The DandJ Edition

In the middle of October Derrick found a new use for his fake beard/pirate wig...an '80s mullet! Pariveda Solutions (Derrick's work) had a company retreat at the W hotel in Dallas, so we flew Jen's mom down to spoil the boys while we were off at events. There we a bunch of meetings and socializing, as well as an '80s-themed party at the House of Blues.

Mullet wig + Conductor Jacket. Jen decided just wear one of her normal outfits.

Caleb was just happy to be along. It's still pretty weird to me that my kids can run around outside in shorts and bare feet during November and December.

We had a great Halloween this year and yet again were unable to pick just one costume for each boy.

On Saturday we went to a trunk-or-treat at the church. Zach did a great job walking around to all the cars. Rather than saying trick-or-treat and waiting for candy he'd quietly walk up to the person with a bowl of candy and then help himself to a piece.

After the church party we changed the boys into their pirate costumes and went to a neighborhood pirate party hosted by one of Derrick's co-workers. It was pretty impressive with it's huge pirate ship made of plywood, a mini canon that shot out bottle rockets, and a roasted pig. Sadly it was too dark to get any pictures.

On Sunday night we went over to Jamon and Jean's house to take pictures and celebrate Jean's birthday.

Pirate Caleb with Zach's hat on. Thankfully we got this picture before the poop explosion that went up and out the back onto the white shirt.

Pirate Caleb after the poop-splosion. It was warm enough here that he didn't really need the white shirt.

I love how these two boys interact with each other. We couldn't get Zach to wear his pirate once he remembered he had a monkey costume.

Pictures of the Texas cousins. Getting Zach to lay down on the blanket with the babies was a lost cause.

I've been meaning to post about Caleb forever but have been putting it off since there's so much to write! Caleb is such a fun addition to our home. I like lists so I'm just going to make a list of things I want to remember about Caleb.

- Caleb is such a happy and smiley little guy. We get the best smiles when changing his diaper, even if it's in the middle of the night and he'd been out cold after eating. Once his diaper is open he's all smiles. Who knew I would ever be laughing while up during the middle of the night changing a diaper? (I'll add that Derrick very kindly is the one who usually does the middle of the night diaper changes. He's wonderful!)

- One of my favorite times of the day with Caleb is when I lay him on the bed or floor next to me and read my scriptures. He hooks his little arm around mine, stares at me, and starts jabbering away. This is incredibly distracting but I love it.

- Caleb has his feet play together. While laying on his back he'll put the soles together then raise his feet up and down. I haven't caught this on camera yet but I absolutely love little baby feet.

- Caleb is incredibly cuddly. When I hold him vertically he'll wrap one arm around mine and use the other hand to hold onto my shirt. He's never the one to stop snuggling first. Too bad I don't have all the time in the world to just sit and hold him.

- As long as he's not hungry, sleepy, or poopy, he's one content little guy. He loves attention but is also content to hang out and bat at his play arch the entire time I'm making dinner. When he wakes up from naps I usually find him making happy noises and just looking around. He's content just hanging out there for quite awhile which is so handy when I need to hurry and get ready or Zach is needing help with something.

- Caleb is growing up so fast. He' becoming a pro at holding up his head and he rolled from front to back for the first time last Friday. I think it was just a fluke since he's shown no inclination of repeating the trick :). At his 2 month appointment he weighed 14 pounds and is already 25 inches long! With head size and weight Caleb's in the 90th percentiles and is off the charts for height.

Caleb is such a fun baby to have in our home. I can't get enough of his great facial expressions or his happy babbling and smiles. At first I was worried how a little person besides Zach could feel like part of our family but now it feels like Caleb has always been a part of it. Zach's finally started showing some interest in Caleb. He loves coming up to Caleb and just holding his hand. I'm so excited for when the two boys can play and wrestle together. We love you Caleb!

Zach's absolute favorite toy right now is his little Fisher Price lion. This lion goes to the park, to bed, to the bath, to the table, basically everywhere Zach goes. About 2 weeks ago the little guy decided to play hide-and-seek with Zach. Zach was pretty distraught about the missing lion and I told him I'd help him find it once I finished feeding Caleb. With a lion that needed finding Zach was anything but patient but the little guy had no choice.

After finishing with Caleb I decided that this would be a good opportunity to teach Zach more about prayer. He's been enthusiastically helping us say prayers from time to time but I wanted him to see prayer in action. I told Zach we were going to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help us find the lion. After the prayer I decided to look under Derrick's side of our bed halfway between the foot and the head. I lifted up the dust ruffle (is that what it's called?) and waiting exactly on the other side was the lion! I'd gone straight to it. I called Zach in and had him look under the bed. His excitement at finding the lion there was priceless! I told him that Heavenly Father answered our prayer and helped us find the lion so we should say another one to thank Him. Zach's smile just got bigger and bigger. I love teaching moments with Zach and that he's getting old enough to respond to them! I'm also so grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves us and cares enough to help a little boy find his missing lion.

This facial expression cracks me up

A few more pictures for the grandparents. Can you find the lion in each one?

Step 1: Bring lion with you when your mom drags you visiting teaching with you.

Step 2: Sneak the lion into the diaper bag or car seat brought by your mom's companion who has to rush out the door before the end of the visit.

Step 3: Casually watch your mom search the lady's house and maybe "help" throw blankets or books on the floor.

Step 4: Continually ask and/or cry for your lion even after you've been told several times your lion went to live at someone else's house.

Step 5: Expectantly go several times to the spot under your parent's bed where you found your lion after praying for help and be very disappointed you don't always find it there.

Step 6: Continue to miss your lion so much your parents order you a new one off of eBay.

Step 7: Hang out with friends including your mom's visiting teaching companion who casually hands your mom your lion.

Step 8: Enjoy your victory once your second lion arrives in the mail on Tuesday.