Nov. Leaves+Porter Mischief!

Yes it finally the end of leaf season here in Iowa. We compile a massive amount of leaves since we have so many trees, really you have no idea. We rake so much and get the hugest piles! The downside is all the raking but the plus side it letting the kids play. Who does not love playing in the leaves? It seriously is so much fun! November is the only month the garbage does free pick up and the weather was actually nice for raking so Daddy got to it and the boys had a ball.

Porter got to be apart of most of it since Trey was at school. He was o funny. He loved hiding in the leaves scaring us..LOL!

 Treyson joined the fun after I went and picked him up from school! Of course the first thing he did was make a "leaf angel"...LOL! 

The 2 older boys together were having a great time! Doggie piles, leave throwing, and of course "cannon balls" in the leaves. 

Kreed really did not know what he thought about it all. Sometimes he was all smiles and other times he was just mesmerized. He did let out a cry or two because I just think he was trying to take it all in. He did not dig the rake at all. He would almost shout at it...LOL! 

The really fun thing to do was to put leaves on Kreed and hear him laugh or cry...he just did not know what was going on with all this leaf business. 

These boys are so fun!  

 Boys+Leaves=BLAST!! 

I was driving home for errands last night and got a text that Porter had gotten into the oregeno oil. We use oils and homeopathics instead of over the counter drugs. They work but some are super strong.  I have been making cold bombs with essential oils and I left them out on the counter. Port evidently moved the stool over, climbed up on the counter and got a hold of the Oregano and drank half of it!! It us a very potent, hot and severely strong oil. I came home to quite a sight and a destroght little boy! He kept saying, "I needed the medicine but its too hot!" LOL, we only put these on our children's feet so I have no clue why he wanted to drink it...maybe he thought it smelt good? I have no clue but that's our Curious George Porter! Think he will do it again?? I think not...he was one miserable kid. 

We thought the redness and swelling was going down really well the night it happened but when he awoke the next morning it was a different story! The aftermath damage was not pretty!  Hes pretty red, blistered and swelled up.  His skin is beginning to peel like a sun burn because he burned it so bad. It still really blotchy in some areas as well. Just one drop of oregano outrageously hot but many can cause burning. We felt so bad and Chris tried to do the best he could. I would have thrown him in the shower and tried to wash it off. I think Chris panicked and since he was watching the other boys he did not think of it. Porter kept saying, "I get really really really HOT mommy, please help an blow on it!" Poor boy.  I've Ben slathering him with coconut oil, real aloe and frankincense and it seems to be going down. Hopefully he gets better soon! Our family pics had to be cancelled due to this and rescheduled. 

Oh these crazy crazy boys!! {sigh} The stories and mischief I am going to be able to tell them when they are older will be priceless:)

TONS of Nov. Happenings {Thanksgiving}

WOW, November has just flown by! It been a busy one as well but we have managed to spend some quality family time together. Lots of FUN happenings this month....

Ward Talent Show 

The boys the the song "gangnam style" and I have a Zumba routine to it. When I am practicing they always ask me to do this one over and over so therefore they know it pretty well. We did this for the ward talent show this year and it was a hit. They won the crowed over with their moves. Treyson followed along really well while Porter showed off and went off into his own break dancing world. It was super cute and we had so much fun!

Trey so proud afterwards:) 

The Thanksgiving Parade

WOW, November has just flown by! It been a busy one as well but we have managed to spend some quality family time together. We checked out the Thanksgiving Parade last week. The kids absolutely loved it! The big blow up figures were a hit. The weather was beautiful too! 

Cotton Candy...I believe this was the first time my boys have had it. Yes they like it...LOL!

"Look it's Christmas!" Porter shouted though the whole Parade:) 

Kreed Enjoying his stroller ride....isnt he just a Gerber babe? I think so! 

Here comes the John Deer Santa Sleigh!!! Perfect for Iowa! 

Rudolf!! 

Christmas Presents....YAY! 

 And of course SANTA!!! 

A snack session for Kreed of course! Good think I am small enough to fit in our stroller to nurse;) 

Some of the other floats including cartoon characters, animals and my favorite was the Saluted Military Soldier. 

