Our Pumpkin King

Today was quite the day! Dave stayed home with Lincoln while I went to church. He was actually kind of sad when I came home and told him they had talked about emergency preparedness. Everyone had to fill out a list and Dave has done a pretty good job getting us started on our emergency essentials. Later in the afternoon I made some chocolate covered pretzel sticks and decorated them for my little primary class. I'll give them to them at the trunk or treat tomorrow. After a delicous dinner the real fun began! Linc had his first pumpkin carving experience. We put the pumpkins on the table and Linc explored them a bit. He stood by them, sat on them, crawled through them and then I think he was ready to get down to business. He watched Dave cut the top off of the pumpkin. After the first slice I moved him away because he wanted to do what daddy was doing and was reaching for the knife. Linc then prepared his tool of choice. He tested it out, which for Linc means in the mouth and give it a bite! After he was done testing it out he watched how his daddy carefully scooped out all the pumpkin guts. He was taking note on how he should do it. I guess after thinking about it Linc felt that the little orange scooper was not going to be sufficient so he used what works well for him...his mouth!! He was NOT shy about it at all...he bit right into that thing and stuck his whole face on it! The taste of pumpkin is not an unfamiliar food for the little guy, he loves squash and just ealier that day had the left over baked pumpkin from the pumpkin curry I made recently. We let him explore and then when he was done he just threw it down. He definitely got the full experience. He took a nap and then when he woke up we were done and here are some pics of the final products. Daves is the scary big mouth pumpkin and mine is Jack Skellyton. Lincoln says "what"...LOL (ok not really, probably, but it sounds like it)

Linc eating the pumpkin

A Proud Mom

There are so many things that Linc does that I am so proud of. He is one smart cookie! I love how I can see the intention and though in his face when he is trying something new or doing something on purpose. This past Thursday I was soooo proud of the little guy. He has been sick this past week and not feeling well, so I have been doing a lot of holding him. I love it and can't complain. This particular day he was content with hanging out by the couch, cruising back and forth, until he realized he was tired of the couch and wanted to go to the bean bag. He let go of the couch, stood for a few seconds while he gained confidence in his balance and then walked the 3 1/2 steps that it took him to get to the bean bag. It was AMAZING...and I'm not just saying that because I am his mother. I could see that he had a goal and he set out to get it and then accomplished it! The apple definitely does not fall far from the tree. He seriously makes me so proud!! He takes after his parents in so many ways. This next one is definitely all me...sorry hun. We all remember the "dance, dance, dance" Lincoln from earlier. Well Lincoln is now evolving into a more coordinated and self-producing dancer. I think its from watching me do Zumba...haha!! He loves music and has since birth, he will make it so that his toy plays the music and then bounces up and down to it...rather rhythmically I might add. You can see by the smile on his face that he totally enjoys it.



As I was trying to get some good footage of him dancing and catch him in his moment I got this instead. He heard the sirens from a fire truck (not an ambulance like I say in the video) and he stops until its pretty much gone. Then he looks over to where he heard the sound. Did I mention he is a little smarty pants?



This is usually how he dances, I guess he is like his mommy. We don't really need a party, we are perfectly content dancing by ourselves.

My Poor Sick Baby

Linc woke up from his nap on Tuesday with a fever. He acted okay so I just gave him some Tylenol and we went about our day. He did take an extra nap. That night around 2 or 3 a.m. he woke up crying and was burning up. I gave him some motrin and was with him for most of the night. He was kinda fussy and not wanting his bottle and just overall not happy. He would cry off and on and then cried for a while. I had to say a prayer because it was breaking my heart to see him so sad. I definitely know that prayers are answered because Dave walked in the room about 20 minutes later, which was probably around 4am and Linc went straight to him and settled right down. We took him to our bed (second try that night) and he looked out the window for a couple minutes, saw his bottle that he had been pushing away for about 2 hours and gladly started to drink it. His fever broke and he started to sweat and then he was asleep in no time. The next morning we went downstairs and he gave his daddy a big hug! I thought it was the sweetest thing so I grabbed the camera to capture the sweet moment.

I love what Elder Utchdorf said, "giving up sleep for a little one is a good sacrifice". There are no better moments than when you can hold you baby and comfort them, whether it is a 3 in the morning or all day long. I would much rather get nothing done and be there to comfort my little boy. Everything else can wait! He has been so sweet and cuddly. He will play a little and then crawl back to me and just want to be held for a while. He is doing a lot better although still cuddly and sensitive, which I won't complain about one bit. I absolutely love Linc with all my heart!

My Growing Boy...

I always love driving with Linc. He is so curious about what is going on around him and loves to look outside. I remember when I couldn't even see him because he was so small and then I was able to just barely see his eyes. I love being able to look back and see him looking up in my direction or when I hand him his bottle and he just reaches his arm up and grabs it. Lately I have noticed that I can see a lot more than just his eyes...

We are definitely in need of a new car seat. I found the one we are going to get I just haven't had a chance to get it. Linc still has about 1/2 an inch before he officially grows out of the seat. He is getting way too clever. He will reach back and pull the shade forward and play with it and he will lower the safety belt clip so he can lean forward. I think my favorite is when he hears a crinkle sound, which is usually the sound of me eating something, and he turns and looks. I know exactly what he is thinking..."I want some of that mommy". Oh I love this little boy!

Yummy Dessert!!

