Halloween at the Library

While the boys were at home, Claire and I attended the Monster Mash Halloween class at Whitmore Library. They sing, dance, read books, and get candy. It takes Claire a minute to warm up, but she eventually gets into it. She wiggles her little body and follows the teacher's every move. This year, she was even brave enough to dance on the stage. So cute!

Trunk-or-Treat

For some reason, our ward at church never has a trunk-or-treat. Sad. In order for Claire to get more use out of her Halloween costume and for the real fun to begin, we joined the Moffat family (Erik's sister) at their ward's Halloween bash. Let the candy hoarding began.

Claire was shy to start off, but quickly warmed up to people handing her candy for no reason. She and her cousin, Vivian, walked from trunk to trunk filling up with buckets. I have never been a Halloween fan, but now that Claire is old enough to enjoy the holiday, I have fun as well.

 
While I walked around with Claire and Vivian, Ethan stayed put with Daddy and my cousin Wade (who happens to be in the Moffat's ward). All in all, it was a wonderful event and I'm sure we will be inviting ourselves back next year.

 

Costumes

For Halloween this year, Claire insisted on being a polar bear (her favorite animal). For days, I tried to convince her to be a pirate because I thought it would be cute if everyone were pirates. I told her she could say "aargh!", pass out chocolate covered coins, carry her treasure chest, etc. She would not go for it. So, I finally gave in and purchased her polar bear costume. I searched around for something that Ethan could be that would coordinate with her and the only option was a penguin. Done. A few days later, Erik's Mom called me and said there was a seal costume for little dogs at Target. How perfect! Our little Arctic Monsters, as we called them, were ready for Halloween.

Pumpkin Carving

This year, instead of carving pumpkins, I decided to eliminate the mess and hard work and go the "pumpkin people" route. I am so glad I did, because for me, it was a lot more fun. It took about ten minutes and there was no mess to clean up. Claire picked out a princess to decorate her pumpkin with and chose a skeleton for Ethan. Being the good big sister that she is, she helped Ethan put his together while he sat next to her and played with the plastic bags that the pieces came in.

 
Here is the end result:

 

For this age, this was SO much better than carving.

We're Back

Two days after our first visit to Cornbelly's, Claire and I headed back to have what we call "Mommy-Claire time". She was so excited to go back to what had become her favorite place and to have special Mommy time. The first thing she did when we got there was run over to the jumpy thing. Just like before, she loved every second of it and got upset when our group had to get off and give the other people a turn.

 
Claire intuitively knew we were having "girl time" and wanted to put my lip gloss on every five seconds. This girl is obsessed with lip gloss and I've since had to make a no lip gloss in public rule. She's recently become excited about more girly things like makeup, dress up, and dolls.

 

 
Once her lip gloss was on, she ran over to the pumpkin princess play land to play dress up and dance around on the make shift stage. This time around there was a balloon maker nearby so she asked him for a princess crown. Too cute!

 

 
Claire finally grew tired of all of the girly stuff and wanted to enjoy the other activities. We went on the cow train ride three times, ran through a few feet of the corn maze, went down slides, and posed for pictures. As our Mommy-Claire time was drawing to an end, she wanted to ride on a tricycle that she saw earlier. Claire's bike at home is a balance bike so she hasn't had much (if any) experience with pedals. The ground was bumpy and the pedals were slightly far away, but she managed to make it around the circle. She (and I) was so proud of herself.

We are really looking forward to Halloween next year and are definitely heading back to our new favorite place: Cornbelly's!

Cornbelly's

Our next Halloween activity was to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Pointe. We had never been before and it was seriously the coolest place ever! It was perfect for Claire's age. There were so many fun things for her to do. We went on tons of slides, watched Claire dance around at the princess play land, went on a cow train ride, a hay ride, and even watched a pig race. Before the race began, I got picked out of the audience and had to kiss a pig. Yuck! The poor little thing was squawking so loud I could see its teeth and I thought for sure it was going to bite me. My prize was a $5 gift certificate to some restaurant that was too far away so we never used it.

