The September Instagram/Miscellaneous round up.

Hold on kids, there are a bunch of pictures...

(Because I've been lazy and I'm desperate to catch up).

The month started out with a perfect Labor Day on our friends' boat.  The day was perfect.

Sadly, it's been so long since I skiied (last time I was pregnant with Averett), that I honestly couldn't remember which foot I have forward when I slalom.  After a couple of tries I was up and quickly realized that my right foot is my back foot NOT my front foot :)  Oh well, I skiied awkwardly for a few minutes before making the switch.

Seth also slalomed - first time for him - woot woot!

Averett and Hazel tubed with Seth and I and had a blast!  Oh, it was so fun.

Averett had so much fun he passed right out. 

We are trying to enjoy the beautiful fall weather, while it lasts, so of course that meant a trip to Brooms.

Please, friends, come visit so we have an excuse to go!!

Seth took Hazel to her first daddy-daughter dance, oh she looooved it.

Every time she hears a song on the radio that they danced to, she gets excited and tells me all about the night.

We did have the following conversation, the other day:

H: Mommy, Daddy isn't a very good dancer.

Me: He isn't? (I did a pretty good job of acting shocked by this bit of information). I thought you liked dancing with him.

H: Well, yeah, but he doesn't do ballet very well.

Me: Oh, right.

H:  But it's okay, I am going to teach him lessons.

Get your tutu ready, Seth.  She's not kidding.

This year was the first time I canned peaches not pregnant, yeah!!  I might actually eat them this year.

The kids were super helpful packing the peaches in the jar.  Averett went for the "It will fit, or else..." method.  Perfect.

1.5 bushels and close to 50 quarts in the basement. (plus some delicious peach jam)

One day, Averett discovered a tractor across the street.

He was fascinated, and watched it all weekend.

Sadly, the tractor and its buddies, transformed our green, lush pond into a barren wasteland.

Boo hiss.

Hazel is adorable.  She loves dancing and dressing up.  She wears tutus and dresses everywhere she goes, she started preschool and absolutely loves it.   

She is still fascinated with us telling her stories, each night she asks Seth to tuck her in, tell her a story (from his childhood) and sing her a lullabye. 

It is sweet.

Averett - with exception to the day I nearly sold him, is an absolute sweetheart.  He truly melts my heart.  His vocabulary continues to grow, and I love when he says Hazel's name, "Ay-yo".  Ah, precious.

He will grab my face and look right in my eyes and tell me he loves me.  He loves his cars (especially the blue car) and survived a nasty spill off a swing at the park - once we cleaned up the gallons of blood, we decided he might survive.

Averett runs full-steam ahead, and then crashes and passes out.  Unless he's "pretend" sleeping - another new favorite.  He also loves to dress up, sadly, our dress-ups are all hand-me-downs from Hazel...time to buy some superhero costumes.  Averett is cute, but truly looks terrible in a tutu!

The other day Averett was playing in the exersaucer, and it reminded me of this picture, taken almost one year ago to the day.  (They are even wearing the EXACT same outfit).  

He's definitely grown, as he's practically kneeling down in the pic on the right.

You've already been updated on Pierson, he's awesome, and would be even more awesome if he'd just figure out how to sleep at night and nap during the day!  Am I asking too much??

Thankfully, he is super patient with his "loving" big brother.

Hazel and Averett are really becoming great friends, it is fun to watch their relationship grow (even if it means enduring some serious fights from time to time - if only Averett wasn't a scratcher, hitter, biter, etc, and Hazel a screamer) :)

Oh, me?  I ran a half-marathon this month.  It was a tough course, and tried to kick my butt.  I survived, and am looking forward to a redemption race in November.

PS - I love this family of mine.

Oh Pierson, you are a handful! I adore you, but phew, you make me feel like I've never done this before!

