Brothers!

JB's brother Jeff was here for the whole week of Thanksgiving, and we had so much fun with him and loved meeting his girlfriend, Melissa.

Look how handsome these two brothers are.



Jeff had presents for the boys -- new shoes that I swear make them run faster and jump higher and look cooler at school. And he brought this awesome outfit for our baby and he took perhaps my favorite picture of the Drewster-boy:



Isn't that just hilarious?


Benny loves Jeff:


Benny loves to poke the baby, as evidenced by this picture taken by Jeff:


It just cracks me up that he captured the moment that shows what goes on in our house everyday.

We had great food while they were here visiting. Ham last Sunday, fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with my mother-in-law's roasted turkey (as soon as it comes out of the oven I stand by it and sneak pieces when she's not looking), JB's smoked turkey that makes my mouth water, and all the delicious sides like grilled corn. JB also smoked a salmon for Saturday lunch that I still dream about.

Now who can visit over Christmas and help us have good eats and good company again?

Round 3

Ooohh I want to run home and smush those cheeks with kisses. JB just sent me this picture of our baby this morning. His message said, "He still loves us!"

You see, last night we started our third attempt at sleep-training. Not only are we trying to get Andrew to learn to fall asleep on his own (without me nursing him or without JB holding him and patting his bum (which Andrew loves. (And so do I, tee hee))). But we are also trying to get him to be OK sleeping in his crib.

He has not only been ending up in our bed in the middle of the night, but lately, he's starting in there, too. It's just easier when you are soooo tired. But, despite how cute he is to cuddle, he's crowding us out! And we are not getting much sleep. He ends up making the middle part of a capital H between us, kicking, rolling, and snoring when he has a cold.

So, we are trying again and it's hard. He just stands there and sobs and sobs. We go in every 5-7 minutes and pat him and reassure him and lay him down, then he pops up again. He drifts off to sleep holding on to the edge of the crib.

Last night he woke up at 1 AM and at 4 AM right before I had to leave. I went to the room and nursed him in the rocking chair each time (I can't help it. What if he's hungry? Though at 11 months old, he's probably not). Then he slept in until 6:45, which was great for JB.

So, I think if we can stick to it this time, with a routine, and with consistency, we may be able to do it!

(I pledge not to be a softie this time. It's for the best, right?)

Crazy boys in the can

In Salt Lake City, we no longer have leaf bags. You have to cram all your leaves in to the brown garbage can to take to the curb. So, sometimes you need a little help with that cramming.


I wasn't there -- but I hear JB had quite the amusement park attraction going on, by tossing the boys up and in. Rumor has it they were squawking, "Again, AGAIN! MYYYYY TURN!"



Such good helpers.

Holy teeth!

It was inevitable, I suppose. After years of growing up with fluoridated water and great genes, it appears I can no longer escape. I now have to be numbed and get a cavity filled. Perhaps two. Sob.

Here's the other big sob -- Max has 3 cavities that need to be filled! Already it begins.

While I'm dreading the day of the procedure, he's not. He came bouncing out of the chair and told me, "Guess what?! I have cavities just like my friend Madeline!" (Oh young innocence).

Think of us both next week!

In the meantime, I have taken over brushing Max and Ben's teeth again. Just to be safe.

I went to the barber shop, shop, shop

To get Andrew's hair cut off, chop chop.


My 10 1/2 month old baby's hair was getting shaggy. Mullet-like. We've never had a baby need a haircut this early. So, we took him to the $5 dollar barber shop and they put this widdle wobe on the widdle guy.

Ahhhh, feels goooood.


Feels interesting! What is going on up there?



All done! So handsome!

(look behind me in the mirror and you see the camera flash and JB holding it)

A Utah Man

JB just got home from the Utah-UCLA game, where he had on a gazillion layers and blankets to protect against the snow. It's hard to believe just one week ago he and his dad were in sunny Arizona for the Utah game there, and to visit his brother Jeff.

It was gorgeous during the day, but when the sun went down it did get a little chilly (I think this is JB's favorite picture of his dad).

They had some good eats (as always) in Phoenix and Tuscon.


They also got to meet Jeff's girlfriend Melissa, and her family. I can't wait to meet her at Thanksgiving!


A trip to Phoenix would never be complete without a hike up Camelback Mountain. Look at that view!

JB was gone early Friday morning through late Monday night. Four days of single parenting for me. I took Friday and Monday off work (because who is going to come over at 4 AM for me to go into the radio station?), and I really had a nice time with the boys.

I liked taking them to school in the morning and getting little kisses goodbye. I liked poking around the house with them and hearing their stories. I got stuff done around the house and I wasn't grumpy-tired like I can be sometimes.

But we missed daddy a lot, and especially missed his cooking. Our meals consisted of hashbrowns, chicken nuggets, quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches. On the last night I tried boxed stuffing with peas in it. Those leftovers are still in our fridge.

Crochet away

The turning of the weather made me reach for the yarn and crochet hook again. One can never have too many hats!

My hat from last year, and a new earflapped hat with bear ears on top for Andrew.

A monster hat for Andrew (it kept him cozy enough to fall asleep!)



Candy corn hat for my new nephew Caleb.

(professional photographer I am not. That's the couch)

Strawberry hat for my friend Autumn's baby girl:

A Utes hat for Benny (he's singing the fight song below. Bless his daddy-loving heart.)


Now he's asking if we can play baseball. I reminded him of the incident (even though it was technically Max who threw the ball that time).

And some video taken by Max on the day I crocheted Benny's hat outside. Notice how I have to rescue Andrew from Benny, and Max's narration -- he points out the bush. And the other bush. And the other bush....

Fire-fightin'

In October one of the fire stations had an open house, and boy were all my boys pretty excited about that.


JB came up with a new trick when we take pictures. Instead of saying "Smile!" he says, "laugh!" It gets the best faces each time. Even Andrew goes "Ha ha, ha ha!" now.

Woody, the football player, and the dragon

Well I must say they are pretty cute.


I could just eat that dragon. He's not scary at all! Just darn-tootin cute (a lot like his older brother in the same costume 3 years ago!)



Benny's costume comes from JB's sister Suzanne. She and Seth are at Clemson right now. He has tried to wear it every day.

Each boy got their own pumpkin (This is round 2. The first set was stolen off our porch. Hooligans.)



And we must show Max with his amazing Nona -- she made his costume! Sewed the shirt and vest from scratch. Notice the yarn edging around the vest in the picture above? JB did that! And the holster belonged to Papa when he was a little boy.


Hope you had a happy Halloween! We've got an awful lot of chocolate left over. (Sa-weet!)