What We Did In October...

October Happenings!
I love October. I happen to believe that it is the best month of the entire year. However, because it was unusually warm this year, the leaves didn't change as much. But it didn't keep us from enjoying some canyon air. 

We made Halloween cookies! Cruise was done after two, Jett stayed and didn't stop until all the cookies had been decorated, and Miles was in charge of covering all my cookies in sprinkles.

This year we chose Hee Haw Farms over Cornbelly's since it was less expensive and just as much, if not more, fun. The kids LOVED the slide the most, even with Miles sliding down in a headlock.

 

 

They had a fun farm area where they let you mingle with the sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and chickens.

Cruise saying "Hi" to a sheep.

 

Cruise thinking about how he can catch a duck without getting his feet muddy.

What was surprisingly fun, even for Dave & I, was the corn box. We must have spent almost an hour in that thing.

 

 

The boys really liked the tractor train. Miles cried when the ride was over. So they went on it again. And then again.

 

There was a giant pumpkin they had to lift with this beast. 

And a few more fun things for the kids to do.

It was a really hot day, but luckily it cooled off the last half of the time we spent there. Whew!

It being so hot, the grass still needed to be cut. Cruise really wanted to learn how to mow the lawn. But I think he might have to wait a couple more years.

Jett gave it a shot too. Definitely a few more years for that kid.

The Big 3-0!
I had to fill in a form the other day with my age...I had to erase the 2. Yep, I'm 30! I feel old. I know 30 isn't old, but once you start turning the age of people you used to look at and say, "Wow, they're old," then I think it's safe to say, "I'm old".

My birthday landed on a Wednesday, so Dave took me out the Friday before to celebrate. Joe and Linsey watched the kids and we headed to the Riverwoods to get pedicures. Yep! Dave got a pedicure! It actually was pretty funny because we had no idea the Trick-or-Treating in the Riverwoods was that evening, so we sat there by the front door as all the kids and their parents came through and watched us getting our pedicures. Dave was pleasantly surprised at how awesome a pedicure is! The massage chair, the foot soak, the paraffin wax, the hot stone massage, ohhhh yeeeaahhhh. It was awesome. I don't think I've seen Dave's feet that clean in...ever.

Then we went to Red Lobster where I ate a ton of crab and a lobster tail. Dave got the Ultimate Feast with some scallops. It was all delicious!

On my actual birthday, Dave and the kids made me breakfast in bed and gifted me some paintings the kids had done. Dave fixed my necklace I had gotten for Christmas and put it on a new chain for me. Dave made me a cake earlier in the day, and when he got home from work, they all sang "Happy Birthday" to me and we all enjoyed some delicious German Chocolate cake! My favorite!

Miles kept trying to blow out the candles.

 

Halloween
Halloween seemed to drag on a lot longer than I remember. Probably because I had to do 2 class parties in one week and then there was Halloween.

The night before Halloween, we all carved our pumpkins! Jett did a Creeper face from Minecraft, Cruise did his own design, a robot I think, and Dave & I did a Storm Trooper face. 

I said "No", Dad said "Yes". Luckily everyone still has all their fingers.

For Halloween this year, Cruise was Ash Ketchum from Pokemon, Jett was a Samuri Knight, and Miles was a Minion (thanks to Ruth for the amazing beanie).

Even though Miles doesn't like candy, we still made him trick-or-treat. Mom & Dad gotta get their candy somehow!

After about 5 or 6 blocks, I picked Miles up and brought him home. Dave, Cruise & Jett kept going for a little while longer. They brought home quite the haul.

 

And that was October!

Miles at 24 Months

I kept meaning to get to Miles' update, so here it is (finally):

Earlier this month, Dave took Miles and Jett to Farm Country and Miles took his first pony ride. He loved it so much he screamed, cried and made a huge scene because he wanted to stay on the pony. Life is tough.

