Meet Wilbur and Nicholas

Every year I get excited about carving pumpkins thinking that this will be the year that Nicholas will get into it.  This year we had long discussions about what we were going to carve into our pumpkins.  We read books about pumpkins.  We explained about jack-o-lanterns.  We took him to the store to pick out his own pumpkin.  We got the pumpkin home, washed off, and ready to be carved.  It was then that things begin to fall apart.  There was a big argument about whether Nicholas would get to hold a knife.  You can guess which side his parents were on and which side Nicholas was on.  After a lot of tears, we got that settled.  He resigned himself to only holding the orange scooper, which we told him was the most important part.  What little excitement he had left fizzled out when he discovered what was actually in the pumpkin.  At one point he actually gagged.  There was no way he was putting his arm down in that pumpkin and touching the pumpkin guts.  So we gave up and Joseph did pretty much everything to carve Nicholas' pumpkin.  In the end, Nicholas was only willing to stand by it and name him.  Nicholas is going through a phase where he will name everything Nicholas.  So hence, Nicholas the pumpkin became part of our lives.  After Nicholas was ushered off to bed, Joseph spent the rest of the night carving the spider pumpkin.  He named the spider Wilbur (after the pig in Charlotte's Web) and Nicholas was very excited to meet Wilbur when he woke up the next morning, though he thought Nicholas was a better name for him.

We Be Pirates

Our ward's trunk-or-treat was on Saturday.  We had a lot of fun dressing up as pirates.  In case you were wondering, Lexi was our treasure map.  I will have to post a close up of her outfit later.  It had to be alter because we had a cold spell.  Joseph asked when Lexi would stop being a prop and actually get a costume. I told him she could have a real costume when she is old enough to ask for one:)

This was the first time Nicholas has really gone trick-or-treating.  He went to ever car and would say, "Trick-or-Treasure."   He was a very polite pirate and always said, "Thank you."  He didn't eat any of his candy while we were there.  He was more interested in the Oreo cookies.   He ate 3 Oreo cookies and had three glasses of root juice making him the happiest boy on earth.  The other highlight of the night was decorating his little pumpkin with markers.  He took it very seriously and spent a good 15 minutes coloring it with various markers.  He was also devastated when he discovered he could only color one pumpkin.  

Look Who Is One!!!

Tooth Count: Barely 2 (middle, bottom, front teeth are peeking through)
Weight:  33.4 lbs

Speaking:  Lots of "Ohhhhhhs," "Maaaa Maaa Maaas," and "Da Da Das."  My favorite thing about Lexi right now is the perfect little O her mouth makes when she finds something that interests her and the little giggle she gives when you give her something that pleases her.  Okay, I also LOVE it when she points her little finger at me.

Mobility:  She is a fast crawler.  She will stand by herself for a few seconds.  She is a pretty good climber and loves to be up high.  Her favorite thing is to climb up on the couch and crawl back and forth.  At each end of the couch, she will face plant into the arm cushion and giggle.  She also loves crawling on Nicholas' bed and all of his beloved blankets.

Favorite Foods:  Peaches, Grapes, Turkey Lunch Meat and Yogurt.  She just learned how to use a bottle about three weeks ago.  She loves that bottle passionately now.

Lexi at One:

• She is an opinionated soul.  She has a really loud constipated sounding growl that she will emit when she is displeased.  She will use this special growl when she has to wait for the swing, her bottle, her car, or anything else she really wants.
• She wakes up at 6:30 and takes one hour-and-a-half nap around 11.  She then goes to bed around 7.
• She loves to bounce and swing.
• She LOVES books.
• She HATES diaper changes.  She starts thrashing and moaning when we enter her room because she knows she either has a diaper change coming or she is going to be put to bed.

Lexi and Big Brother:

Poor little Lexi has been getting beat up lately as Nicholas tries to adjust to her new mobility.  He doesn't know what to do, because she won't heed his warnings so he just resorts to pushing or throwing things at her.  She keeps on getting large red marks on her head thanks to big brother.  If I didn't see what happens our conversation goes like this:

Mom: "Why is Lexi crying?"
Nicholas: "She got hurt."
Mom: "Did you hurt her?"
Nicholas: "No.  The block hurt her."
Mom: "Did you throw the block at Lexi?"
Nicholas: "Yeah!"

We have tried every punishment.  Right now, we send him to his room for five minutes for "bad friend behavior."  He has to play all by himself for 5 minutes, which is pure torture for him.  Then he has to think of something nice he can do for Lexi.  They have found one game that they like to play with each other.  They both think it is hilarious when they take turns spitting at each other.  I guess you have to start somewhere.

Birthday Celebrations:

We blew up the blow up mattress and let Lexi bounce around on it with lots of blankets and pillows!!  We stayed home and Lexi got to go down for a nap as soon as she wanted.  When she woke up we went to the store and then played outside.  She did a pretty good job at not eating sand from the sandbox and acorns from the grass.  My little Lexi is growing up so fast.  She had peaches for dinner, which are her favorite.  After dinner, Lexi opened presents like a champ.  Big brother Nicholas was happy to step in and help if she wasn't fast enough.  She then went with Papa to pick out some birthday ice cream.  She picked cookie dough and completely enjoyed it except for the chocolate bits.

Pumpkin Patch

We drove to a Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound for playgroup.  This is our second year going there, but it was Lexi's first time.  It seems like just yesterday I was waddling through the pumpkins super pregnant.  Now I have this amazing almost one year old and a much more independent three year old.  Time goes by so fast.

