Haircuts! oh, and Happy Thanksgiving...

So Bryce finally got his first haircut! Here is a good shot of his curls from October when we went to the Denver Aquarium. They were so cute, but when you get the ward's resident mullet-wearer complimenting Bryce's hair style, it's time for a change. So on Thanksgiving, I took advantage of my two stylist sisters being in town! My sister Jocelyn cut Bryce's hair.

Bryce was pretty good about it...once we gave him a sucker. Then he pretty much didn't care what we did to him!

He also got a washcloth so he could wash his hands and face whenever he wanted. He likes being a big boy.

I'm not sure what this face is, but it's so cute and it makes me laugh!

Almost finished!

But Bryce wasn't the only one who got a haircut! I get sick of my hair style every so often, and since I have two sisters and a sister-in-law who are stylists, I pretty much get it cut whenever I want! For illustration purposes, here is my hair a couple of weeks ago with my girls Leah and Tricia. I was totally ready for a change...so that's what I did!

I know the lighting isn't great, but if you can't tell...it's short! And I love it! For some reason, I don't have a picture to post of my sister Allie, who cut my hair...well, I do, but I don't think she'd want me to post it! ;) Thanks for the haircuts Allie and Jocie!

We had a really fun Thanksgiving at my parents' house with my two sisters and their hubbys and my brother in from out of town. We don't all get to be together as often as we'd like, so it was a great time. And I'm grateful for more things than I'm willing to type up right now, but know that I am grateful.

And here's a funny little video of a few things that I'm grateful for...it shows Caleb trying to do push-ups (hilarious!) and you can get a good look at Bryce's finished haircut. Enjoy!

Snow Day!

Caleb loves playing in the snow, but I admit, I don't take him out very often. It's cold and wet...neither of which are favorites in my book! But with Jon-Michael home and a fantastic amount of snow, we couldn't deny him that.

Here are all the boys before we went outside...and it took at least as long to get ready as to play out there! It was so funny to see Bryce all bundled like that. It was truly adorable, and his first experience actually playing in the snow. He was 9 months old the last time we took him out, but he couldn't walk yet, so he couldn't even do anything.
Caleb took full advantage and dove right in as soon as we got outside!
Bryce was a little more tentative, but was happy to watch at the beginning. It was cracking me up because you couldn't tell he if was smiling or crying because of that big scarf around his face...but he was smiling in this picture.
Jon-Michael did a lot of shoveling. Fortunately the snow was pretty dry and it was easy to shovel. Bryce liked following him around because he didn't have to walk in snow where ever Jon-Michael shoveled.
Caleb found all sorts of dinosaur bones and teeth and eggs in the snow...he's obviously into that lately...
Bryce would get so mad every time he had to touch the ground, and I don't blame him because he had such a hard time getting back up!
We don't get as much snow in our entry walk way because it's sheltered pretty well, but it was deep enough for Caleb!
After a while, Bryce just retreated to the garage and sat in the wagon where it was nice and snow-free!
We had fun climbing around in the snow, and yes, even I did! I think we're all happy to sit inside with hot cocoa and just look outside for a little while though now!

St. George!

We spent the week before Labor Day in Utah, and a good part of it in St. George for a McNeill Family Reunion! It's the first time we've all gone somewhere together since before Jocelyn or Allie got married. (Translation: over 4 years...) We spent 4 nights in a great condo a couple of my mom's sisters own and it was so much fun! Nine adults and two kids...all in a 3 bedroom condo. Well, we know we love each other now that we've done that! Besides swimming, we spent a ton of time eating...

L to R: Heather (and I'm not pregnant, even though I know it totally looks like it in that picture!), Jon-Michael, Mom, Dad, Brett
Caleb is actually in there sleeping on Jon-Michael's lap.

We couldn't all fit at one table without waiting forever, so we were in two booths across from each other. L to R: Jocelyn, Scott, Jonathan, Allie, and you can actually see Bryce sleeping on Allie's lap! We wore them out so they wouldn't give us any trouble at dinner! Of course that's not true, but we couldn't wake them up for anything! All that swimming and running around really just drained them.

Caleb took over the camera, as always, and here are some pictures showing what a great time we were having! (And a good illustration of each person's character, as you will see...)

Bryce being cute...
Brett being happy...

Jon-Michael being goofy...

Allie and Jonathan being confused...

Jocelyn being...well, I'm not sure what...

Scott being funny...

...and Caleb just being himself!

We had so much fun we miss everyone already!

Trip to the Museum

A few weeks ago, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I hadn't taken Caleb since I was pregnant with Bryce, and they loved it! We will definitely be going back.

Bryce had the most fun in the play area (because he was in the stroller every where else!) The girls volunteering there thought it was hilarious that Bryce would just throw balls and chase them around the room...under chairs, through adults' legs, around toys...and then grab it and throw it again! He was just happy to play fetch with himself!


