Happy Halloween & Go Chiefs

The timing of the Chiefs' Monday Night Football game was perfect for our costumes!! Let's pretend I planned it that way!

 Here's our football player!

And the cutest little cheerleader ever!

{check out these moves-- she's a total natural!}

We went to the Fall Festival at our church! Here's a few pictures of our fun evening!

The bounce house

{do you notice Belle cheering as Jackson shoots?}

We wrapped Daddy up like a mummy

{only Jackson kept saying "like a Christmas present}

Haha. If you lick a marshmallow, it will stick to your forehead. I never knew...

Look at that good aim!

Daddy and Belle 

{after Derek said "She's too cute to be in the stroller!"}

We had a fun night. Jackson is so excited about all of his candy {mommy and daddy too}. It was a beautiful evening outside and we would have taken Jackson out trick-or-treating but he wasn't feeling to well {read: he was super cranky and uncooperative} so we just stayed in to watch the football game. Go Chiefs!

I love looking at kids in their costumes! Leave a comment with a link to your blog post of your kiddos all dressed up and I will go check it out!

Cocoa Mint Winner!

Ladies and Gentlemen* we have a winner for the Cocoa Mint store credit!

And the winner is....

Congrats Heidi! I will email you with information about how to get in touch with Terri! I hope to see what you get with your credit!! Thanks for entering and be sure to check out the other giveaway that's going on-- $10 towards AP Memory's etsy shop, which sellsmagnets from recycled soda cans. They're super cute!

*are there any men, aside from the guys in my family who do so out of obligation, that read this blog!? If so, you're totally awesome. :)

Hello, Minivan!

We have said our good-byes to our faithful Ford Escape in order to better equip our family outings. We have upgraded to our very own Swagger Wagon {please watch the video, it won't disappoint}. Ever since Julie was forced to sit squeeze between two car seats once Belle was born, we were itching for a new van and it we finally saved up to make it happen! Introducing our new 2005 Nissan Quest:

I was going to post this as a Wordless Wednesday post, but then I realized I had stuff to say about it. So this has become a Not-So-Wordless-Wednesday post! 

Seriously, buying a van {or any car, I presume} is stressful business. First of all, I really thought minivans were so much more popular than they really are. Turns out, in *my* world, I see them everywhere! Like I pull into the parking lot for MOPS and it's practically a used minivan lot! But it turns out, minivans take up only a few spots on any car lots. I still felt that we had a good selection and I love the one we chose, but they weren't overflowing. 

Second, comparing used cars is like comparing apples with oranges and picking between them was kinda tricky. You pick from what's available and you have to decide what matters most. Mileage and year were our top factors. I guess this wouldn't be an issue if you were buying pricier vehicles. 

And then there is the task of figuring out the "real" numbers. My gosh, used car lots are confusing. On paper, our sales guy bought our car for more than it would sell in private sale so that when he added our cash, it looked like he sold the van for more. That made it confusing when trying to look at other vans to compare and it took awhile to figure out why the other vans in the same price range were newer and lower mileage-- it's because we didn't really pay that much for the car. If we look at what others would have paid, then subtract the difference from the van, then our van actually stands out as a much better vehicle than it's "real" price range. Confused? Yeah, me too. But it comes down to this: we paid the same amount in cash, no matter what he wrote on the sales slip. And we are satisfied with the deal after shopping around. No regrets.

Lastly, is the talking numbers. I do feel as if this is a strong suit for me. I'm not too shy and I don't mind playing the game. I wasn't afraid to ask straight out what we wanted and to be persistent, but making sure I did so with respect so he'd take me seriously. I sure am glad to be done with it though. It's tough always have a game face!

So here's a list of my favorite things about the van, in no particular order:

1. Keyless Entry {my escape was equipped for it, but since it didn't come with a remote and it's super expensive to replace, we never got it. My car was unlocked about 99.99% of the time because it was such a hassle to lock/unlock with kids in tow and that drove my husband CRAZY!}
2. Automatic back hatch open/close {Derek should be happy too as it will prevent me from hitting him in the head when I close the back hatch-- it's only happened twice but I will never stop hearing about it}
3. Oil change {and other maintenance} reminders- the non-husband, non-father kind. 
4. The Look-- the body style doesn't seem so van-ish and we love the color {it's a sparkly navy blue}.
5. THE SPACE!
6. Digital display. I don't have to choose between radio station or clock display. It's got the temperature and the MPG and all sorts of gadgets.

And the very best thing-- we got this van Dave Ramsey style: trade-in and cash. No payments {despite CarMax guy promising me a *million* reasons why having a car payment and getting a much more expensive van is better and safer}. It was tempting, not the CarMax guy, but a different van. But we are satisfied with ours. It's used so sure there are marks here, signs of use here... but it runs good {we have a warranty for awhile}, it's clean, it's what we need, and we can afford it! Now, I just want to go drive it!

