And a little bit of Fairy Dust!

Meet the new smile on my favorite little 5 year old. 

We went to get Landon's haircut and as I was paying he walks up to me an says "my tooth is gone!"

I saw a mouth full of blood and essentially started to panic.

He had been telling me his tooth was loose.  But, when he would tell me which one it was and I would try to check. But,  I was wiggling the wrong tooth!! Plus, I didn't really believe him. I thought he was too young.  I'm not sure why since there is a big tooth with kids' names on it in his classroom.

So after we picked up the tooth from the floor we went to the bookstore and bought a book about losing your tooth. 

We go home and Landon rings the doorbell and Carlos and Ryker answer it.  Landon asks for Carlos to read it to him because he's lost this 1st tooth and below is his reaction! Priceless!

So, after riding his scooter outside waiting for the neighborhood kids to come out so he could "share the good news"...we put the tooth in a little red bag and put it under his pillow.

The tooth fairy sprinkle a little bit ...okay a LOT of fairy dust on his head. (And a week later?...I think it's still stuck to his scalp!

How is it that a missing tooth can make you look SO much older!?!

Zonkey Down On The Farm

Less than 5 minutes away from our home you'll find Marley Farms...where we spent Saturday evening, down on the farm!  It was our little friend Gavin's 2nd birthday party.

Many times we've tried to get Landon to go on pony or horse rides.  But, something about them must be intimidating because he's never wanted to ride...Well, I finally got him on a horse!!! How, you ask???

I paid him.

(hanging head in shame.)

I said I'd pay him a buck and he could use it for the ice cream truck that comes around every Tuesday. Soooo, he gets off the horse and I enthusiastically ask, "did you have fun??!"  He said, "where's my dollar."

Back to the Zonkey on the Farm.  What do you get when you eh-em..."cross" a Donkey and a Zebra??

A ZONKEY! 

I assure you it's not a zebra...Cowboy Jamie told me so.  Says Zebras have smaller ears and a different mane.

 Oh ...and this farm happens to have one BIG ol' Camel.  So, in all...goats, horses, a duck, emus, chickens, sheep, cows, pigs, donkeys, bulls,  and a zonkey and a camel...oh my!

Pumpkin Perfection...albeit a year late

Last year I was browsing through a boutique in Mesa called Bella Fine and spotted this beautiful tiered pumpkin on an urn.

Loved it!  Reached down to check out the price because after all...some crafts are just too much work to make and (gasp!! $300) you're better off buying  going to have to make on your own.

So, off to Michael's I go ...only after waiting for the pumpkins to go on sale. Scoop up the supplies and bring them home to my craft room. ...where they sat, and sat and sat some more...for like a year....or more....until this week when I finally got it put together. 

You likey?  Boutique price $300. My price $80....including the urn.  And the pumpkin is just sitting on top so you can come steal it  I can take it off an use it for Christmas with a little tree.

 If you want to make one too you'll need the grand ol' pumpies, leaf garland (I used 1 longer and fuller one), maybe 15 - 18 fall floral picks, 3 rolls of $1 store wired ribbon and while you're there pick up some sunflower stems.

Lastly, frequent Tuesday Morning for an urn for like a year and then when you find one for $39.99 grab it like you're robbing a bank and run to the cashier.

With supplies in hand begin by wrapping the leaves one tier at at time hot gluing in a few places along the way. (I don't recommend the 3 hot glue burn blisters that I added), add the picks for fullness, make bows with thin gauge wire and insert for dimension and throw a few sunflowers in for color.

Then put it on your porch and walk inside. Then walk outside and take a picture. Then, walk inside and then outside again...because you like it so much and continue to do this for no less than saaaay....10-15 minutes? 

Then, you're done.

Remember the church lady??....'Saatan?'

Landon's prayer tonight:

Landon:
"Father God, thank you for my Mommy and Daddy and baby brudder. I'm glad they're not from the devil.  Wesley (kid in his class) says his Daddy is from the devil and his brother too. But, you know if they're from the devil. I don't know, but you know. Please tell me God.  Because I want to tell him he's wrong. But, if he's right I don't want to see his Daddy. And thank you for my movie from the Red Box.  Thank you Jesus for forgiveness. Amen"

2 Months Old!

I'm 2 months old today!

Mommy says time is flying by and I'm getting bigger and bigger every day!

Some of my favorites:

~ Sleeping on someones chest

~ Soft blankets near my cheek

~ Smiling at my family

~ Eating my fist (Mommy doesn't like me to do this, but I don't care.)

~ Sitting outside on someones lap

~ Sleeping on my tummy.  (Mommy doesn't it think it's safe, but I still like it)

~ Spitting up all over people ... a lot!

