November

 I am trying really hard to get caught up by the end of the year so here I go - all of November in one post. 

In the middle of the month Alan's friend Justiz asked Reed if he would baptize him.  It was a good experience for all involved:

 

Lately Brooklyn has an obsession with putting on clothes.  She loves to bring me piles of clothes and wants me to put them all on her.  Sometimes the clothes are Brooklyn's and sometimes they aren't. 

Here she is trying to put on 4 or 5 pairs of Micah's underwear:

 She would finally get them all on then she would stand up and they would all fall down around her ankles:

Brooklyn woke up from her nap and was very snuggly one afternoon:

 Happy girl:

 For Thanksgiving we stayed home.  We invited some friends (the Campbells) over for dinner and had a big feast and then we played some games.  Everything was delicious.  That night Reed and Steph came to do some black Friday shopping.  They helped us take the kids to get their Christmas presents for each other.  It works so much better when there is 1 adult per child.  We got some of our Christmas shopping done too.  Then we packed up and headed north to visit Grandma and Grandpa Pitcher.  We played games that night and their house with Reed and Steph.  The next day we went to the temple and then had lunch with our ward youth and then we did a little more Christmas shopping.  We got back in time to help put up the outdoor Christmas lights.  The next day we went to church and then headed home.  It was a fun, quick trip!

Micah LOVES these little guys.  He knows each of them and if one is missing he will tell you about it. 

 Getting ready to fire the cannon at the guys:

And there is the month of November in a nutshell. 

Halloween 2013

 We carved our jack-o-lanterns a couple of days before Halloween.  As usual our kids were not impressed with the pumpkin insides but they enjoyed making a face on the pumpkin. 

Conner was the only boy brave enough to stick his hand in:

"ewww"

 Micah used a spoon for a bit and then I just scooped his out for him:

 Alan tried using an ice cream scoop but the handle wasn't long enough for him because his hand would still brush against the sides:

 This was Brooklyn's first experience with carving a pumpkin.  She would just look at the inside with a disgusted look on her face.  Reed made her put her hand in the pumpkin and she immediately pulled it out and wiped her hand on her shirt:

 This year we were a family of ninjas.  Conner was the red ninja:

Alan the black ninja:

 Micah the blue ninja:

 and Brooklyn the Samurai:

 The kids have been watching Ninjago (lego ninja tv series).  We were going to have Reed be Sensei Wu but we couldn't find a good costume for him.

Alan, Justiz (Alan's friend who came trick or treating with us), Conner and Micah

 Hi-ya!!!

I took the kids to the stores downtown and we trick or treated for a little while.  Then we went to our ward trunk or treat.  After that the kids had plenty of candy so we headed home to sort it out and go to bed.

October (minus Halloween) in pictures

In October we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bassett and see James get baptized.  We decided to stay in a hotel and the kids were thrilled.  We got one with a pool and a continental breakfast - our two favorite things about hotels!

Reed trying to get Brooklyn to jump in:

 Reed helping her in:

 All of the pictures that we take with Reed's phone come out blurry - so frustrating!  Anyway, cute picture of Brooklyn:

 Micah was happy to just sit on the steps and play:

 Conner warming up in the hot tub:

 Alan and Conner playing in the hot tub:

Then we went out to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We helped winterize the chicken coop.  Brooklyn was kind of nervous around the chickens but she was also very curious.

Brooklyn peeking into the chicken coop:

Micah helping dad close some of the gaps in the siding:



Later in October we made cookies to deliver to families.  Everyone was excited to help.

Micah is trying to sneak chocolate chips and he just got caught by Dad:

Our annual leaf raking - I wish I had thought to take a picture of all the trees with their beautiful leaves:

We raked a big pile and then had fun jumping in it:

After we made a big pile I covered the 3 boys up with leaves and we waited for Dad to come home.  When he got there the boys burst out of the pile of leaves - it was pretty fun to plan the surprise.

Fun at the park

It seems odd to be writing about gorgeous fall days when it is -24 degrees F outside with 5 inches of snow on the ground.  I guess that is another reason I should get caught up.  In the middle of September we decided to go for a picnic dinner at a local park to enjoy some very nice weather.

