Painting Pumpkins

Again with the pumpkin love. Leighton has been asking to paint for weeks now and i have been so hesitant because when she asks she goes straight to a door or the walls and pretends to paint. One of my favorite things from her first halloween was a little pumpkin she painted. She was seriously like 7 or 8 months old and painted the sweetest little pumpkin. I have a picture of it somewhere and i honestly might frame it if i find it. 

This week i have been brave and crazy and doing sooo much and in middle of it i stopped and sat down with leighton asked what she wanted to do. She said paint pumpkins. When i said yes she beamed. I got everything ready and she was jumping up and down the entire time. Leighton gathered every pumpkin in the house and tried to paint every single one. If you read my last post you'd know that is a lot of pumpkins. 

After painting for a bit Leighton asked for baby to paint too. (She still calls Em baby). Emersyn loved it. Mostly she loved eating the paint but she loved the colors, and doing something with Leighton too. 

We had the funnest afternoon together and painting pumpkins was the perfect activity for all of us. 

MMM- October I Love You

October has brought some much needed beauty into my life. Ever since i was little i have been obsessed with this time of year. It just some how makes me feel happy. It might be the billions of adorable mini pumpkins and so ugly their cute gourds that are everywhere or the endless amounts of apple cider that i drink. The air seems crisper, view of the mountains clearer and it is just perfectly feeling outside. 

So because of this October is motivating me. I am trying extra hard with my babies. I am being more patient, playing more often and trying to make every moment a teachable one. The other day after taking the girls to a small town apple festival and hours of shopping for too many new clothes Leighton said "fun day mom" I about fell over. I was so happy that she loved spending time together and how simple but great our day was.

I want every day to be like that. 

Last Thursday we went to a cupcake decorating party that was so sweet. 

Friday we went to witches night out at a local main street boutique and the girls were the cutest little witches. 

Really is there another month with so much fun happening? I think not. 

Dear Babies- A space for you

Dear Babies

I love you so much. Life is beautiful and it is because you are in it. Both of you have contagious personalities, loud laughs and bright smiles. Happiness glows around you and love shows from your eyes. Your little hands hold mine, your dad's and each others. Your little feet run and dance and play. I hope you love your space. I hope you feel safe here, that you want to spend time in here, that it allows you to be creative and inspires you. Both of you deserve a beautiful place and this is yours.

MMM- Stay In The Moment

How many times can i say that being a mom is hard? Probably way too many, but it is. Being a mom is very very very hard. One thing i find myself doing when being home with a whiny 2 year old seems like too much is zone out. I start living in my own world and focus on my own things. Obviously i don't just let my babies fend for themselves but i don't spend the one on one time with them that i should be. I need to work on being calmer, and staying in the moment. When i am the love between me and the girls is amazing. We laugh and enjoy our time together and I need a little more of that in my life.

 

Pumpkin Love

One of my favorite parts about fall is pumpkins. There are pumpkins everywhere! I would keep mini ones in my home all year if it was socially acceptable. It isn't though and it might be kind of gross since they are only in season in the fall. So the first day of fall i buy up a bunch and start decorating. I am not kidding when i say there are probably 30 pumpkins in my home and we have only been to 1 pumpkin patch and have 2 more to go this month. 

Saturday was a mini fall dream. I made and canned triple berry syrup, watched LDS conference, and we went to the pumpkin patch. The girls were so cute and both loved running through the fields filled with huge orange pumpkins. 

Leighton picked out a mini acorn squash she fell in love with and carried it around until we left. As soon as we were home she picked it up again. We were lucky she didn't sleep with it. I am so glad she has the same love for mini squash that i do though. We have so many fun pumpkin projects to do now and i can't wait to get started.

Little Things to Remember

It seems like everyday both of my girls are growing more and more. They both discover new things, do new things and say new things and really I don't ever want to forget the moments of who they are now.

Leighton chases Emersyn and pulls her off the first stair. They always fall back in a laughing fit and Em eggs her on to do it again. 

Emersyn watches Leighton play so closely and then sneaks in takes her toy when she isn't looking, She always gives her self away by trying to run and laughs so hard she can't. 

Leighton carries at least 3 purses, a baby doll, doll carrier and a ball to the car every time we leave the house. 

Emersyn cuddles a blanky, leopard and a moose every time she gets into her car seat. 

When you ask Leighton her name she always says Emma and points to Emersyn. Clearly we still need to work on that.

