October, BABY MONTH!

I'm only a little excited that October is finally here! We have been anticipating the arrival of our sweet baby boy and the changes in the weather is making everything feel real. It's cooled down quite a bit which makes my pregnant self very happy. It feels sooo nice outside. All the Halloween things are up in stores and in the house. Eli has really enjoyed learning about Halloween. He loves to point out witches and pumpkins wherever he sees them. It's so fun seeing him actually start to understand things more. He is a full-sentence talker now as well! I love his little voice and the sentences he comes up with. It really makes you realize how much they listen and pick up on what you say! One of my favorite things he says is: "Hey (Rocket, Salt, Mommy, Papa) wuddya doin day?" His words always run really close together and it almost sounds like one word. Lately he also thinks everything you say is you saying that's his name. So if we say, Guess what? Chicken butt! He will say, "I not chicken butt! I Blake!" It's so funny because most of the time he says his name is Blake instead of Eli. He also knows that he his two years old but struggles to show you on his fingers. His favorite shows right now are Room on the Broom (a short show about a witch), Coco, and Cars. There's a song in Coco that he loves and his face always lights up when he hears it! It's called "Poco Loco." He loves Lightning McQueen and Mater and takes them with him almost everywhere he goes. He would play cars with you all day long if you'd let him. One of his favorite activities is chasing Salt (the cat) around the house. Salt is surprisingly tolerant of him and they both seem to enjoy one another's company. He is great napper which is such a blessing for me. He usually naps from 1:00-4:00 (although I try to wake him up around 3:00).  Then he will sleep through the night from 9 pm to 7:30 the next morning. On Sundays he absolutely loves going to nursery. He always talks about how he gets to see "his friends", play with toys and go on a walk. His favorite person is definitely his Papa and loves to be on the "moaner" (lawn mower) or the tractor with him any chance he gets. He also enjoys hanging out in the shop with anyone who is doing a "work up" (work out). His Uncle Brayden has introduced him to the world of Harry Potter and he now uses anything that resembles a stick as his wand to cast spells. He doesn't enjoy my kisses as much anymore and has started telling me to kiss baby Masen. I assure him that I will, as soon as he comes out. I don't think he quite understands what is going to happen when baby Masen comes out but he does understand what is his and what is the baby's. I love it so much when he kisses my belly. I know he's going to be an amazing big brother and my heart just might burst when I see them together for the first time. Right now it is October 17th, and I am 38 weeks and a bit. We're hoping that Masen makes his arrival very soon because we are planning to fly out to Mississippi in November for the wedding of Bree and Scott. We are so excited they are finally tying the knot and really don't want to miss it.

August-September

Well, I am combining these two months because I failed to get on here to write everything down and it's already October! I'm going to do my best to remember the highlights of these two months. So towards the end of August, Jake, Kayla and the girls all flew in from Texas. Sweet Lily was so cute running to hug Grandma and was crying the whole time, which of course made most of us cry! I was so happy to see them and we all hugged and cried. They stayed at our house for a few days. One night we went to the great Western Idaho Fair! It's always something we look forward to, even though it's the same thing every year. We get all the unhealthy food and enjoy walking around looking at all the vendors and of course the weird people. At the time I was 32 weeks pregnant so it was a bit of a struggle, but we did our best. We watched a dog show and enjoyed seeing all the animals. The highlight of their visit though was spending a few days together in McCall. Some friends were nice enough to let us "rent" their cabin for a few days. It was not so much a cabin as it was a massive house on the lake. We all had our own rooms (and there were rooms to spare). We brought up a bunch of food and snacks and each took turns making dinners. We brought up some new games and had some good laughs every night. One of the best was the game Monikers. It was kind of like charades. Mom made us all laugh so hard when she was talking about Hitler and saying "Hi Ho Hitler!" (Instead of "Hail Hitler). I legitimately peed my pants and had to run upstairs to change. One night we did smores, sat in the hot tub and then another we ate out at My Father's Place. That same night we went to get ice cream and had a good laugh when the serving sizes were WAY more than we bargained for. One day the boys went golfing while the girls stayed home with the kids. The house sat literally on the beach so the little kids had fun playing in the sand and on the deck. Jake and Kayla convinced Lily to jump in the water with them and as soon as she came up for air she was screaming bloody murder. She was NOT happy. Her and Eli did great playing together most of the time and little Charlotte just never sat still. One morning we all went to The Pancake House and again got way more food than we knew what to do with. It was so fun being together as a family and just enjoying some time away from the world. Jake had to go back to Texas for work shortly after but Kayla and the girls were able to stay for another week and a half. They stayed with her parents and we got to see them a few more times. Lily and Eli had had enough of each other at that point and it was good to have the separation. We all celebrated Lily's birthday together with the Hansen's while they were here. The rest of September is kind of a blur for me. I've been biding my time just waiting for this baby boy to get here while also trying my best to enjoy what time I have left with Eli as an only child. Justin started another semester of school in September- he is working on an internship as well as one class.