Cars

It's official!  Kolton is in a big boy bed with cars themed everything.  No more baby for this little guy.... just in time too :)

Sweet Xiana has the prettiest, longest hair.  We straightened it right after I trimmed it. She said, next time, let's straighten it first so we can see how long it is before you cut it :) So beautiful!

Pumpkin Patch Preview

Yes, it's that time of year again.  The time of year where my house slides, my school work takes a back burner, and I spend every second of spare time across the street at the Andelin Family Farm.  It's wonderful!  We get a season pass every year.  The Andelins are so wonderful and incredibly generous.  Their staff is ridiculously helpful, and I usually manage to run into everyone I know there throughout the month of October.  This year, specifically for this little boy above, Natalie included unlimited hay rides with the pass.  It was so nice of her because Kolton is pretty sure his job is to ring the bell and run for the hay every time the tractor turns on.  They also did a massive corn maze that was enjoyed by the whole family.  It gets cuter every year, although I could do without the recent addition of the duck pond (Kolton wanted to swim some days).  Xiana and her friends hunkered down in the spider web for hours each visit. Kolton fed every animal every time he entered.  And, we got a ton of pumpkins including the giant that I won opening day by guessing closest to the weight.  I'm truly grateful for the opportunity my children have to participate in the lovely event every year.  I know that it broadens their horizons and teaches them things that staying home could never offer. 

Treasures

What would a trip to Battle Mountain be without a trip hunting for treasures.  Of course, as is usually the case, the greatest treasures are those who seek them. 

Air Races

Brian won tickets to the air races.  It was a ton of fun, though I think Kolton would have been more impressed if he didn't have a little stomach bug.  Still, there was a man who flew with a jet pack, ample jets, cars, and planes.  Pretty impressive!

Fancy

Sometimes I can hardly stand how cute this little man is! He's entered the stage of everything he says is hilarious right at the same time that Xiana is growing out of that stage. She's so precise and perceptive, I hardly hear any out of whack expressions come from her mouth these days.  I haven't been as good to document Koltonisms, but here are a few from the last month or so:

• When we drop Xiana off at school in the morning he tells her, "give me a kiss or else I will freak out!"
• At the pumpkin patch he was riding a horse, waving his hands frantically yelling, "yeehaa, I a cowboy! yeehaw! I a cowboy and I say it out loud!"
• One day Brian was rushing him to get his shoes on so they could leave and he said, "mommy says I just a wittle boy and sometimes I take a wong (long) time to put my shoes on."
• We are a bit evil and took the kids to a really scary corn maze.  It was hilarious.  Every time a monster would jump out he would first yell, then he'd get a closer look at them and let out a blood curdling scream.  About the fifth monster that jumped out at us, the guy started laughing so hard.  He said, "I'm sorry, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard." Then he gave Kolton a high five. On the way home that night Kolton said, "that scary monster, the white bear, him jump out at me and I say ahhhhh.  Then him give me a high five.  And he actually not a scary monster at all. He a nice man." To hear him retell the story now is equally hysterical.
• He told me about how another time he got scared and he said, "I hear a boom and I like, what that noise?"
• He sings his alphabet so well, especially for a two-year old! And, he can count to 20 all my himself.  Actually, his language is remarkable.  People comment on it everywhere we go!
• One of his favorite things right now is to say, "I wuv you mommy." Then I say, "I love you too." and he says, "Yeah, and we bof wuv each udder."
• While driving past a house that had a grim reaper blow up character he said, "that scary monster like, "hiiiiii, I a scary monster and I say hi and I a bad bad boy!"
• Brian was singing Queen, "I'm just a poor boy nobody loves me." Kolton, right on cue sung back, "I love you daddy!"
• He got in trouble the other day, well, every day really, but I sent him to his room.  A few minutes later he came out and said, "now I have no family." "What?" I asked, "now I have no family," he repeated.  I laughed, but still angry explained to him that he always had a family even when he got in trouble.  Then I got on my soapbox of how lucky he was because I could be mean and beat him, or not have a home for him, or not make food or not read or not care about his safety and on and on to which he replied, "yeah, and you lucky mommy!"
• He told me the other day, "I wike you mommy." I said, "I like you too Kolton, even though sometimes you make me mad." He said, "yeah, and sometimes you make me really really mad!"
• He's a clever little handful.  He loves to have his back rubbed and tickled.  He loves to play with and torment his sister.  He's a tv addict who must be monitored at all times. I think he might aspire to be a farmer after all his hard work at the pumpkin patch this year.  He thought it was his job to feed all the animals every time we went.  He's a sweet little precocious boy who is such a wonderful little handful. He's stubborn and smart, and we love him!

Crafty!

Natalie turned the girls into cats!  So clever!  My friend Kristin kindly agreed to teach a group of ladies these Halloween crafts.  It was a fun and productive night!