Holi-daze

So it's been a while since I've had a chance to update the 'ol blog. Downloading and looking through all the pictures on my camera, I realized it's been two very full months. So following is a quick run-down of the holidays and other momentous occasions our family has enjoyed.

 Sarah's Birthday
We held Sarah's 2nd birthday party at the park close to our house. Lots of friends came to celebrate with us, but this little girl had eyes for only one "person" . . . 

 her "Thomas Cake."  She insisted on a Thomas-the-Tank-Engine cake for her birthday, and I had a lot of fun making it. Sadly, the day was warm enough that the frosting melted really fast, but it was cute while it lasted.

Sarah Compton and Sarah Turner: could have been twins?  A friend from BYU moved into our ward about a year ago and, oddly enough, has a daughter named Sarah.  Their birthdays are just a week apart and they even look similar: same height, same fair skin, same blue eyes, same strawberry-blond hair, etc.

Halloween

Of course, we made our annual Jack-o-lantern. This year, for some reason, Jack succumbed to black mold rather quickly and within a week turned into a black, mushy, grotesque mess.  Fitting for the holiday, perhaps, but still really disgusting. He didn't even make it to Halloween; we had to toss him early.

 For trick-or-treating, Sadie was a blue dragonfly. Michael wanted to be a fireman again, but in all the craziness of packing for our move, I couldn't find his costume. So, we whipped up a super-fast robot costume out of a yet-empty box, aluminum foil,  packing tape, and glow-bracelets.

 The Move
Sorry, no pictures of the action. It all happened so fast, I totally forgot to take pictures. With the help of my parents, brother, sister, and a neighbor who owns a moving company we got almost everything moved in one evening. Then, it was just a matter of unpacking, putting away, and cleaning. 

In all the commotion, Adelaide learned to find comfort in sucking her thumb.  Both Matt and I were thumb-suckers, so it had to happen to at least one of our children.  As soon as she started sucking her thumb, she started sleeping through the night. Hooray!

Michael is such a good boy. He is always eager to help with anything and everything. His favorite compliment is to be told that he is a "good worker."  The week we moved in, I bustling around trying to put things away. I had unloaded the dishwasher but hadn't had time to do the dishes. Suddenly, there was Michael in the kitchen doing the dishes for me. I was amazed.  Considering he is only 3 1/2, he did a really good job too!

Solid Food
Adelaide is now almost 5 months old, and I started her on baby food this month. This is a picture of her first experience; she sloppily, but happily, gobbled it down. She now eagerly anticipates her "solid" meal each day.

Matt, Esq.
Here is Matt getting sworn and becoming an official, fully fledged lawyer.

Matt's 33rd Birthday
Mmmmmm . . . Birthday ice cream.

Thanksgiving
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my everyone in both of our families. We spend several days with my folks. The whole family was there.  My mom put me in charge of keeping all the kids occupied, so I planned lots of different activities.  Here we are making Thanksgiving posters.

Here we are on a fossil hunt.


"Turkey Olympics" included funny face contests, relays,

 a ball fight,

and, everyone's favorite, a pie eating contest.

Hyrum was the victor and Kylie came in a close second. Cole made a good showing and certainly came out the messiest, thanks to Uncle Stephan.

 
 I think the kids' favorite thing to do was feed the animals.

Nana and Popie had lots of baby ducks and chickens to pet and cuddle.

 Aunt Alison has adopted one of the chickens and taught it to sit on her arm.

We also spent several day with Matt's family and enjoyed another Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Lamm's house. (Sorry, I forgot my camera.) It was lovely to see everyone there.

Sadie got a few belated birthday presents, including this cute tutu. She loves everything pink, so it was a big hit.

Other Events of Note
One of Sadie's birthday presents was a "little pink  potty."  We're taking a very relaxed approach to potty training this time around.--She can use it when she wants . . .and when I have time to supervise . . . so it's not very often.  But here she is sooo proud after a big "success."

We've been having lots of fun fixing up the house. My parents gave us an old desk and shelf that needed repainting. I finally gave up waiting for some time without the kids around, so I got everything out, took a deep breath, and said they could help.  We had lots of fun and they didn't get nearly as messy as I thought they would. . . . The paint job isn't perfect, but there are more important things.

Last weekend, Matt bought our very first lawn mower. The whole family, minus Adelaide, got to help push the mower.

 The kids couldn't wait to decorate for Christmas, so everything is out and up.

I grew up in the country and we never bothered with Christmas lights. All my adult life, I've lived in apartments. So this was the first year I got to put up Christmas lights on the house.  It was actually really easy because the original owners, long ago, screwed in little hooks all around the eves. I thought it was brilliant.