Warning: Cute Picture Overload Ahead!

[PICTURE ALERT] There will be a lot of them.

At the park the last really warm day

Well, Happy November everybody! As you can probably guess, my life has been a crazy mess of crazy busy mess. For one thing, I am now the primary chorister. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (Those are happy exclamation points.) See, when I was 15 (?) and I got my patriarchal blessing (which if you don't know what that is, here's an explanation), it said I would have many callings throughout my life with music and with children, because that's what I'm good at. As we left the patriarch's house, my mom looked back at me and said, "So you're going to have the same life as me, you're saying?"

Pretty much. My mom has more experience being in primary than I have of being alive. She's been chorister, like, a dozen times or something. And I've been in primary a few times, including teaching classes and being the pianist. So when Brother House asked me to be the primary chorister, I said, "Shoot, that'll be a piece of cake." Because I've got this totally awesome resource/help line called my mom.

Rockin' out!

Also, I almost cried I was so relieved he wasn't calling me to the nursery to be with my boys. That would just have been cruel. But they do that to the dads sometimes, which I feel is slightly less cruel.

But it does keep me busy. And between that and preschool, Halloween, a bunch of different germs we’ve gotten, and all the other random stuff that manages to fill my life, I’ve been running around like a crazy mad woman the last couple of weeks. I’m not proud of it. But it has been happening.

Well, I got one of my preschool days done yesterday (we teach twice a week, but there’s no school for the big kids today, so we moved preschool so the families with big kids could all do something fun together). And I’m now the coolest mom ever, because we talked about . . . DINOSAURS! And let’s face it, what’s cooler than digging in the dirt, even if you don’t find any dinosaurs?

At the Preschool Halloween Party last week

Also, I just love all of Katie’s little preschool friends, this year and last year. Maybe it’s because they’re not my kids (and all kids behave better for other people than for their own parents), but I think they’re all adorable.

And now, what you’ve actually been waiting for: Halloween!!! (Please note that now that I have an Instagram account, I post all the really cute ones there. So there will most definitely be repeats. But you’re not offended, because my kids are the absolutely cutest things in the universe.)

Almost immediately after my last blog post, we carved the pumpkins we picked from the pumpkin farm. Katie and Mike were the primary participants in this (meaning they cleaned out the pumpkins and decided which side was best and were in charge of making the decisions). Katie had a BLAST. They pretended they were doing pumpkin surgery . . . which is a really gross analogy if you think about it too hard. Yeah, we'll just leave that one alone.

But then Katie was also in charge of what to carve on her pumpkin. We got two big 'ole pumpkins to carve, and Mike and Katie decided to carve one and leave the other for me. Katie was adamant that hers be a scary smiley face, like the pumpkin Curious George carves in the Curious George Halloween special. (Can you tell what we've seen a lot of this last month?) (Although, to be fair, the Curious George Halloween special was a lot cuter than other holiday specials that I have seen. And not too dumb.)

With their scary smiley face

I'm quite proud.

Naturally, they expected me to do something cool. I saw some really cute ideas, including one that I tried . . . that didn't work. But then I ended up doing a really cool one. Unfortunately, after we bleached the pumpkins, mine dried out and Cinderella's head shriveled down, so for the last week and a half we've had a pumpkin with a headless Cinderella in it. Alas.

A  big truck went by.

Then there was the ward trunk or treat. It was the week before Halloween, and it was so much fun! For the actual trunk-or-treating, Mike stayed at the car and handed out candy, and I took the kids around the circle of cars. I had one hand on each boy, and Katie was the leader. They LOVED it. Except that they didn’t get the hang of the whole receiving candy thing until the end, when they decided to trick-or-treat from Daddy’s bucket several times over. And actually, I was surprised at how few Elsas there were. I thought half the primary girls were all going to be Elsa, but I think there were only two or three. There were some pretty amazing costumes, though.

We tried to streak my hair like Anna . . .

