Sleepovers

Hailey can be so shy most days. But, lately, she hasn't been shy about one thing...sleepovers at her house! Last Saturday she started a new session of swimming lessons. She got done, came over to me, and told me..."Mommy, I have a new friend and she wants to sleep over at my house!" Funny thing is...she didn't know this new friend's name! :) I figured we would find out next Saturday.

Then, tonight I took the kids to McDonald's where there is a playland. They were playing while I was getting the food ready, and when it was time to eat, Hailey said to me "Mommy I met a new friend playing!" I thought that was so good of her to actually talk to a new person! Then, the little girl walked by, and Hailey said "Hi! HI!!! You wanna have a sleepover at my house??? Do you wanna have a sleepover at my house, friend???" All of this was really loud and a few tables got a big laugh out of it (including me). I guess I know who initiated the first talk of a sleepover with her new friend at swimming. :)

Pumpkin Fun

Look at what we did on Sunday afternoon -->

Michael's craft store had a special yesterday from 1-5pm for customers to come in and decorate their own craft pumpkins. So, when the kids woke up early from their naps at 2:45, we went right over there! OMG it was a MESS, but as you can tell from the pumpkins, they sure had fun! I think Hailey would have stayed for another hour or two if I would have let her, but Ryan had his limit!! :)

Here are a few pictures of the process...Ryan painting his pumpkin, Hailey working on hers, and then one of Hailey very proudly displaying her pumpkin. It is so fun that hers actually has a face (unlike Ryan's :) ).

Ryan's new favorite book

So, we went and did a little shopping last night after supper. We went to the mall so that Hailey could use HER OWN MONEY to buy a pair of panties for her Build-A-Bear Princess (she threw a fit when I wouldn't buy them for her when she was making the bear, but liked the idea that she could use her own money to buy them!!). That was a lot of fun watching her buy something!! :)

We also went to Big Bear (sporting goods store in town) for Chris to look at a few things. While there, Ryan got a new book....leave it to him to want his OWN COPY of the MT Hunting Regulations!!!!!!!!!! =D He was so excited for his "Deer Book" and wouldn't let anyone touch it. After bath time, it was time for a book and then bed, and Ryan of course wanted to read his "deer book"!!! He sat down by himself and started to go through it. He even wanted it in bed with him!

I have said this before, but examples like this make it true.........

I AM IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!!!!!!!!!!

Two "1st" for Ryan

Sunday was a BIG day for Ryan!!!!!! First, he was napping and Chris was in the basement starting a movie for Hailey and her friend when he heard "Daddy...I'm up from my nap!!" He turned around and Ryan was STANDING THERE! Ryan is still in his crib...so interesting that he was out! :) Chris came upstairs, and Ryan told him "Me climb out of my crib all by myself. Me show you!" He was so proud of himself!! The little stinker did it again this morning too...and showed Hailey and I how he did it as well. I am surprised it took him this long to do it!! :)

His second "1st" of the day is a HUGE ONE!!!!!! The boy went pee on the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a great moment...and one that probably won't happen again for weeks or months, but it was his FIRST time actually going!!!! We were very proud of him...and he was quite proud of himself too! :) I hope he wants to do that again soon :)

My baby is growing up.... :(

Just like me

Friday night I was trying to get the kids to eat supper at Doug & Doran's house. Ryan decided he had enough...and got down from his chair and was sitting on the floor. I asked him to come back to the table and eat...to which he said "NO". Hailey got down, went over to Ryan, and in a soft, quiet voice said "Ryan, it is time to eat. You need to get back in your chair and eat your pizza." He looked at her and said "Don't want to, Don't have to!" (one of his favorite sayings right now!!). She looked at me, smiled, and said "Uhhh. Just like listening to me." I almost fell off my chair!!!!!! She is so darn cute sometimes!!!!!! yes, it is very much like listening to her...and funny that she knows it too!! :)

Saturday Live

On Saturday morning, I took the kids to "Saturday Live".... a big carnival put on by ALL the public schools in Billings. Each school has at least one booth, so it is a BIG EVENT! Last year, over 10,000 people went...I think they probably topped that this year!! Not tons for little kids to do, but Hailey and Ryan sure did have fun! :)

Hailey got her hair painted pink and purple (yes..it is STILL PINK in some spots!!) ... see picture below. They also got to paint their own pumpkins ... again, see picture below. They also got to play with play-doh, color, draw on a banner for the TV station, try to win a cake for the cake walk, but a mystery bag of candy, and MORE! :) It really was a good time...and we were only there for 2 hours!!

Then we got McDonald's, went home, ate, and took naps! :)

Joel and Lara Smith were also in town this weekend, so we got to spend some time with them. It was a lot of fun ... going out with NO KIDS and even having the kids show off for them! :)

Build-A-Bear

If Saturday wasn't Hailey's fill of birthday celebration, she got MORE on Sunday when she went to her friend Kayla's birthday party!! Kayla had her party at Build-A-Bear Workshop in the mall. What a GREAT IDEA for a birthday party!!!! All the girls got to pick their own bears out, then go through the process of giving them a heart (& a wish), stuffing them, cleaning them, and then picking out an outfit for them too! They even got to name their bears and get a birth certificate for them! It really was a neat thing to do, and so glad that I stayed to "play" with them! :) Hailey got a little tired in the middle, but still did good. She sure woke up when it was time for cake too! :)

Here are all the girls...getting ready start "making" their bears. And, Hailey with her finished product...."Princess" the bear! (no surprise there, right?!?!)

A Pumpkin Patch Birthday

On Saturday, September 22, our friends Hailey & McKenna Taylor had their birthday party at a local pumpkin patch. Of course we had to go!! And, it was one of the hottest days we have had in a looong time...88 degrees!! While we were there, we had lunch, then went on a hayride and got to stop at the pumpkin patch to pick out our own pumpkins.

The kids on the hayride...

Hailey and Ryan with their pumpkins. Notice the size of Ryan's!!! There were HUNDREDS of pumpkins and he picks the smallest, green one out there!! :)

We had a lot of fun out there...but it was sure time for NAPS when we left!! :)

NOTE...I added pictures below to the "Weekend Recap" entry below too. :)

Pretty Rainbow

Don't get too excited...but we did actually get a few DROPS of rain last night. It wasn't much, but did give us enough to see a beautiful DOUBLE rainbow!! We drove to Target to look for a few Halloween decorations, and the kids could each see a double rainbow out each side of the car. Ryan finally found it on his side, and said "Pretty rainbow. My window down. Take a picture." =D So...I guess I take a few pictures?!?! :) He wanted to go TOUCH it, so we had to explain that we cannot touch them.

Oh...and the boy is right in the middle of "why?" and "what's that?" now. I cannot count how many times I hear "Why Mommy?" and "what's that Mommy?"! It is cute, but we weren't prepared. Hailey never did this!! :)

Little math-wiz in the making

We hope Ryan is taking after Mommy & Daddy with his love for MATH! =D He was helping me in the kitchen putting pieces of watermelon in a bowl for me, and started counting on his own! :) One, two, three.....thirteen, fourteen! I was quite impressed that he could go to 14 by himself with NO HELP and the words were clear and correct.

He did it again last night too going up the steps acting all crazy! :) Good job, little man!