This is Halloween!

Man alive, Halloween is a crazy quick whirlwind of parties and then it is gone!  But it definitely can be said that my kids partied their little hearts out.

Jack's favorite part?  Hoarding candy wherever he can find it.  His preferred method of consuming said candy?  Well, if mom isn't looking, he loves to suck on the wrapper and suck in all the chocolate.  DISGUSTING!

In the course of 6 days, my kiddos attended 2 trunk or treats at which Porter guessed the correct amount of candy in a bowl and added more to our candy hoard, trick-or-treating at Daddy's work at which Tom guessed the correct amount of candy in a bowl and won the candy to again add to our stash, movie tickets and pizza for his department, the English Family Party, the LeBaron Family Party, trick-or-treating at my mom's work and finally Trick-or-Treating itself.  Yes, it can be said we did every possible Halloween celebration we could get our hands on.  And let it be said, trick-or-treating at work is so much more efficient, my kids only lasted like 4 houses on Halloween because they had to walk much further than 2 feet to get to the next pile of candy (mind you we live in connected townhomes so the actual walk is still not realistic, they'd never make it in the real world)

Porter celebrated Halloween on Saturday night with two of his favorite people, my cousins, Josh and McKay.  Yes, McKay is indeed a Hamburger, cause who wouldn't want to be such a delicious inanimate object?

In English family tradition, the Halloween Pinata, because we don't think kids get enough candy as it is.  Here's Jack tacking a whack.

 And my possibly slightly athletically challenged Porter.  He definitely makes up for that in brains!

And onto the LeBaron celebration!  How cute are my nieces and nephews I ask you?

And then the accident occurred.  My niece Caroline ran inside to inform me that Porter had fallen off the swing.  I'm thinking he's fine until I get outside and the poor child is sobbing and covering his mouth.  He removed his hand to uncover a mouth full of blood and a HUGE swollen nose.  The picture doesn't quite do it justice.  We can only assume he fell off the swing on his face?

After an otterpop, a Fresca and an episode of Avengers, he had recovered just in 

time for donuts on a string.

It definitely looked broken at first and we all know how children hate icing things so it sat 

bloody and swollen.

Now on to Halloween!

Captain America aka Steven Rogers aka Porter's Favorite Super Hero

Now, mind you.  Originally Jack was suppose to be Thor but wouldn't wear the cape or helmet.  We tried just a superhero with a Batman cape and finally Porter's old Winnie the Pooh costume without success.  After just about giving up, my friend Michelle informed me she had an Incredibles costume that would work.  How fitting actually since Jack began his life as Jack Jack attack and whose temper rivals that of the fire baby!

I just absolutely love this picture.  That is Porter's best friend Jillian.  How adorable is Jack right in stride?

Now you may be wondering how Porter's nose is doing?

Well let's just say I was worried I would be receiving a call from Preschool Tuesday wondering what happened.  I'm trying to convince him he is turning into the Hulk as the swollen side is turning a ripe blue/green.  Oh my poor boy, at least it doesn't hurt.  But if we thought the kid snored before, wait until he almost breaks his nose!

And the weeks has just continued to feel a bit like this.  Jack has carried on his costume's persona as I pulled him out of the full tub fully clothed after I decided the tub would be a good idea because I couldn't keep him out of the kitchen sink.  Later that day I was canning my chicken (hooray, it was a success!) and my dad got home from his new job (another hooray for him having a job!) in his new clothes and Jack puked all over him and now I have been sick all day today and nauseous throwing up mommy doesn't mesh well with a 3 year old that needs constant stimulation and a baby who is completely hyperactive.

Here's to a more calming rest of this week!

Fall

I love FALL!  I love the brisk air, I love that the Holidays are approaching, I love Gardner Village and the witches, and I love Halloween!  And all of that is magnified times ten since I've had kiddos of my own.  Everything is so exciting to them, I sometimes wish I could face life with the same outlook they do.  How much better the world would look and even things as silly as dancing around at Gardner Village would seem magical.  Here's a little glimpse of how we have been celebrating Fall!

Doing the Monster Mash (don't worry, they are the only ones dancing in the entire place)
Porter has been dancing for a week straight singing, "Dance Like It's Halloween!"

Porter, Bo and Moses

The Smile that makes it hard for you to stay mad even when he is naughty!

Porter, like his dad, loves to cook.  He's helping Nanny make treats.
Who can resist when he asks, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Oh the Pumpkin Patch, one of our favorite traditions.  It's funny how you pick one and
it just becomes the one you always go to no matter what.  We've run into my friend Jenna who lives
in Lehi for 3 years straight I believe at this pumpkin patch on this random day.

Jack's favorite person in the entire world (quite possibly even more favorite than daddy) is Papa!
Seriously, all this boy needs is his Papa to hold him and everything becomes right with the world.

Who wouldn't want to ride in the wheelbarrow?  

This pumpkin is perfect to carve a Super Hero On!