After that we all went inside for dinner and games and such. Katie is the master of primary games (bean bag toss, bowling, etc.) and might be a little too assertive for her own good. But she had fun. And Olaf and Sven got to roam the church being cute at everyone while we walked around socializing. Man, my boys are cute.

That Sunday was not only my first day being the primary chorister, but also the first day we left the boys alone in nursery (they technically were allowed to the week before, but Peter had a hard time so Mike stayed with him). But that week we decided to just leave him and let him learn how to deal with other people. He’s a bit clingy. And it was the BEST day of church we have had in MONTHS.

Some brave YW did a snowflake for her

I don’t know if you grandparent types remember, but going to church with sub-18-monthers is the worst. And if you have two sub-18-monthers, the thought of going to church elicits more groans and headaches and fake flu symptoms than thoughts of spiritual growth. Mike and I have been . . . not too enthusiastic about church for the last . . . oh, 18 months. But now, oh boy.

When I left primary and met Mike over by the nursery room (where we picked up THREE children. Yes, we have THREE children in nursery right now), he was almost giggling he was so excited. “Brittany, guess what I just did. I went to Sunday School AND Priesthood, and I got to hear the lessons!” That’s a really big deal for us. The best part? Peter didn’t actually cry the whole time. Even if he cried for longer than is probably awesome, the leaders acted like he was totally fine (which is how it’s supposed to be, am I right?). Awesome. So church is once again a spiritually enlightening experience, even if it’s still a little tiring for me.

Last week we did a lot of things, most of which I can’t remember. I’m probably on the top ten list of sleep-deprived people in the world. But Mike had multiple tests, and I definitely did things. I know for sure they involved freezing our buns off, because it decided to have a teaser-trailer for this great new thing called WINTER. Yeah, it was cold. When it wasn't freezing, we were crunching leaves. We don't really have a yard, but we have a couple of trees right over our driveway that have been more than generous.

Then, Friday was Halloween. And I actually got pictures of all of our costumes. You know you can't handle the awesome and cute.

It snowed on Friday. And I bet I can guess what who caused it.

We were recreating the scene when Anna gets turned into ice and Elsa cries on her.

All night long he was just saying, "Hat? Hat?" He didn't want to take it off.

Josh loved his Sven costume, too, but it still took bribery to get this picture. He's waiting for me to open his candy.

We decided he was Kristoff from Once Upon a Time, where he's had a haircut.

The headless snow queen modelling my Anna cape.

Aren't we adorable?!?!?! I loved the boys' costumes. I made my costume and Mike's, but my mom got to make the kids' costumes. I only had to take Katie's dress in a bit and then add some velcro and such. So, naturally, about a billion people almost died with how cute my babies were, and everyone asked if I made them. And I didn't. Geez, mom. Steal my thunder.

But we had tons of fun. The boys had really figured out the whole trick-or-treating thing by the time it was actually Halloween, so they got quite the haul. Not as good as Katie's, though. That girl got CANDY.

And it was actually awesome that we decided to do Frozen for Halloween this year, because it was wicked cold, and all of our characters were supposed to be dressed for a snow storm anyhow. Oh, except for Elsa, with whom I got into a very loud argument about whether she needed to wear tights and a coat to go trick-or-treating, because YES. The COLD DOES BOTHER HER ANYWAY, whether she thinks so or not. Little sassy-pants.

She was all happy because I let her wear some sparkly eye shadow.

We didn't end up staying out very late, because my children are not very old, and are not quite able to tolerate sugar buzzes like the big kids get to. There were a significant number of tantrums that night when we got home, especially when we put their buckets out of reach. But they were still cute.

Also, their costumes were really big on them and we might start using them as pajamas.

Besides Halloween, we've just been hanging out trying to be awesome.

Katie, as always, is full of many, varied, and unusual ideas. She loves to play in the leaves and seems to think that because she dressed as Elsa for Halloween, the cold really doesn't bother her. But then her lips and fingers start turning blue and we have to drag her kicking screaming popsicle body back into the house.

Want to hear a sample conversation from dinner? Please ignore the nerdiness of the conversation Mike and I were having.

