A Visit With Santa - Nobody Was Eaten

Cole has been telling us for two years that he thought Santa would eat him. This year, they actually did sit on Santa's lap this year and were somehow able to get out the words "Optimus Prime" and "Bumblebee" (the transformer, not the Bee movie - for any of you that don't know our boys). Overall Cole thought it was a successful visit.

Cole Kills the Snowman

Well the magic of the snowfall is gone. The other morning Cole looked out the window and saw that his snowman was melting and the eyes and buttons were falling off. He acted very sad and said that Frosty was his friend. I explained that next time it snowed he could make a new snowman. He asked to go out and see him. I thought it was cute and that he was going to go out and say goodbye or something sweet like that. Well I looked out the window a few minutes later and saw Cole stabbing a garden shovel into Frosty and pulling pieces of him off. He broke the arms off and just kept jabbing his shovel into the snowman. When he came in I asked him what he was doing and he answered (and yes, this is a direct quote) "I severed him so he could have bleeds". Of course, why didn't I realize that?

Winter Wonderland

The boys were so excited to wake up to snow today! I don't think Josh knew what it even was. He stood here by our kitchen window for about ten minutes and didn't even move. He kept saying "Look at that"Cole insisted that everyone hold hands and dance around the snowman like they do in Frosty
No snow day is complete without hot chocolate (Josh's entire cup was spilled about a half second after this picture was taken)
What a fun day!

The Cast is On

Well Josh couldn't get his cast on Friday because the swelling was so bad, but he finally got it this morning. He is VERY proud of his "Lightning McQueen Cast". Thank heaven that they come in colors - it's a great way to make them excited! The best part is that the new casts can actually go in water! I am so relieved! I am glad his cast is finally on. He played so rough and crazy all weekend and he kept hurting it. I am just waiting for him to figure out that it is a weapon....

I also found out he only has to wear it for a month, so he will get it off just before Christmas!

OUCH!

Well we've had the first (and hopefully last, but dare I say that?) broken bone among our kids. Poor little Josh fell down our stairs yesterday, took Cole with him on the way and landed on his arm. He fractured his wrist. He is getting his cast on Friday. For now it's in a splint, and a sling that he is supposed to wear but he S it! It just broke my heart! He is so little and so sad, but he is being really brave about it. Cole is being a good helper and taking care of Josh, he even let him pick out the movie last night, which is saying quite a lot for Cole!

OUCH!

Well we've had the first (and hopefully last, but dare I say that?) broken bone among our kids. Poor little Josh fell down our stairs yesterday, took Cole with him on the way and landed on his arm. He fractured his wrist. He is getting his cast on Friday. For now it's in a splint, and a sling that he is supposed to wear but he HATES it! It just broke my heart! He is so little and so sad, but he is being really brave about it. It is so hard to see your kids suffering!

Here's What's Been On My Camera!

Cole has such a fashion sense. Here's the latest ensamble. Watch out, 50 Cent!Josh with his vampire teeth (I think he wants to be Edward!)
My sharp little man!
Cole and Josh love to make a big bed on the floor and watch movies. This weekend they enjoyed Transformers and Ratatouille. Alaria kept getting right in the middle the whole time, she loved it!
What can I say? Is she adorable or what?

Bowling and Such

Monday night we went bowling and celebrated Josh and Tyler (his friend)'s second birthdays! We had a great time and I was only a little discouraged that all four kids beat my score!
Josh and Cole in their matching Spiderman jammies


This is Alaria's favorite new thing...whenever she takes a bite she just clamps down on the spoon and won't let go. She thinks she is pretty funny. It is pretty adorable though!


I'll post Halloween pictures soon. I temporarily lost my camera but my neighbor took some pictures for us.

Laura Tagged Me.....

Here's the rules:
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog, for these rules.

1. If you get me laughing hard enough, I snort when I laugh.

2. I am a HUGE fan of horror movies and am loving the Halloween season - we have watched a scary movie almost every night.

3. I grew up on heavy metal/hard rock. I have enjoyed several concerts, including Metallica (three times), Def Leppard, Queensryche, Poison, Ratt, KISS, Warrant, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, Styx. For my birthday a few years ago, I went to a Metallica concert with my brother (yes, Kris was kind enough to stay home with Cole and let me go). Kris' little brother even made me a "Momtallica" t-shirt.