 

It was so cute watching Claire run from activity to activity with a giant smile on her face. To her, this must have felt like heaven. Like always, Ethan spent quite a bit of time in the stroller enjoying a snack, but he did get out for a few photo ops, a ride down the slide, the train ride, and also a hay ride.

 

 
Claire seemed to have the most fun on this big bouncy thing (although she would tell you her favorite part was the cow train ride). She was all smiles and thought it was so much fun.

 

Before we knew it, it was dark and cold so we called it a night. We definitely could have spent all day there. We all had so much fun that I bought a bounce back pass for another day. Stay tuned!

Pumpkin Picking

A couple of weeks before Halloween, our family went to the Petersen Family Farm Pumpkin Patch. We love this place. It's free (except the cost of the pumpkin if you choose to buy) and they have tons of activities. An added bonus is that you support a family farm and not a big box grocery store.

Before we did our pumpkin picking, the kids started off playing in the giant corn box. Claire enjoyed trying to bury herself and filling her shoes with corn. Ethan on the other hand, didn't seem to care for it. Next, we took a brief look at the farm animals and then headed over to find our pumpkins. Claire immediately found one she liked but it wasn't up to my standards so I made her pick again. :) We eventually found one for her and another for Ethan.
 

 
Once we found our pumpkins, we headed over to the hay tower. As you can tell from the photo below, Claire had a blast. Ethan and Khloe enjoyed the view from the wheelbarrow.

 

For me, Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. I love it. So many family activities to do and pictures to take. Here we go!

 

My 30th Birthday

It was a sad day on October 20th when I turned 30 years old. I felt old, fat (I hadn't lost all of the baby weight), and old. Did I say that one? Things got worse when I asked Erik to take a photo with me and the kids that Sunday afternoon and this was the best image:

 

 

Poor guy tried his best. The background mixed with the print on my dress: my fault. The fact that no one, besides me, is looking at the camera and Claire's eyes are red from crying: _______'s fault. :)

 

Erik did do his best to make me feel wonderful by giving me a much needed girls night the evening before. The girls and I went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then a movie (Gravity - with Sandra Bullock). I can't remember the last time I did either of those things.

 

I felt rejuvenated after my girls night and the next day I asked Erik to try and take another photo. This one didn't turn out horrible, but it definitely wasn't up to my standards. At least we documented that I was there, that I now had short hair, had started filling in my eyebrows (they totally frame the face), that Claire had started posing with her hand on her hip, and that Ethan wasn't interested in the camera. Haha!

 

 

By that night, I felt much better thanks to Erik throwing me a surprise birthday party with all of our closest friends. I couldn't believe that he was able to keep it a secret. He even got me a cake! A leopard print cake at that! He was such a sweet husband to plan all of that for me and I really felt the love. Now I hope my 30s are as wonderful as my 20s.

 

Photography Fail

When Claire was about eight months old, I got this adorable picture of her reading on our glider. I remembered this photo and wanted to get a similar image with Ethan.

It was an epic photography fail. This kid would not sit still and there literally wasn't one decent shot. He had no interest sitting on the chair being told to look at the book. I'd put him into position and he would instantly move.

Ethan was all over that chair. Leaning over, turning around, climbing up. After a few minutes I realized it was not going to happen and gave up. He is definitely a squirmy little boy. I hope he eventually learns to sit in one spot and enjoy a good book.

Gorgeous Colors!

Every time Fall rolls around, I always like to take a family "hike" (short and easy walk) to see the gorgeous colors that nature brings each year.

This year, we drove up Emigration Canyon and stopped at a random trail along the way.

The view was breathtaking.

We were a little late and a lot of the leaves had already fallen, but it was still beautiful.

At the trail head, there just happened to be another person enjoying the view on a nearby bench, which meant family picture time! I can't resist bugging a stranger to take a snapshot of all of us together.




Emigration Canyon is a watershed area, which means no dogs are allowed. My interpretation of that rule is take Khloe and let her ride along in her doggy backpack. This is one of Khloe's favorite things to do. She sits in the backpack and is completely at ease. For those of you who know her, Khloe is normally a very anxious dog. But when we go on hikes, she never puts her ears back and you can tell she loves every second of it.

