guess we have a few years to figure out what our kids will enjoy doing for extracurricular activities.

We were given some of Jenna's stuffed animals, and the kids have loved them. This "Piglet" is almost as big as Addie and it's so cute to see her dragging him, "Pooh Bear" and the other furry friends. Joey is also enjoying tackling them and slobbering them with his kisses. We are so lucky to get to many fun things from family. The Bares also gave us their Little Tikes playground!! We were so excited when they offered, and our landlord ok'd it. Now that we have it here, we need some time when we can put it together. We have already had some knocks on our door to see if the neighborhood kids could put it together. We have a feeling it might be a mistake to have it here, but are really hoping that it won't cause a problem. Addie has fun  on it and Joey will too when he gets older. 

Addie is really starting to do better with communicating what she wants. The other day she told me she wanted a cracker, which was the first time she spoke what she wanted! I was pretty excited about that and gave her ALOT of crackers for encouragement. It usually is a tantrum followed by my suggestions of what is wrong or what she wants. And eventually I say what she would like. It's a learning process for her and us. She has even learned a little bit of patience as we fill her cup with water. LOL, for the longest time there she would cry in devastation when she handed us her sippy cup and we would have to walk to the fridge, unscrew the lid, fill the cup up with water, screw the lid back on, and finally hand her the cup. It was quite the dramatics, but I think after months and months of the same routine she has finally figured out that we will give it back in a better condition then when she gave it to us. 

And as always, she is so very sweet and loving towards her baby brother. She wakes up and often asks for "Jo Jo", and almost all of the time wants to help me put him down or get him up from his naps. These two are always melting our hearts with their affection for eachother. This a quick pic I got of them in my lap watching TV with me. I couldn't get a face shot, but I thought this was adorable, with Joey's hand on her back. They were giggling and having such a fun time.

Addie is growing up in more ways than one. Today she also came up to daddy and said "poo poo". When daddy checked her, she had a poopy diaper! We think in a few months we are going to try introducing a training potty for her. So she is growing up and that is very exciting. On the other hand, Krystell was taking Addie down for a nap before the Sunday afternoon session of general conference, Addie wasn't thrilled. The next thing I knew, I heard someone climbing the stairs, and  I saw Addie poking her head around the corner of the stairs to see if she could sneak up without being noticed. I picked her up to take her down to mommy, and apparently she had shut the door on Krystell when she was busy adjusting her curtains. Addie was trying to sneak upstairs and get out of a nap. We put her down and shared the story. She made us both laugh pretty good. She is not even two, and she thinks she is pretty sneaky....and she doesn't think she needs a nap anymore.

Joey's first tooth!

So I have been keeping my eye on his bottom middle incisors which are still buds. However, when I went to rub his gums today, I noticed a tooth on the top of his mouth! Who knows how longs it's been there. It looks like his top right incisor next to what would be his middle teeth. Kind of funny location for a first tooth, but it is there!!

A visit from Grandpa Gary!

Grandpa Gary was able to visit us September 10-12. We were very excited to have him visit and this was the longest visit of his yet! This was Joey's first time meeting his grandpa. They have the same middle name, "Evert" after Gary's father.

Gary has a big love for everything horses. He has always wanted to have a ranch and own horses, so when he retired in his 50's from Boeing in Seattle, WA, that is what he set out to do. He eventually bought a ranch in La Grande, OR. So, what else would we do but go to the Utah State Fair in SLC? It was one of the biggest fairs he had ever seen. I have never seen anything like it either. The barns were made of brick, so nice. And it was surprising that they didn't smell like I am used to at Caribou County Fairs. 

It was such a hot day!! The kiddos did really well throughout it all. We finally found a few horses (there weren't many there, I'm sure our timing was wrong). When I looked into their stroller to see how they were doing, Joey was wet from sweat and Addie was red faced. Poor kids were so hot! So we took them out and let them touch the horses. Joey was so happy and loved patting their foreheads. He was so cute! I think Addie was a little spacey because of the heat, but she seemed to be indifferent.

We were so sad to say goodbye to Gary at the airport. He is so fun to hang out with and the kids really warmed up to him. Addie was always bringing him toys, carried around his cane, and played with his things. She even sat on his lap for a few minutes. She doesn't seem to let men hold her unless it's Joe, so that was a pleasant surprise. She likes men, but she just teases and plays around, never holding still enough to be held.

Gary did so well with Joey too. Even though it is hard for him to get down, he still did so he could play with Joey. I had to take these few candid shots of the two. Joey was really jabbering and enjoying the attention.

Hogle Zoo

We have been really enjoying our move to Kaysville. One of the best things is the yard. We love playing in the yard, when it's not raining. This is a picture of Joey with his first grass experience.

Addie loves the freedom. We often go out there in the evening when it cools off and we wait for Joe to come home.

We have been wanting to go to Hogle Zoo in SLC since we moved back to Utah, but it's never panned out. So finally we made it!! And the Addie really seemed to enjoy the animals. Joey did so well and just was happy to be there. Joe and I loved it! We decided to get a season pass so we can visit more often and get a little exercise in as well.

