get ready...

for a picture dump with random pictures from the last few weeks. 

madeleine loves jonathan and can't get enough of him, especially when he's in the johnny jump-up. 

diane isn't as sure. she mostly loves him, but freaks out if he touches anything of hers (or any toys that she might want at some future date, for that matter). we're talking breaks down in tears if he touches her little blankie.

this girl still loves her little blankie and her thumb.

madeleine seems older and older every day to me. she has gotten a lot goofier lately too, especially when the camera comes out.

this boy. still so sweet, but he's had a rough month. i went back on dairy last month and even though he wasn't particularly fussy during the day, he has not been sleeping well at all. so, i'm back off of dairy. even after going off dairy though, he still wasn't sleeping well and actually got more fussy over the last couple weeks. i think that it has something to do with the brussel sprouts and broccoli i've be eating, but i'm not sure and rather than slowly try to eliminate what is bothering him, i've gone to a very bland diet and i'm trying to add things back in slowly. he is so much happier (my angel baby is back) and slept really well last night, so i'm hopeful. not a ton of fun for me, but i'd take a bland diet and a happy baby over being extremely sleep deprived with a sad little boy any day.

jonathan is really close to crawling. he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth all the time. and he kind of swims his way across the floor right now (very slowly). i'm sure he'll be crawling in no time. heaven help us.

more goofiness.

my shower gnome. i love this boy.

the early risers club. have i mentioned how sleep deprived i've been lately?

some of diane's drawings lately. i love her little people.

a family portrait.

this was our set up for general conference. i was sad to be away from my family for this, but the kids did amazing well and either napped or let us watch while they played on their own. it was a nice, peaceful weekend. a perfect spiritual recharge.

sun 
diane peck
chalk
october 2012
 

randy's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. the girls were extremely excited about it and madeleine kept talking about how everything had to be just perfect for daddy's birthday. so, we hung up some balloons, went to dinner, and had some lemon cake to celebrate. i don't know if randy thought it was perfect, but madeleine sure did.

face timing with randy's family while blowing out the candles.

last week i was walking down the stairs, while holding jonathan, and slipped and landed on my back. i also put my foot through the wall. the brick on the other side stopped it. fortunately, jonathan was okay and i was only a little bruised and sore, but nothing major. it certainly got my heart rate up. 

after enjoying some bread and jam.

if you made it to the end of this meandering post, you must have grandchildren or nieces named madeleine, diane, and jonathan. or you're a glutton for punishment.

dr. maze's pumpkin patch

on thursday, i met up at dr. maze's pumpkin patch in redmond with a couple of the women that i visit teach with and their kids. when we got there, we realized that you had to pay to go into the play area. we couldn't stay that long and it was $9 for adults as well as kids, so instead we just went and walked around the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. madeleine was pretty sad about it and i'm pretty sure she thought that the outing was a bit of a bust (walking around a bunch of pumpkins while her mom talked to other women and ignored her repeated pleas to go in the play area), but we did find a little free maze and stack of bales of hay at the end that kept her slightly happier.

i brought my camera with me and was trying to take pictures while holding jonathan and that didn't work so well. i should have brought my stroller, but didn't think about it beforehand. i'm not sure that it would have made a huge difference because the motto for the day seemed to be "whatever you do, don't look at the camera."

i decided to try and get a shot with the three kids and this one wouldn't have been too bad if i had been paying attention to that building in the background. also, madeleine is still a little small to be holding jonathan by herself for very long, so i was trying to be fast. 

i switched angles and the background is better, but you can't see madeleine very well. not that diane is looking at the camera anyway. i just have to admit that this is our reality right now and i won't have a great picture of all of the kids looking at the camera for several years. they're still cute.

would you could you in a wheelbarrow?

we could not, would not, in a wheelbarrow.

it was very bright too. also not helping with the pictures.

this is the pumpkin that the girls eventually went with. every single one that they picked up seemed to be a weird yellowish orange that was rotting or wouldn't stand upright on its own, so when they finally picked this one, we went with them. who really cares, right?

jonathan thought that the pumpking was the best thing ever. and it was keeping him upright in the wheelbarrow, so i was happy with it.

and finally, an attempt at a group shot. sticking to the motto of the day.