~ Saying "Ah-goooo" and other little coooo-ing sounds

~ I've only had a couple bottles so far but, I drink them easily

~ Bath time!  It makes me really calm and I don't cry until the water gets cold.

When I turn 3 months Mommy will be back at work but, I will be just fine because I have Miss Michelle to take care of me from 7-3pm.  Then when big brother gets out of school Daddy will pick him up and then pick me up and take us home to our Nanny Lanie.  She'll play with us until Mommy gets home after work at 6pm.

Miss Michelle only has 1-2 other little kids who are toddlers so I will get lots of attention! :)  I can't get enough.  Until next month when I have more fun stuff to tell you...bye-bye!

Love, Ryker

Relaxing x2

On the eve of his 8 week "birthday", Mr. Ryker spent a little time on his little activity mat. 

And may I just say, you know you're a mom when you get as excited about little hands finding the hanging figures on an activity mat as a new pair of fabulous shoes.

He seems to like to grab the rattle that's closest to his right hand and will look around for about 30 minutes before he starts to "squawk".

Meanwhile, Landon has taken to a new little "habit".  We've had a red Mickey robe for 3 years now.   A gift to him from a babysitter.

I bribed him ...(yes, I find it to be a very effective parenting technique) several times to get him to use it. Nada.

Then out of the blue he wanted his "rope".  After a great game of charades to figure out what the heck he was talking about...he put it on and hasn't taken it off since.

If you guessed this was a picture of him a breakfast, you'd be wrong.  This is after-school snack.

Barefoot Sunday

It was an absolute first for us at church today.
We walked in wearing shoes and walked out ...like this.

It was Barefoot Sunday at church and we didn't know what we were walking into because we missed last week ...all the boys had colds.

(Photos below courtesy of Claire Deliman from The Grove)

Basically, the congregation was asked to take off the shoes from their feet and lay them at the alter to help the millions of people in Africa who go a lifetime without a single pair of shoes. 

 So, we slid out of our sandals, got Landon from Sunday school and all of us literally left church barefoot...on a day that was 105 degrees.

Before we left, we stepped in paint-soaked sponges and walked across boards to create artwork that will be displayed at church.

I'll be honest...I think we'd all do it again every week.

Tonight, as we put the boys to bed, it was hard not to pause for a moment remembering this morning and thanking God that he allows us to be able to provide more than enough for these little guys.

C is for Circus

For the first time since Landon has been in school, (he's starting his 3rd year at this school) I was able to volunteer in his class! It may seem like something so mundane, but as a working mom it was a huge treat to see how special events go and how Landon interacts with his classmates.

The occasion was Circus Day and all the kids dressed up as someone in the circus.  Landon chose what he referred to as "the popcorn seller". 

Carlos and I teamed up to make the cart.  He covered it with the Styrofoam and the cardboard. I embellished with all the circusy trinkets. 

It was so fun to see him wake up to it being fully decked out.  And yes..I hot glued each little piece of popcorn to the popcorn containers hot glued on the side. (hanging head in shame here)

Footzy the clown was on hand to perform magic tricks for the class and she called up Landon and another popcorn vendor to pass out candy to the class at the end of the show.

The kids also had face painting ..or arm painting but Ryker slept through the whole morning. 

At the end of it all, Landon said his favorite part was decorating the clown cookies...AKA licking the frosting off of cookies.

Hello Fall, I've missed you!

Last year around this time Landon called pumpkins...pumpa-munkins.  And hey, what can I say.  I can't shake it.

I wanted to share another little crafty that Heather and I made in her pretty fabulous craft studio!

 The tags are coffee stained with an M for Monge and a Proverb about Thanksgiving.

We were thinking of making them larger and selling them at the boutique at church.  The jury is still out on that...not sure if we have the time, considering I go back to work on October 18th.

But, just though I'd share.  I plan to make more in various fabrics to put all over the house.  Save your pumpkin stems for me!!

6 weeks and thinking

So, I've been thinking...
much like Ryker....that I need to start blogging again... about the boys, our life, my loves, my hubs...my well, everything.

I know, I know. I'm like a broken record. I start and then stop and start and stop. If nothing else this is a way to preserve the memories. But, also because I love writing and sharing and staying connected and our blog accomplishes all three!

Time is flying! Baby Ryker is already 6 weeks old and growing by the minute.

I look at him sometimes and wonder what's going on in that little, head of his.

And I want to scoop up both my boys and snuggle in bed for hours.

And when I go back to work, I think this blog will be like a cyber snuggle....Looking back at these precious pictures and feeling connected.

So, as I write this on September 22nd, feel free to look back because I'll go back and update as much as I can to preserve the memories and share them with you!

So, check older dates...because I'll work to fill in the blanks and help you know the blessings, the mundane and the milestones over the last year!