Happy Halloween

My little cast of characters....


Hunter, the ferocious(ly drooly) lion


Camden, the ever reluctant superhero (he does not like dress-up of any kind...apparently AJ was the same way when he was little...you would have thought we were torturing the kid when we put on his costume...although he was just fine once it was all the way on)

and Keegan...the only one who willingly put on his costume (even though it's a very generic, homemade version of a spiderman costume...because to be honest, I wasn't going for spiderman, I was just going for generic superhero but he insisted the he was going to be spiderman, hence the very late addition of a spider to his costume and the wrong color "boots").

I swear that I will never make another costume again...these just about did me in (although I think I remember telling myself the same thing last year too, which obviously didn't stick). Hunter's was the only one I really had no part in. It's Camden's costume from two years ago...and it was lovingly made by my mom (although I did provide the fabric and do the ribbon mane). I don't know how she did it making costumes for all of us kids growing up. Maybe it's because I'm such an impatient sewer (something I'm working on)...or maybe I was just tired and mad at myself for putting this off until the last minute (kind of like last years pirate costumes), but dragging 3 kids to the fabric store was just something I couldn't get excited about, so I kept putting it off in the hopes that I would have a chance to go on my own, and it never happened and I ended up with all 3 of them at the store with me anyway...a week before Halloween, with about 30 of my closest "friends", all doing the same last minute costume sewing that I was. I guess, in the end, all that matters, though is that they got done, and my boys had costumes and they seemed to be just fine with them.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Keegan and Camden's jack-o-lantern's that they helped their daddy carve.

Conversations With a 3-year-old

I had the best exchange with Keegan tonight. It went a little like this.

K: Mom, what you doing?
Me: Making some cookies.
K:Oh. Cookies for me?
Me: For all of us.
K: My have one now?
Me:Not yet, bud, they still have to bake. You can have one after you finish your soup (corn chowder) and have a bath.
K: Oh. My not want any more soup. My all fulled up to here (as he does the sign for "full").
Me: Oh, you're all filled up, huh?
K: Well, my not all filled up yet (he so knew that I was going to say that he must be too full for cookies if he was too full for more soup...it's like he's inside my head or something. Or maybe we just have that conversation a lot because he always seems to have room for treats but never room for his regular food). My still have some room for my cookie. See, right here on my side (as he shows me the exact spot on his side where he still has a little room left). This where my cookie go. My just have no more room for soup.

To be fair, he had already eaten most of his soup and his sandwich, so it's not like he was just going to have cookies for dinner, so he probably was "all fulled up". You gotta love the kid, and his reasoning though. He so takes after me. Even at the age of three he knows that there is always room for some dessert.

Super Boys to the Rescue

Keegan has been asking me to make him a super hero cape for quite some time, and I had found a free pattern online (so great, I know, right? I love that it's reversible...and free) but I've kind of been putting it off, because I really don't feel all that confident in my sewing abilities. I finally bit the bullet a few weeks back and made a cape for Keegan and then another for Camden. The fact that Keegan has worn it for some portion of the day, everyday since it has been finished definitely made the effort worth it. Camden is still a little hesitant to put his on (which shouldn't surprise me seeing as how he cried for about 20 min. the other day when we dressed him up in his pirate costume from last year to go trick-or-treating at Sea World) but I'm hoping that eventually he will warm up to the idea of wearing it.

All in all, they didn't turn out too bad. It's a little long, but that just means he can grow into it. I've never embroidered anything on before, and you can tell when you give it more than just a cursory glance, but Keegan is totally happy with his (especially since it was made in the colors that he wanted it to be), and it's something that I made for him...and I love that he runs up and down the hall and all over our backyard using his "superpowers" to rescue and protect people. Now I just have to convince him that a generic superhero costume will be good enough for Halloween rather than the Spiderman one that he seems to want. It might take more superpowers than I currently have at my disposal to accomplish that task! :)

Frog Princes...

So, I found this great free tutorial/pattern for a beanbag frog when I was first looking for and making beanbags for the boys that spell out their names (and help with letter recognition....which has been great). My goal for the original beanbags was to have one full set with the entire alphabet and then each of the boys having their own name spelled out as well...eventually, I'll get the whole alphabet done, but for now Keegan and Camden are the only ones that are done. Hunter's is a work in progress (although at least I have all of the squares cut out...they just have to be sewn together now, the letters need to be painted on and they need to be filled....all in my spare time, which naturally I have a ton of). ** Side note, I love when people are willing to share their creative energies for free with those of us that are less creative.


Anyway, I needed a break from sewing a gazillion blankets (at least that's what it feels like...we have a ton of pregnant ladies in our ward right now) and I was looking for a little gift to make and give to the older son of some friends of ours who just had another baby boy (I feel like the older kids sometimes get left out and I didn't want him to feel neglected) so I used some scrap fabric and put one together, just to get a feel for how it would turn out. It goes together super fast, which is great, and turned out pretty cute. Of course, as soon as Keegan saw the one I was making for our friends son, and wanted to play with it and then asked for one of his own when I informed him that it wasn't for him. Of course, once he had his, Camden needed one too, so a third one was made. I think it's a good thing that Hunter isn't talking just yet, although it's probably inevitable that he will get one of his own as well.

