Beach Weekend

Last weekend I decided to take the boys to the beach (Lincoln City of course!) for a couple days. After a fantastic drive there (sarcasm included...traffic was horrible!) I got there with Luke and joined my mom, siblings, Adrian, Jonathan, and our friend Jenn and her kids. It was such a relaxing weekend. We stayed up late talking and joking. We hit up the outlet stores and I couldn't seem to leave well enough alone:) A nice lunch at Pier 101 with my ladies and then off to the house to get the kids and take them to Regatta Park, only one of the coolest parks in the world! It basically looks like a castle and the kids would have stayed hours and hours if we let them. Jonathan was having a hard time not being able to run off with all the other kids. Too cute! Here are some of the best pics:

Just some random days in our life...

We haven't really been doing anything all that interesting lately, but I have caught a few of our moments of randomness in pictures so here goes!

Jonathan's favorite place to hide out is under the table. He wedges his way under there and then sits on the bar underneath like he is riding a horse. It is so funny! I crack up every time:)

A few weeks ago was the primary program at church and Adrian and I were asked to play a duet. We worked on "I Am a Child of God" for months and it sure paid off. Although Adrian is really hard to follow it turned out pretty well...he really enjoys playing (most of the time!) and seems to be able to memorize well. Unfortunately, sometimes this means he tries to get away with practicing without the book and that leads to all kinds of mishaps. He is finally really starting to grasp the idea of timing though, so he is improving a lot lately. Every time a new song is introduced his world is ending and it is the hardest thing he has ever done and he wants to quit. I tell him I won't let him quit and before a week has passed it becomes the easiest song he's ever played! If only all the hard things in life worked out like this? (P.S. he has horrible posture, but what can a momma do?)
The other day I was doing the dishes and I could hear Jonathan's famous shrieks from behind me, but since it wasn't the sound of pain, just a desire for attention I continued about my work. A few minutes later when he was still shrieking I turned to find him in the corner like this. He had somehow managed to flip the stool over and get himself stuck inside. Too funny!

True to form, my boys are always about the food. Jonathan seems to take a real interest in anything we are eating as well as doing. Andrew wanted to make a "snack" the other day (pot pie among other things!) and Jonathan wanted to help out.

I loved how intently Jonathan seemed to be studying the package, like it all makes sense to him!

Jonathan's independent streak has really come full force lately. He has reached the point where he pretty much refuses to be fed by someone and needs to have his own fork or spoon in hand--even if he doesn't actually use it! Sometimes he gets so frustrated, but unwilling to accept help, that he leans forward and eats off the tray like an animal! The first time he did it I almost peed my pants laughing:)

Yesterday was Veteran's day. In honor of the holiday our ward did a presentation and Andrew was invited to speak. Since we know how long-winded some of our vets can be (wink!) we brought along some of Andrew's gear to give people something they could get hands on with. Adrian has decided that this gears his new favorite "dress up" stuff. I laugh because the flak jacket alone must weigh 20 pounds or something and the helmet isn't light either. He walks around holding the bottom of the vest up since it weighs so much and hurts his shoulders:) His latest "when I grow up" pronouncement is that he wants to be a veteran when he grows up. I think that is so cute, but I also know he has no idea what that all would mean for him. I have so much respect for the military and those who serve. It would make me such a proud momma to see my sons serve this country, but that doesn't mean I can't wish for a world that never saw war or a need for military. Ground rules: they must serve in the Air Force and get cushy jobs if they decide to join up;) All joking aside, thank you to all the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us to have the freedoms we enjoy and sometimes take for granted. Thank you to my great-grandfather who served in WWI, thank you to my father-in-law who served in Vietnam, my brother-in-law who currently serves in the Marines, countless other family and friends who have served and serve today, and thank you to my dear husband who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait and continues to serve today. We love you!

Jonathan's 1st Birthday Party/Halloween!

Super baby to the rescue!

Of course, take a picture when I'm eating...nice Andrew.

Luke wanted to be Dracula...

Adrian was originally going to be Harry Potter, but upon discovering this black "robe" at my mom's and remembering the skeleton gloves at out house he changed his mind and became a dementor.

Thank you to everyone who made it out for Jonathan's birthday and thank you for the awesome birthday presents. He hasn't stopped playing all weekend!

