Last night kicked of the week of Halloween activities. We went to a carnival at the church where you can see Jake went as a doctor thanks to the scrubs he got from his Grandma Elva. He had a fun time doing every thing from a cake walk to a fishing pond. You might even say he was hypnotized by the fun. Kate was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. The sugar rush took a while to wear off so Jake would go to sleep but he had a great time. Now off to the next carnival on Friday!
She doesn't leave them on for long but she likes them while they are on.
Those that have witnessed it know Kate is quite the eater. She has on many occasions out eaten her big bro Jake. Once she discovered our cereal cupboard it was only a matter of time before this would happen and we would have to move it. The thing that I find funniest about her is that with most other things once she has emptied something she is off to something else. If there is food, she sticks around to eat.
After much waiting and anticipation Bryan's video phone is finally here. Here he is testing it out. If you would like to see this handsome face while you chat with him, just let Bryan know and he will let you know how he can make it happen for you.
Jake went for a few weeks where no matter how much chap stick, Vaseline, or medicated ointment we used he would not stop licking his bottom lip hence the awesome chapped look. Isn't that just supposed to happen right before school pictures? He sure is cute in spite of it though.
If it is quiet and it has been a while since you have seen Kate, the best place to look is in the closet. That is where we keep some of the kids toys. She loves to empty it, and as you can see, sometimes fill it back up with herself.
Jake got some fun sports stuff from our friends Matt, Jessie, and Molly to decorate his room with. Here is Kate putting the bean bag to good use. 
Here are the kids enjoying the fun treats they got in the mail from Grandpa Dan and Grandma Gail. Jake got some Halloween gel-type window stickers and Kate got some new pajamas. Jake has moved his stickers from window to window countless times so neighbors from every angle have gotten to enjoy them. As a side note, the shirt he is wearing was Bryan's when Bryan was in preschool. He is also getting pretty good at the card games he got like go fish and slap jack. As Jake would say,"Nanks guys!"
Several weeks back my dad and I hiked Mt. McLoughlin. It is nice for them to have a mountain named after us around here, even though it is a little off on the spelling. Anyway, the mountain got it's first snow the night before so it made for a little chilly but very pretty hike. We will definitely be doing it again sometime. Good times.
Kate has not been the consistently good sleeper that Jake was. She has her good and her bad nights. This one was one of the bad. After many efforts to get her to work it out in her crib, the Johnny Jump Up is always the way to go. The nice thing about it is that she jumps herself to sleep. Then if she starts to wake up she automatically starts jumping and puts her self back to sleep. We try to not do this to often but after several nights of bad sleep, it is always nice to know there is somewhere to turn.
Just a regular Sunday morning. All dressed up in our backwards sweater vest minus the button up underneath. Nursery here we come!
Contrary to the stressed look on Kate's face, she really enjoys unloading the toilet paper rolls for us. The stressed look is just because she thought she should have a turn with the camera and I disagreed. For future reference, if you ever get to wishing that you had someone to unroll your t.p. I can hook you up.
Jake likes to watch movies on the computer from time to time. This one must have been pretty good because I came in to check on him and he was out. Looks comfy, doesn't it?
Here are some of our favorite family pictures that we recently had taken while we were up in Yakima in August. Bryan is almost 30, Jessica is 29, Jake is 3, and Kate is 8 months. A family friend, Larry Swift, took them for us. Larry also took our engagement pictures. Enjoy and let us know which one or ones are your favorites and if we're feeling nice maybe we'll send you a copy.
Kate hit the big nine month mark last Thursday. At her doctors appointment yesterday she weighed in at a whopping 17 lbs 14 oz, which puts her about the 25th percent. She is 28 inches long which puts her about the 65th percent. I don't know how big her head is but it is about the 50th percent which is always a relief to know that we won't have to get her hats abnormally large like her brother. She is crawling everywhere as fast as can be. She pulls up on anything she can and cruises around the furniture. She is such a happy and loud girl. She screams for fun and growls when she is playing with toys. Though she is a little stingy with them, she has started giving kisses and will wave good bye when she is in the mood. Her blond hair is painfully slow coming in, but it looks like it will have some curl to it. She is trying more and more table food and loves sitting up to the table with us when we eat. We used to refer to her as the anti-cuddle because she was so wiggly and wanted her own space. She has softened in her old age and now will snuggle up especially if you are holding her favorite blanket. I know nine months isn't that long, but it seems like forever since we met and started loving her.
Here are some pictures from our trip to Grants Pass on Labor Day. We went on a jet boat excursion 16 miles up the Rogue River into Hellgate Canyon, ate lunch, and then came 16 miles back to our starting point. It was really fun and we would encourage anybody who comes down to the Medford area to visit us during the summer months to talk us in to going on it with them.
Sunday September 2nd was Bryan's 30th birthday. The day was pretty ordinary, but we think Bryan is anything but. He brings so much happiness, humor, safety, love and a million other things to our little family. There is no one like him, and that's the way we like it. SHMILY!!!!