Brooklyn enjoying some pizza and a juice box:

Making a train on the slide: Brooklyn, Reed, Alan, Conner and Micah as the caboose

Micah would fly down the slide - he looks a little concerned about his speed:

Brooklyn LOVES slides:

We love this big slide:

Then we had fun jumping from one tire to another and running between them:

I miss these warm days!

All about Micah

 Okay, here are some random facts about our newest 3 year old: 
- He loves "hotmeal" (oatmeal).  He asks for it every morning, even when we are having cold cereal or pancakes.  He also asks for it as a snack and today he wanted it for dinner. 

- He doesn't like to wear shoes.  More than once I have been rushing everyone out to the car and got everyone strapped in and then I realize that Micah is not wearing any shoes.  In fact, he trick or treated down town without wearing shoes.  I had finally got everyone in their costumes, and everyone had a bucket or bag and I remembered the stroller for Brooklyn and we had an extra friend with us so I was feeling pretty good that I got everyone there in time to do a little trick or treating.  We drove there and went to Reed's work first.  We walked in and I suddenly noticed that Micah was not wearing shoes!  Ahhh!!!  If we had turned around and went home we would have missed the trick or treating so he went shoeless.  I carried him over any wet places and he never complained that his feet were cold.  At least his socks matched his outfit. 

- He has turned into quite the conversationalist.  He loves to ask "Why?"

- He loves ninjas.  He likes to pretend to be a ninja and he will yell "Ninjago!" and pretend to spin around because he and his brothers like to watch Ninjago.  There was a short phase where he would clean up really good if I asked him to ninja-clean. 

- He loves his toy "guys".  Lego guys, imaginext guys, army guys, he likes any kind of action figure guy but his favorite are the little knights at my parents house.

- Speaking of grandmas and grandpas, this little guy LOVES to visit his grandparents or have them come visit him.  He gets so excited when we tell him about an upcoming visit.

- Bedtime is getting better.  It used to be so hard to put him to bed.  He would talk and kick the walls and try to get out of his room for an hour or more each night.  Now he usually goes to bed without too much of a fight.  Oddly enough, he has always been a good napper and he still is.  He will usually fall asleep for a nap by 11:30 or 12:00, so we eat lunch early.  Many days he will bring me his blanket and I will ask if he is really to lay down on his bed and he will just smile and nod. 

This is a fairly common sight - falling asleep while eating lunch:

- A weird fact - Micah likes to chew his bread products and then he presses it against the roof of his mouth and stores it there....for a long time.  It is pretty gross.  I have to be careful to make him spit it out before he falls asleep for his nap.

- About a month before his birthday we were in Walmart and I saw a baby doll so I thought I would get it for Brooklyn.  Well, Micah saw it and instantly claimed it as his.  He has enjoyed having a baby to play with.

Micah and Brooklyn with their babies:

- Micah likes to play outside, especially in the dirt or sand:

- Micah is a terrible mess-maker.  At the beginning of September we had ice cream sundaes for family home evening treat.  I left the chocolate sauce and sprinkles on the table as we got the kids ready for bed.  Reed was putting Alan and Conner to bed and I was getting Brooklyn ready for bed and Micah was just playing quietly on the floor (he has a slightly later bed time because he still takes afternoon naps).  After I put Brooklyn to bed I came down stairs and found Micah pouring chocolate sauce all over the carpet.  He had covered a patch about 1 1/2 feet wide and 8 feet long, going from our computer desk all the way under our dining room table.  I was so mad!  I tried to have him help me clean it up but he just made a bigger mess and I was too angry to be patient.  So Reed put him to bed and I cleaned up.  It took forever and as I cleaned I realized that he had poured pink and orange sprinkles on top of the chocolate sauce.  So our carpet has some slight stains of brown, pink and orange patches. 

Another mess - this time he accidentally dropped the box of legos down the stairs.  There were hundreds of legos spread across most of the stairs and scattered across the entry way.  He helped me clean this mess up and it took a long time:

- he likes to help his dad

Micah watching while Reed works on the chicken coop:

 

- Micah likes to pretend to vacuum with his popper whenever he sees me vacuum:

We sure love this little boy and are glad he is in our family!