I love October in Utah! We spent the whole month soaking up gorgeous, real fall outside, and happily preparing for Halloween.
We've been playing outside every chance we could get, knowing the nice weather will not last forever. Every day that's been sunny and in the 50's, we've been outdoors. Winter is going to be rough on us.
Hazel made milk jug jack-o-lanterns last year in preschool, and asked if we could do them again this year. I sense another tradition budding!
Per tradition, we went to a pumpkin patch. It had an awesome straw bale pyramid the kids loved climbing around in. Hazel loved jumping from the top. Always a daredevil...
Jack photo bombed the kid photo, but that is real life. He almost never smiles for the camera.
We carved the pumpkins afterward, and they lasted a grand total of two days on our porch before shriveling up.
A week later, we snagged another pumpkin from the grocery store and carved another jack-o-lantern which survived brutal porch life much better.
We made a couple more trips up to the canyon while the leaves were vibrant and the weather was nice.
Our last trip was especially breathtaking. We had a grand time climbing rocks and hiking to trees so orange, they looked like they were on fire. These photos just came straight from my phone. No messing around - it was brilliant that day.
Some days, I sort of feel like I'm getting the hang of three kids. I have to let go of control and accept chaos swirling all around me, while still maintaining consistent standards of behavior. I remind myself multiple times a day to stay calm, not yell, focus on the kids and keep their needs as my most important accomplishment of the day. It's hard not to feel sorry for myself sometimes, because it seems so glaringly obvious how much easier my life would be with Todd here to partner up with. But wallowing in self-pity never helps, so I usually don't stay there for long. Sometimes I really, really want to. But most days, if I make sure to snuggle each kid even though I want to get things done, and slow down to give them each meaningful one-on-one time with me sometime in the day, I feel pretty good at the end of the day. Thank you for your prayers of strength. I'm feeling them.
Gemma's nine months old now. She still only weighs 15 1/2 pounds, but she eats well and sleeps fine at night. I am a little put out that she had to weigh so much when she was born (8.14) if she's going to turn out to be a little chicky.
She's going through a Mama phase right now.
We went to a community event called the Pumpkin Walk. There were lots of carved and painted pumpkins on display. It was a fun thing to take the kids to.
After running a 5K while pregnant with Gemma last year, I knew it was something I could accomplish and that would be good for me, so I made a New Year's Resolution to run one again this year. I ended up organizing a family run to get some of my siblings in on my goal. We met up at my house a couple weekends ago and everyone participated as they could. Some walked, others ran. My dad pushed Gemma and Jack in the double stroller the whole distance.
Hazel rode her bike, and I jogged alongside her. I had no idea what to expect from her, and tried to be prepared for a whole slew of situational possibilities. She said herself she was going to do one loop (1/3 the distance) and then walk the rest of the way. And so I announce with great pride that she accomplished a major goal, and rode her bike without stopping the entire three miles! I was listening to my ipod as I jogged, and couldn't hear much of anything she said, but she chattered happily at me the whole time. I occasionally interjected an, "Mmm, hmm, yeah," but that was about it for the most part. I don't think she noticed. And she announced afterward that she rode slow so I could keep up with her. Ha! (I'm glad she did.)
We spent a good portion of October looking forward to Halloween. Jack adamantly wanted to wear Hazel's costume from last year and be Peter Pan. Hazel was happy to go along with the theme and be Tiger Lily, and she had the idea to make Gemma Tinkerbell.
I made Hazel's dress out of one of Todd's old t-shirts, cutting the edges and tying strips together to make fringe. She helped me sew ribbon stripes on, and we added some boots and a dark wig, and suddenly she looked like a completely different person. It was fun.
I scavenged most of Gemma's costume from our dress-up box, but if she was going to be a legit Tinkerbell, she needed some green shoes with white puffs. I searched the web for a tutorial and was surprised to find out how easy it is to make baby shoes. It was quite fun!
Sadly, Jack stopped constantly wearing the Peter Pan costume right around the time I finished Hazel's Tiger Lily costume, so although she was in character for days on end, we never really had a good opportunity to take a photo. Bad went to worse Halloween night when I realized we'd lost half the effect with our jackets on underneath. Add to that the massive tantrum Jack was throwing before we left to trick-or-treat, because he definitely did not want to dress up or leave the house, and these are the absolute best pictures I have of Halloween costumes this year. So sad.
I'm holding tight to Jack's arm in this photo to make him stand by us. Ug. My brother Chris came with us trick-or-treating and wore Todd's Smee costume from last year. I was Wendy. Too bad people kept thinking Hazel was Pocahontis and Jack was Robin Hood. Oh well. Funny.