 Nicholas was so brave.  He went through this huge blow up obstacle course and down the giant slide.  He LOVED it.  He just kept yelling, "Lets do that again."  He did it tons of times and even started sliding down on his belly.  He was the only kid in playgroup willing to give it a try.

 They had a whole house made out of pumpkins.  Lexi made friends with the scarecrow.

 Lexi loved the straw even more than the pumpkins.  She kept on putting it in her mouth especially during the hay ride.  People kept on tapping me on the shoulder to alert me to the fact that she was putting hay in her mouth.  I just let her do it because she was being good about taking it back out.  I was more worried about Nicholas who was trying to climb out of the wagon.  I am learning to pick my battles.

 She is so happy because she found a rock.

I took this picture for Joseph.  Joseph is so mad that all the merry-go-rounds are being removed from parks.

Tiger Stripes and Jaguar Spots (aka Don't Leave a Three Year Old Alone with Markers)

I left Nicholas alone for about 10 minutes while I tried to get a very grumpy Lexi down for her nap.  This is what I came back to find.

Nicholas at Three

Height: 38 1/4 inch
Weight: 37 lbs

My Favorite Phrases He Says:

• "This oatmeal sure does have sugar bugs.  Yep, it sure does."
• "Let me look in your mouth.  I see SUGAR BUGS."
• "I have a question..."
• "Lets talk about elephants and mice."
• "Who do we ask when we don't know where to go?  That's right.  The MAP."
• "If you see a _______, yell _______."
• "Lets go back to Texas." (He thinks our house is named Texas.)
• "I don't want to be alone.  I need a friend."
• "If you give me 10 kisses, I will give you ______"
• "I need you to lay with me for 10 minutes!!!"
• "I've got my sword.  I've got my map.  I've got my pixie dust.  We only use pixie dust for emergencies."
• "I stole your pixie dust."
• "Do you know what doesn't have sugar bugs?  That's right, WATER."
• "Got to go POTTY!  Whisk me away."
• "I sure do."  "It sure does."
• "It fell way down there and went clonk bonk."

Favorite Foods: Pasta, Mac 'n Cheese, Ice Cream, and Juice

What He Wants To Be When He Grows Up:  A REAL doctor, like Papa

Favorite Places to Go: The Ark, the Tubes, Chuck E Cheese, the Museum, the Park, and Grandma's House in Utah

Favorite Shows:  Captain Oso, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Diego, Dora, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Super Reader, and Handy Mandy

Favorite Movie:  Dumbo

Favorite Color: Purple (Changes though.)

Favorite Song: I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

Partying Nicholas Style

We opened presents in the morning and skyped both sets of grandparents. Nicholas got all sorts of great things!  He got bubbles, a Spiderman mask, guitar, cell phone, clothes, disc guns, and all sorts of art supplies.  He LOVED all his gifts.  

 He also got a cape so Papa and Nicholas can be cape buddies.  

 Then we headed to the Ark, which is an indoor playground at a nearby church.  I'm sooooooo glad Nicholas is old enough that he can climb through all the tunnels and go down the slides all by himself!!

After lunch and naps, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese.  When we pulled up, Nicholas exclaimed, "Wow, Chuck E. Cheese.  It is SO BEAUTIFUL."  While we were there, he kept on yelling, "I LOVE THIS PLACE."   He was so appreciative and excited the whole day.  It is such a magical age.

We ended the night with watching Dumbo and eating cake.  I asked Nicholas what was his favorite part of his birthday, and he said it was blowing out his candles.  

Nicholas is Three

Our Trip to Utah

We went to Utah for two months while Joseph studied for STEP 2 and did a cardiology rotation with his Dad.  We had a wonderful time thanks to our wonderful family.  It was so GREAT to be by family for a little while.

Here are a few highlights:

One of our first things we wanted to do when we visited UT was enjoy the mountains.  We hiked up Holbrook Canyon.  

We went to the Boone Reunion.  I was nervous taking the kids camping, but they had a great time thanks partly to all the equipment Joseph's mom brought.  Nicholas was filthy the WHOLE time.  His favorite part of the camp was a small whirlpool in the stream.  He dropped all sorts of things down it.  Nicholas also loved the fire.  (Nicholas still asks, "Is it still time for the U PUT YA.")

We had the first Muhlestein reunion.  All the Muhlestein kids and grandkids were together!  We did the Alpine slide and hiked Donut Falls.

 I had the BEST BIRTHDAY!  I went to a day of education week down at BYU while Joseph's mom watched the kids.  We then went to the Muhlestein's for a crayfish boil!  IT WAS FABULOUS.  Nicholas requested a spoon for his butter.

We explored the new City Creek Center and Nicholas went to a movie at the Planetarium. 

We spent two days down in Provo.  We slept over at Joseph's brother's house and caught up with some old friends.  Will and Lexi hung out.  He taught her how to climb the stairs and inspired her to be more mobile.

We went to the Brigham City Open House.  Nicholas loved his booties so much 

that he refused to take them off.

We drove through American Fork Canyon and enjoyed the Autumn leaves.  We then walked up to Bridle Veil falls.

Nicholas LOVED reading stories with Grandma Wells.  He loved reading the Red Balloon.  He was convinced he could go out and fly off with six balloons.

 

We hung out a lot at my parents.  My mom saved all of our old toys.  Nicholas had a blast using them all.

We went down to Thanksgiving Point and enjoyed the Dinosaur Museum.

We saw the new Aquarium.

We visited Tracy Aviary.

We visited all our great Grandparents.

We went to the zoo a lot.

WE HAD SO MUCH FUN.  

WE MISS YOU ALL!!!