Emersyn will clap her hands or click her tongue whenever she hears someone else do it. 

Leighton yells Oh Ship! Every single time she drops something big or runs into a toy, table, wall etc. (she is clearly her mothers daughter and clearly i need to watch my language.)

Emersyn goes to sleep so well she smiles lays down and covers herself in blankets. 

Leighton fights bed time to the death but just before she falls asleep she says "when we wake up we will have a fun day"

Emersyn wakes up almost every morning about an hour early to nurse and cuddle then goes back to sleep as soon as Leighton wakes up. 

Fall

We had a big Saturday planned this past weekend of pumpkin picking until a nasty rain storm got in our way. Last night i stayed up pinning all of the festive things i hope we will be able to do. Here is the list i came up with and can't wait to start checking off.

paint rocks with leighton// pick pumpkins// decorate the front entryway// go apple picking// make an apple pie// bake a pumpkin pie// drink pumpkin chai lattes// mail sarah a fall package// make a leaf garland// go to disneyland// throw a monster bash// make monster jars// bake apple chips// hike the canyon trail// make spider donuts// take family pictures// make a thankful tree// spend time with family//

A week ago we took a big day trip out to Capitol Reef and the high light of our day besides the beautiful drive was picking apples. It was our first time out there and it was so fun seeing the beautiful little town and pretty Utah red cliffs. We brought 10 pounds of apples home so guess what i will be doing this week. Canning anything apple i can think of. Apple picking, check!

MMM- Happier

This past week i had some crazy strong feelings come on that made me want to crawl into my bed and never leave. I don't know why. I thought i was past my ppd, past being upset with myself, past focusing on things or people that bring me down. I guess i was naive to think that feelings like that are just gone. When i noticed that these depressing thoughts were taking over i knew i had to turn to the things that lift me up. I felt so pessimistic and wanted to get out of it. The few things that help, spending time with Kaden, getting out of the house, running, working out in general, laughing, being with friends and people who are optimistic. I came across this quote and this is what i want to be all of the time. I want to be the person that people leave feeling happier than before. So this really is my goal as of now. Wouldn't we all be better lovers, parents, friends and just people if this is what we strived for?

First Day of Fall

Last week i sat down and wrote out a fall list. Everything i hope we can accomplish and do together as a family during the last beautiful season of the year. (I am not looking forward to winter) Yesterday we celebrated the first official day of autumn we played with friends and visited the cutest little local farm.  

 We love supporting local business and especially local farmers! We might be crazy but Kaden and i have had a strong belief that eating organic is best and if you can support your neighbors while doing it then why not? This little barn shop was the best and to make it even sweeter, it is ran by the honor system. It is nice to know there are still honest trusting people in the world.

 This was our first visit to the actual farm and it was absolutely adorable. Just a small two acre farm but still so much to see. Its amazing how much can grow on just a couple of acres.

 It is also amazing to see how the girls interact with nature. I love it! Being outside makes them so genuinely happy, its inspiring. This is a new family favorite and I am sure we will be back soon.

MMM- Don't Stop

With all of the projects i take on sometimes i feel like things don't turn out exactly how i want them to. I really tend to strive for perfection and often fall short, like very short. I laugh about how off i can get and then try again. I saw this on pinterest and thought it fit my current thoughts so well. Instead of feeling like I'm not reaching perfection i can just keep at it until i am proud of the work I'm doing. 

Luke and Sierra's Wedding

August was the month of weddings for us. One week Luke and Sierra were married and had a reception taking up an entire weekend. The next week Gold Confetti created its first wedding ever. Then the following week Luke and Sierra had an open house in Logandale. So of course part of my reason for not blogging much during the month of August is due to sooo many weddings. Luke (Kaden's brother) and Sierra (now sister inlaw) have been dating for over a year now and we all knew from day one that Sierra was the one. All any of us wanted for Luke was for him to find someone that made him happy, that got him to talk, would fit in with the family and would want to be a part of the family. Luke is the baby and the last to get married so needless to say every date he ever went on he heard way more opinions than he ever wanted to. The poor girls that dated him didn't stand much of a chance against 3 sister in laws like us. That is until Sierra came along. She surprised all of us and we love her for it. No one has ever made Luke open up the way she has and just looking at the two of them you know they are in love. Like really really in love. We are so happy for both of them and so excited to have Sierra in the family. The wedding was beautiful. The temple was so special and both receptions were a lot of fun. Leighton loved dressing up with her cousins and seeing "princess sierra".