Quick Update

I'm trying to do too much this morning but I really wanted to get a quick update on the blog from the past few months.  I know most people don't read this but it is more of a personal history that I like to keep for our family.  Eventually I will find the time and money to print it all out and put it in a book.

Seth went to his first movie in August.  We saw Brave.  It was a family night sponsored by UHC and they gave my office a lot of tickets so we figured a free movie was probably the best way to try it out for Seth.  He was really grumpy right before we left for the theater and we considered not even going but decided to make an attempt.  And he ended up being soooo good.  He sat quietly through the whole movie with his little mini pizza on his lap and just stared at the screen.  When the scary part with the bear came on I looked at him and he seemed concerned but not frightened.  So I just put my arm around him and he instantly climbed into my lap and just roared out loud like he was also a bear.  It was cute.

 I also received a flyer from Chick Fil A in August that they were doing a "Mother Son Date Knight."  We got all dressed up and went to dinner...just me and Seth.  We got our picture taken in Knight and Queen costumes and Moo was there.  Seth was obsessed with this cow.  He wanted to go say 'hi' to him like 10 times.

 Seth finds some unusual ways to entertain himself while I try to get him to go potty.

 We decided it may be time to transition Seth to a big boy bed.  So near the end of the summer we got him a bed from Ikea.  He was so excited for it.  We kept the crib in the room just in case and he asked to sleep in it about once a week for the first month but now the crib is history.  He is pretty good about staying in bed in the morning until we come to get him.  We just have a little trouble keeping him in bed at night.  We will find him lying on the top of the stairs outside his room and we will have to ask him to go back to bed and threaten to shut the door.  That usually works.

 I decided I wanted to get better at baking yeast breads so this was one of my attempts in October.  The rolls actually turned out really well.  Usually they are really dense and the dough isn't very smooth but I think I was putting too much flour in before.  So this batch was a winner. 

 The finished product. 

 I am still into cupcakes.  The cookbook I got has tons of cupcakes for the holidays so there are a lot that I have wanted to try out.  I thought these orange flavored pumpkins turned out so cute.

 These skeletons were a little harder to make.  Plus they were just a boring chocolate cupcake so I added a cream filling to it to make it more fun.

 My sister Kaylyn loves Halloween so much that for the last few years she has planned a huge Halloween party with my mom.  This year's party was so fun.  She and her boyfriend Ben were Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

 I hate dressing up for Halloween but Kaylyn begged me to so I found a $5 cat outfit at Walmart.  Clint was a Mormon missionary complete with his hair parted.  He looked strange.

 My parents costumes were the best.  They were nerds.  My mom's costume was so frightening that some of the kids cried.  It was hilarious!

 Kylie and Colette...two pretty witches!

 Seth had a Nemo costume but refused to wear it.  So we put his skeleton pjs on him as a backup.  Good thing we did because he took his Nemo costume off about 5 minutes after we got to my mom's house.

 Parker was the best Captain Hook I have ever seen.  He was so into his character too.

 Seth's daycare did a trunk or treat the night before Halloween so we took Seth to it.  He had a great time!  Notice the bag he is carrying for candy.  We forgot his pumpkin bucket so we had to use the plastic bag that the Nemo costume comes in for his candy bag.  He was holding it by the hanger.  It worked though!

 It didn't take him long to get the hang of how to say "Trick or Treat!"

 I love this picture.  Seth looks like such a big boy here.

 On Halloween we took Seth to Clint's dad's work again.  We go every year and meet up with Aunt Char and cousin Thayne.  This is the third time I have taken this picture of these four in this spot at South Jordan City Hall.

 My parents had their 25th Anniversary earlier this month and Kaylyn and I wanted to plan something special for them.  So we surprised them by taking them to a nice dinner at Carvers.  We ordered some special cupcakes from One Sweet Slice and had sparkling cider with dinner.  The staff at Carvers is awesome.  They put us in a private room and were so great!

 Happy 25!!!!

 Seth was too young to play in the snow in 2010 and we really didn't have much snow in 2011 so this year was his first time getting to really play.  Kaylyn helped him make his first snowman.  He even rolled the head of the snowman by himself.  I hate snow so I stayed warm inside.

 This year I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.  I love table decorations so I had to take a picture of the table.

 I always try for the elegant look...

 I also made some more fun cupcakes for the big day.

 Here is a picture of all our food.  I made the turkey.  It was dry but I made notes and put it in my recipe book for next year so hopefully if I make a turkey again it will be better.  Clint was so great to help me plan, prep food, and clean the house before people came over.

And here is the family pigging out.  Kaylyn doesn't look thrilled.  I think it's because she had gone to Ben's house for dinner a few hours earlier and she was pretty full.