happy halloween!

food habits... 2 year olds...

so yesterday it was like pulling teeth to get afton to eat anything. i kept thinking, well, she just must not be hungry... then she'd ask for a cookie.

today different story. between waking up this morning and now (almost naptime) she's eaten the following:
1 bowl of raisin bran with milk
juice
1 pear
1/2 apple
2 chips with salsa (sample at the store)
2 hot dogs with correspondingly copious amounts of ketchup
6 slices of pickle
1 banana
1 string cheese
6 crackers
1 cup hot cocoa
1 cup milk
then when asked if she wanted a cookie cause she ate her lunch so well, she said, "no, wan crackers" so she got a few more crackers :)

gotta love em'!

Rayna Pics

i promise, rayna's been smiling for a while, but it seems whenever she sees the camera, she suddenly stops, i've had very few pics of her smiling, so here's a couple from today that really show off her beautiful smile!

Today's message brought to you by the letter L!

So, here's how this works . . . a friend of mine posted a blog listing her 10 favorite things that start with a certain letter. Now, I have been assigned the letter L. And these are the results (in no particular order):

1. Laughter. It's the best medicine, after all, and i can usually laugh at myself sooner or later, and that makes most everything better.

2. Love. Especially from my girls, Afton likes to climb up in my lap and give me hugs and kisses, even Rayna likes to grab onto my hair and give me kisses on my chin. What more could I ask for?

3. Liberty. It doesn't matter where you go, there's no place like home. I love my country and the liberties we have here. I'm proud to be an American, even when people spit on me (yes that has happened--more than once, actually).

4. Life. I appreciate the lives of those that have gone before me. There's a lot of characteristics (and I hope character) I might not have, except for the influence of others. The way they lived and died reflects on my life today, and I appreciate them for it.

5. Libraries. I love to read, and I hate to spend money on books (is that weird? it seems like so many friends and family members love spending money on books, but i'm super picky about what books i actually am willing to buy, after all, that's what lending libraries are for!), so libraries are truely great!

6. Leaves. I love nature, leaves, trees, grass, flowers (lilacs, lilies, and lavender to name a few :), the occasional cactus, and being outside in the green growing things! As it turns towards fall though, I must admit, I like the leaves particularly as they change to autumn colors! (i also like spring though, when they start growing all over again, that soft, baby green--and i like it when there's enough winter to really appreciate that spring when it comes...)

7. Learning. I think the ability to learn is one of the most important characteristics we can develop (or encourage in others). I may not be the best student, but I appreciate the multitude of things out there to learn about! and I'm glad there are people willing to study so many diverse subjects.

8. Lazing. (perhaps i should have moved this one, it's probably not the best thing to have under learning). I love being lazy. I probably indulge myself too much there, but i love taking the time to laze around and read a book, or soak in a bubble bath or lie on the grass (assuming there's not too many bugs around).

9. the Lord. I love the Lord, I have a testimony of the gospel and I hope I can live my life according to His plan.

10. Listening. I love when people call, stop by, or just want to visit. I talk a lot, but i do listen too. I like blogging too, i love catching up with everyone else's blogs/facebook/email/whatever, cause i feel like i'm closer to them than i have been able to stay before. (did that make sense?)

Here are 10 of my favorite things that start with the letter L. Anyone who wants to play should leave a comment on this post asking for a letter and I will assign you one (not to worry, I won't assign a hard one like "X").

video

okay, i've been playing with my new camera, and just realized that i can take video with it (i thought i didn't have enough memory). this may not be super exciting, but i thought it was funny. it rained yesterday, and you all know what that means... .



Puddles!

ps, i think the latest "smile" is funny too, i can't get a normal smile from afton anymore, just the open-mouth chuckle.

clever postponement or weird cravings?

so afton's been starting to talk a lot more lately, and putting words together in sentences, but this evening as we were getting her ready for bed, there was a new one.


"more pepper-oni please."

granted, she did get to snitch some pepperoni yesterday when we were making pizza for dinner, but we hadn't even discussed it since, so i appreciated the memory as much as the four-syllable word! she still has a hard time getting 'rayna' into two syllables, and i've never heard a three-syllable word from her (that actually had all it's parts at least). it made me smile!

by the way, she did get a few for a quick snack, but she was still in bed by bedtime.

sunday girls

rayna loves blankets, especially on mom's bed...


dad's favorite afton pic today (she was watching him shave before church this morning)


mom's favorite afton pic (shows her true character)


afton wanted "hol-er, ray-ray" (hold her, rayna)


and last but not least, baby and dad :)

crocheted dress

if anyone's interested, this turned out a lot cuter than i thought it would. it's doable with one lg skein (6-8 oz) of yarn, and it doesn't take too long to throw together. i'd be willing to make more at cost (yarn and shipping, if necessary). you'd probably have to add buttons and a slip of some kind (afton's is really basic, someone made the slip using a size 2 dress as a pattern, but longer cause she's so tall). i'm making a tiny one for rayna too, i fgure she's young enough to wear it with a onesie, rather than worrying about a slip. the dress doesn't seem to be too hot, though it's yarn, and it's washable like yarn (no dryer). let me know if you'e interested.