Mike: But episodes I, II, and III come chronologically before the other ones.

Brittany: Yeah, but they are kind of terrible, and the other ones came first. Seriously.

Katie: No, there are no sheep on farms, actually. Gram and Papa don't have sheep or piglets.

Parents: . . .

No helpless princess complex here.

She's a really interesting kid. After Halloween, we went to Target to see what they had on clearance, and maybe supplement our already-impressive dress-up bucket. Katie picked out a mermaid costume, and because I will never be able to make costumes like them, I grabbed Spiderman and Wolverine. But the smallest costumes they had were 4-6x. 

So, naturally, Katie assumed ownership of the superhero costumes. And she's been rotating through everything in the dress-up box this weekend. Sometimes you gotta be a princess or a snow queen, and sometimes you gotta put on your muscles and fight bad guys.

Here's what I find most mornings.

What I'm really worried about is what she's teaching her brothers. Whether she's doing it on purpose or not, they follow her every move. And first thing every morning, after the boys wake up, Katie goes into their room and sits on the floor making silly faces at them until I can drag my lazy mommy carcass out of bed. They love her. And she's just the ring leader.

As for Josh, I don't even know what to tell you. The kid just seems to be growing like a weed. Every time I look at him he seems to be older. He's noticeably taller than Peter, and definitely holds his pants up better. And he's really starting to talk. Not quite as much as Peter, but he definitely does. Although, remember how I said he used "yeah" and "no" properly? Nevermind that. Now shaking his head "NO" and saying "no!" are his favorite activities. Although, he's usually smiling as he does it.

He LOVES dinosaurs and trucks, and I'm pretty sure he does a better roar than any kid I know. In fact, it applies to most animals. Both boys have really gotten into cows and sheep recently, but Josh is a little confused.

Mommy: What does a cow say?
Peter: Moo!
Josh: MOOORAAAAAAAWWWRRRRR!
Mommy: What does the sheep say?
Peter: Baa!
Josh: BAAAAAARAWAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!!!

There is no doubt that Joshy is a manly man. He makes sure of it. But he still loves to snuggle his mom when he's tired or sick. We all decided to get a nasty cold this week, so I've gotten a lot of snuggling time with my Josh. He doesn't make a big deal out of it, he just climbs up on my lap and sits there, no big deal. Just Joshy and Mommy time. I kind of love it.

He also has SO MUCH HAIR. Seriously. I think he got his dad's and his Uncle Parker's hair genes. There is a ton of it. He needs haircuts almost more often than Mike. It's kind of ridiculous. He's just so blond that you can't tell in these pictures. Also, because my boys have that silly obsession with hats.

I can't get over this little man.

Peter is . . . Peter. He's so much cuteness I can't even stand it. We had their 18-month checkup a couple of weeks ago and you want to know what they weighed? Josh weighed 26 1/2 pounds. Peter weighed 21 1/2 pounds. That's a FIVE POUND difference. Seriously. And it's not because Peter doesn't eat. He can shovel pizza like a maniac. He's just . . . skinny.

 And he's the real talker. This boy is like a parrot, and repeats every word I say to him. When I'm getting him out of the bath, I say, "Want me to get you in a towel?" And he says, "Towel!" I say, "Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" And he says, "Samma!" (Please note that a lot of these are approximations of his actual pronunciation.)

My favorite one is when I ask if everyone wants to go get in the car to go somewhere and I say, "Everybody get their shoes on!" And Peter starts chanting, "Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!" Peter LOVES shoes. He always wants to be trying on whatever shoes are in the room, be they Katie's sparkly flats or Mike's slippers. And when we come in from the garage and he sees the shoe pile (because they never end up nicely on the shelf), he starts stacking them up in a line. Because he loves shoes. Like mother, like son.

His favorite now is when he messes his diaper, and starts pointing to his bum and saying, "Poop!" Actually, both boys have this one. More than once have I thought I was entirely on time to go pick Katie up from preschool, when both boys started pointing to their bums and saying, "Poop! poop! poop!" And they have been right. Sometimes they aren't, and they're just excited, but whenever I'm late for something, they're right.

