WARNING...picture overload. I had a hard time narrowing down which pictures to post, and yes I did narrow it down. This weekend we had our family pictures taken by the ever so talented Hannah Stayner.(www.staynerphotograpy.com) I think she did such a great job. LOVE THE BUS!
It's that time of year again...The Hargreaves Annual Halloween Party! It all started back when I was a kid. My Mom loooooved Halloween. I think it was her favorite holiday. When you walked through our front door, it looked like you had entered a spook alley. I don't remember a nook or crany on our main floor that was not decorated. One night during October we always had a night that we would carve pumkins, make "witches brew" aka rootbeer, and chili. My Mom had the cutest poem about the witches brew that she would read(I have it somewhere, but am yet to find it), and she would let us play around with the smoke from the dry ice. This is one of the fondest memories I have of my Mom and family as a child. After my Mom passed away and my Dad remarried, they decided to continue the tradition, but on a much bigger scale. My stepmom Sharleen has seven kids, so with our three that makes ten, plus all but two are married and have mulitple children...seventeen grandkids, and of course there was always a few friends. For a few years they would have the party at their house, but then it got to be too much. This year they opted to rent an old meeting hall on 7800 s. right next to the cemetary. My stepmom went to so much work and the place looked great. We all dressed up. Isaac was an elephant(his choice) and Alex was a monkey. I had no idea what Trav and I were going to be, so I googled cheap Halloween costumes and found a few different ideas. Travis decided to be Pres. Bush's War Strategy, wearing a sign that said "NO EXIT". He mostly did this to bug my little brother who is ultra republican. I was a morning grump and wore a sign that said "I am not a morning person". Anyone who knows me, knows I'm really not a morning person.
Witches Brew
The fishing pond.
Not so fond of his prize.
Clarissa and Isaac
Harmony and Mimaw
My stepmom even decorated his walker.
Kevin and Jamie
This morning I woke up to Isaac squealing in delight at the snow outside. The weather men kept predicting that it would snow, but deep down I never truly believe them until I see it. For once they were right. I wish I would have had time to get Isaac dressed up so I could get some pics, but we had to be in Centerville for a baby blessing at 9:00am. I guess there will be plenty of opportunities for that all winter long. I did manage to take a quick one of the back yard. By the time we were home from the blessing it was gone and Isaac was not happy about that. I had to explain to him that it will snow again. He still didn't like that answer much.
This past week, I feel like we have gone to the doctor everyday. We had a consultation with a plastic surgeon about Alex's head, and he said that he for sure doesn't need a helmet. Then we had Alex's last physical therapy appointment! Lastly was Alex's six month and Isaac's four year check ups, luckily we could do both of these at once. Alex is 27.75"(87%), 16.6 lbs.(27%), and head is 44cm(67%). He is not quite as big as Isaac at this age. I never thought with my boys that I would hear 27% of anything. Alex is also cutting four top teeth at once, on top of four shots, we have had a rough few days. Isaac is 44"(95%) and 44lbs.(95%). So he is still a big one. The doctor said with those stats he will probably be 6'2" and 200lbs, so following right in dad's footsteps. The doctor asked Isaac all sorts of questions, what is your phone # and address, can you count to 20, and so forth, all of which he answered correctly. The doctor was so impressed with Isaac's mind and wished me luck on keeping him stimulated. I sure love these boys with all my heart.
Happy Birthday to Travis. He is 31 today. I do love that he is at least a few months older than me and I can tease him about being an old man. I am so lucky to have this man as my husband. I often wonder what I did to deserve him. He truly embodies what it means to be a husband and father. He is kind, loving, romantic, generous, honest, a hard worker and has an amazing love for our Savior. Did I mention he is smokin' hot? He loves being a father. He takes time everyday to spend with his boys. He loves to rough house with Isaac and snuggle with Alex. They look forward to him coming home everyday. If you didn't know Travis has recently taken on the challenge of returning to school. He has a couple years left here and then he will be applying to dental school. I admire him so much for having the courage to make such a big change in our lives at his age. I trust him completely and know that he will always take care of our family. I couldn't ask for a better husband. We love you Trav! Happy Birthday!
A couple months ago I was struggling disciplining Isaac. Time out had lost it's effect, putting toys in time out wasn't working and he was just being down right naughty. My sister in law Megan(thanks) suggested getting a jar and letting him put in beans when he is good and taking them out when he is naughty. I first started with candy, letting him eat what was in the jar at the end of the day. It didn't motivate him much. So I opted to putting lines on a jar and when he reached a line he could pick a prize from our prize bucket, and when he filled it up we could go to the store and he could pick out a toy.(within reason) Well shortly after we started this experiment we were at Walmart(I had a return) and there was a toy clock on clearance. Of course Isaac wanted it. So I made a deal with him, when he filled up the jar he could have the clock. For the first few days he had to "visit" the clock in my closet. It was pretty cute. Today was the day he finally earned it. You would have thought it was Christmas. He could not part with it. It went in the car with us while we did errands and when it was time for his quiet time, he informed me that his new clock is quiet and would be okay for him to play with during quiet time. We emptied the jar and hopefully we can find something just as motivating to work for next.
Today was the Primary Program in our ward. It was Isaac's first time participating. Being a Sunbeam, he naturally was in the front row. He popping up and down in his chair like popcorn, bugging and pushing the girl next to him, asking when he could have treat, all while managing to sing every song. He got in line with his class to do his part, he was so excited he tried to get to the front of the line so he could be first. You could hear him in the microphone telling his teacher it was his turn. He recited his part (I am a child of God. Heavenly Father has given me a very special gift. This gift lets me choose what I want to do. It is called agency.) with little help and ended it with a Darth Vader breath into the microphone. The last song they sang brought tears to my eyes. I can't remember the name of it, but it asked what would you do if Jesus was standing next to you. I just looked up at all those innocent children, knowing that they are all so close to our Heavenly Father and Jesus, and got all chocked up. I am so thankful to be the mother of two wonderful boys that amaze me everyday.