Addie's favorite seemed to be the water mammals. She really liked the seals swimming around.

We tried to do the bird show, but Addie wanted to stand and walk around. We got asked to leave by one of the workers....I guess it's a safety issue because of the birds? I don't know, but I can't wait until we get both kids to the point that they can watch stuff like that and they can sit down....But nevertheless, we really had a fun time.

Addie is 20 months, Joey is 6 months, and they just keep getting cuter!

Where does the time fly? I have loved this summer and wish it could last forever. These two cutie pies are nonstop sweetness!! They seem to be the best of friends and enjoy making each other laugh. We couldn't be happier with that and hope they remain good friends. Oh, we know there will be fights and crying, but I'm sure that they will pull through it all.

Addie: she is learning more and more words. I am sure that I can teach her so much more than I do. It seems like she catches on so fast. She loves to dance around to any music she may hear. She likes to read books by herself (she might last a couple of pages but she quickly pulls the book away and wants to control the reading). She sings songs and sounds so cute. she even fluctuates her tone so she hits different notes. Her favorite song right now seems to be "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She now understands what "Prayer" means, so she folds her arms and bows her head. She is actually pretty reverent for the most part. We finally put up pictures on our walls in the front room. We have a picture of Jesus, and when we ask her where He is, she points to him and says "Jesus Christ". She wants to feed herself and most of the time won't let us help, unless the food is REALLY good. She is getting really good at helping by throwing garbage away, putting dirty clothes in the laundry, and bringing things we ask her to get. She has learnt how to say "Thank You" too. She is amazing at walking up and down the stairs. She rarely gets down and uses her hands anymore. She can even balance going down the stairs with her hands full of toys without using the wall for support. She has also figured out how to climb up and down the rocks on the side of our house. I was really hoping that wouldn't happen until next year. Oh well, only a few tumbles but she gets up and keeps climbing. She is one tough cookie!

And speaking of tough cookie, we have such a hard time getting a picture of Addie. She hardly sits still long enough for our slow cameras so she becomes a blur. A huge reason why we need to buy a better camer. But we did get these of Addie  reading to Joey one of her books. They were really talking, laughing and playing. Once again, just love this time of being best friends. I had to post all of them because each one has a different expression or action....I am in love with my babies!!

Joey: Oh, and he is teething! It seems like it's been a couple of months of drooling and a few rough nights. He has two little buds on his bottom gums ready to push through any day. Hoping that day will come to offer him some relief. But he is a pretty happy, easy going baby. We are so blessed to have him. Joe took him to his 6 month appointment, I had to train at my new job for the Urban Central Region as an Ultrasound Tech. However, it sounds like both kiddos did really well at the appointment! Talk about a brave daddy taking on both kids, dr's appointment, and vaccination shots!! He is right on where he needs to be for his growth curve. He is bigger then Addie was at when she was 6 months old! Also, he has always been on the higher end of the curve for his head size. But since he is happy and not fussy, they are not worried about him. I took a quick look through his soft spot with ultrasound and didn't see any abnormal amounts of fluid, so that's a huge relief. The doctor says she thinks he is going to be a tall and big. She asked Joe if we have any big men in our family, so maybe Joey will follow his Grandpa Hebdon and Uncle Kevin and be over 6 ft. who knows?! But it is a huge relief to not have to worry about that.

His stats:
Weight 20 lbs 10.5 oz 90th percentile
Height: 28 3/4 in 95th percentile

Milestones:

• He can hold his bottle by himself, at times. He is still drinking 8 oz, 4 times a day. We are working on his solids. Some days he loves them, other days he has absolutely no interest. That's ok though. He seems to be sleeping through the nights for the most part, which is HUGE! We are loving the continuous sleep. And he seems to do better as well.

• He likes to stand up with help. He has really strong muscles! Seriously, there is a thin layer of chub but mostly all muscle. 
• This isn't a milestone, but his hair has really started to come in, especially on the top. And it always stick up in the middle like a mohawk. It's cute, totally fits his cute personality. He has the biggest smile that light up his eyes. Both he and Addie have smiles that get a lot of attention and smiles from strangers.

• He can sit up for quite a few minutes by himself. He needs some assistance at times, but he does really well. 
• He loves playing with toys, especially stuffed animals. He gets them soaking wet, yuck! But he loves them to death. He can hold a rattle and exchange them from hand to hand. 
• Besides his high pitch squeels and skreeches he has started to add "Da da da". He can also pop his lips to make noise, click his tongue, and now he has started to scrunch up his nose and breath in and out noisily. Makes Joe and I laugh, which then makes him smile and to do it again. He is really starting to develop a cute personality.
• He also loves being hugged and kissed, and many times he leans in for more kisses. He is such a loving baby.

This is a picture of Joey after we went to church. He looks so cute in his button up shirts and khakis, just like a little gentleman. I have looked many places for these shirts that are also onsies....LOVE them! They stay tucked in, are so soft, and look so adorable. 

And here is a picture of him wearing an outfit we picked out for him before he was born. It's our favorite!