--  we are working on rolling, it is definitely not high on your priority list (but you have done it!)  -- 

--  you've decided to start spitting up, always at inconvenient times, of course  --

--  you finally like playing on your playmat (just recently)  --

--  you are becoming very talkative and your laugh is awesome  --

--  you think your big brother and sister are hilarious, and they'll do anything to make you laugh  --

--  you hung out with some of your new friends, Kyle & Claire  --

--  you kind of tried oatmeal and didn't love it (you liked to eat it, it just made you too gassy to sleep at night  --

--  same problem with rice cereal  --

--  you are still in size 1 diapers  --

--  hey, you don't blow out very often and you only poop 3-4 times a week  --

--  you are one looong baby, getting too tall for your 3-6 month clothes  --

--  you are still a swaddle-baby  --

--  you are your mother's son, as you really liked your first time on the lake  --

--  you have feet!  --

--  you are sleeping in the "boys room" every night, and even making some naps work with your brother  --

--  you still love your swing, especially when I let you nap there  --

--  you're a big fan of the 30-45 minute cat nap and do NOT like to go back to sleep once you're awake  --

--  sometimes you make me feel like you are my firstborn, and I am totally clueless  --

--  I wouldn't call you a cranky baby, but you do have our moments  --

--  your "cry" at times, is literally shriek-like  --

--  you are still NOT sleeping through the night, why??  you have had a few nights here and there that you give us 6-7 hours, but it's been a while, and definitely not consistently  --

--  thankfully, you are almost always happy (especially when we're willing to hold you, all. day. long.  --

You are adorable, and we have survived another month.  I love being your mom, and I know Hazel and Averett adore you.  You keep me on my toes, you change your "schedule" day to day, so I never quite know what to expect!  I love you!!

Seth and I scored some pretty amazing friends in college.  When one of those amazing friends called to say she was getting married, our plane tickets were booked before we hung up the phone.

The trip was a complete whirlwind.  We landed in SLC (after a super-easy flight, thanks to only having one kid with us) and drove around our old stomping grounds.  

We went by my old house, Seth's old house (that was definitely not painted purple when 5 guys lived there), and we drove by our first home. 

We drove around the U, and visited the old pool, where Seth spent many, many, many hours. 

Pierson was totally content to just hang out.  We ended the day with a delicious dinner with Seth's old roommate/teammate/best buddy Eric and his girlfriend. 

Oh, it was good!

The next morning, we hit the road for Boise.  Boise?  Yes.  

I met up with my girl friends and we went horse back riding before going to a pre-wedding BBQ. 

The next day was the big event, and we went to the Boise Temple to see Steph and BJ make it official. 

It was awesome, I love Steph so much, she's amazing.  Like super amazing.

The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was so much fun (Cafe Rio catering definitely trumped the frigid wind that decided to blow). Steph was a beautiful bride, and BJ is one very lucky guy.

The girls are once-in-a-lifetime type of friends.  I am so very glad to be in that circle.  I can only pray that Hazel A) grows up to be like any one of the girls, and B) finds friends like them.

 

By some small miracle, we made it back to the hotel in time to watch the BYU-Utah game.  It was fun watching it with college buddies.

 Pierson was ready, he'd been rocking his Ute gear all week. 

(Are you surprised?  He is the offspring of a former Muss-er). 

(As you can see, one of our kids was stuck rooting for the losing team (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Halsey) :)...or forced to wear BYU gear?  Not sure, but she is safely in red again.)

After the festivities, Seth and I headed back to Orem, for an afternoon with my family.

It was so much fun.  Mom is always good for some silly games. 

(I was laughing too hard to take pics).

I'm always a little envious of my niece and nephews that get to grow up together, so it was fun to see them interact with Pierson.  (Okay, let's be honest, the boys weren't so interested, but Maddie was!)

To end the craziness, we met up with my old roommate, Sam, for brunch before we flew out. 

I love her.  Like, a lot. 

If I could bottle up her hugs, I would.  She may be a dainty ballerina, but her hugs will crush your ribs.  They are pretty much perfect.