I especially like how Katie is tied up in her dress behind him.

 And now for all the pictures I liked but couldn't figure out how to work into the body of the text. If you're bored, you don't have to look at them. :)

The boys caught on pretty quick to the whole "leaf-crunching" thing.

They love hats. Can you tell?

Stylish men after their first day of going to nursery by themselves!

Look at that handsome guy! I sure am lucky.

  

We celebrate National Chocolate day in this house. It was Oct 28.

He's seen me pose Katie in front of these bushes before, so now he runs over there to say "cheese!"

Trying not to freeze to death on our walk!

Happy Halloween! 

Pumpkin Patch

Corn mazes, tractor tire playgrounds, pig races, corn pits (as opposed to sand boxes), hay bale slides, goats and llamas, apple cider donuts, jumping pillows, pumpkins, and fudge. Oh, and one clown, but I managed to walk past him without crying, so we'll call that a success.

I sure love fall.

And Now, another episode of "My Kids are both Hilarious and TOTALLY NUTS."

I can understand if none of you read my blog anymore. I can NOT believe it has been a month. Well, it's been quite a month. So maybe I can believe it.

Now I'm trying to remember what has happened in the last month. It was kind of a blur. The first part of the month was warm, and we went to the park a lot, and didn't wear jackets, and I may have gotten sunburned. Then, it hit. FALL!!!!

I'm really excited. I don't know, I guess I was tired of the sweating and the humidity and the nasty bugs everywhere. But now there's wind and the trees are changing color, and I get to wear large sweaters that cover up my belly fat. Yay!

Besides teaching preschool, not much out of the ordinary has happened (I guess we've just been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get as much outside time as possible before Chicagoland becomes the Arctic Tundra). But my children are hilarious. And because I'm super OCD, they will now be compartmentalized.

Katie

(Singing) "I know when I am baptized my lungs are washed away . . ."

***Official disclaimer: For those who do not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we do not actually wash away any lungs. Baptism washes away sins. SINS. NOT LUNGS. Thank you.

Katie is the most creative and uninhibited person I know. And I have a lot of toddlers in my acquaintance currently. She insists daily that when she grows up, she wants to be a Ballerina, a Doctor, and a Soccer Player. She tried to add football player, baseball player, and basketball player to the list the other day, but I told her she needed to limit her choices or we'd all be totally nuts. Also I put my foot down at my baby girl playing football. Ugh.

Please note that the only thing Katie will play is "Let it Go"

A couple of weeks ago, we bought a piano from a friend who was moving (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and it was a big deal. We recruited some guys from the ward to help pick it up, and Katie and I anxiously waited by the front window while Mike and the guys went to get it. Shortly after they left (just my luck) it started to rain.

Me: Oh no, now I'm worried.
Katie: Why? Are you afraid your husband is dead?
Me: . . . well I wasn't before . . .



Luckily, he was not dead, and we now have a real live, actual piano. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I actually didn't get a turn for a while because the kids insisted on breaking it in for me. But I have since gotten to play it a lot, which I think has greatly improved my mental state. It's super easy to just ignore all the hooligans and play some Gershwin for a while. Or Chopin, if my mom were here. Now that it's been here for a couple of weeks, I just need to find a good tuner.

Anyways, Katie. Oh, Katie. She was playing one afternoon (I think it was Sunday because Mike was here), and Mike asked her what song she was playing.

"This is called 'Dark and Brooding.'"
*Plays a jaunty, ragtime tune and sings "Dark and Brooding" to the tune of "Row, row, row your boat"*
"And this one is called 'Lucy had a Mary Lamb.' At the end it has everybody DIE. And then a bunch of bad guys come. And then a bunch of bats come and eat all the dead people."

Yep, that's my beautiful, delicate flower. Here's just a couple more that I don't even know how to work into context.

"This is my awkward princess chair. I'm the awkwardest princess in the whole world."

"Whimpering fireboxes! My brothers are still asleep!"

