Halloween

Well this Halloween was so much fun. Vance loved every minute of it. He really got into dressing up this year. Now I don't think that had anything to do with the fact that he got to be Buzz Lightyear, RIGHT!!! On Halloween morning he kept saying "Haween, Haween" and "t or Teet" it was so funny. I couldn't believe that he remembered it but all day he kept asking if he could get Buzz on and I kept telling him no but he kept asking. Well we went trick-or-treating at the mall with some friends and ate dinner there as well. It was Family Friday so the Carousel was free and we had to take three rides on that, poor daddy. The Hawkeye Basketball team had set up a little place where the kids could come and get candy and have a poster with all their signatures on it so we did that and Vance was freaking out because Herky, the Hawkeye Mascot, was there and he kept saying "Monster mommy, scared." He loves Herky but I guess it is only from a distance. After the mall we went to Wal-mart to end out trick-or-treating and he had a great time. Well it just kept getting better for him because our ward party was on Saturday so he got to dress up again and go trick-or-treating again. He loved every minute of it. We couldn't keep him off the stage while they were trying to do all the prizes and such. He didn't win this year but he sure did look cute. We all went as Buzz, Woody, and Jessie from Toy Story. We looked cute if I do say so myself. On Thursday night we decided to make our own costumes and I ended up sewing Curtis' vest, his holster and star, and my chaps. It was great fun let me tell you. But in the end I think it was worth it. Halloween is really fun, especially when your kids get into and enjoy it with you. 

Vance giving his best Cheese for the camera while trying on his Buzz costume that he wouldn't take off for like 30 minutes.
For Family Home Evening we carved pumpkins and Vance got to color his.
He was really serious about it as you can see. He just assumed the position and went at it, and he had to color mommy and daddy's as well.
"Look at that!"
"OOps I got some on my tummy" or in Vance's words "Mess"
Here is Curtis' annual Sun Devil Pumpkin. I traced this off the computer and he cut it out. Go team!!

Looks pretty good.
I decided to torture myself and do a Lightning Mcqueen design which I had to trace off a box and figure out how to shade and what not. After almost cutting my finger off I think it looks pretty good.
In the light this is what it looked like.
My Woody and Buzz getting ready to go trick-or-treating.
Our family at the mall.
This is from carousel ride number two. I just thought it was a super cute picture.
Buzz playing on the electric toys.

This I think was from ride number one. Curtis looks like he is having a great time.
Oh this is the Pull string that I put on the back of his vest because Woody has a Pull string so we had to have a Pull string.
Vance coloring at our Halloween Party. He loved coloring that thing.
Our family picture.
My boys.
Vance throwing the balloon around with some friends.
Here he is on stage finally. He doesn't like attention at all!!! HEHEHE~

Ponderings

I woke up this morning just reflecting on life and how great it is. While we were driving to the Adult session for our Stake Conference I was just looking around and thinking how amazing this world is that we live in. The Lord has created this beautiful place for us to enjoy. This time of year I really appreciate how lucky we are to be here. The fall colors and simply breathtaking and it is unbelievable all the different colors there are. I grew up in a place where there were a lot of pine trees so there weren't as many leaves that changed color in the fall. I have been lucky enough to be in several places in the Midwest and the East coast in the fall and have seen the beautiful array of colors that exist out here and it has truly opened my eyes to the wonders of the season. I also love this time of year because there is a certain feeling in the air that tells me that Christmas is near. I know we should have the Christmas spirit all year round but it is especially strong right now. It is truly a time of giving of ourselves and serving our fellow man. It is a time for us a human race to show our kindness and love for one another and to tell Satan that there are so many good people in this world and that we do love each other no matter what. The Savior teaches us to love each other and to love this world that we live in. I am just so thankful for the beauties of the earth that come with each change in the season and that we are able to enjoy them. I hope that I can teach my children to love and appreciate our world and the seasons that we are blessed with. Sorry I don't even know if that made sense but I have so many thoughts in my mind and it is hard to sort them out into words. I love you all and hope that you find joy and happiness during this trying time in all our lives.

And the survey says.....

IT IS A BOY!!!!!

We are so excited to be having another boy. Vance kept saying "Boy mommy Boy!!" all the way into the doctors office. I said I will try buddy and in the end it was a boy. We are the first ones to have a boy for the first and second so that is always fun!! Breaking the mold! I think that my dad is excited to be making things a little more even after all those years of all of us girls. The baby looks perfect so we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father that everything is going so well. We will keep you updated as we progress. And no we don't have a name for sure yet but we are working on it. 

