The Bredensteiners: October 2007

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Muddy fun at the pumpkin patch

The boys and I met up with the ward playgroup at Craven Farms pumpkin patch on an absolutely beautiful and randomly warm day.

The boys had fun playing on all the little props (boats, teepees, tractor, and pumpkins) they had strewn about. But they had the most fun splashing in the big puddles of mud and slipping a sliding their way through the pumpkin grove?field?crop? to find the perfect pumpkin.

We picked out three ginormous pumpkins for only $35; guess they really can't do anything will all those extra pumpkins after Halloween anyway. The only thing I was bummed about was that the hay ride only runs on the weekends so we didn't get to do that. But other then that we had a blast!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Family Portraits

We got some new family portraits taken a month ago since Kai was feeling left out (see above). It was not the most pleasant experience but some of the pictures turned out great so I guess its all worth it, right? My boys are the cutest (including my big boy)! BTW, if anyone is interested in copies of any of the pictures please let me know soon because my photographer is moving out of town next month.

Here are some of my favorites~

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Is he a picky eater or is he just stubborn?

Kai wants to do everything all by himself, which would be great if he could actually do anything on his own-but alas, he is only 7 months old! He is determined to feed himself which is sort of a problem because everything that he can hold is a choking hazard. So I have two options; (1) I either force feed him (i.e. shove food in his mouth when he is either laughing (preferable) or crying (suitable when necessary) or blow in his face to get him to open his mouth ( this is rather effective until he figures out what I'm doing then I guess he just doesn't breath)). He did allow Jon to feed him some mooshed up food a few nights and when I made some gourmet baby chicken casserole he allowed me to feed him but its not often and its getting less...luckily he has two teeth in and a couple more on the way (plus, he is getting pretty good with his gums). Last night Jon said Kai wouldn't let him feed him but he would let Ephraim do it so Jon handed over the spoon and here is the result...

Why a toddler who can't keep himself clean generally should not be the first pick for feeding an infant.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

I can't believe I have a 4 year-old now!

Clay turned four on October 4th. For his actual birthday we went to Red Robin as a family. He got a few gifts and a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday" from the staff (my boys love this due to the incessant clapping involved).

Teeth o' chocolate

The Fam (excluding me of course)

The next Albert?

There I am!

Then on Saturday we went with a few friends to Mountlake Terrace Indoor pool for some swimming fun! Clay absolutely loved swimming at this awesome pool; it had all kinds of activities and fun stuff to do. The day was finished with some yummy ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (yes I know I fail as a mother because I didn't decorate an elaborate cake, give me a break will ya!). What a great birthday week for a great kid!

Josh and Clay in the "lazy river"

Looks like fun!

Daddy joins in

Ephraim jumpin' in

The Higgins

Everyone enjoying the pool (except Andrea who is on her tip toes holding both kids!)

Clay wanted a car cake; what a surprise.

Blowing out the candles after pitching in on the "Happy Birthday" song

Olivia enjoying some cake

This kid feeds his shirt too!

Sammy getting in on the action as Clay opens his presents

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

BOYS BOYS BOYS

My 4 boys

My boys play so well together sometimes. The other day Clay and I were talking about best friends and I asked him who his best friend was and he said, "Ephraim and Kai. Melt my heart! I hope they really stay best bud forever.

Clay is getting so big; I really enjoy his company and help around the house. He is very smart; he really doesn't miss a thing (we definately have to be careful with what we do and say).

Eph is in the rascal phase...destroying everything he can get his hands on and getting into everything I don't want him too. With that said he is still so sweet and cuddly and he really wants to please me, curiosity just gets the best of him.

Clay

Eph

Best Buds

Kai is crawling! He has been mobile since around 6 1/2 months; much earlier then the first two. My theory: Baby #1 everything is brought to him by his parents, Baby #2 everything is brought to him by Baby #1, and Baby #3 has to chase down Baby #1 and #2 because everyone is running around too busy to notice what he wants! Anyways, he can sit up really well and has been pulling himself up on everything to standing so I'm sure walking will be coming shortly...oh joy! He has also cut his first two teeth and has been quite miserable about it (unfortunately for all of us). He loves to be in the action and wants to do a lot on his own.

Always on the go

Sitting up

Practicing walking

Little rider

I LOVE MY BOYS! They are so much fun.

Tub time

Funny Things my Kids Say

Eph: When we both grow up and live next to eachother maybe when your mother (wife) leaves and my mother (wife) leaves I can sneak up and go to your house and we can play. Clay: Adults don't play and it's not your mom it's your wife.
Mom: Ouch, my foot is really hurting! Kai: You're still alive Momma.
Kai and I were going back and forth with the,"I love you to the moon, I love you to the sun, etc." I said, "I love you to Venus" and Kai responded, "I love you to the penis"...LOL!
Clay: Ephraim, why do you always copy me? Ephraim: Because I love ya.
Kai was playing with his train the other day and I overheard him saying, "You can do it Thomas" and of course I was thinking Thomas the kid's engine, and then I heard him say, " You can do it, Thomas Monson"...LOL!
Kai always sleeps in my bed. One day I asked him why he didn't like his bed and he said,"It's too fluffy."
Whenever asked any question from "What is your name?" to "What do you want to do today?", Kai always responds with "Quesadilla".
Kai spent a couple months calling everyone "boob-butt" (boob was taken from the recent Horton Hears a Who movie).
When Kai wants to be picked up he says, "Grab me".
All my boys sing the song Paradise City by Guns N' Roses...embarassing.
When you ask Kai his name he says "Coc-head"- he means coconut head.
In between Conference sessions they played the movie "The Other side of Heaven" and during the scene where the rats are chewing on his feet Kai yells, "Wake up Dude!"
Ephraim says' That's ridiculous!"
When I ask Kai anything he shakes his head violently and says, "No-no!"
Clay told me that he was making funny faces in his class and that the girls were laughing. I asked him if the boys laughed too; he said, "no, they got mad". He told me he likes girls better then boys because they're "pretty". Oh boy!
Clay had some food stuck in his throat and I told him to drink some water to wash it down. He said, "I think I need to use a screw to get it out"- OUCH!
I told Clay that if he ate all his veggies he would be big and strong like his daddy. He said, " Well, that's not strong enough".
Clay turned to me after a meal and said, "Thanks for making dinner Mom". Then he turned to Jon and said, "Thanks, Dad". Jon responded a bit surprised, "What for, I didn't do anything?" Clay replied, "For working". WOW!
Josh came over and was checking out our pear tree in the front yard and Clay put his face up real close to him and said, "Jesus made the pears, Uncle Josh." Josh said he felt like he was in church! HA HA
Clay was being a stinker and I told him to "please be more obedient Clayton Ryan" and he responded, "I'm not Clayton I'm Nephi" and my mom told him that Nephi would be obedient to his parents. So, after some thought he replied, "Oh, I'm not Nephi".
When they don't like a food the boys say its too "spicy".
When something is too hard for the boys to do they say its too "heavy".
My boys both say, "I don't want that ever ever again, so there!"
Clay informed me the other day that he also liked Momma's milk (like baby Kai). I told him that he drank cow's milk like Mommy and Daddy and after a moments thought he said "No, I just drink seahorse milk!"