Me: "Ew, it smells like old rest stop in here."
Katie: "I think it smells like diarrhea in here!"

Josh

"What, I still have a Mom? Oh look, toys!"

Oh, Josh. What am I going to do with you? He's simultaneously sweet and adorable and also super mischievous. I have no idea. So, the good news is that we started going to nursery. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) On the 28th I brought them in for the first time and then stayed in with them because they won't be 18 mos until the 10th. And Josh didn't even remember I was there. Peter was totally fine until I had to take Josh out to change him, and then he FLIPPED. Peter is a very shy little dude when Mommy's not around. Even with Josh and Katie both in there with him. But Josh is all about the fun. Who cares about boring 'ole parents? He's also the one that just starts wandering off at the park and chases the big kids up the giant slide and tries to catch the geese that are still bigger than him. It's a blessing and a curse. I've been thinking about getting him a leash and harness for when we leave the house.

He's also getting really smart. He knows his eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, head, hands, toes, and belly button. Oh man, he loves his belly button. Also Peter's belly button. Almost as much as Peter loves HIS belly button. They are constantly grabbing each other's shirts so they can poke each other's belly buttons. It's kind of adorable and frustrating.

Feeling a little touristy today

But Josh is also super obsessed with machines. He LOVES to build with blocks. He has way more patience for it than Peter or even Katie. And he's always trying to get at whatever machine I happen to be using. Kitchenaid, washer and dryer, dishwasher, popcorn maker, anything that makes noise and runs on electricity. He hears it start up and then gets all excited and tries to climb up my leg to see. When we got out the air popper he just wanted to sit and watch it, and now he'll sometimes go over to the cupboard where he knows we keep it and start asking to get it out. Don't tell Papa, but we might have another little engineer on our hands. He LOVES the construction equipment out on the main road, and "truck" is one of his clearest words. Oh boy, that kid loves machines.

Now if only he didn't love climbing so much. He can push chairs around and climb everything, so that I've found him standing on the kitchen table trying to get the light fixture, standing on the island and kicking over the peanut butter I so foolishly left out, and trying to get dangerous things out of the cabinets that I foolishly thought were high enough. You know, since they're at MY eye level. Apparently not. And the other day, he was sitting at the piano, playing nicely, when all of a sudden his playing got a little bit exciting. When I came back into the family room, he was standing on the keyboard, trying to climb to the top of the piano. We now keep the piano bench on the other side of the baby gate, only getting it back out when someone is going to play the piano supervised. Or, you know, when Mike or I want to play.

This picture will be famous someday in his biography.

But despite all of his ridiculousness, Joshy is a sweetheart. Most of the time he just wants me to sit down so he can bring about 30 stories over and read ALL of them with me. His favorite place is in my lap. And if I didn't have so many things to do or other children to keep from murdering each other, I'd just stay there and sit with him. He's such a chunky little cuddle muffin. I love his cheeks. And I think he needs another hair cut. The stuff in the back is starting to get fluffy.


Peter

Popcorn: the ultimate source of true happiness.

Okay, now we get down to business. Peter is a talker. And I don't just mean all his little babbling, though he still sometimes does that, too. I mean he talks. His identifiable words include tasty, shoes (HE LOVES SHOES), Joshy, monkey, sit down, shirt, diaper, Katie, catch, and amen. Oh, and both boys like to wave and say "bye!" when they go down for their nap or when Daddy's heading off to school in the morning. It's hilarious and adorable. But my favorite thing that Peter says is "High-Pie!" *He says while high-fiving the paper plate skeleton we have in the window.* That's right. High-Pie. You know you want Peter to high-pie you.

He's still a little bit shy, and I'm worried about what that's going to mean for nursery. But when we're at home, boy this kid is a menace. When you look at the two boys, you assume that Josh (who is easily five pounds heavier still) is the bully, right? WRONG. Apparently Peter's Napoleon complex has fully matured and that kid can totally hold his own. Not to mention that he has a superpower called EAR-SHATTERING BLOOD-CURDLING GLASS-BREAKING SHRIEK. He learned it from his benevolent older sister.