Home again!!!

So thank you to everyone for all your support during this hard time in our lives. We especially want to thank Alethia, Joe, Ella, Sam, Mom, and Dad for letting us stay with you while Curtis was away. You all made it so much easier and I am so thankful for everything you did and do for us. We love you so much!!! We are so glad to be home with Curtis again. The boys are already having a blast together. Vance couldn't wait to set up his train with daddy and play with it for hours. It was so cute, when we got home Vance got out and ran to Curtis to give him a hug and then just cuddled with him for a while. He missed his daddy even if he wouldn't talk to him on the phone. What can I say Curtis doesn't like to talk on the phone either so I can't blame him. Life has resumed its normal schedule and we are loving it. I am so glad to be home. WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!

Vance playing with his train and you can already see the mess that was made the first night we were home.You have to sit inside the train tracks.
A picture of the beautiful fall colors in Kentucky.
We met my cousin Darbi and my Aunt Bridget in a little town in Kentucky. My other cousin Cari drove in the night before and stayed with us. It was great to see them all again. It has been such a long time.

Vance took this picture of my in my glasses.
A picture of him in his glasses too!!
Vance eating a sour patch kid. Cute face baby!!
Vance in the Mr. Incredible outfit. He loved to dress up in this thing. 

The girls in their fairy and princess dresses.
Vance and Olivia running over Uncle Sam and Emarie. They thought that was so much fun.
Look at those two. Such good friends.
The kids having dance time. Vance and Olivia were attempting to dance together and Emarie is being Emarie and dancing and skipping all around.
I don't know if Vance was trying to lift up Emarie or if she is lifting him and he is holding on for dear life!!
The pose at the end of the song. Fantastic!!!
Vance and Alyse playing at a great playground. These little bugs were so cute. Look at the intensity. 
Uncle Joe watching the kids outside in the heat so the pregnant ladies wouldn't have to. Great man!
Here it is again. Love the muscles boys.
Vance loved his cousin Isaac. He just crawled up into his lap and sat there for like 10 minutes. It was so adorable.
THE GIANT MAN EATING SPIDER!! This thing was huge and Isaac said he saved the kids from being dead by taking them into the bedroom while we killed it. It came in the house and we got it back out and finally threw a phone book on it. This thing was monster sized!!! NO MORE FERTILIZER!!!!

The worst 3 weeks of my life!!!!!

Okay other than the fact that I got to spend three weeks with my sisters and am currently with my parents in Kentucky for another week this has been the worst three weeks ever. I don't know how people can just send their husbands or wives of for so much time and still keep their sanity!!! For those of you that are totally confused right now Curtis is away on a rotation in Sioux City Iowa and wouldn't have been able to come home every week without breaking the bank so I packed up Vance and we headed south so that I wouldn't have to be four months pregnant and alone for a month. It is so hard to not have Curtis their with me. I just have to say that I could never be a single parent. I am so impressed with those people that do that everyday and are so great at it but I am definitely not one that could. Vance is a great boy don't get me wrong but it does help to have someone around to share the responsibility and all the fun things that go along with having a child. Not to mention the fact that Vance has been sick off and on through out this whole trip and I have been scared to death that I wasn't doing something right to help him. This has truly made me appreciate my sweet love and companion so much more. I know I shouldn't be complaining because at least I was around my family whereas he has been all alone in an apartment working day after day without anyone there. He is truly amazind and the greatest man I have ever known. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He has worked so hard this last year and a half to make a better way for us and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father to have such a great example in my life. He is amazing and I don't know what I would do without him by my side forever. I love you Curtis and I miss you and I can't wait to see you next Friday!!!! Sorry that this went from a rambling session to a love fest but I am pregnant and my emotions are kind of on a permanent rollercoaster at the moment. Enjoy your spouses because it is no fun without them!!!!

