Family Update

I had my hair colored really dark brown . The color of my eyebrows. I've always had light brown hair and really dark eyebrows. They now match. Can't decide if it's a good thing or not. Brian looked at me like I was crazy. Carter and Kyle say they like it.

I just love this girl!! She's exactly 9 months old tomorrow. She's never had a schedule from day one b/c we're busy taking the boys to school and activities and yet she's still happy all the time. Her new word this week is Carter which really sounds like tartar. I love her to pieces! She'll look at me and say "kiss kiss" then make two kissing noises. I need to get it on video tomorrow. I keep telling Brian "don't you want another Brinley?" Then he gives me a dirty look. Kyle got to bring home Mouse from school. You know the mouse from the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." He did everything with that mouse. Kyle is really growing up. Just this last week he likes to go to neighbor's houses by himself. He's having a lot of play dates with his friends lately. I think he feels like he's a big boy like Carter.

Last week Carter came out of his room wearing this. He said "mom, I want to wear my dirt biking clothes to school." I said "won't the kids make fun of you? Is it okay with your teacher?" He replied, "The kids think it's cool and Mr Retig said I can wear them as long as there's no dirt on them." I was worried, but it turns out all the kids that got off the bus said it was cool. It takes a confident kid to pull that off.

The Big Promotion

After 4 phone interviews, a computer test, 3 face to face interviews, and roll playing, Brian was promoted to be a Associate Market Manager. In the next year or two he'll be training to be a Manager over group of offices within Wells Fargo Advisors. For now we get to stay in Seattle but in a few years when he gets his own offices to manage, we may have to move to another state.

He's worked so hard to be able to focus on being a manager and he can't wait to make a name for himself as a manager. It's been fun watching him grow in his career. I definitely feel that we've been blessed to raise a family and have me at home the last 6 years. Most parents these days have their careers established when they decide to have kids and now they're old parents........yes I said it!!

Anyway, I'm just so happy we get to stay here in Seattle for the time being b/c Brian knows others that got accepted to the program and they have to move in February. I'd be freaking out! My house has two unfinished bathrooms b/c I got lazy!

How did this happen?

So this is one of the many girls that has a crush on Carter. The other day her mom told me that everyday for the last month she tells her mom "Mom! Do my hair nice for Carter!" Carter has been girl crazy for years. I'm in big trouble when he becomes a teenager.

This is a conversation Carter and I had today.

“So, how was school today?”

“Um, good. All the girls at school want to go out with me except Maya.”
(Maya is the best friend of the girl he’s currently going out with.)

“Oh, really. Wow, that’s a lot of girls!”

“I think I need to get earrings so she’ll think I’m cool.”

“Where did you get that idea? Is there boys at your school with earrings?”

“No, but that one boy I played football with at the beach this summer had earrings and I bet he has lots of girlfriends.”

I can't believe that kids in Kindergarten are already "going out." Maybe I need to put a stop to Carter watching the show 'i Carly." I'm just remembering another funny story. The other day Carter and I were folding laundry and I told him we need to get him some new jeans b/c they have holes. He replied by saying "but mom, girls like holes in jeans, they think it's cool."

I haven't met a mom yet, that had a son so girl crazy since the age of 2.

Halloween Night!

The night started out with some dinner and then trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Brian dressed up as a gorilla. Kyle didn't cry when he saw the Gorilla costume this year. Poor Brinley has been sick with a cold and cough so she didn't get to go out. I didn't even put her in a costume the whole week. Pathetic, I know!

Carter loved walking around our neighborhood seeing all his friends.

After our neighborhood, Brian stayed home while Brinley went to bed early and the boys and I were off to my parents neighborhood. My parents neighborhood awesome for trick-or-treating. They give out tons of candy and decorate over the top!

Looks like Kendall is suffering from a bad sugar high!

Kyle loved being Curious George. This was the third costume he's worn this week.

This morning he was so proud of his stash. He even put the candy in categories.

This is Carter's third costume too. My kids love dressing up and it happens all year long.

That night we also went to a haunted Forest and a haunted house by my parents house. It was so fun. Then the boys and I finished off the night eating at McDonald's with my sister and her kids. I got them home at 10:30 and they went to bed right away. Thank goodness for daylight savings b/c church was at 9am. We were late of course. We had plenty of meltdowns from Carter later today!

Can't wait for next year when all three of my kids are trick-or-treating together. I keep finding Kyle trying to slip Brinley candy constantly. She now knows what a sucker is and she'll scream at you if you have one.

Kids are Funny!

Everytime I make sugar cookies Carter becomes the crazy cookie monster. After having 2 cookies the minute he woke up, he wanted another cookie so I told him he could only have one more if he wrote the word cookie for me.

He actually did it! I didn't think he'd figure out the "ie" ending. Well, he got another cookie and now he's running around the house chasing the cats while on his sugar high.

While making 80 sugar cookies for Brian's work, Kyle's school and the neighbors, Brinley played with the cat. This kitten causes me to swear on occasion at night. If not locked up at night it will smack it's paw at your head at 2am wanting to play. Then in the day I'm thankful for the babysitter it can be. Brinley can spend up to an hour straight playing with this kitten. So it's worth it.

Another Great Picture

Finally Some Family Pictures!

I've been wanting to do professional family pictures forever and just kept putting it off. Now I'm kicking myself for not doing this in the past. This is going to be an annual event every fall. Lyndsey Fagerlund took our pictures and she did a great job. It was affordable and a good experience. Her website is http://seenboxphotography.blogspot.com/ She lives in Utah yet she comes to the Seattle area very often. We took these pictures in the Arboretum in Seattle.