Thanksgiving

We had a full house for Thanksgiving. Mckay's parents came to visit us, along with some of his siblings and their kids. we had 7 adults and 8 kids (ages 10 to 1 month old) in the house. It was close quarters at times but we had a lot of fun.

The boys played "hockey" in the entryway.

Mckay made a hockey stick from cardboard for the kids to use.

Dallin loved having lots of cousins around to play with.

I'm not sure how they figured this one out.

Dallin and Porter were pretty inseparable the whole time.

I loved hearing them grunt and jabber to each other as they walked around the house getting into things. They're only 2 weeks apart in age and despite each having unique difficulties and challenges of their own, they've managed to stay pretty close in size and developmental ability.

The older boys were really helpful with taking care of Connor.

They held him a lot for me while I cooked.

We made most of the traditional Thanksgiving fixings. I made the same brined turkey from last year and it was just as delicious and moist. There were three kinds of pie: pumpkin, pecan and apple with a streusel crumble on top. when I made the apple pie, there were quite a few sugared/spiced apple slices that wouldn't fit in the pie crust. So I put the bowl of leftovers by Dallin and he ate all of them!

And made a very sticky mess in the process.

We're not really big on black Friday shopping, but Mckay's brother had some deals scouted out that he wanted to shop for. Five of us went to Walmart so that we could divide and conquer to get everything on the list. I took Connor along, but kept him close in the wrap so he would stay safe in the chaos. Even though it was really crowded, it was kinda fun running around grabbing everything, and we didn't have to wait outside in the cold. Here we our with our cart.

None of the stuff in this cart was ours, it was all for Mckay's brother. We did buy a memory foam bath mat though for $6.97. I know, we're pretty daring.

While family was still visiting, we went to a place called Jump It. It's this fun place for kids that's full of inflatable bouncy houses, slides, etc.

Dallin loved it.

He really liked this little slide he could go down by himself.

I love the "moonwalk" crawl he does at the end! I laugh every time I watch it.

Connor didn't really do much at Jump It.

But he stayed warm and cozy while he napped.

Felt Crayon Roll

Dallin has a friend who is having a birthday party this week. I thought it'd be fun to make a little present for him, so I made a Crayon Roll out of felt. I used this tutorial and this tutorial from Skip to My Lou, and took the info from both to make one that worked for me and the supplies I had on hand.

Presenting the Felt Crayon Roll!

Now, I'm not very good with sewing, and my sewing machine with funky, weird stitching doesn't help things, but this was a very easy project for me. I finished it in 2 hours; one hour I had a baby strapped to me, and the other I had a toddler sitting next to me getting into everything. So it's very doable.

I used felt I had leftover from making felt food. They are basic 9x12 felt sheets that you can get at the craft store for 25 cents. If you want a crayon roll like mine, you'll need two 5x12 pieces and one 6x12 piece.

Next, fold the 6x12 piece in half lengthwise and lay on top of a 5x12 piece.

Mark on the felt where you'll be sewing lines for the pockets. Starting on one side, measure in about 1 1/2 inches. The next marks will each be 1 inch apart until you get to the end. The last pocket should also be about 1 1/2 inches, which should give you enough room for a crayon and a some extra space for stitching the edge.

Sew lines down the felt to create your pockets. Make sure you back stitch really well to give the pockets durability. They'll get pulled on a lot with little hands putting crayons in and out of them.

Then line up the other 5x12 felt piece on the back and sew the edges together, leaving a 1/4" edge.

(Wow, these colors are really off. Just wait, the last shots show a more accurate felt color.)

Before you sew it all the way up, take a good size (20+ inches) ribbon, fold in half, and put the folded edge in between the 5x12 felt pieces. Make sure the ribbon goes in far enough for the sewing machine to secure it as you stitch the rest of the way.

And there you have it! Insert crayons and you're good to go.

This is perfect for when you're out and you need something occupy a kid. You might also want a small pad of paper.
This makes a great birthday gift, stocking stuffer, Christmas present, etc.

And seriously, it was so fast to make. When Mckay came home that day and I showed him the crayon roll I made, he said, "Wait, you made that...? Today...? And you already cleaned up and put the sewing machine away....?" I think he's used to projects that take me forever while the sewing machine sits out for days and scraps of fabric and thread are strewn about the house....

Marble Track revisited

Apparently marbles aren't the only thing that will go down a marble track.

Square and triangle shaped blocks do too!

Comparisions

We went mini-golfing this weekend with some school friends, and we brought both the boys with us. It was a rather chilly night, so we wanted to dress Dallin is something warm. We remembered this snow suit we have.