Caleb was the most excited to see the dinosaurs, of course...why else would we go? It cracked me up because he kept talking about how everything there was dead. It didn't seem to bother him, so I guess he has a healthy understanding of death, because he's pretty mellow about it for a 4 year old.

The highlight was seeing the "rex" head. Because that's Rex from Night at the Museum. For some reason it didn't bother Caleb that he didn't have a body! But he wouldn't stand right in front of it...even if it is dead, I guess there's still the possibility of getting chomped...

Caleb's other favorite place was the Space Odyssey. He spent forever dressed up as an astronaut picking up moon rocks and launching the shuttle with other kids there. He was just making friends with every one there and had a blast.

So if anyone wants to go to the museum, we will definitely go with you again!

Ward Campout!

Last weekend we went on ward camp out! We're not really campers, so we always borrow stuff from my parents, but this was the second one this summer. Caleb's hooked now, and we've had a lot of fun. But I still have minimum requirements...like running water and bathrooms...I know that's not officially roughing it, but that's about as outdoorsy as you're going to find me!


Friday evening we had fun roasting marshmallows...as you can, see Caleb loved that. But mostly just the eating the marshmallows part! Bryce mostly just ate graham crackers, but he was perfectly happy with that too!

Caleb had a lot of fun with a few of his friends, Lydia and Cora. Cora was so good about posing for me, and Caleb loved the picture, so he did his own version of it!

And here's a picture of Bryce working on his walk...he is such a little stinker...I haven't been able to catch him walking on video because he refuses to do it as soon as I get out the camera! He's been walking for a few weeks, but getting braver, so one of these days I actually have proof!


We had a lot of fun making new friends with people in the ward at the camp out. It's definitely something we'll have to do again.

Famous Artwork

Perhaps this artwork isn't famous yet, but I'm pretty sure it will be one day. I continue to marvel at my kids development (except for Bryce's lack of walking...but he'll get a big blog entry when that happens!) especially with Caleb because it's new for me too. I know my kids aren't necessarily smarter or more advanced than other kids (well, I do kind of think that, what self respecting parent wouldn't?) but I'm just proud of them and want to showcase their talents. So here are some of Caleb's more amusing and impressive drawings as of late.

This is a picture of a slide at Water World. (We went there a couple of weeks ago.) The slide starts at the top right and lands in the tiny roundish pool at the bottom. I guess he spent as much time looking at the maps as we did!


Caleb spends an inordinate amount of time drawing trains. This picture is extra cute I think. It's Toby the tram engine from Thomas.


This next picture is of a pirate ship. Did you notice the skull and crossbones on the flag? And the pirate has a patch over his eye! The pirate ship is carrying a "vacuum train" of all things, (shocker right?) but I love the ship floating under the moon. And the random arrow.

I love this one because he copied it. This is a penguin cupcake family. I just got the book "Hello Cupcake," which has a ton of fabulous and relatively easy cupcake decorating ideas. Caleb decided to draw the picture on the back. I am so impressed with how well he copied the picture! (I included the front cover of the book in case you want to get it...it's so fun!)


This last one made Jon-Michael and me laugh the hardest. This is a creative version of some musical instruments...Trumpets? Tubas? But at the bottom is a picture of a flute, being played by none other than Homer Simpson.

This is the kind of thing I love about being a parent.

Caleb the Photographer

I was having a discussion with my dad last night about what kind of professions my kids might enter based on what we currently know of their personalities. Caleb has always been into things that involved fine motor skills, and he's very creative. I was uploading pictures and I found a slew of pics that Caleb took. It actually happens frequently that I look at the camera and think, "Where did all these pictures come from?" And it's Caleb's doing. So today, I'm going to predict that Caleb will be a photographer, if these pics are any indication...


This is only a tiny selection, but as you can see, he likes all types: abstract, portraits, still life, and himself. It's quite a range, and obviously he's extremely talented...we'll see where that takes us. (Note: As I'm typing this, he's managed to turn on my cell phone camera and is taking pictures of his toys.)

Sleeping...I mean Swimming...at the pool!

We go swimming nearly everyday...and it has been fabulous. So much so that Bryce has already established a nap routine involving the pool.

Step 1: Get drowsy and slump over in the turtle floatie.









Step 2: Let Mom pull your legs out so you're reclining comfortably, while still sleeping.







Step 3: Get carried out of the pool and sleep in the floatie with a towel for an hour or so.







This system seems to work pretty well because it happens almost every time we go to the pool! And this is particularly amazing since he sleeps in his crib and in the car seat...and that's about it. It's nice so I can play with Caleb too. (Obviously Bryce requires a lot of attention at the pool.) Caleb is coming to love swimming too, and is getting much more comfortable with the water. But he's not quite as brave as all the girls he swims with... (He's the one with the blue swim shirt and round floatie, and notice he's still got his nose plugged...)


All in all we're having a great time, and Jon-Michael is getting jealous because he's always had a darker skin that me...but not now because he has to work and pay for all the fun we have! What can I say? I'm spoiled and I love my life!