Best Buddies!

Landon's best buddy right now is Sid. He lives two house down for us. It's so funny because they have hilarious conversation when they are together. We have truly been blessed by the Sid's family. We are so lucky to have a Christian family living so close to us!! The boys currently are obsessed with Power Rangers! They usually have some sort of debate over who gets to be Kevin, the blue power ranger. It's funny to watch them play and see their communication skills. Landon is definitely thankful for Sid and made sure to tell us that every time we asked him what he was thankful for.

My Hot Husband!

Since Ryan lost his job our life has been busy!! It's funny that you can become more busy when you aren't working than you were before. One of his big projects that he finally completed in October was our basement bathroom. Adam and Allie moved in to our basement in June and he has been working on the bathroom since then. He had never done any home improvement projects other than painting and hanging pictures, so this was a huge task for him. I am so proud of the job he did! Here's a few pictures of the tile shower!! We love it!

Running!

I had a few opportunities to be involved in races this year. I completed the dam to dam, The Color Run, and The Des Moines Half Marathon. I really enjoy running, but my favorite part is the training with people I love. I truly miss them when we are done training because we don't have those long runs to catch up on life. Here are a couple photos!

Zombies!!!

We have been so blessed that Steve and Jen moved back to Iowa. The interesting thing is that Steve always finds interesting ways to put people to work. He put Ryan in charge of announcement videos while he was preaching in September. His series was on "The Walking Dead." Here's just one picture that gives you a taste of what was happening during those videos!

Fisher's Birthday Party!

So I am really far behind...Fisher's party was in September!! It has been wonderful having Julie and Scotty back in Des Moines! One of the advantages are events like this one. I am always amazed as I am not a creative person and all the creative little things Julie comes up with. It was greater getting to celebrate with them as their little one turned one!!

The Loves of My Life!!

Here are my three gorgeous men all dressed up for church!! I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of them before we left!

School Picture Day

Landon had his first live school picture day!! I think Ryan and I were a little excited to dress him up!! We had him all decked out in a tie!! We definitely love dressing these boys!

Grandma Came to Town!

Jeannie came down to stay with us for a couple of days while Jim was visiting his dad in Florida!! We love when Grandma comes to town!! She brought special treats for the boys and taught Landon how to make mud, dirt and worms to eat!! He loved it!! It freaked him out to eat it at first, but was pretty intrigued by the whole process! I always appreciate her creativity as I am not very creative!! We loved having her here and are so grateful that they don't live too far away!

2 boys and their dog!!

The boys are obsessed with being outside in this gorgeous fall weather. From the time Jude wakes up in the morning he says, "side, side, side," as he is pointing at the door. One morning Ryan had to move his high chair outside to tame him!! Another thing Jude has been loving is Roxy!! It's funny to watch them go from not really caring about the dog to pestering the dog!! These 2 boys are way too much fun, gotta love them!!

My boys eating lunch!

Here are just a few pictures of the boys one day at lunch...trying to get better about taking pictures more often!!

First Day of School Jitters!

Landon woke up on his first day of school and seemed pretty excited about it! We had been talking about it with him for a couple of days. He woke up and told Ryan his stomach hurt and that he needed to have his milk. He kept telling Ryan that he was thirsty. Ryan said that he was over in the living room drinking his milk. Ryan said that he looked a little pale, so he asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom. He told Ryan, "I think I need to puke." He puked!! Ryan and I were then debating about whether or not he was really sick or if he was just nervous, because after that he acted fine. I have to admit we were bad parents and decided to send him, after all we couldn't have him missing the first day!!! Luckily, he did fine, so we really blame the First Day of School Jitters!!

Crazy Hair Night...AWANAS!

Landon started Cubbies this year and he is loving it! They often have a theme for the Awana Program. One of the themes was crazy hair night! Jen Christiansen has been keeping him for us several Wednesdays and had him on this night!! We LOVED what she did with his hair!! It was hysterical! She said the boys (Titus, Micah and Landon) had so much fun with it!! I love when boys get into dressing up!! HAHA!

Landon 3.5/ Jude 18 mos

Here are some updates on the boys! Landon is getting so big! We just love watching him learn. It seems like he is making us laugh on a daily basis with a new discovery, a funny story, or sometimes even a temper tantrum. He started preschool last week and he loves it. His teacher is Mrs. Smith. Ryan use to work with her husband and we love her! One of our funny Landon stories is from VBS this summer. He was sitting listening to the story, the teacher said she wasn't even sure that he was really listening. She was talking about sin and how there is no sin in heaven. Landon's best friend right now is named Sid (he lives next door). The teacher said, he looked at her and said "What? There is no Sid in heaven?" She just cracked up. He was very concerned his good friend wouldn't be there. Jude man is getting bigger every day! He amazes us with his vocabulary development. It's funny going through everything for a second time, because it feels somewhat brand new again. You remember that they do that, but you are still amazed at how quickly it happens. Ryan and I were talking about how it felt like Jude couldn't talk at all one day and now he is saying 10-15 words. Our favorite word he is saying is "cookie." He's still not saying mommy on a regular basis. He's said it a handful of times, so I will take it. It's pretty funny because Ryan and I are both "daddy." Jude also has a recent obsession with tooth brushes. He literally steals anyone he can find. It's a rather disgusting obsession. I decided to buy a lot of tooth brushes at Target yesterday, so that I won't have to worry about him getting into everyone's. He had his 18 month well child exam, he had a huge growth spurt. He went from 60% to 83% in height and 65% and 72% in weight. He was 25.8 lbs and 33.5 inches. We are so proud of our big boys!!

More Iowa State Fair

More Iowa State Fair

More Iowa State Fair

IA State Fair 2012

We went to the fair with the whole family this year including Steve, Jen and their boys! It was entertaining as always, and we all ate too much. This year Ryan and I left just before the cow that had been in labor all day gave birth. I was bummed, I always want to see that happen. Katie, Sara, mom, dad, and Hallie were all able to witness it. Landon liked the animals, but the giant slide still wins as a favorite. The food that was a new favorite this year was called a cresantis...It was a fried crescent with ham & cheese. Another favorite was the breakfast quesidilla. It was a lot of fun. We are looking forward to next year!