G-L-O-R-I-A - Lighting of the Christmas Tree at St. Luke's

As a family we have really enjoyed being members of St. Luke.  The boys participate in the Cherubs Choir and they meet once a week to run around with their friends and occasionally sing.  The Cherubs were asked to kick off the Lighting of the Tree festivities at St. Luke's.  Todd and I were nervous, but the boys did awesome.  Dillon really got into it, and he entire group had the whole church laughing by the end of the song.

Dillon - Stop Growing!

It is official - Dillon will not stop growing up.  First it was conquering potty training, and now he has grown out of his crib.  Really, being potty trained, he needs to be able to get to the bathroom.  But, he loves his crib and has never made any attempt to get out.  Although I was excited to surprise him with his Cars 2 bedding in his new bed, I did shed a tear knowing that I no longer had a use for our crib.

Dillon's November To Remember

There was one MAJOR thing that happened in November.  I felt that it deserved it's own post.  Todd went out of the country on a business trip and I decided that it would be a perfect time to potty train Dillon.  YIKES - I was nervous, but Dillon was so ready and so excited.  First, we began with a sticker reward chart and prizes....and potty seats.  Dillon was excited for the Thomas the Train seat.

We stuck close to home on Day 1 and it went well.  A few accidents in the morning, but did great the rest of the day.  I felt like everyone needed a reward after dinner, so off we went to get some Frozen Yogurt - Dillon was so proud!

Payson was a great help - always encouraging to Dillon and even drew him this picture to show the correct steps of using the bathroom.  Step 1 - run to potty.  Step 2 - go potty.  Step 3 - call Mommy to help.

My neighbor and great friend helped me out at the end of the week when I was not sure if we could handle a multiple hour outing.  We went to see Santa and a Christmas Tree lighting.  Dillon loved being out with his friends and did so great that I knew we had mastered the potty training - NO MORE DIAPERS!

Todd nearly fell over half way around the world when I told him what project I had taken on while he was away.  But, again, Dillon did amazing.  It took about a week of sticking close to home, but once he mastered this, he was ready to go anywhere.  And I mean, we have visited potties EVERYWHERE - Target, the grocery store, the library, Payson's school, the mall, etc.  YEA DILLON!

November Happenings

Wow - after the mad rush of birthday celebrations and Halloween we were ready for some quieter weekends in November.  I must of been crazy if I thought that was really going to happen.  Payson has taken an interest in basketball so this month he participated in a basketball clinic every saturday.  He really liked it, and the coaches that lead the clinic could not believe he was only in Kindergarten.  Our rec league does not start basketball for boys until they are in 1st grade, so we will see next year what he decided to do.  The biggest problem is the basketball season runs at the same time as ski season!

We did have some pretty relaxing days that allowed us to just be silly and play.  Payson has enjoyed making a new friend from school - Josh, and we having been rotating wednesday play dates.  This is a great way to break up our week with having friends over.  

Payson's knees are coming through the windshield - too tight to squeeze in there!

Napping with Brewer - this is one spoiled puppy!

Yes - all of these buddies sleep on Dillon's bed!

I had two great things happen in November - the first was meeting a great blogger.  I have enjoyed following the Pioneer Women for years, and her cookbooks are amazing.  She was on a book tour and stopped at the Tattered Cover right by my house.  I HAD NO IDEA how popular she was.  I reserved my spot in line and it still took three hours to meet her.  I spoke to a variety of people that had flown in from out of state to meet her.  She is so nice and her newest cookbook does not disappoint!

The next big and great news for me was the arrival of Clayton Christopher Rich.  My best friend Kirstin and her husband were overjoyed with the adoption of an amazing newborn boy.  I could not wait to get down to Colorado Springs to meet him.  I officially waited 8 days before I showed up on their doorstep with gifts and food galore!  He is a cutie and I love every chance I get to be around him!

Dillon did have his second trip to the dentist and he loved it - he loves everything about the experience.  The staff all gathered around as he giggled through the entire cleaning process.




We had a great Thanksgiving Dinner in Fort Collins with family and ended the Thanksgiving weekend with a trip to the movies with our neighbors to see Frozen.  Great movie - all of us are guilty of walking around and singing "Let It Go..."

Halloween 2013

Payson knew what he wanted to be for Halloween for months, Dillon changed his mind every 10 minutes.  I tried to encourage matching costumes, or a dual theme, but they both had very different ideas.  First we needed to decorate.  Payson was bummed that the neighborhood squirrels made a buffet out of our pumpkin!

 Costumes were finally decided on - Dillon would be Batman and Payson would be Darth Vader.  I few days before Halloween we attended a Trick or Treat Street with our friends Hannah and Jack.

 Then the party got really crazy when the Rooney Family arrived - Payson was thrilled to see Hudson!

Next up was Boo at the Zoo, and Dillon decided he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear.  Poor Payson came down with a 24 hours stomach bug (that we all caught over the next two weeks), so he was not able to come to the zoo.

Finally on the Halloween, Todd was able to take the day off.  Dillon was back to being Batman and Payson decided to be a Jedi at school and Darth at night.  The day started with attending Payson's school parade. 

 Payson and his buddies - Josh and Sam.

 Jake and Lila have become our Trick or Treating Buddies and we were glad they came this year!

 After a few fun hours, we were cold and ready to go home to check out our loot!