Teething

So a couple weeks ago I would have bet my little one would make it to his first birthday with no teeth. Well the week before his birthday his gums were swollen and he was pulling at his ears to the point I took him in the doctor to make sure he didn't have an ear infection. When the doctor looked in his mouth she counted 10 teeth moving down. Days before his birthday one of his top front teeth finally poked through. Then the next day the second came in. He is now working on the bottom two. Here is a picture of my upside down monkey with his two front teeth :D

and a close up.

My little Artist and My little Monkey

If you can't tell what this is, it is Aden's drawing of a monkey! I was so proud and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it....... ....Unfortunately it was on my wall :( It was so hard to yell at him for drawing on the wall when I was so impressed with his skill.

You can not only tell it is a monkey but you can totally see his arms above his head and he is swinging from a tree.

Here is the artist smiling...we should call this the before picture because he was no longer smiling when I made him help me scrub it off the wall.

Speaking of monkeys....my other little man has acquired an interest in climbing. We bought the boys bunk beds earlier this year. So far the top bunk has remained empty....but has been a place for Aden to go and play and color away from his brother. This sanctuary is no more.....Raleigh, who has no interest in walking, has serious climbing skills!

This kid doesn't mind the climb or dangling off the side (which gives his parents heart attacks) and even falling from a few rungs up the ladder...so far we have prevented the falling from the top...but only because we are watching like hawks....we have tried blocking the ladder and doing everything we can think of to keep him off of there....but this is what we see more times than not when we go looking for him in the boys' room.

Alas I foresee this one being my baby that has to go to the doctor for x-rays because of his dare-devil stunts.

Halloween...finally

Raleigh went as a Monkey :D He is my little monkey he loved his costume. When I washed it and got it ready to put away he started snuggling and kissing it...which makes me especially happy since I made it for him. :)

Aden was Spiderman.....and Spiderman Ironman....and Spiderman Buzz Lightyear....if you are catching the theme, we had to say Spiderman before whatever costume he wore or we had a huge meltdown on our hands.

Can you tell who's pumpkin is who's?

Raleigh's New Toy

We gave Raleigh his birthday present early in hopes it would encourage him to learn to walk. Aden was such a good little helper. He even pushed him around a while...it was SO cute.

Costume Photo Shoot

What to do....what to do.

I have been doing a lot of blog surfing lately...I love seeing all the craft ideas and fun activities everyone is doing. So when the question of what we should do while the boys were out hunting deer came up I picked a few of my favorites and we LOVED every minute of it. First we did a Creepy Breakfast...an adaptation from the witches breakfast that I saw on the Bradford's blog. We dressed in costume made a huge breakfast where everything had a creepy name and color. This is our French Ghosties, with fried bat wings, brains, crispy fingertips and stomach bile.

Witches cooking breakfast.

Witches Eating Breakfast :DSo after breakfast we got everyone ready and did a little photo shoot...which requires it's own post. But after that we went and visited our grandparents in costume. By the time we finished visiting the little ones were ready for a nap so we pulled out a fun activity for the older kids.

SLIME!It is TONS of fun and Everyone got into it. Aden made Green and Tianna made purple. Aden loved it so much he has spent hours and hours since playing with the stuff....It is super fun and easy to make...and best of all it's cheap. If you want the instructions for slime click here. It will take you directly to the blog I got the idea from.

And this is Adelia when her mom broke the news that slime isn't edible. We finished the day with a Spaghetti and bone bread sticks dinner. It was a wonderful day and a great way to spend the deer hunt.

Deer Hunt 2010

Chris got his first Buck! He was so excited. He made a great shot and killed the deer instantly. The boys were so proud of their daddy. Aden kept saying "Good job daddy, good job."
My dad named the deer Lucky. Because while we were admiring the deer we noticed this large caliber whole in his ear. He had been shot through the ear by what looks like a mussel loader it also nicked one of the tines on his antlers. Then latter on while skinning Lucky we found a .22 caliber lead just under the hide on his leg. Apparently the third time was not so charming for Lucky and his luck just ran out. His loss is our gain...and I can't wait to sit down at the dinner table and say "please pass me some Lucky steak" :)

Grandpa and Grandma Come for a Visit!

Chris's parents came down from Washington for a short visit. It was perfect weather and just the right time of year to go look at some Indian writings. We went down on the desert to the Rochester Panel.

Aden loved the hike...he was so big and walked the whole way out there!Raleigh LOVED playing in the dirt!

It's SPIDERMAN! In case you haven't heard Aden has officially changed his name....he is now Aden Spiderman Christopher Bingham a mouthful, I know...but who can argue with such a great climber! Chris and his Dad climbed up on top of the rocks and waved for a great photo opportunity.

Grandma and Raleigh watched from the rocks below.

Since he was such a trooper Grandpa gave Aden a ride back to the cars :)

Aden found a cool rock cave to stand in.

Raleigh had the best ride and view....he loved being able to see where he was going and riding with his daddy.

Chris and his Dad are proud of those boys.

Raleigh got to bond with Grandpa...he pulled his hair and put finger prints on his glasses...in Raleigh's world that is true love....and Grandpa's face says it all :)

All in all a great day. We were sad it was such a short visit but we will take any time we can get :)

Salsa!

I think it must be some kind of instinct to store food for the winter. To get ready for the cold barren months with food storage and supplies....I am fairly certain it must be biologically ingrained because I was in somewhat of a funk then all of a sudden when canning season hit I was ready to can and can and can...and I am still looking forward to canning apples. So far we have done tomatoes, salsa, and peaches. Aden loved helping pick the tomatoes and get in on as much of the mess as possible...what a boy :D. I didn't get an after shot of all the great food beautifully in the bottles but believe me when I say it was A LOT. On top of the canning I felt the need to stock up on everything I could get my hands on in the case lot sales...so instinct or intuition or just plain ambition I am ready for whatever this winter brings!

Somewhere Over the....

This week has been a soggy one. The rain and overcast reminds me of the time I lived in Washington. One marked difference is the lightning and thunder, Washington doesn't really have thunderstorms like we do here. I love the rolling thunder! Aden wasn't a real big fan of a particularly close one that scared the daylights out of him. He is however, a huge fan of puddles and rainbows! The other day the sun peaked out just long enough to make the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen. It was not only a FULL rainbow but it was so bright and vibrant and a perfect opportunity to try out my new wide angle lens.