Dallin was almost a year old in this picture. He's pretty much drowning in the huge suit.

Over a year and a half later, it finally fits him!

We got a small golf club for him and a ball. He had a blast running around the course and trying to get out of sand traps.

On Sunday I dressed Connor is this cute whale outfit that used to be Dallin's.

First, a look at Dallin wearing it:

And now here's Connor:

Connor is two weeks older in his picture than Dallin is in his, but I think they look pretty similar.

And lastly, the boys taking a Sunday nap together.

Well, next to each other.

Friday

Both of the boys are napping.

I made a delicious grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.

(avocado, tomato, swiss and provolone cheese on sourdough bread)

Life is good.

Now that we have another child to devote attention to, we don't always see what Dallin is doing until it's too late.

For some reason, he thought we would rather have all the toilet paper off the roll.

I love that he got up to sit on the toilet before doing it.

Dallin likes to "help" unload the dishwasher.

I'm not big on his method of unloading them on the floor.

But I think it's pretty cute that he sorted the plates one by one into their proper piles.

And I think this guy is pretty cute too.

Life with 2

It's amazing to me that after just 2 short weeks, I can already see so many differences between "newborn Connor" and "newborn Dallin." Connor is very relaxed. He will often lay content all by himself, just starring off into space for a long time (20 minutes... that's a long time for a newborn to be awake and content!). He certainly loves to be held, but I like that he can be happy on his own at times.

Connor loves riding in the car seat.

I guess most babies do, but Dallin didn't. He would cry and cry. I have so many memories of trips around town to run errands with Dallin screaming in the backseat, and me telling him (or maybe I was more telling myself): "We're almost there. We're almost home."

Connor will fall asleep laying down by himself and stay asleep that way. Dallin always wanted to be held while sleeping and would often wake up within 5 minutes if you tried to put him down. I'm not trying to say that Dallin was a difficult baby. He didn't cry for hours on end and he did sleep well (again, if he was being held). I suppose this comparison is more to illustrate how each baby can be so different. And that even at such a young age, their personalities can show through. Dallin clearly thrives being around other people and he needs that closeness and contact with others.

Connor enjoys "tummy time."

I've never heard of a baby liking tummy time, so this time Connor is the odd one.

Dallin is always hopping into pictures, reminding us that he's still here. I'm sure we'll have many pictures like this over the next few years.

Here's Connor all dressed up and ready for church.

Connor's first bath.

He was okay with it at first.

But then he got cold and mad.

Dallin is definitely growing up a lot. He has figured out how to climb up on things. His favorite is the kitchen table.

I'm not even sure what he expects to do when he gets up there, since it's cleared off most of the time.

He is attempting to say a lot of words and he's always learning more sign language. He has started "inventing" signs when he wants something and doesn't know the sign for it. He'll make some gang sign with his hand, mumble some jibberish and expect you to know what he wants. At least he's made the connection that signs equal communication!

My mom was here for 2 1/2 wonderful weeks helping us with the kids.

Dallin loved having her here and he's gotten used to snuggling with her in the mornings. He was very sad to see her go today. I was too because now I'm on my own during the day.

I managed lunchtime alright though, thanks to the wrap.

Having a water birth AND wearing my baby in a moby wrap: I have all kinds of hippie street cred now.

Trick or Treat!

Our Halloween was really fun this year. It makes a big difference when your child is actually old enough to walk around and get candy. We went to a Trunk or Treat at church a few days before Halloween.

Dallin went as a dinosaur.

Connor's costume was "frightfully cute."

He stayed snuggled up in a sling while we trunk-or-treated.

Dallin was really excited to have a bucket to put things in.

He had a lot of fun putting rocks in there.

All lined up ready for candy!

He caught on to it pretty quickly. After the first few cars when he realized that people were giving him things to keep in his bucket, he got really excited!

He had no idea that it was candy (or even knew what candy was). They could have been giving him more rocks and he would have been just as happy. He was very polite and signed "Thank you" to everyone. He even tried to say it verbally a few times.

On Halloween Day, Connor was sporting this festive shirt:

Dallin had to jump in the picture.

Because any time the camera is out we must be taking a picture of him!

Mckay and I took Dallin around the neighborhood.

I think Dallin's favorite part about that was meeting about 40 new people and trying to walk into their houses.

And adding to his candy stash, of course.

He likes to dump his bucket on his lap and play in his candy pile, much like a child would play in a pile of leaves. Someday we'll get around to eating it.