Every Path Has its Puddles

Jake has been really busy with his new calling...ward executive secretary. He also spends at least 12 hours a day at school. It has been an adjustment getting used to him being gone so much.
We quickly realized we needed to get serious with a weekly date night. We have some neighbor girls come over once a week for a few hours. It has been great! The challenge will be finding things to do that don't cost much, if at all.
First week we went bowling up at the campus. I was glad just to get 2 digits on the board. Jake was the clear winner.

The weather has quickly turned from summer to fall. It starts out cold in the mornings and heats up by afternoon. It's hard to know if we should bring coats if we'll be out for more than a few hours.
We have enjoyed some rainy days.
Rain or not, the boys still want to go out for a walk. All the better in the rain. We made sure we splashed in every puddle we passed.

 The boys are starting to show more love toward each other. There is still a lot of fighting but they are brothers so its expected.
(story from this morning. Xander was awake first. When I opened the door to get Kaleb up Xander came careening around the corner. Squealing "Kabee!" (pronounced caw-bee) He bowled Kaleb over in his excitement to hug him. They both started giggling. Got up, hugged and said "good morning brother")
I look forward to watching their love continue to grow for one another. I hope they can always lean on each other through thick and thin.

Kaleb has been spotty with taking a nap or not. He is quite often very tired but refusing to lay in bed, claiming he's not tired, not at all.

 Uh-huh. Not tired, not one bit. I ended up flipping the foot rest up because he was slowly sliding off.

The big excitement of this week - preschool! The boys were both accepted into the program up at the campus. Xander doesn't start the toddler program for another week.
Kaleb got to go meet his teachers on Thursday. It didn't go over too well at first. He threw a grand tantrum. After a bit he calmed down and started exploring his classroom.

He enjoyed the letters. Didn't like the water table (you had to wear a smock, not happening!) No painting, play-dough, or magnets. The shape table didn't interest him for long. He found a quiet corner with blocks and he was happy. One of the teachers was asking him what different shape the blocks were. She held up a half-circle with a confused look. I later found out she wasn't sure what to call it. Didn't know if he would understand half-circle. Kaleb didn't blink an eye. "That's a half-circle" This boy loves the shapes. One of his earliest words was 'triangle'.
There was a tear drop shaped block. Round bottom, tapered top. Kaleb held it up and excitedly declared "chocolate!"

They also had an aluminum ladder. Kaleb wouldn't go near it. Xander was with us and that was all he wanted to do. He is a lot more adventurous than his big brother. You can only walk across the top. There are cross legs that prevent using it for monkey-bars. Xander loved taking on the challenge and figuring it out.

Xander had a well-child check this week. He is in the 95th percentile for height and 50th for weight. Kaleb is on the smaller side. They are very close in size. It's a daily conversation with strangers...no, they aren't twins, they're 14 months apart. Wow, that must keep you busy. Uh-huh. What kind of a comment is that?

Life has been excellent. I feel richly blessed. I love being a wife and mother. My life is full. Rich and blessed as it is, with friends and family who make life interesting.

Birthday and Blessings

This is unrelated to much of anything. It was crazy looking to me so I had to share. I spilled some oatmeal right on top of my feet.
As a side story. I dropped a hot pan on the rug, it burned a perfect circle that you can just barely see in the top corner. Whenever the boys run by they yell "circle!" Yes, thank you for reminding me of that, again.

We enjoyed a final summer weekend in Utah with family.
We stopped at a BBQ place for lunch on our way. I knew right away, it would be good. Usually the ma and pa places are.

Our sweet Alexander turned two on Friday the 2nd. I think back on the last two years and I have to laugh. I still remember my dismay when I found out we were expecting again. I remember calling my sister Shawna and crying, screaming about how mad I was, how this ruined our plans. She was so excited for us, told us how blessed we were. It woke me up and helped me calm down. We weren't expecting Kaleb and Alexander to be so close in age. Soon as he showed up we wouldn't have had it any other way. I guess he was ready to step into the world and move ahead. The nine months waiting for his arrival were hard ones. The months after he came were even harder. Even in those months a little ray of sunshine filled our lives in countless ways.
We spent a quite birthday not doing much of anything. We didn't even really tell him it was his special day. I don't think he would have cared anyway.

Grandma brought out bowls and turned on the sprinklers. It was a huge hit.

Aunt Hannah and Shawna got some Playdough icecream for Alexander. He loved it! It works well to also tie-dye clothes.

Sunday we got to attend my sister Shawna and brother-in-law Matt's ward. Matt's Dad blessed their little girl Penelope. We all filled up their new house after church for food, laughter, and war over clothes.
Kaleb is Jake's son through-and-through. Upon realizing he wasn't around I went on the hunt. Found him in an upstairs in a quiet room by himself.

Beautiful Penny and her mama

My sister Laurel with Penny. Laurel and her husband Klaus live in Austria. It's great to see them once a year.

All the Scofield girls were in attendance.

Monday we had Alexander's party and told him he was two. I tried to teach him to hold up two fingers and say "I am two" It worked fairly well. He holds one finger up on each hand.
Grandma brought out a small pool and filled it up with warm water.
Kaleb wanted nothing to do with it. I think it was mostly that he didn't want to change into a swim diaper and take off his clothes. By the end of the evening, he was laying in it, clothes and all.

Enjoyed a BBQ with Jake's family.

I went the simple route with Alexander's cake. I found an edible image online. Made a sheet cake, slapped it on. Perfect, good enough for eating.

Jake found an electric train for the boys. Funny how although it's Alexander's birthday both boys need presents. I wonder when they are old enough to realize it's not their day, they don't get anything special.

The boys had fun opening more presents. Motorcycles, cars, and

a Magnadoodle from Uncle Dan and Aunt Hannah...this was a huge hit.

 

We are grateful for our family. For their love and all they do for us. See you in a few month!