Autumn Colors

I love Autumn. The vibrant colors of the leaves, the final harvesting of vegetables and the preparations for Halloween. This isn't my favorite season, but it's certainly one I love. We spent many weekends through September and October taking pictures through the canyons and in our own yard. We visited Squaw Peak in time to see these vibrant colors.


We also visited a nice spot somewhere in American Fork Canyon right before the big color change. We roasted marshmallows and hotdogs and loved the scenery found in every direction. I feel so blessed to live in an area where there are so many beautiful places to visit.




Here are some fun photos we took in our yard. I am so delighted that we have one of the most colorful yards in the neighborhood.







We also visited Gardner Village this year as a family and enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Although the crowds were a bit much, it's one of my favorite memories in the month of October.

Halloween 2008

Halloween for the Pearson family was quite exciting this year. Anna thorougly enjoyed trick or treating, and always went straight for the sucker candies. Several days after Halloween, she continued to say "Trick or Treat" hoping that I would give her more candy.

I didn't make all our Halloween costumes this year, as I have in years past. My days are far too busy chasing after my baby and toddler, and my evenings are often spent cleaning the house. This year I only made one costume and that was for Levi. He decided a month ago to dress as a wizard to match Anna's witch costume. I'm very excited that the costume turned out quite well. This is also the first time I have seen Levi actually get excited over a costume. We used a broom handle wrapped in natural fibers for his staff. I even attached an orb to the end, but Anna decided to play with the staff and destroyed the orb.



Ian dressed as a Dalmatian puppy to match my Cruella DeVil costume. Ian made it quite clear that he disliked his costume, so we have very few pictures of him dressed up, and even less of him smiling.



We attended a party at Levi's work, a trunk or treat at the church then the neighborhood trick or treating. We have a lot of candy, and Anna is constantly searching the house to find where it is hiding. She just doesn't understand why she has eat real food when there is candy available. This is one battle I'll be fighting for a very long time.



Now that things have settled down a bit. I hope to start potty training my adorable 2 1/2 year old. I can start putting all the candy to good use as an incentive in this next challenge.

4th of July Fun

The month of July is almost over and I'm finally getting around to post our adventures over the 4th of July weekend. We drove to Washington to spend some time with Levi's parents. When we arrived, Anna was thrilled to discover a big house to explore, a young Doberman Pincher, a pink bed with her name on it, and a basket of new toys. What more could a 2 year old ask for? One of those new toys was a stick horse. Anna would drag it downstairs, place it on the coffee table and put it to sleep. Thinking back, I still giggle at my funny girl.


On the 4th of July, we attended a local parade and browsed stalls for trinkets. Anna received so much candy from the parade, we were having to sneak much of it away while she wasn't looking.

That evening we were able to watch the fireworks off the balcony as they exploded over the Puget Sound. That view will always be one of my favorites. It was fun to eat kettle popcorn and watch the fireworks explode. This year they had some fun heart shapes and smiley faces. Loved those!

During our visit we were able to make arrangements to visit with our friends Jason, Carla and their toddler Cora. They now live under 20 miles away from Levi's parents, so it was exciting to visit with them after being apart for a year. Anna and Cora were born a week apart and spent much of their first year together. After a year apart, it was so exciting to see the girls play together again. They ran through the house laughing, hugging and getting into general mischief. It was fun to see Jason and Carla again after so long. Even though it's been a year, it felt like old times with our visit.



We visited the Tall Ships museum and saw a replica of Columbus's ship. I was very surprised at the small size of the ship. During that visit, we were able to board a military boat and see the ships up close. On the dock, there were people dressed in pirate costumes and making the general atmosphere fun. One pirate had a pet rat that Ian enjoyed touching with his pointer finger. I wasn't fast enough catching the picture, but here is a cute one.





Our last days there were spent at the Tacoma zoo and at the beach. The zoo was exciting for the kids and Anna especially enjoyed feeding the petting zoo animals. The beach is in walking distance from the Pearson's home. Anna delighted in playing in the water and couldn't understand why us adults kept trying to point out sea shells and other boring things. Water is so much more exciting.





We enjoyed our 4 of July weekend and are grateful to Levi's parents for opening up their home for our family.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I should be more flattered that Anna wants to be just like me. She repeats far too many of the things I say, she likes to wear my big shoes on her tiny feet, she even likes to dance when she sees me moving to music. Lately she's been wanting to be a mom too. Her doll is her "Baby", and goes all over with her. If I place Ian in his car seat, Anna feels that her doll should also go into that car seat. Where ever Ian is, her doll should be there as well. This isn't a problem unless she feels that Ian is hogging a certain toy. For instance, if Ian is in the exersaucer and Anna feels her doll should be there, it's war. Here are some pictures of Anna treating her baby doll as well has her baby brother gets treated. Everywhere you see her doll is where Ian is usually sitting.

Here Anna is feeding (nursing) her doll. She's even using my nursing pillow and sitting in my favorite spot.




Here Anna is letting her doll play in Ian's tent.