The things you learn at Grandma's

This week's lesson is Biology 101. Our conversation at dinner tonight:

Me: Jackson, you really need to focus and eat your dinner
Jackson: Why?
Me: Because food makes our bodies healthy. We need to eat for our bodies to work.
Jackson: Our food goes in our tummies?
Me: Yes, it goes to our tummies.
Jackson: I put it in my mouth to get to my tummy.
Me: Yes.
Jackson: It goes through the big hole in the back {and proceeds to stick his finger as far down his throat as he can before I quickly intervene. Which, by the way I have determined that curiousity is what caused the I-can-make-myself-vomit-if-I-stick-my-finger-far-enough-down-my-throat revelation that occurred this week. No joke}.Me: Yes, it is back there. But you can't stick your finger back there.
Jackson: It goes down like a sli-i-i-i-ide!!!
Me: {humored} why yes, it does.
Jackson: And then it goes into my tummy. {takes bite to demonstrate}
Me: Mmhhmm
Jackson: And then it goes from my tummy to poop that comes out my bottom.
Me: {Quick glance to Derek. Work hard to not bust out laughing. Gain composure} Well, yes, I guess you are right.
Jackson: Yeah, it comes out of my bottom.
Me: Where did you learn this stuff? Who taught you this stuff?
Jackson: With Grandma... Grandma Linda!

At this point, we just laugh. You never know what this kid is going to say next. We did verify with Grandma Linda {but seriously, how could he just make that up} and she did say that they had that conversation once awhile back. What made him bring it up today? How did he remember it all from that long ago? No idea. At least he got the information right and didn't come up with something crazy absurd. And to be honest, it's nice that I don't have to explain where poop comes from-- because I am sure that's a question that Jackson could/would come up with!

Next on the agenda is Appropriate Dinner Topics. Soon to be addressed is How to Greet New Friends {this is after we met some people at lunch last week and his opening line was "God gave me a penis. Did he give you one?}. A friend once told me that Jackson needed his own reality tv show. If I didn't fear the Gosselin-family-outcome, I might even consider it. I seriously couldn't make this stuff up!

Train Party Glimpse

Jackson's train party was tonight and it was so much fun. I am waaaay too pooped to go into detail, but here's a little glimpse of our evening!

{this last picture... Jackson made us put the sheet over his train set so his trains could go to sleep while he was sleeping too. The only thing that got that boy to sleep tonight was knowing he could wake up and play}

Eight Months

Ohmigoodness... when did my little girl get so big?! She's mobile and quick. She is has a happy, energetic personality, and she's got her first tooth!!

My happy baby! The bottom right picture is a silly face to put in the collage,
but that's what she's up to these days, so I had to include it! Click on the picture
to make it larger to check out those baby blue eyes. Adorable! 

Dear Belle,

Your smile is the highlight of each day. People *always* comment about you being such a happy baby and it is so true. A big smile awaits anyone who glance your way-- even if just for a quick moment. You've even been known to stop people in their tracks as they walk through the grocery store. I have a feeling you are going to give your father a bit of grief when you grow up to be such a pretty girl. How about you just stay a daddy's girl forever?!?

This month you've gotten a tooth, started pulling up, and started crawling on all fours a little bit. Oh, and you've got your first "trick"!! You can wave. And it is SO cute. It's a whole arm wave and it makes your whole body wiggle. And you make the happiest face when you do it-- see the middle picture above. You were in the middle of a two arm wave.

Sleeping has been a bit off this month. After your shots and then spending a week traveling about the state, your schedule got messed up-- and you didn't sleep through the night for two weeks. Up multiple times a night. Hear me out... that is not cool. I ended up having to let you cry it out one night. It didn't last long and you were back in your routine the next day. Until just the other day. You can stand up in your bed now. So, instead of falling asleep, you stand up and cry. Just because you can stand up, doesn't mean you need to at every moment. K?

You are still much more interested in eating real {baby} food than having a bottle. And you're much more interested in eating finger foods than being spoon fed. A little particular, maybe!? You will drink about 18-20 ounces a day and will have two bowls of baby food and cereal. You have started to eat some finger foods like cheerios and green beans. You also love to crawl around and find any crumb on the floor. Your favorite is paper. {I even used some paper to get you to cooperate in your little photo shoot}. You are wearing mostly 6-9 months clothing, though you are still wearing a few 6 month pieces. You're pretty short for you age {okay, a lot short} so some of the smaller stuff still fits.

Watching you and Jackson play is my absolute favorite thing. You absolutely adore him. And he is so fond of you. Sometimes Daddy and I just sit in the front room watching you two do your thing. Jackson will put his face really close to yours and you will giggle-- He has a special face that he only uses on that occasion! Jackson will crawl and you will chase after him. The only problem is that you think that all babies/toddlers are yours to crawl after and climb. You just love to play with people. Oh, and I don't have a picture, but I swear that your BFF is the little girl in the mirror. You are so funny to watch when you see yourself. It can keep you entertained for nearly an hour at times!!

You are just a great little girl. We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves with you, sweet Belle!! Love, Mommy and Daddy!

You've outgrown some of your toys and have started to utilize them in different ways-- like crawling through and playing underneath your exersaucer.

Jackson was the first person to "catch" you standing up all by yourself! He is such a proud big brother... and look at you, you're so big!

You've started to get your own free cookie from Walmart to share enjoy. You really like the paper better, but I won't let you eat it.

This is your favorite spot. You love that extension cord. I can put you anywhere in the house and you always find your way back here.

And seriously, you love for your feet to be up. They are always up.

even when you are SLEEPING!!! Both legs up in the air. How do you do it???

We love you princess!