We headed to the farmers Market after words to pic up a few things and saw this cool spine! We would love to have this outside our office one day! 

 We had to walk away to find our car so we doggy piled our boys on the stroller...LOL! 

Big load of boys just right for Daddy! 

Visiting Family 

We drove down to good old Lincoln Nebraska to visit Casey and Kimber before Thanksgiving. They only live about 5 hours from us and we were already going to Nebraska for Thanksgiving. The boys were really excited to see them. Kimber is uber pregnant and due any day with a baby BOY! She looks super cute but I can tell she is miserable....its the last month always?? LOL! Were so excited for them and to add another Cutler boy to the fam! 

Christian and I gave Kimber a little pamper session. I painted her toenails while since you just have to have cute toes when you go into labor! Chris did some muscle work on her and massaged her neck. She deserved it because I totally remember those days of being so ready and nothing is really happening. The home stretch is always the hardest and a little pamper-ness never hurts:) 

We stayed over night and watch the boys play in a Turkey bowl the next morning. Christian actually scored a touchdown!! The weather was actually really nice too. 

A little playtime with Uncle Casey before we left is always fun. He really knows how to get them going. He is going to be an awesome Dad! It was great to spend time with the Cutler Crew in Nebraska. Wishing them all the best in the week to come with them entering into the world of Parenthood. We love yall, thanks for having us! 

The bunch of us:) 

Thanksgiving with Friends

I recently connected with an old neighborhood friend. The Rocek Family lived right up the street from us and used to babysit me. The 3 girls of the family (Karen, Katie, and Janie) just loved us twins (Kirby and I) and would always knock on our door not to play but ask to watch us...LOL! I was really young but I do remember always being over there. Anyway one of the girls Katie lives in Omaha which is only about 4 hours from us. With some recent conversations we have been having on facebook we were invited to join their family for Thanksgiving. It worked out perfect since we were already in Nebraska. Everything was perfect--really picture perfect. The decorations, food, people, kids, ect. It does not get much better then this!

The fall decor thanks to Janie! 

All the decorations had such detail...

And this was our festive table before the destruction of the feast!! 

Check out this cute turkey too....talk about creative! 

They even had a kids table where they could do fun a fall activities (crafts and coloring). The boys had so much fun and Kreed was wooing everyone with his sweet spirit and smile! 

Love these girls!

Ok so funny story. Karen shared with me quite a funny story of when she used to watch me. I guess I was really independent and did not want to be held a lot. Well, I guess she wanted me to hold me since she thought I was so cute. I did not want anything to do with it so I guess she used to spank me for no reason so then I would cry and want to be held...LOL! I have no memory of this but she said she felt she should own up and apologize to me just in case it haunted me...LOL! Honestly I just could not stop laughing! I guess I am glad she adored me so much that she had to go to those measures just so I would want to be held....LOL! Honestly we all could NOT STOP LAUGHING!!! So in honor of this story we did an "official" spanking picture...LOL! Good times!

R-L (Janie, Karen, Me, Cindy, and Katie) 

I was missing all my family for Thanksgiving but being there with them made the void of not being with them not so bad. I'm so blessed to know this family and that our family got to spend Thanksgiving with them. I love them even if they did *spank* me when I was little!...LOL. I am so thankful that they opened up their home to us and that we could laugh and reminisce about old times. What a great and wonderful time it was!! Definitely a Thanksgiving to remember!

PS. If your wondering where Christian was during all this, he actually got to take a well deserved nap before our drive home so he was crashed out. He had a great time though and commented on what great neighbors I got to grow up with.  

We drove home later that night and then slept in since we were so tired. I was still able to score the camera I wanted for a great black Friday price. I had to go to 3 different stores to find it since the others were all out. I ended up getting it in black....SCORE! YAY, now I am not camera-less anymore. 

Well that is all for the November Happenings

Only about 30 days until Christmas...CRAZY!! 

Happy Weekend! 

3 things we celebrated....