Claire liked it for about five minutes and then wanted Erik to carry her (she really enjoyed it then). That's what Daddy's are for, right?

  

Erik's Most Dreaded Day of the Year

The end of the year was quickly approaching and now that Ethan wasn't a newborn, it was time for family pictures. I think this is Erik's most dreadful day of the year. That being said, he's realized that it is a requirement of his and his attitude is definitely improving. Thanks honey!

 

Like always, I spent hours and hours getting the family ready. Everything has to be perfect, right? Well, minutes before we were supposed to leave to do the shoot, it started raining. Not just sprinkling, but pouring rain. I was so upset and thought all of my efforts were going to be wasted. Thankfully, our wonderful photographer (Jenny of Jenny Turk Photography and our old neighbor) was willing to do it anyway and thought the rain would let up soon. We pulled up to Wheeler Farm and she was right! The rain had stopped; I was so happy! And so were the other twenty families that instantly got out of their cars for their family portraits.

 

Getting family pictures taken is so stressful, but I LOVE IT!

Zippin' Through the Zoo

In early October, the kids and I enjoyed an afternoon at Hogle Zoo. Claire is obsessed with animals and she was really looking forward to seeing the polar bear (her favorite). There weren't too many people there that day so we were able to get full views of the animals. During this particular trip to the zoo, I was really impressed with the sea lions. I had never seen them swim so fast and effortlessly through the water before. They were so graceful. Claire, as always, enjoyed the polar bear. Except this time, he was pacing back and forth by the fence waiting for his lunch. She was extremely disappointed that he wouldn't get in the water for a swim.

Ethan made it out of the stroller a few times to pose with Claire on the animal statues. She's never been too interested in these before, however this time, she wanted to sit on every single one. Adorable!

 
This trip to the zoo was filled with varying emotions for me. For the first time ever, I let Claire ride on the merry-go-round. I have never been so stressed at the zoo before. I was all by myself and things got a little tricky. I had to walk the stroller through the line with Claire as far as I could go, but then there was a barrier so I had to stand with Ethan to the side and make sure Claire was following the people in front of her while in line. Then, I had to ask a stranger if she would stand by Ethan while I helped Claire get on the merry-go-round. Once I got her up onto the polar bear, I jumped over the barrier and raced back to Ethan. The ride began and Claire was SO excited! At that point, it was pure joy. Watching her go around in circles with a huge smile on her face was worth it. But only seconds later, the ride was over and I had to ask another stranger if she would grab Claire off of the polar bear and lift her over the wall for me because I was with Ethan and the stroller. Thankfully, she was a sympathetic mom and happily agreed. Claire greeted me with a big smile and then her happiness instantly turned to sadness when I wouldn't let her go on the ride again. Of course!

We all had another fun, exciting, and stressful afternoon at the zoo. It wasn't long and were back again.

September Instagram

Here are some of my favorite images that I captured on my phone and posted to my Instagram account (http://instagram.com/tanyajolaf#) during the month of September:

• Luv my little blue eyed dude but so excited for date night with his blue eyed dad.
• Snuggling with Khloe. Poor girl is terrified of the smoke alarm that keeps beeping. I hate those things! #shorkie #bestfriends
• Love Mommy-Daughter time!
• Claire took a selfie today without me knowing. I find the funniest pictures on my camera. #toddlerselfie #buddingphotographer
• The joys of having a sick baby. #babycold
• It's that kind of afternoon. #lazyafternoon #shorkie
• Can't get enough of his chubs!
• What could be cuter than watching your children kiss each other?! #siblingkisses #bigsisterkiss
• Goodbye hair! I know I'll miss u but its time for a change. #long waves #choppingitoff

Claire Bear in September

Played outside as much as possible

(with O'Murria and baby grizzly bear of course)

 

Enjoyed her first ride on a store toy at Toys 'R Us

(she loved every second of it)
 

 

Took many trips to Wheeler Farm

(she liked seeing the new baby cow and sitting on the tractor)