4. Growing up I was a clogger. I loved it, but for some reason my husband thinks it's pretty funny.

5. A random fact - I am VERY picky about my drinking water, but suprisingly don't care much for bottled water. Here are the rules. It has to be COLD water with a lot of ice, and if it came out of a bathroom tap don't even think about me drinking it! It grosses me out so much. The sad thing is that I give my kids drinks from the bathroom sinks at night, but there is no way I would do it.

6. I love playing Guitar Hero II on XBOX 360

Well - there you have it, nothing too exciting, but maybe something new to learn about me!

I am tagging Mikelle, Jennifer, Jethroblincoln (any of you can participate), Colleen, Sarah, and The Brownes.

A Birthday Boy, A Racecar Room, and a Winning Walrus

Happy Birthday Joshua!!! I can't believe he is already 2 years old!

Had to put a sweet baby picture on to reminice a little...

Today for his birthday, Josh got a new racecar bed! He is super excited. He also has a cars toybox (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Gamber) and a cars table and chairs set...and of course the Cars bedding. You'll notice he's in his Cars pajamas....any guesses at what this kid's obsession is???

Last night we had our ward Halloween Party and Trunk or Treat. We are proud to annouce that Alaria, the sweet little Walrus that she is, won 1st place for Best Costume!

We know how adorable she is, but it's always nice to hear that other people think so as well :)

Pumpkinland

Today we went on a field trip to Pumpkinland with Cole's preschool group.

The boys with Kaelynn (who, according to Cole, is the future Mrs. Cole Gillespie) and Josh's best buddy, Tyler.

Today's Thoughts

Well Josh is turning 2 in about a week. I think we are going to move him out of his crib. He has slept SO good in and I was planning to leave him there til he was ten, but lately he has been jumping...and trying to jump OUT of the crib. Last night he cried and cried to sleep in "Coley's bed". We have a toddler racecar bed downstairs that has been waiting for him, so I think it's time it comes up. I just bought Cars bedding for him today. I feel like this is the end of the Baby Stage and is the begining of his Big Boy Stage. He is growing up SO fast. He repeats everything I say to him, but turns it into a question. It is so funny!

Cole is huge these days and he knows it! He corrects me on everything I do all day from driving and cooking to what I am wearing and everything in between! Every day he tells me what he wants to be when he grows up. This week it has changed from a doctor to a dollar store employee to a policeman. He is very excited about Halloween and keeps telling me scary stories. His last one was (and I swear these are his words) "It was a night like tonight. I was only two years old. I was upstairs, but even from there I could hear my pirate master downstairs. He was dying and they were him". I stopped him and asked where he had heard that and he said "Mom, I am telling you what happened when I was two!" He is so funny and is turning into a good helper!

Alaria is crawling all over the place now! She loves to crawl to her brothers and "attack" them. She is such a happy baby. Her favorite thing to do is eat - she is taking right after her big brothers!

Well I guess I should go do something productive now! At least it's Thurday and I have The Office to look forward tonight!

Pumpkins

Last week we painted pumpkins. Cole was so excited and got WAY into it. Josh enjoyed getting a LOT of paint on his brush and ended up painting half of our kitchen table, his legs, forehead, arms, etc.
You know Josh had something in the works with this little expression!

Cole named all of the pumpkins. Josh's pumpkin is "Rainbow", Cole's is "Bat-Scarecrow" and Alaria's is "Princess". Isn't she quite the little artist already!

It was amazing the detail that Cole put into his. He seriously worked so hard and careful to make each stroke exactly what he wanted.

Loco Boys!

The other day Cole was supposed to wear something purple to preschool. Well he was mad because he only wanted to wear blue. Kris told him if he wore this shirt with purple, then he could come and put ANYTHING on, as long as it wasn't his underwear on his head. Sure enough, a few minutes later, here comes Cole in his shirt with purple and his underwear on his head! He is crazy!!

You know those days when you let your kids get away with anything they want so you can actually get something done? Stand on the table eating treats wearing three full outfits at the same time? SureJosh, whatever you want.

The Doctor's Office

Well I've been proud that I hadn't had to take my children to the doctor lately, and now I've had all three of them in this week! ARGH! Cole had his four year check up and is doing great, he is very tall for his age. Alaria had her 6 month check up and is also a big girl! She is still in the 90 percentile for her height and she is almost 17 lbs. already! She is a little chunk! She also had an ear infection, so between that and her shots, she has had a hard week! I took Josh in yesterday because I thought he had strep throat. After waiting in the waiting room for 50 minutes (thank heavens they have a bowl of dum-dum suckers) I thought he was going to lose it. He scrame the entire time the doctor checked him, and we found out he has a sinus infection. Poor kid! Anyway, there's my venting session for the day! I will try and get some new pictures up soon.

