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Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Mommy Moment: Carter's cracking me up!

I have had two funny conversations with Carter today. The first one was when Carter showed me the tail to his teddy bear. I asked Carter if he had a tail and he replied, "No, I have a bum." 

The second was when I got the licorice out after lunch as a treat. I asked if Carter wanted a piece and he said, "No, a big one." He says he wants a big one when he wants the whole thing, so he thought I was only going to break a piece off.

Pumpkin patch

This past weekend my parents came up and we went down to meet up with my brother and his family in Salem to go to the French Prairie Pumpkin Patch. It was a bit cooler than we were anticipating, which ended up keeping the pumpkin patch pretty empty while we were there. We had a great time going through the hay maze, playing in the sand pit, going down the huge slide, feeding the animals, riding the pig train, taking the hay ride, picking out pumpkins, eating delicious pulled pork sandwiches and my favorite, watching the pig races! They had a little race track where they raced two sets of pigs and then ducks. It was hilarious. Carter actually got picked to be a pig leader (aka cheerleader) for the pig with the purple bandanna. It was a riot! We had a great time and fully feel in the fall spirit. 

$70 date night

Bowling for two hours: $30

Pizza and drinks: $10

Nachos: $10

Babysitter: $20

Spending time with my husband and friends: priceless

Our converstion...

Me: Do you like Andi's sweats? (they are fleece ones from the Children's Place)

Jefferson: Not really.

Me: Why not?

Jefferson: Because fleece sweats make me think of low income, ghetto people.

Me: We are low income, ghetto people. 

The beginning of the end...

Monday began the beginning of the end. Jefferson started his 9th quarter at Western States, which means he only has four quarters left. We officially have less than one year left of chiropractic college! This is our last fall here (I am very sad about that one), our last Halloween, last Thanksgiving, last Christmas, last.... you get the point. 

It's kind of bitter-sweet. I am so excited to be out in the "real world" making money instead of being loaned money. I am excited to see where we end up, to go somewhere new, to start a new business, to have a house shortly thereafter. I am also very happy, content, and comfortable with where I am at right now. We know where our money is coming from. While school definitely has it's challenges, we still get two weeks of break every quarter (that's not going to happen in a year), and we have tons of great friends here who are all in the same boat as we are. 

We love Portland and all it has to offer. There are such amazing parks and walking trails around here. Not to mention the plethora of activities and sites for kids, including OMSI, The Children's Museum, and The Oregon Zoo. We have a playgroup set up with an amazing group of friends, there are open gyms at the Portland Community Center, there is Saturday's Market downtown and Farmer's Markets every mile. We LOVE Portland!

I am getting ahead of myself, we still have a year left. But, it is the beginning of the end, and if the last two years went by this quickly, I better not blink if I want to see this last year!

Ca-Chow!

I promised Carter that after naptime he could put on his Lightning McQeen underwear that we bought him a while back. I didn't really know if he would remember, but first thing out of his mouth when I got him up was, "I wear lightning McQueen mama?" I said sure thing. So, I put them on expecting the worst. Carter goes potty twice a day and always goes pee, but he still goes in his diaper all the time too. Anyways, he started to go in his underwear while I was making dinner and he says, "Uh-oh, I pee in Lightning McQueen mama." But he stopped going and I whisked him off to the bathroom where he finished on the potty and then did the same thing later. I was thrilled! The fact that he knew to stop and actually finished on the potty was a big step! We are out and about tomorrow morning, but hopefully we'll progress throughout the week.

Carter has also become the king of stalling at bedtime or naptime. It starts off that he'll just say "I don't want to go to bed" and run away. Then he'll ask if he can sleep on the couch. Next, once we finally get his teeth brushed and prayers said, he'll say he wants a drink, then he will lay down in bed and say "Carry me mama" because Jefferson usually puts him down in bed and it's not good enough for me just to lean over and give Carter a kiss and a hug, I have to pick him up. His final attempt at escaping bedtime first came last night when I heard Carter wailing from his room, "I want bunny!" Bunny? His stuffed animal? I have no idea what he is crying about. So I go in his room and he's saying "funny", "Make a funny face at the door mama." Sometimes when I leave the room I will act like I am closing the door and then swing it open really fast and make a funny face and it makes Carter and Andi laugh. So now I have to make a funny face at the door every night and also warn him that "This is the last time and then I am done." This is ridiculous. 

Carter also loves quoting "Toy Story" and "Cars." Here's a little clip. It's not his best, but you get the gist:

As for Andi, she is finally showing some signs of interest in girly things. She has attached herself to one of my purses and insists on wearing it around the house at all times, even though she has to raise her arm in the air the whole time to keep it on her shoulder. She is also loving cell phones and keys. All she needs is a credit card now and she'll be good to go. 

Her vocabulary is growing slowly. She can say: yeah, please, baby, bear, mama, thank you (da-eeh), and makes animal noises for a duck, cow, cat, lion, and horse. She is a pro at walking and loves "chasing" Carter around, even though he laps her. It's fun to watch those two play together more and more every day. 

My little niece Reece

This past week Andi and I took off, leaving our boys behind, to go down to Utah to "help" my sister, Summer, with her first baby. I have never met someone so prepared for motherhood, nor have I met someone more suited to be a mom. My sister is sickeningly patient (in a very good way), so gentle, soft spoken, and did I mention patient? Reece is one lucky little girl!

We mostly just hung out, fixed meals, went on little walks, and tried to keep Reece awake to eat. Andi loves her new little cousin and walked around saying "baby, baby" all day long. She was a good little helper too. Whatever was left sitting around she would pick up and hand to whoever the item belonged to. If we set it down, she would just pick it up and hand it to us again; binkis, phones, drinks, books... 

We got to see some family while we were down there and meet up with my good friend Jackie (see the post below). My mom was down there the first day, and then at the end of the week my dad came into town, along with my brother and his wife. It was fun to be there and to see my sister finally get to be a mom! Congratulations Josh and Summer! I can't believe I have to wait until Christmas to see you all again. It was way too hard leaving today!

Thank you Jefferson for supporting me and letting us go down there for a whole week of your break! I love you and am so glad that I get to sleep next to you tonight! :)

 

Pumpkins, and hay bales, and witches, oh my!

I was able to meet up with my dear friend Jackie while we were in Utah. We were able to catch up and spend not near enough time together. She is such an amazing person and I love her to death! We went to Gardner's Village and they have it all set up for Halloween. I could have spent all day there. Jackie was kind enough to take some of these cute pictures of Andi.