BOO!

Living in Utah, a predominately LDS state, we were able to celebrate Halloween and trick or treating on Saturday this year. As my kids get older their excitement level for this day is getting higher and higher. They were SO excited I don't know if they could have made it to the actual day anyway.

Noah, being obsessed with the movie Shark Boy and Lava Girl, chose to be a shark this year.

Chloe, my oh so girly, princess daughter suprised me with her choice of Spider Girl

Adam, who was still supposed to be snuggly in my tummy for a few more days, wore a Halloween sleeper and then his "costume" was the only thing we could find small enough - a skeleton

My frighteningly cute kiddos

With their scary looking mom

Heading out the door

Joe promised he would take the kids out for as long as they wanted to as many houses as they wanted - Chloe thought she was going to last until "late night". Noah was done after about 30 minutes and Chloe lasted an hour. They came back with a pretty good stash

Chloe, after consuming way more candy then is usually allowed, then got silly and started walking around telling us she had a "bowl bum" She and we thought she was hilarious.

These are some of the moments that I love being a mom and having my own family the most. Whether you celebrated last night or today, we wish you the spookiest of Halloweens!

Pumpkins

This little pumpkin hit 7lbs this week. At two monthes old, we are so glad that he continues to do well. Chloe is glad that I let her pick outfits sometimes and actually keep him in them long enough to get a picture - look at those cute little legs!

On to other pumpkin activities

Joke: How do you fix a broken jack-o-lantern?

Answer: Pumpkin Patch

I love me some cool looking lit up jack-o-lanterns, but don't so much love the mess, so we opted not to break the jack-o-lanterns in the first place and go the less messy route by painting pumpkins this year. The finished products Pumpkins with attitude

Field Trippin

One of Chloe's favorite things about preschool is getting to go on field trips. Noah's favorite thing about preschool is that he gets to come on the field trips too! Yesterday we got to go on just such a favorite activity when we went to the Black Island Farms. I LOVE this place. We were able to come last year as well and again there were so many fun things for the kids to do They had a great time playing with each other and with friends.

The carrots they pull from the ground here are amazingly sweet and we loved receiving some during the pumpkin picking hayride.While I am a fan of this place, I am not so much a fan of corn mazes. Can you say claustrophopic (and for that matter, can I spell it?) Luckily they had a kid size corn maze where there was no wrong turn. These slides are fast and some of them are quite tall. Very fun.

Chloe and her "boyfriend" Cadence riding the animal train. Can you tell Noah is loving this?I would totally have one of these at my house if I ever gathered myself enough kernals. The cornbox as opposed to a sandbox is a much cleaner idea.We had a great time getting out for a while and having time be all about them. Here's hoping we get to go again next year when Noah is in preschool.

Home

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. My baby is home. I can't express to you how I feel about trading long days going back and forth from the hospital for long nights of not a lot of sleep. I may be tired but it is so worth it. A little recap of that wonderful October 8th morning:

Adam had to eat by mouth for 48 hours. We were "warned" Thursday night that if he did well through the night we would get to come get him the next morning. I spent the rest of the evening rushing to get things finished, and Adam spent it eating like a champ. Friday dawned, I called to confirm his release, and we headed up to this beautiful hospital that I am so sick of seeing. His final stats were taken:

Beginning Numbers/Ending Numbers:

3.7 lbs (although he went down to 3.2)/ 5.9lbs 16 inches 18 inches

Ventilated Breathing /Consistent 90% oxygen levels unassisted

We took one more comparison shot of Joe's hand with Adam's body Tucked him into his carseat (he stayed sound asleep through the whole process)

Said goodbye to his final hospital space and the wonderful people there

Signed out for the last time
Loaded in the car and headed for home
Noah and Chloe LOVED that they finally got to touch and hold their little brother

Cost of labor and delivery: $9228.00

Cost of gas back and forth from the hospital: $140.00

Donated babysitting hours for my kids: 146

Cost of Neonatologists, Nurse Practicioners, Registered Nurses, Developmental Specialists, Lacatation Specialists, Dietitians, Respiratory Therapists, and the care they prescribed during Adam's 47 day stay: $150,150.00
Having my child home safe and healthy: Priceless

Dinosaurs, Divas, and a Little Devil

Joe and Noah enjoyed some "Man time" a few days ago at the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park. Noah is into dinosaurs in a big way and loved both getting to spend time alone with dad and getting to play near these creatures...

Noah was actually afraid to turn his back on this one - Joe said it was hilarious.This is my favorite of the shots with the T-Rex looking as if he's about to eat Noah. The only thing I didn't enjoy about these pictures was that they never took one of the two of them togetherOn to my little Diva. I bought this skirt at Costco not long ago and Chloe LOVES it. Yesterday she got ready herself, picking this outfit as her "future tumbling outfit" and insisted that I take some pictures of her... Pretty sure we're going to have our hands full with this little beauty.

In Adam news - he's doing SO well! He has slowly mastered eating and has regularly been pulling his feeding tube out of his nose - I think as a sign that he doesn't want to receive food that way anymore - which really is completely up to him and his willingness to eat by mouth.

His wish was granted last night when he pulled it out and they decided to leave it out unless he refuses to eat and they have to reinsert it. Look at his handsome little face clear of all tubes, oxygen, and IV's. Such a sweet sight!