 Somehow I missed getting an actual picture of Porter in his costume so far.  Here he is doing donuts on a string.  He only made it through 3 bites and stopped, luckily because he looked like he was going to puke.  Now, on to 2 more parties, my mom's trick or treat at her office and Halloween itself.  A detox will be in order on November 1st!

Birthday Breakfast

So we actually have been celebrating Halloween around here but my camera cord is MIA so I cannot get the photos off the camera!  For now, I will leave you with this terrible quality picture from so needing to be retired iphone (first generation jailbroken iphone on t-mobile network here folks, you only wish you were so vintage!)  This is the amazing Birthday Breakfast in Bed Tom made me this morning.  Note the presentation.  Seriously have I ever dressed a plate with cilantro?  No, the answer is no.  Those little circle things were amazing egg, vegetable, laughing cow cheese pop-overs of delicious goodness.  It was a great birthday!  After breakfast in bed I took Porter to preschool and then hung out with my kids for the day.  My mom took us for frozen yogurt in the afternoon and sat in car with the kids while I ran in and did a little coupon magic at Smiths for super cheap diapers (i know I must be sick when I actually enjoy doing something like that on my birthday) and spent the evening with Jack while Tommy was at school (Porter went to play with Justin and Trent, yes play is the correct term even though they are 23 and 31).  And one day I will find my cord to post real pictures. 

Sorry. . . Late Update

So, in case I forgot to update since the last post. . . The MRI came back NORMAL.  HUGE sigh of relief.  His head is just, well, BIG.  I'm so grateful that we don't have to put this little guy through surgery.  The sleep battle rages on, but what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, right?  And who doesn't like waking up at 5:30 every morning?  On the up side, at least my days are super long so I am able to accomplish a lot. (or at least I seem to think so)  Heck, I'm done exercising and dressed for the day by the time most of my friends are even awake.  That's a good thing right?  I may look like death and my baggy eyes have seen better days, but there are much harder things in life than this.  (in case you didn't realize I'm saying this more for my benefit than yours)  So thanks for your prayers, Jack's big head is just fine!

And the Giant Head Saga Continues!

So Jack had his 18 month check up today (slightly late), and we are now scheduled for a CT Scan on Monday.  His head is still measuring totally off the charts and veering slightly off the curve and the doctor wants to make sure nothing is wrong.  He may have extra fluid in his head that could possibly be causing headaches which might explain his crabbiness and trouble sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time.  Unfortunately if this is indeed true, then this may call for a shunt.  Oh the joys!  Well, keep Jack in your prayers!  So thankful for Tom's job and good insurance!

Jack at 12:00 am

Jennifer Conference

The anticipation for "Jennifer Conference" was huge for Porter this past week.  Is that weird for a 3 year old? We talked about it all week and I prepared a bunch of activities for him to do during conference and he could hardly wait!  Saturday morning he asked me if he needed to wear a tie to watch.  Here was one of his favorite activities:

His Prophet and Apostle Chain.  

We colored each apostle when they spoke and he was so happy when they were all colored and put together he  carried it everywhere!  Oh my child!  I went into conference thinking that if I put together a bunch of activities for him to do then I could listen more intently.  Maybe I got a little to into it?  Instead I was heavily engaged in helping him build a tent and construct King Benjamin's tower, coloring the apostles and playing the "did you hear that word" game.  We had jars of candy labeled with words like spirit, scripture, etc. and every time he heard that word he got a treat!  Wow, it got a bit out of control, I guess I should have been more careful with my word selection. But we even had Jack pretending to listen for candy so that is success in my book!

We had a wonderful conference weekend full of delicious food and all the uplifting messages Conference brings.

Grateful

Sometimes I don't think I express my gratitude as much as I should and this week I am definitely grateful.  I'm grateful for a husband who works hard to support his family and loves them more than life itself.  I'm grateful for two sweet little boys that make my life feel so fulfilled and teach me so much.  And I'm grateful for the opportunity to stay home with them and witness every part of their growing up.  I'm grateful for supportive parents who have always been there for me.  I'm grateful for a church calling that helps keep my life in perspective and gives me the opportunity to serve others.  Once you are in the Relief Society Presidency I think it becomes very hard for you to ever feel sorry for yourself as there is always someone who has a greater need or a more difficult trial.  I'm grateful for answered prayers, even when you wish the Lord's timeline was the same as your own.  It is quite a remarkable thing when your finances are slightly more healthy than they were before a job loss.  I'm grateful for great friends who accept me for who I am and are always sure to step in when they can see I need help or just someone to listen.  I'm grateful to be a member of such an incredible church that gives me so much hope and direction in my life. I'm grateful for a dog to help me feel safe when my husband is out of town.  And right now, I'm especially grateful for Tom's new job that he started this week.  What an incredible blessing this was for our family.  And while I know there are many who are unemployed for much longer than we have been, almost 6 months has felt like an eternity and I'm grateful we survived.