Miles is learning more and more words every day. We are working on making him say the words when we know what he wants. So if he wants to watch a show, he first tell him to say, "Show please," and he will do it! He understands a lot but still struggles saying words, which is probably because we usually know what he wants. So hopefully his language will pick up with our new method. 

Miles is very independent yet loves his snuggles. He always wants to try things himself but will ask for "hep" if he really needs it. He does not like to hold our hand, especially when crossing a parking lot or a street. He always has to get in the car and into his seat by himself. Then out of the seat, out of the car, and push the button to close the door. If you don't let him do any of these things, be prepared for a classic 2 year old tantrum.

 Miles loves to play with us and is really good at independent play as well. He really enjoys playing with trucks, cars, trains and airplanes (or in our case space shuttles since our metal airplanes mysteriously disappeared when I kept stepping on them). He loves watching airplanes go past our house every few minutes headed towards the airport. When we play trucks together, he always has his flip over when they crash, and I am supposed to drive up to it with my car, ask if it's okay, and then give it a kiss. Then, and only then, will the car flip back over and we start all over again. We did this one day for an entire hour. It was mind-numbing, but he loved it.

He also discovered our Mr. Potato Head. He loves putting him together, then apart, and together again.

It was still really hot at the beginning of the month, so we went boating on Utah Lake one day. After watching Cruise and Jett tube, Miles indicated that he wanted to go too. So we put him in with Jett and pulled them along slowly. He loved it!

Miles loves having two older brothers. He definitely learns from them, which can be good and bad. But more than anything, he loves to play with them! Life is so much more fun with brothers.

Miles' favorite thing when we go to the park or just play in the backyard is to swing! Whatever toy he has with him, he puts the toy on the swing next to him and makes me push his swing and the toy's swing as well.

Miles likes to play this funny game every now and then that we call the Happy/Sad game. He'll smile real big and I'll smile back, then he'll go to a grumpy face, which I'll mirror, and then back to a big cheeser again. It's adorable.

 Miles, unfortunately, knows how to turn on the boys' tablets and turn on a show on Netflix. Lately he really likes Little Einsteins and from it, learned how to make his mouth into an O and put his hands on his cheeks to make a surprised look. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I really need to get a picture of it.

 Miles is pretty easy going most of the time. He's so chill he hasn't even thought to try climbing out of his crib. In fact, we let him choose if he wants to sleep with Jett on the bottom bunk or in his crib each night and each night he picks something different. But when he chooses the bottom bunk, he goes to sleep right away and doesn't give a fuss. And he's been so cute with his prayers. He folds his short, chubby arms and repeats the words the best he can. Oh, I love this child.

But as easy as he is, he has to throw in some toddler behavior every now and then. One day, I had to stop by Cubby's to grab some food for everyone. But I had Miles with me and I had to park across the parking lot. After getting the food, my arms were full and Miles had a little cup of soda that he was drinking. We started to cross the parking lot but the little stinker kept stopping in the middle of the parking lot instead of following me. I couldn't pick him up and he wouldn't budge, so I tried to nudge him along and he starting throwing a big fit and sat down right there in the road. So what was I supposed to do? I grabbed his beloved soda and held it out in front of him so he would chase it. He, of course, stood up, reached out and ran after the thing all the way to the car. Mom:1, Miles:0. 

Usually he is awesome at church, but one Sunday we were in such a big hurry that we failed to let him push the van button and of course he threw a giant tantrum. I stayed with him in the foyer while Dave and the other boys found a seat in the chapel. I waited for him to finish his fit and we joined the rest of the group after a few minutes. But the whole hour after that, he sulked on the floor, walked to the wall and sulked facing it, walked around sulking, and returned to the floor to sulk some more. 

One of my favorite things, though, is when I'll pick him up from nursery and he'll put his arms around my neck and start giving me kisses in abundance. I love it! 

Here are his 2 year stats!

Height: 34 inches, 39th percentile

Weight: 25 lbs, 37th percentile

Head: 19.5 inches, 82nd percentile