buddy

exactly a year ago, we were where we are now, in eden prairie, mn, but only across the street, in a different extended stay. i was fat. prego fat, that is. so i sat on my butt all day and watched tv. go figure. tlc to be exact. i fell in love with cake boss! i wanted to bake and decorate cakes like that. fast forward to present day. buddy aka the cake boss, was going to be at the mall of america. 10 minutes away! i had to see him. to make a story short, i didn't get there in time to get a wrist band in order to get in line to see him and get his book signed. oh well. clay and i were able to get some close pictures of him. looks just like he does on his show. it was just cool to be there and see him in person. 

this he-she was standing right next to us on the floor above everything and yelled out "buddyyyyy" and buddy looked up and was pointing and just laughing. everyone started taking pictures. it was hilarious. this he-she looked like one of the customers in an episode of cake boss. we were standing next to a star.

Good-bye Austin

I'd have to say, I thought it was going to be a long, boring summer living in Austin for a short 4 months. Boy was I wrong. From the day we moved in, we were instantly welcomed with open arms. We were already invited over for dinner the next day, had plans with our new friends the next week, and I found some jogging buddies a couple weeks later. So, needless to say, those 4 months went by in a flash, and it's sad that we're not there anymore. We made long-lasting friendships and Kort hit many milestones. 

It was Scott and Nathaniel's birthday right close to each other, so we made the drive back to Austin to celebrate their special days!

Nathaniel turned the big 1! He's only a month and half older than Kort. He is such a good and adorable baby! I think he's what got Kort motivated to start sitting up and crawling. Too bad he hadn't started walking, otherwise maybe Kort would be by now (insert hand in mouth - I'm sure once Kort starts walking, I'll wish he was still a newborn).

This is Kort and his buddy, Ian. He made Kort a "Squash Man". His mom, Brytnie, was telling me that Ian was always talking about Kort, at home and church, which is funny to me because they only played together a couple times and then at library story times :) 

It was too cute.

We sure loved Austin! We made some great friends, and wished we could have spent more time getting to know those we did right before our move. Definitely one of the friendliest places we've lived. I don't know if I could retire there...guess I'll find out 

after this Minnesota winter passes. :)

halloween

I decided now that Kort is a little older, I wanted to start really doing holidays. Halloween was probably the first one with him being old enough, so I decided that we were all going to dress up. Well, only half of that happened. With us moving that weekend of, I really didn't have time to get Clay's and my costume together. I had already ordered Kort's, so Clay and I just had the accessories :) Our friends invited us to their ward halloween party, so here we are!

 Can you guess what Clay and Kort are?!!

This is Sam, Mr. SPAM. Clara is the before product. Jenna (not pictured), was the butcher :)

 My two handsome boys.

Clara is now crawling so she obviously was wanting to do that more than take a picture :)

Maybe I'll get a picture of Princess Fiona in there, if I can find it. 

Ha Ha

las vegas

The middle of October we were able to fly out for Leland's baptism. I don't have pictures for that yet, but I'll get them up here soon. Anyway, it was a great and fun weekend! We flew in late Thursday night and headed to Hoover Dam (will get those pictures from Clay's phone soon also). We took a short tour and headed back to the city. Saturday was the big day for Leland. It was so wonderful. Back in Washington, Clay and I were part of a lot of baptisms, mainly adults, so it was great being a part of our nephew's. That evening we drove past the strip and went shopping at the mall :) 

On the way back, it was way past Kort's bedtime, so he was super cranky. I whipped out the camera and he instantly stopped and started smiling for me. That has never happened. These are the adorable pictures I caught of him!

You would have never known he was extremely crabby seconds before :)

Clay and I figured it was probably the only time we'd get to leave Kort with family, so we took advantage and stayed the night at a casino hotel 

for an early anniversary getaway :)

(our view from the hotel)

After church on Sunday, we took a drive out of the city for a short hike at 

Mount Charleston.

 (Kort loves his celery sticks)

 Kort got lots of time with grandpa and grandmacita, as well as being fed well by auntie Barbara and cousin Leland :)

9 months

wow. i can't believe our baby is 9 months! a year is right around the corner. i took kort in for his 9 month checkup, expecting more shots, but he was all caught up and just had to get half of his flu shot! he took it like a champ and the rest of the afternoon he was all smiles and laughs! here's his stats.

Weight: 18 lbs. 15 oz. = 20th percentile

Length: 31 inches = 97th percentile

Head circumference: 41 cm (i think)

Long and Lean!

his personality is really starting to show. 

he loves laughing at anything, especially when i get "mad" at him for spitting his food out, or when he knows it's wrong to bite when nursing (hence, i am starting to wean him off). 

he says "dadda" all the time!

he started clapping his hands a week ago.

starting to walk along furniture and standing up for a few seconds or more.

still a wiggle worm - doesn't like to snuggle.

sleeps 11-12 hours a night! 

naps are still a guess. goes from anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1.5 hour naps.

still hasn't had a haircut. clay won't let him get one until his birthday, so his hair is getting long and thick.

eating more solids.

has top and bottom front 2 teeth.

crawls around the house with toys hanging out of his mouth.

will drop everything once he hears a door, cupboard, fridge, or dishwasher open and go right to it.

spits all the time.

loves bath time. he crawls and splashes everywhere.

is finally taking the bottle!!!

i just can't believe how fast time goes. seems like yesterday i was just in the hospital. i'm so thankful for our little bundle of joy. well, not so little. he acts like a toddler, but i still love every minute i have with him. i'm thankful for clay's job that allows me to stay at home and raise him. 

we love you, kort!

farmer john's pumpkin patch

We headed out north of town to go to the pumpkin patch! I'd have to say this was our first time, and I hope not the last of a new tradition :)

Claire, Nathaniel and Sophie enjoying the ride

 Emily and Scott

 Farmer John!

(on his John Deere...how appropriate:)

 Kort showed no emotion going down the slide. ha ha

 Inside the silo. Farmer John built a platform (shown below) and then made 

a slide to come out of it.

Beautiful sunset on the way back.

We got a group picture, which I'll have to post later, once I get it. We had a lot of fun though, being with our friends! (We missed you, Weeks!) We all went out to dinner afterwards where the place we ate got to deal with 8 adults and 9 kids! There was rice all over the floor all because of Kort! ha ha It was a great night :)

socks, socks, and more socks

Down south in Osage, Iowa, they have an annual Socktoberfest (I think that's what it's called), that they sell TONS of Fox River and other brand named socks. Fox River is the original maker of the monkey socks. Anyway, a bunch of people from our ward always make the caravan trip down there and then go out for pizza afterwards. They have socks that are "not quite perfect" on sale from $1 - $3 per pair (or more in the package) which originally range from $10 - $60. People walk out with bags full of socks! They have John Deere, military fire retardant kind, and a bunch of wool winter socks. Since all Clay's socks have holes in them, ha ha, we stocked up :)