Freedom!

My new view out the kitchen window...a fenced yard! I am so happy!!! My boys are LOVING the freedom of going out whenever they want and running some energy off! Kris got the last gate up last night. It's only been a day, but I can already say I don't know how we lived without it!

Better Late Than Never...

Well I am finally posting pictures from Cole's birthday party, just about a week late. Cole wanted to do a superhero birthday party, but because the majority of his friends are girls, we had a superhero/princess party! Cole had a great time!

You can't even buy a cookie this good! I think we went through 3 bottles of sprinkles!!

Happy Birthday!!!

I am having such a hard time believing that my sweet, baby boy is already 4 years old!!! What a joy he has been to us and has brought so much happiness into our home. Cole has such a happy, free little spirit. He is so smart, so mischevious, so active and has truly become a little buddy to us. We love him so much.

Happy Birthday Cole!

Kris Speaks for the First Time

As much as I would love to say that this blog exists because of me, all of the credit really goes to Michelle. I don't know why I haven't ever posted anything but I guess I just never had anything I felt I needed to share with the worldwide inter-web community. That is until now. I was looking for some reference material for a work project when I came across this gem of an image. I don't know exactly what it is about this picture that I love so much? Initially, I wanted to say it was the shocked and strangely hungry expression on the kid's face that drew me in. Then I thought, "no, it must be the absence of any sort of neck?" But then I focused in on the bird and became so perplexed by it. How can it sit there perched so calmly atop the head of troll so clearly possessed by an evil we can only pray he...she...it to took to its grave long ago. I can't go any further into my thoughts on this image because I am afraid I will have more bad dreams. So enjoy this post because it will probably be the last one Michelle lets me add to our blog.
Your friend,
Kris
Oh! I should also mention that I may have swollowed part of a plastic fork today. I will keep you posted on any developments.

More From Cole...

OK, I know you are all thinking that I should just rename our blog "Cole Stories" but I have to share two more from today! This kid is just too funny! So today I made zuchini bread (first time ever) and when it was done, I told Cole to come and try it. So I cut him a piece and he takes a big bite and says "That is really good mom, did you put ants in it?" I told him there weren't any ants in it and he said "Well then what animal is in it?"
Then, for dinner, I made shredded pork tacos. Cole said the pork reminded him of the place we go that he gets quesadillas (Cafe Rio). He said that he pretends to work there and he is the worker with the brown shoes that lets people borrow his shoes.
And of course I had to attach these cut photos of the kids all ready for church today. I know I have already posted pictures of Alaria in this cute dress, but I can't get enough of it! (Thanks again, Aunt Kim!) Cole now refers to it as her "Prom Dress".

Deep Thoughts

Today, right in the middle of lunch, Cole turns and says to me "Mom, we better make cookies to leave for Santa this year, because I don't want him to EAT me!"

Pet for a Week

This week we are "cat-sitting" for Spencer and Angie! She is such a sweet cat and I am afraid I'm going to have a hard time letting them take her back home! I haven't had a cat since I moved away from home - 9 years ago and I forgot how much I love having one around. The kids are in heaven, they absolutely love her! I've always said that I would not have a pet with 3 kids under the age of 3, but I am definitely reconsidering...it's making Kris a little nervous!

Happy Babies are the Best!

The camera loves this little !

You've Got To Try This!

OK...here's my newest idea to try. I just made Rice Krispy treats, but I used the new Choco'Nilla Rice Krispies....they are SO good! (I thought they would be a mix of cocoa krispies and the regular ones, but they aren't - they are so much better!) You need to try these!

Park City

We spent yesterday in Park City with Kris' family. The boys loved swimming!

Aparently we spent a little too much time for Cole shopping at the outlets. I was so glad I had my camera with me when I looked over and saw that he had bagged himself! Does he take after his dad or what? He was so excited because he "got caught in a net". He is constantly ing

us up these days. Friday he had a cell phone and told me that he was calling his friend "Spider Web" to come over, but it was going to take awhile because he was coming all the way from the Crystal Pyramids in his car and had to go through 100 stop signs. Oh the places his imagination goes!