Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood

 All Calvin wanted to be for Halloween this year was Christopher Robin. He has been talking about it for months about how "on Halloween, I'ma dress like Christopher Robin an knock on the door. An say Trick-or-treat, an then they gonna give candy to Christopher Robin."

I have to say that it was a pretty simple costume. We went for the classic C.R. from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree:

All I had to do was buy him some black Mary Jane shoes. He loves them. All morning he has been playing outside with his Pooh and Tigger stuffed animals, pretending he is C.R. I have made his little dreams come true.

I love this one.

Coming soon-- mine and Linus' costumes!

Linus Crying!

Calvin is usually first on the scene whenever Linus calls out. LINUS CRYING! LINUS CRYING! is how the siren goes. Calvin is good about trying to make Linus happy, whether it is talking softly to him or giving him his pacifier. I am excited for when Linus learns how to laugh because I think he is going to find his older brother just hilarious. He is on his way, though-- he can smile!

It's so hard to catch a picture just right.

This face makes the long nights a bit easier.

Calvin playing with his train set he got from Baba.

We dropped Steven off at the MTC last Wednesday after eating all we could at the Chuck-o-Rama. He'll be serving in Paraguay as a missionary for our church.

See you in 2 years, Steven!

I do have to say that adjusting to having 2 children has been really hard for me. The nights are long and hard, yes, but the days are almost even harder, since that is when Calvin is awake. We've been working on everyone getting good sleep and things are getting a bit easier. I just press on with faith that normalcy (a peaceful normalcy) will happen. I am so grateful for the evenings when Tyler is home and we can be a family team getting everyone's needs met. I am grateful for my husband and best friend. I will report soon and let you know if things get easier!

In the meantime, you know how much I like fall and Halloween. Wait until you see Linus' costume! It's pretty dang cute. And Calvin has been talking about trick-or-treating for weeks. He can't wait until we actually go.

Hee Haw minus Conway Twitty

We got a Groupon earlier this month to go to Hee Haw Farms for a Fall family outing and used it on Saturday. I will say that as we drove up to the seemingly empty farm that really lacks in production value, we got a little nervous, but the outing ended up being fun. Calvin, especially, had a blast. Here are some pictures from our autumn day!

First thing we found was a giant box of corn kernels to play in. You can make corn castles, corn angels, and dig corn holes.

2nd attraction. No comment.

Calvin riding on the tractor barrel train.

These little piglets were actually really cute. Calvin called them all Wilbur.

"It's a scaaaarryyy goooaaat!" (He thinks goats and ghosts are the same thing)

Corn maze. The corn was so tall! We were really scared that we were going to lose Calvin because he kept taking off running through the corn.

Our little family on the hay ride to the pumpkin patch.

Linus also enjoyed the hay ride. He's almost 2 months old now!

Calvin picking his pumpkin. Look at all the huge sunflowers! I decided that sunflowers are actually super creepy.

Calvin's first pony ride! He held on so tight!

I Love October

Time seems to move fastest when you have a newborn (and yet the nights seem SO long...). I cannot believe that Linus is almost 2 months old! And yet the only pictures I have posted are from when he was born. In my defense, I have been quite busy. Besides being available for feedings which take up a full third of my life, we moved! So that meant we spent two full weeks packing and a week so far unpacking. We are settling in well and absolutely love our new place. Pictures are coming soon.

The great thing about the move is that I get to be so creative! There is so much house to decorate and interior design is one of my favorite things. Pinterest has become my new best friend, filling me with ideas of different amazing things I can do to decorate on a budget. I have started so many projects in my head and now I really need to get to work!

I do have to say that I am so grateful for all the help we received for the move. Our ward showed up Saturday morning and we were able to load the truck in about 30 minutes! Tyler's family drove up to Utah and helped all weekend, too. Steven was the MVP installing our washer/dryer and and a new range above the stove in our old place (only getting electrocuted twice!). Tyler's mom helped me all week, watching children, making valances, and getting such nice things to put in this beautiful home. I feel spoiled with all the wonderful things that we have; I am so grateful. I love it all. The place is so nice, and I can't wait to post pictures.


In the meantime, Here are some recents:

Week old Linus. Don't you love how newborns must cuddle because they can't move by themselves?? :)

Calvin playing with friends at the park. He ended up getting in the fountain shortly after this...

Calvin loving Linus before church one Sunday. I love Linus' expression.

Linus looks just like Calvin in this picture.

Linus on blessing day. Again I love the expression. He pretty much looks at everyone skeptically all day long.

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

We have had some great things happening in our house! College graduation and the introduction of a new baby!

Tyler graduated in August with a degree in Computer Science. He recently accepted a full time job at a software company in Provo!

As part of our celebration, we spent the next few days up in Jackson Hole, WY, seeing the show that 2 of Tyler's brothers were a part of at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. We had so much fun watching cowboy shows and drinking huckleberry floats! It was a good thing that we moved our trip up a few days because a few days later we found ourselves in the hospital welcoming a little boy we weren't expecting for 4 more weeks!

I woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday and knew that my water was broken. We didn't really have a game plan for going to the hospital yet, but we grabbed some essentials and packed Calvin and his pack n play into the car. Our dear friends answered their phone at 3am and agreed to watch Calvin for the next day while we went and had a baby!

Labor went SO much quicker than Calvin's. This little guy was out in 3 pushes! They were concerned about his breathing so he was taken up to the NICU and put on a CPAP. His lungs weren't yet fully opening so they started treatment. It was undetermined how long he'd need to be there.

Calvin and Mommy going to visit the NICU and bring the turtle stuffed animal that Calvin picked out for him.

Introducing Linus William! Born 6lbs 10oz and 18 1/2in. He made remarkable progress in the NICU and was breathing room air by the next morning.

Mommy and Linus. He stayed in the NICU the entire next day for observation, but was released to sleep in my room the next evening!

New brothers!

Daddy and Linus.

Calvin and Linus. Calvin loves his little brother. He is always willing to sing him a song, give him his pacifier, or pat him nicely! We've only had a couple of scary incidents so far where Calvin tries to be a bit too helpful.

Tiny tiny baby

I love having newborns sleep on me. It's best when they're mine too.

This is the turtle pillow Calvin picked out to give especially to Linus. It is like 4 times his size. Linus loves leaning on it though!

Anyway, things have been pretty crazy! I am completely sleep deprived, so be happy that I've taken this time to update this blog. I feel a little nuts and am not quite sure how to be the mother of 2, but I trust that I'll receive strength from above and it will all seem normal soon! Phew, back to feeding...

"Hush," whispers the old lady, "I am checking my facebook."

Calvin really thinks that the old lady in "Goodnight Moon" has a laptop. I don't think this ever happened with kids 10 years ago.

There's a Place For Us

I am sad that I don't have any pictures of the room before, but here is what I have been working on.

Calvin's room has been a room/office and a catch-all for any clutter in the house. Since his latest hobby is unloading every single drawer and that he can reach or climb to, this has meant a 30 minute clean-up of his room after every "naptime." I have wanted to make the room more of a bedroom for him and make a space for the new baby to be when he comes as well. It has mostly consisted of rearranging and swapping out existing furniture, but the results are great!

Behold, the little boys' room so far:

I just got the toddler bed today. I am so excited about it!

There's still some more to do, but the room is sooooo different than it was a week ago. Phew. I believe I might be nesting...

Calvin now calls this room his "house." I think he's happy with it, too.