Proud Mommy Moments

So I actually feel a little bit like a Homemaker this week. I got the chance to make a last minute scrub cap for Curtis on Thursday night for his Surgery day on Friday. What a night!!!! After many hours sewing then taking out the seam and sewing again I finally finished it. It turned out pretty good and now that I kind of know what I am doing I am going to sew some more for his actual surgery rotation. I hope it takes less time then that one took. Oh well. So that was my proud Homemaker moment and now for my proud mommy moment. I know it might sound weird but I am so proud because Vance went poo-poo on the potty for the first time yesterday. We were so excited. He has gone pee a lot but we have never been successful with the poo thing but we finally got it yesterday. He is growing up so fast I can't believe. Hopefully we are going to try and potty train him in the next month or so and see how that goes. He loves to read his books and we got some from the library this past week and we are so tired of them by now but that is a good thing right? He is getting so good at singing his songs now. One of his favorites to do is Rock-a-bye baby. He climbs up into my lap and wraps his arms around my neck and starts rocking back and forth and he says "Rock-a-bye baby on tree pops, blows, break, fall, mommy catch you all." So cute.  I love my boy. Oh and I guess now I can tell everyone that Vance is going to be a big brother. That is right we are expecting our second in March. We are very excited about this new addition to our home. Vance loves babies and is always saying "Awe, tute" which is cute and wanting to give them lots of kisses so we think he is going to take to the big brother role very easily. My life is so full. I feel so blessed by my father in heaven to have this opportunity to bring a new soul down to this earth. It makes me feel that my efforts as a mom are good enough for that new blessing. I have a wonderful, sweet, hardworking, loving husband and father to our children, and an amazing, talented, smart, funny, sweet son. What a blessed woman I am. What more can I say than that.

Here is that surgery cap I made, Iowa of course.
What a face, he is a heartbreaker.
He fell over the Lightning Mcqueen.
He wanted to be like Daddy and wear his big boy socks.
He immediately put my birthday present on his head. Such a boy thing.
CHEESE!!!

Happy Birthday Crystal

Today is Crystal's Birthday and I wanted to write how much Vance and I love and appreciate her. Crystal has gratefully been able to stay home with Vance ever since he was born.  Through all of the ups and downs of being a stay at home mom she has been a great mother and wife.  She has always been there to lift me up on my rough days and always treats Vance as the prince he is.  She works so much with him and is able to teach him so many things.  Crystal I love you and just wanted to tell you Happy Birthday.

My poke, the strange weather, corn, and Labor day softball

So Vance had to get his hemoglobin checked and they poked his finger well he got a ton of stickers and he decided to put them all on at the same time. He was very proud of that.

We had a really stormy day last week and it just looked really eerie outside. It was like looking at an old picture. The colors were so muted. Crazy stuff here in Iowa.

So we are in Iowa after all so what would life be like without corn on the cob. Vance has refused to try up until two days ago when he realized that it looked good. He would only eat a big piece and not the smaller one that I had cut for him. He was so cute when he was eating his big corn on the cob. And of course it included him saying "MMMM Licious!"

Last but not least we had our annual Ward Labor Day softball game. Vance had to try out his new ball, bat, and glove. He loved watching daddy play and actually got to go out onto the field himself for a moment in between games. It was a little bit warm but a red cheeked Vance would not be discouraged. He had a ball throwing rocks, hitting his ball, and climbing all over the bleachers. We had a great day.

Vance playing with his ball and bat.
He hasn't quite gotten the concept of the ball being hit in the air but he was trying.
Curtis waiting for his turn to bat.
After a nice hit Curtis runs to the base.
Vance dragging the big bat out onto the field for his turn.
Here he comes look out.
And he gets it up in the air but we thankfully stopped him before he swung and hit Cylynn and Sanah. Silly boy!!!

Our trip to the Fire Station

We had a play group where we went to the Iowa City Fire Station and the kids got to see all the trucks, where the fireman live, and of course the best thing about fire stations the POLE. We really had a great time. Vance loved sitting in the fire truck and he didn't want to get out. They even had a call while we were there which made it even more exciting. The funniest thing was when we went to look at the exercise equipment Vance found a treadmill and hopped right on and pretended that he was running on it. How he knew what to do on a treadmill I will never know but it was so funny.

Iowa State Fair

So I know it was a while ago but better late than never. We went to the State Fair a two weeks ago and just had a great time. It was really fun to see all the animals, fruits, and vegetables that they entered in the fair. Vance just loved the petting zoo of exotic animals. He of course also loved all the other animals as well, especially the pigs. We sampled the food and just relaxed and enjoyed. In the end Vance and Curtis took a turn on a spinning ride and Curtis was getting sick while Vance seemed to like it pretty well. They were so fun to watch. It was great.