The weekend was awesome.  We could not have done it without our awesome friends from church, who watched the kids the first few days (Averett and Hazel are in love with them) and Seth's parents who watched them the rest of the time.  It was a great weekend.

I knew it was coming. 

I am pretty sure we've been living on borrowed time.

Averett is almost two and a half, and has only tried to get out of his crib once. (A long time ago).

It was "quiet time". 

There was a thump.

Creaking door.

Little footsteps.

Quiet whispers.

I headed upstairs and found a very, empty Averett room.

I peeked into Hazel's room, and found a very proud Averett holding the child lock to his door.

Ugh.

I put him back in his room, and after a little fuss, (while I held the door shut) he began to play quietly.

All was well with the world.

I thought.  

Then things got really quiet, and I love him, but I am not sure I trust him.

I just had to check on him.

I opened his door, and sitting right there on the other side was Averett, covered in Boudreaux's Butt Paste.  

Not just him.  

His clothes.  His "blue car".  His hands. 

The carpet.

An entire tube rubbed into carpet.

Right in the doorway.  Absolutely no way around it.

I took a deep breath and took him into the bathroom to wash his hands. 

Oh.  

Not water-soluble.

I proceeded to rub off all the excess I could with a towel (that's now stained).

I had a friend coming over, and it's probably a good thing she showed up right about then, and happened to stay until Seth got home from work.

Seth, Google and I then spent the evening doing everything in our power to fix the carpet. 

(Remember, not water-soluble - imagine trying to remove creamy vaseline, or grease)

Removed big globs.

Used some baking soda.

Vacuumed.

Vacuumed some more.

Dawn dish-soaped.

Rinsed.

Vacuumed.

Carpet cleaner-ed.

Rinsed.

And I put my kid on the curb.

Thankfully, no one picked him up.

By the time the kids needed to go to bed, we knew it wasn't out all the way, so we laid a towel down over the spot ("spot" is an understatement).  

We pretty much repeated the entire cleansing process the next day.

Then we threw in the towel.

Literally.

Time will tell how well we cleaned up.

At least the carpet isn't completely slimy anymore.

Let's pray we don't have to replace the carpet anytime soon.

Averett must have known he did something crazy.

The day after he cuddled with me all morning.

And he took a three hour nap IN his crib.

I do love him.

August went by very, very fast.  

That may or may not have had something to do with spending half of the month on vacation.

We had so much fun, we really want to go back!!

We enjoyed the last few days at the pool, and Hazel is already asking when it will open again.  Uh...

Hazel, is a doll.  She is fascinated with stories, and is always asking Seth and I to tell her stories about,  "when we were little... when we were big kids... when we were in school...".  I told her that I used to say to my mom, "yes, mommy-dear-I-love-you-so", conveniently, Hazel now says it to me. 

 Hazel still does quiet time each day, but she rarely naps.  This means we often find her passed out at night.  She is a great "little mother" to her brothers, and for the most part they don't mind following along.

Averett continues to keep me on my toes.  He is 100% boy.  He likes to "explore", which usually means he just likes to get into mischief.  He is my number one helper, as soon as I start to cook or bake in the kitchen he runs in to help.  I love it, and would probably love it more if he didn't insist on tasting ev.er.y.thing (including baking soda, flour, salt, sugar, etc). 

As sweet as he is, he does fall apart from time to time.  He usually puts his little head in his hands and sits down until he feels better.  

I try not to laugh.

His speech is getting better.  He is slowly adding words, and is so proud of himself when we know what he's talking about.  Fingers crossed our new communication will help with the melt-downs. 

I am just glad Pierson continues to survive "baby brother" status.

 

We love that we've had some cool days so we can meet Seth at work for lunch.  The kids still think it is awesome that he works at a playground :)

After our sweet victory in San Diego, we were excited to go to Mormon night at Camden Yards.  Sadly, our Orioles couldn't repeat a win for us. 

 And by far, my most favorite picture of the month.  

No, not Seth and me.  But Steven being attacked by Averett in the background :)  Photobombing at it's best.