 

 

Became obsessed with me painting her nails

(she would ask me to paint them daily)

 

Discovered how much fun lip gloss was

(she is surprisingly very good at putting it only on her lips)

 

 

Got her own responsibility chart

(has done very well and frequently earns prizes for completing the week successfully)

 

Loves pushing the buttons on the microwave

 

 

Started staying in the lines while coloring

 

Improved greatly with writing her name, cutting, and drawing shapes

 

Has a good attitude about doing homework that Mommy gives her daily

 

Our Little Guy - Month 8

Looking back at Ethan's eighth month, it appears that he discovered many new things. Most notably, he began to crawl. He started out very slow, but then quickly perfected his army-crawl and started to move faster around the house. It was so cute watching him scoot over to his toys and anything else he had his eyes on. My favorite time was when he realized he could crawl to me. This was bittersweet. I loved that he would crawl to me, but he started to get a little clingy. He was just too cute to turn away.

Ethan also discovered how much fun bath time was. He could splash for hours. It didn't even matter if the water got in his face. He loved it. The only downside to his new found love? For some reason he would constantly try to stand up in the tub, which we all know is very dangerous. I was constantly pushing him back down so he wouldn't get hurt. I'm pretty sure he thought it was a fun, new game to play with Mommy.

 

 

Throughout September, we relished in every bit of warm, sunny weather we could. I love these two pictures below. The kids laying on the grass with sunglasses on; what could be cuter?!

 

 

We also enjoyed going on walks and spending time at the putting green with Erik. Looking back at these photos makes me crave summer again. It was such a fun time of year.

 

 

Now that Ethan was crawling, he also began pulling himself up using nearby furniture and enjoyed practicing walking with Mommy (although I only did it a couple of times). The result of his desire to explore, was lots of crying. It seemed like he was falling and bumping his head on things constantly. Poor little guy! It was fun at first.

 

 

This month, I realized Ethan was finally big enough to brave the grocery cart without being in his car seat. He loved it! So many things to see and people to watch. He behaved wonderfully and I have really enjoyed looking at my happy shopping partner.

 

 

Below are some random shots throughout the month. Ethan loved to play with any toy that lit up or played music. He discovered balls and enjoyed patting them. As always, he loved to be outside. He went on the teeter-totter all by himself for the first time (for a split second so I could take a picture) and unfortunately, loves watching television. He also spent his last days sleeping in the bassinet and was moved into the pack 'n play since he could pull himself up. 

 

 

Our adorable little guy also discovered the door stopper. What kid doesn't like these, right? And unfortunately for Khloe, he started taking her toys. Khloe was not happy about this and tried her best to keep her eye on her duck (her favorite toy).

 

 

This was such a fun month for our little guy. He now had eight teeth, started making sounds like 'ga ga' (and one time he said mama, my heart melted), loved banging on things, was ticklish under his chin, armpits, and thighs, and became strong enough to take off his bib (something that Claire didn't try to do until she was around two). He also loved spitting, grinding his teeth, and screeching.

 

 

We love this dude so much! 

   Ethan's 8 Month Bear Picture  

Daddy - Daughter Date

On Saturday, September 28th, Erik and Claire went on a daddy - daughter date to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus held at Energy Solutions Arena downtown. I have had a childhood dream of going to the circus, but I knew it was important for Claire to spend quality time with her Dad so I insisted that Erik take her (tickets are expensive so it was either me or him).

Their date started off with a ride to the arena on Trax, something Claire loves to do. Once they got to the circus, the real fun began. They got an up close look at the elephants with their trainer before the show, which was a real highlight from what I heard. Next, it was time for the show to begin.

Erik said that Claire had a lot of fun, but also seemed to be scared at parts and said she wanted to go home. I'm sure that hurt his feelings (it would have mine), but I know deep down, she loved it.

I can't wait for my turn to go to the circus! I see a mommy - son date in the future. :)

Claire's First Dress Up Day

September 26, 2013

 

Western Day at Claire's Preschool

 

ADORABLE