Gotta love Costco. Andrew is all "buddy-buddy" with the bakery so he got them to make a cake with a dog on it since Jonathan is obsessed with dogs right now. Too cute!

At first Jonathan couldn't figure out what we wanted him to do with a giant piece of cake and some ice cream...obviously he figured it out!

Jonathan got some fun new animals and was trying to carry them all around at once. It was hilarious!

The whole gang! Noah (mustache man?), Andrew (pilot), Jonathan (superbaby), Taylor (50's girl), Adrian (dementor), Me ("M"--it was pointed out to me that you can't be a single "M&M"--who knew?), Luke (Dracula), Autumn (princess Ariel)

The remainder of the weekend was spent trying to keep my boys from consuming all of their candy in one sitting. Happy Halloween:))

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

I cannot believe that my little baby turned one today! I have been running around non-stop all day and I am finally able to catch my breath...phew. All day I have been thinking about this day one year ago when this little guy made his entrance into the world. At the moment I first held him in my arms I thought I loved him. I thought there could never be anything better. And then I woke up the next day loving him more and thinking that day was better. I have learned this past year a lot about love. I have learned to love unconditionally and to have patience unlike before! I am so grateful that I have been given the privilege to be Jonathan's mother. I love my little man:)

At one year old here are Jonathan's stats:

Weight- 24 lbs. 7 oz. (tripled his birth weight of 8 lbs. 3 oz.!)

Length- 32 inches

Head- 47 cm

Jonathan is walking all over the place and in the last few days has really started making it more of a habit and choosing to walk over crawl. Makes it a lot harder to go anywhere now that he is so mobile and independent!

For the most part Jonathan's personality is pretty mild mannered, but if he wants something he sure has a shriek to use at his disposal;) That is the Weitzel in him!

Signs Jonathan uses most: dog, duck/bird, more, all done, eat, drink, milk, bye, brush teeth (of course!), and then he has a catch all gesture he uses for everything else and you have to use telepathy to figure it out!

Words: momma, dada, A-yan (Adrian), uke (Luke), og (dog), duck, buh (bird), ana (banana), pumpk (pumpkin), yeh (yes), uh (no), bye, and a variety of other sounds I don't know if I will ever figure out!

He is weaned off the bottle completely and he eats everything we do now--love not having to buy different foods and formula...now if only I could get rid of the diapers? Soon enough;) I have been working on the whole sleeping thing and he is finally going to sleep on his own in his crib after a few minutes of crying, better every night. I really want to get rid of the stinking pacifier since they keep disappearing (I think I have finally figured out that he likes to throw stuff in the garbage...maybe they have gone the way of the dump?). I am waiting until after the plane trip to CA after Thanksgiving and then it will disappear foreva!

Here is to another fun and adventurous year!

Happy birthday my little guy! The fun continues tomorrow with the par-tay and halloween festivities:)

FHE Group Pumpkin Carving Contest

For about a year (I think?) we have been getting together on Monday nights with some of our friends for doing Family Home Evening (FHE). It has been a lot of fun! Three of the four families had babies in the last year so as they have gotten more mobile the group has gotten a little more rowdy. We recently decided to only get together as a group twice a month and do our own FHE on the off week. This month we hosted both nights. The first one we did a lesson on service. This week we had a pumpkin carving contest. It was soooo much fun! It was cracking me up how seriously some of the dads were taking it...one dad even had a scalpel for the finer cuts! Here are some pictures of our masterpieces:

Bradfield's-mummy face on stand, Stott's-cute ghost, Durant's-flame face, Taggert's-Scary ghost
In the dark...unfortunately the mummy face didn't let the light through very well:(
We had so much fun and I am actually excited for Halloween this year. Don't tell anyone though...

Oregon Hill Pumpkin Festival

Last Saturday we headed over to the Oregon Hill Pumpkin Festival over in Yankton. We went last year, but I was 9 mo pregnant and don't remember having a good time! This time we were able to go on the free (love it!) hay ride which I thought was pretty lame since you just go in a huge circle, but the boys thought it was the best thing ever. We spent some time after that picking out the best pumpkins and we each got ourselves big old pumpkins! When we got home Adrian and Luke carved theirs, but we saved the other 3 for later...

Vinyl Designs Update

Just spent a looong time updating the old vinyl blog if you are interested to see the new designs check them out here.