To get the kids around, I use a double stroller. One day I hear Anna yelling for me and discovered that she placed her doll in the back seat (where Ian usually sits) and she climbed into the front seat. She was begging for a stroller ride.



This sweet girl keeps me young.

Blessed Boy

On April 13th, 2008 we blessed Ian. We have been wanting to bless him for many months, but have been waiting for a time when Levi's parents could be in town for the event. We were so fortunate that the weather was in the 70's and could have a luncheon at our home after the blessing.

The blessing Levi gave Ian was so very beautiful. The Bishop later told me that he asked Levi before the blessing if he was a one or two hand baby (as in how many hands to help support Ian's weight). Levi replied "two hands". The Bishop later laughed at this, as Ian must be one of the heaviest babies blessed in my ward. He's rather older than many babies blessed as well (4 months old and near 15 pounds).





After the blessing we came back to our home for a luncheon of pinwheels, salads, fruit and tons of warm weather and sunshine. We rented several tables and chairs for the back yard, and had I thought things through better, I would have set out plenty of sunscreen for all our guests.





Those that came are Levi's parents, my parents, Linda, Brandie, Tilly, David, Emma, Tyler, Heidi, Alan and Logan.
Thank you all for sharing that special day with us.

Happy Birthday Anna

Anna turned 2 today. She spent the day playing with Ian, watching Boo, and playing with her new doll pack and play, and mailbox. When Levi got home from work, we too her to the nearest aquarium that's open late (Cabella's), and she had such fun watching the big fish feed on the goldfish. She also enjoyed running through the store and playing in the very large set up tents. When we got home, she enjoyed her very delicious chocolate cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday my darling girl!

Easter 2008

It's been hard to find time to blog lately as there are so many distractions keeping me away. One is the ever fun "Facebook", the other is the TV. Last week some of my favorite shows came back. They are, The Bachelor (this one is mighty fine), Dancing with the Stars, Beauty and the Geek, and a new show called New Amsterdam. I have also been watching Stargate and Firefly. The TV and Facebook are not the only things that keep me away from my blog. I've been digging in the back yard for weeks now, trying to get flowers planted, and the garden area cleared and ready for planting. I've also been arranging bids with several contractors for a new roof and a new fence. And as always, Anna and Ian keep me busy and awake at nights.

Easter 2008 was a great one for the Pearson family. My sister and I organized a family party and we chose my house for the location. Everyone but my younger brother was able to attend, and we are thrilled that 19 people were able to feast in our home and enjoy themselves. After we ate, all the kids ran into the back yard to enjoy an egg hunt. Many of the eggs were filled with fun toys that the kids later used for bartering and trading. We then had a game of touch football, then the kids enjoyed making ho ho racecars with peep drivers and spree candy wheels.

Anna was thrilled to have all her cousins visiting her. She shared her toys and delighted in all the attention she received. Ian was by far the most popular person at the party. His aunts, uncles, grandma and cousins were all anxious to get their turn to hold him and get some coos, giggles, and cute gurgling sounds. Levi enjoyed snapping pictures of all the events, and I enjoyed showing all the kids how to make food racecars.

I can't remember the last time we were all able to get together and have so much fun. The last few times we've gathered together it was to mourn for our loved ones, Grandma and Liz. With Spring here, flowers starting to bloom, and playful times like yesterday, it makes it a little easier to move forward and enjoy the precious lives we are blessed to have.

Very Young Driver

This toddler seems to think that driving a car is the coolest thing in the world. When we put her in the van, she runs to the front seat and truly believes that we will actually let her drive.

Atticus

This is Atticus. He weighs 17 pounds, and is 5 years old. He likes to lick plastic, play tag with Anna, steal food from Anna's high chair, begs for milk, plays with twisty ties, blocks my path, and plays with his stuffed animal Bageria.

This morning at around 4am, he located a plastic bag on my dresser. Over the next hour, he ruffled and licked that plastic bag all over. By the time I fully awoke from the noise, my nerves were rather tight. I chased him away from the plastic bag, then attempted to hide it away from him. Within moments, he had located a bag of diapers that he immediately started to ruffle and lick. I chased him away from this bag as well, only to find that he was determined to lick some kind of plastic. In all, I chased him away from 4 different noisy plastic type bags from the hours of 4am to 6am. Boy I'm tired today.

Even as I type this entry, he is sitting in front of the monitor trying to block my view. I have removed him from this location 3 times in the last 5 minutes. I know he just wants attention, but after the bag fiasco this morning, I'm not anxious to play with him.

If the kids don't drive me crazy, Atticus certainly will!

It's Been 2 Months!

As of yesterday, Ian turned 2 months old. He is healthy and growing bigger each day. He's already in 3-6 month clothing. He's not chubby, just big. He is adored by his big sister, who is constantly trying to share toys with him, is anxious to keep a binki in his mouth at all times, and loves to give him a thrill ride when he's sitting in his swing. It's hard to believe that he's only been a member of our family for 2 months, as I can't imagine how we ever did without him.