We had some friends over on Sunday for dinner so I decided to make a cute and yummy dessert! It was definitely a hit and I love when I get to use my cute little trifle cups.

JKs Pumpkin Patch Adventures

We decided to make Lincoln's first Halloween a memorable one. We went to this pretty cool pumpkin patch!! It started off with us picking out our pumpkin cart. Dave had a blanket in the car so he laid it down for Linc to be able to ride in the cart.

Next Dave put Linc in the corn box, where he got a bit curious and wanted to taste the corn. Dave and Colt had a bit of fun and buried Linc in the corn. I think he was a bit confused at what they were doing...but he enjoyed it!


We found a place to see how tall we are. First Dave held Linc up, but then realized he didn't have to hold him up because the little guy can stand up on his own!!


We had to take a family picture to see how we all measured up...it wasn't accurate, especially not for Linc, but it was a fun thing to do.

Fun times at some photo spots and some tricycle races. The boys rode the trikes just fine down the track until they got to the corner and then both got stuck...hilarious to watch!!




We had some fun at the little petting zoo...Linc liked the animals, especially their fur. Dave wanted me to take Linc down the hay slide so I did. That slide was pretty steep and a lot faster than I had anticipated.






We were able to take a hayride over to the pumpkin patch area so that we could pick our pumpkins (which I am realizing I didn't get a picture of). It was a fun little ride.






We took our time walking through the big pumpkin patch to find what we thought was the best pumpkin. Leslie and Colt picked a green pumpkin and then a green bumpy pumpkin. They love the ones they picked...definitely had character. Linc gave his kiss of approval to the pumpkin he liked!


On the way to the corn maze we stopped to enjoy the sunset...it was beautiful!! The corn maze was a fun little treat. It was a first for Linc, me and Colt! Hard to believe, but fun to share a first with my little baby boy.



Lincoln was sure fascinated with all of the hay and stole a few bites here and there. He had a good time as did the rest of us. We are already planning ahead for next year and have decided that we will go again. It's crazy to think that Linc will be running around then.

High Five Linc!!

When we went down to see Kevin the guy sitting next to us in Sunday School asked Linc for a high five...he was not really sure what to do so I grabbed his hand and had him give the guy a high five. After that he took to it quite nicely. He definitely understands the concept now! He will hold up his own hand when he wants a high five and thinks it is so funny when I give him multiple high fives at once.

Swinging Time

I took Linc to a park that is on the way to the law school. All I have to say is that will be the last time we stop at that park! Linc was more interested in the people yelling and curious about them than anything else. He enjoyed the swing, but you can tell by the look on his face in the picture where he is turned that he is trying to figure out what the people next to him are yelling about. CRAZY!!! We were there for about 30 minutes and then went home. I think the saddest part of that park trip was when the little girl asked her mom to push her on the swing and the response from the mother was "I can't, I have to smoke this cigarette"...are you kidding me?!! Overall, Linc enjoyed the outside and the nice fall day. The weather was actually really nice. Next time I think we will go back to our other park.

Pumpkin Curry

Dave and I absolutely LOVE pumpkin curry...especially at our favorite restaurant in American Fork called Thai Village. We are so sad that no one has pumpkin curry. Our Thai neighbors didn't even know it existed. I absolutely could not go the entire time we are here in Nebraska without pumpkin curry so I decided to make it myself. I went to the store and bought a sugar pie pumpkin. Actually I ended up buying two so I could make more than just pumpkin curry from scratch (pumpkin pie to come later), but I figure I would start with the pumpkin curry. It was actually for out in-home date night dinner and a movie.

I started with the basic red curry paste, coconut milk, onions, garlic, and a few other things to make the curry. Then we added the chunks of pumpkin, chicken, onions and broccoli. I let it simmer while I went to go pick Dave up from school and then we enjoyed it when we got home. It turned out pretty good although next time I am going to change a few things. I have a feeling that by the time I leave here I will have a pumpkin curry that I am totally satisfied with!

Kevin's Homecoming!!

I cannot believe how fast two years can pass. It seems like not that long ago we took Kevin out to dinner to say good-bye to him before he left on his mission. This past week we drove to Independence, MO for Kevin's homecoming. Dave enjoyed the drive down. The plan was for me to drive so that he could study, but this is what he did:


We drove passed the Kansas City temple that is going to be opening later sometime. We were going to do a bit of sight seeing, but ended up leaving later and taking longer because of a road closure.

When we got to Kevin's home Dave had to take a picture by this home that he thought was hideous. I think Linc might agree, but I think he is just tired from the drive down.

On Sunday we went to church, but since we got there a little early we took Linc for a walk. We liked the sign from the church across the street so we went and Dave and Linc took a picture in front of it. The funny thing is that we saw someone else drive up just to take a picture of the sign and then drive off. Kevin and his parents gave wonderful talks and the song Kevin sang was beautiful.

After church we went back to the house for some food, family and fun. Linc entertained himself with Dave's phone. He also kind of enjoyed all the people, but with the lack of a nap he was kind of on edge.

Kevin had a wonderful mission, but is adjusting to being home. We were happy to see him and enjoyed catching up. We were sure to snap some pics before we left.


We stopped for gas before we hit the road and we saw the funniest thing!! A person moving a washer on the back of a compact car. It pretty much topped off the weekend. Although it took us a much longer time to get home because of detours, it was a wonderful trip and we can't wait to see Kevin again!!