The one with the crown is the one being given as the gift (although Keegan informed me today that his frog needed a crown as well so I guess I better get on that) and then Keegan's and Camden's are on the sides. Not too bad for a few hours work, if I do say so myself (and I already had everything I needed so in a way, it was free, which is even better). And of course, no post is complete without a picture of my very own little princes! :)

She's Crafty....

Every once in a while I get inspired to make stuff and I actually end up following through with it. While I'm not great at it (like my sister) I'm ok...and thankfully my boys aren't too picky about crooked seams and poorly hand sewn items.

Here's a little preview of what I've been up too...

Our Utah Trek

AJ has to retake his boards in a couple of weeks (he has to retake them every 6 years), so in order to give him a little peace and quiet in order to get some really good study time in, I decided to head to Utah to see my family, because it had been way too long since we've been together. We were originally supposed to go up the first week of August, but Keegan and Camden both got sick, so we had to postpone our little excursion until just this past week. My mom came with us (thankfully), and it was a wonderful week of fun in Utah. All three of the boys did great on the drives up and back, so great in fact that I'm more than willing to do the trip again soon. (Utah, you've been warned)! ;) Other than a few minor moments and meltdowns (Keegan really, really missed his dad and wanted to go home every night, especially after we said our prayers in which we asked that our Daddy be watched over while we were away), it was a great time spent with my siblings and my mom and the boys with their cousins. They got their fill of bounce houses, and dinosaurs and pioneer heritage and just plain old hanging out with family fun. We got to ride trains and see Temple Square and enjoy a typical Utah summer storm (for the 5 minutes that it lasted).

We can't wait to go back!

Two at the Zoo

Time for catching up again, and I can't think of a better way to start than with Camden's birthday. I can't believe the little man is already TWO. For his birthday, we decided to go to quite possibly his favorite place on earth, the zoo. He seriously asks me daily if we can go and see the animals, so it was the best choice. Plus, we got to see some old friends while we were there, which made for fun times all around (the best part for Camden was that it was the second time in the same week that he was able to go to the zoo, and since we went later in the day, AJ got to join us, which is a rare thing indeed). We got to see all of his favorite animals, including the giraffe that he shares a birthday with, as well as some that we don't normally get to see. Since we took his cupcakes into the zoo, there weren't any candles for him to blow out, but he didn't seem to mind so much.

(hanging out at the zoo on his birthday)

Camden is my very stubborn, willful child (and I know that he comes by it honestly), and I have a feeling that he is going to be quite a challenge for me as he grows older. He is exasperating and exhausting and challenging and yet he's also my happy, loving child, who is more than willing at anytime to give loves and kisses. He is smart and he loves to be read to (and he'll "read" on his own), and he is strong and loves to be outside and loves, I mean LOVES, animals. He talks, but not a lot, although he is getting to be more and more talkative each and every day (when you have an older brother like Keegan who talks constantly from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep it's sometimes hard to get a word in edgewise, but Camden is slowly learning to hold his own). He has a love of "Cars" and trucks and anything that goes, and has learned to love "Woody" and "Boo" (Buzz Lightyear) and "Eroes" (Superheroes) because it's what his older brother loves as well. He loves his Dad and he loves Keegan. If he wakes up in the morning and Keegan is already out of bed, he comes into my room and asks where "Ne Ne" (how he says Keegan) is. Once he knows where to find his older brother, his day can begin. He also spends a lot of time during the day asking me where "Dad go?" and repeating that he's at work when I tell him where AJ is. He is learning to tolerate his little brother, and is more than willing to tell me when Hunter is crying or upset, and he always makes sure that Hunter is in the car when we go anywhere before he will let me put on his seat belt. He is Grandma's little buddy (as our recent trip to Utah reaffirmed). He is fearless, and willing to try anything that he sees Keegan doing, like jumping into our friends pool from their spa (which is higher up than the pool), without checking to see if Dad is there to catch him first (thankfully, AJ was and he survived to do it again and again and again). He doesn't like to do anything he doesn't want to do, and doesn't always listen as well as we like him too, but once he sets his mind to do something, he'll do it without being asked again. His laugh is so contagious, and I love hearing him laugh and giggle with Keegan as they play whatever game they are playing. He has a great imagination that he expresses in his own little way, and I can't wait until he is able to vocalize it a little more. He is so opposite of what we were used to with Keegan, and yet I wouldn't have him any other way. I love him just the way he is.


(showing me just how unhappy he was about something...a common look most days and then happy as can be just a little while later)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Camden Man! Here's to many more years of laughter and loves.