But I don't think he really means to hurt anybody. I think it's mostly self-defense, because Katie seems to think that he's her own personal pet brother, and drags him around everywhere with her. When he's sitting on the couch, she basically uses him as a cushion. If he wants to danse, she pretends he's her barre and she's doing ballet. He's gotta be tough to deal with a sister the likes of KATIE. Meanwhile, Josh (who's almost as big as Katie and therefore less drag-around-able) sits off to the side doing his own thing and occasionally laughing at Peter's misfortunes. And therefore Peter has learned how to throw things at people and such of that nature.

Really, though, he's a sweetheart. For example, he recently learned how to actually kiss (unlike Josh, who still involves his whole face when trying to kiss me). So, the last couple of days when Mike and Katie had food poisoning and I think I got a total of three hours of sleep over two days, Peter was really good about coming over to me when I was about to break, hugging me around the neck, and then kissing me all over my face. And then giggling when I tried to kiss him back. He's super affectionate and loves to hug and kiss me. I love it so much.

Two young gentlemen, enjoying their balcony garden

And really, for the most part, my kids are really good to each other. Peter even frequently likes the wrestling with Katie. All three of them love to snuggle and give hugs and "MAMAMAMA" is not necessarily always a bad word around here. I just tell the violent parts because they are more humorous.

Now, let's talk about animals. Both of my boys LOVE any kind of animal book. We have discussed previously Joshy's obsession with tigers, which was partially shared by his brother, but their latest favorite is now ELEPHANTS. Oh man, elephants. They love them. So, a long time ago, I got a little bitty stuffed elephant and a stuffed monkey for the boys, which they haven't been particularly interested in snuggling ever. Well, now that they love animals, that's changing. Of course they have always loved monkeys, shrieking "ah ah ah!" when they see one. But now they love their toy monkey and elephant. Peter sleeps with the elephant, snuggling it under his neck when I give it to him. Josh isn't too keen on sleeping with an animal, but he loves to snuggle the monkey when he's awake, and we've taken to leaving both animals in Peter's bed because they play together with them when they wake up in the morning. I love listening to them trumpet like elephants before I open the door. Sometimes I think Peter is doing a little puppet show out of his bed for Josh. It's adorable.

Katie's conference activity

Before I finish and just picture dump at you guys, I need to say something about General Conference. For those of you who don't know, twice a year, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons, also, us) spend a whole weekend listening to/watching broadcast messages from our living prophet and the twelve apostles, as well as other leaders of the church. And this last weekend was that weekend. And what I need to say is WOW. I'll admit, I don't get to listen to the talks as well as I'd like. (My excuses shall remain unnamed but they rhyme with batie, wash, and jeter.) But everything I did hear really touched me.

It began last week at the General Women's Meeting, which was amazing. But I think my favorite moment was when the choir sang a medley of a primary song called "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" and the hymn "I Know that My Redeemer Lives." (It's called "Hymn Medley" on the webpage after you click "show music" at the top.) I really felt the Savior's love for me then, as well as during a lot of the conference this weekend. So many of the talks were about how much the Lord loves us and wants us to return to Him, and that He will help us through our trials and afflictions. And that when there is something He needs us to do, He will provide a way for us to accomplish that. He loves us and wants the best for us.

Watch/listen to/read conference. Any of it. All of it. Please. It will bless your life.

Okay fine, picture dump.

"Okay, guys, I just need some quiet time. Please just watch some Curious George."

Artwork convention

You know you wish you were this fabulous.

Joshy got tired for a second.

He refused to take off his car shirt to put on the jammy shirt. I don't blame him. It is an awesome car shirt.

Sassy pants

My little men, all grown up and saving China . . . *sniff*

Joshy just wanted to smell the flowers, okay?

Daddy and Peter selfie!

When we pick the boys up, they start smacking our heads, asking for this.

Oh ya know, just being awesome in their Halloween hats.

Well, that's all I have to say about that.