Before I get started on our celebrations I am sad to report that my camera as bit the dust. Remember the one that ended up in the toilet and then redeemed itself? Well it finally had its last picture. Having said that I am grateful for camera phones so we don't have to miss out on all the memories when looking for a replacement. Were waiting until black Friday to see if we can get a good deal.
Now on the the celebrations....

BOARDS ARE OVER

Christian took his last and final boards before he graduate in Feb. We found out the results the day after Christmas. I am sure he did fine since I was his "manikin" all night helping him study. This was the practical part of the 4 board exams. Very precise and difficult. We have all been pretty beat around here but life sure keeps moving in the fast lane. If you wondering if we know what were doing yet the answer is NO! LOL, some opportunities have come our way but have not been the ideal. We are praying and hoping. We know things will work out.

Here is Daddy resting with baby Kreed after boards...

VETERANS DAY

We attended Treyson's veterans day program at his school. It was so awesome especially with after the election. How grateful we should be to live in the country and to have people fight for us who don't even know us. They fight in our behalf--for our freedoms. It was sweet listening to them sing "Im in the Lord's army!" I think Trey was a little too young to understand but he still was super cute to watch. Kreed was a good little babe through the whole thing. They had a wall of heroes and Trey put a picture up of his Uncle Kody that served over in Afghanistan. We could not find a picture of Daddy to hang up so we just went with that one. All in all we are so grateful for both of their service in the Military and all whom have served honorably.

PORTER'S BIRTHDAY
Porter turned 3 on the 11th which is actually veterans day. It fell on a Sunday so we did not do much celebrating especially since Daddy had boards. There was a dinosaur exhibit open just over the bridge in Moline that we thought he would like. It actually took him a little bit too warm up since the Dino's were so lifelike.

 We even dug for dinosaur bones and played a little miniature golf.

The next day we celebrated his birthday at Chick-fil-a. Porter's favorite place is CFA and he loved the Cow. CFA let us bring in a mini cake and candles to celebrate his birthday. They actually gave us balloons, free ice cream, and little cow stuffed animals. WE love CFA! 

 I feel bad that for the past 2 years I have not really put on a huge party for him because of all the craziness in our lives. However, Porter is easy to please and I figure all the fancy dancy parties though fun and appealing, really don't make your children any happier.  He was happy and satisfied and that is all that matters. I admire all the Moms that do these very intense parties for their little ones but sometimes I feel its more celebrating for the parents then the kids. Simple and sweet is enough.
Balloons, Cake, and Playing!

There was actually another birthday party going on while we were there so Porter actually got to see his famous cow friend....YAY!

 Porter loves to tell you and show you how old he is...
"Im 3!!!"

 Both Treyson and Porter are very much into Ninja Turtles. We hooked Porter up with the gear and he so kindly shared with his brother. The "purple" one is his favorite (Donatello) He also got some cheap super hero stuff. Such a BOY!

Porter is definitely  has a unique personality. He is extremely smart, too smart. I sometimes do not know if I am talking to my 3 year old son or teenage son. Everyone comments how smart he is for his age. It's nothing I have done as a mother, it just him in wanting to know about anything and everything. He is super cute and he knows it too. 

I'm not sure what happened but once he hit 3 he turned into quite the hellion..LOL! I think it has to do a lot with his older brother going to school. He idolizes his older brother so very much and well Kreed is not old enough to play with him yet. He is the culprit of many of the messes that happen in our house with his mischievous mind..LOL! This boy keep us on our toes and has us laughing almost constantly.  Hes a thinker and a loves to "help" with everything and if only we could get the potty training down. He is totally ready but with my busy schedule I have not found the time to reinforce it. 

Porter will eat me out of house and home when he is older I am sure of it, he already almost does now. I have a hard time keeping up with how much food this kid can put away...LOL! He is a constant chatter box and will talk your ear off if you let him and the word quiet is a foreign language to him. He loves to dance and sing--all the time! Ha, what a riot this kid is.  Writing about him makes me smile. Love him to death. He is a blast and makes life quite an adventure.

Love you Porty, Happy 3rd birthday!

That's all for our Celebrations!
Next up, Thanksgiving!