Paige is "FREE" (or three)

Yesterday was Paige's birthday. She's been so excited about it and talking about if for almost a year. This year she actually learned what day her birthday is on so when you asked her she would tell you October 24th. It started out with her waking up to a princess baloon in the living room which she carried around with her all morning (including the bathroom when she took a bath). Then nothing special for breakfast just her normal "crunch" cereal which she'd eat all day long if possible. We then joined some of our family at J and J nursery for the hayride that takes you out to the pumpking patch to pick out a free pumpkin. Lots of fun. I think Scott's dad had more fun than anyone else. He couldn't stop talking about what a good idea it was and of course he was getting the specifics on the tractor that hauled us. Next it was home to our house for cake and ice cream. Scott's sister stuck around to carve pumpkins and then off to the olive garden for dinner. It was such a fun day and Paige's cold didn't even get in the way too much. (Paige weighs 25lbs 6oz. and is 36 inches tall.)






We love Paigers so much. We think she is such a smarty. My mom, the speech therapist, says Paige is exceptional in her speech. She is such a talker and understands things so well. I still have to remind myself that she is only three and so I can't expect all that I do of her. She knows her full name- Paige Kalea Roberts, and Ashley's full name. She loves to sing. One of my fellow nurses gave me some tapes with some "happy" songs as Paige calls them, such as "Farmer in the Dell", "Puff the magic Dragon", and "The Hokey Pokey". She wants them on everynight and we can hear her singing to them through the monitor. Since they are cassettes, she'll get a little mad when they turn off and they have to be turned over. She loves the "piano song" or John Scmidt's waterfall song and requests it to be played over and over. She loves princesses and thinks anyone wearing a dress is a princess and beautiful. She is definitly a girly girl. Unfortunately, she loves princess movies and wants to watch them 24/7. We've had temper tantrums over us not allowing her to watch more than one movie a day (yep, even that's probably excessive but oh well). she loves going to church and the nursery. The other day she gave her first prayer all by herself. Scott and I were so proud of her and she did so well. She has quite the humor and makes us laugh everyday. She loves to be held and snuggled with. She gives excellent kisses and is truly a gift for us.
On the other hand she is extremely independent and says, "I do it" for everything while not even accepting our help if she's doing it wrong. It can be very frustrating, especially when we're in a hurry. She can be a little stubborn and has taken to throwing things around the room when she gets mad. She doesn't understand "in a minute" and so she'll repeat things at length until it gets done. She is after all, THREE. We love her so much, even more now than when she was born.

Corn Maze

I absolutely love the fall. The color change of the leaves, the crisp cool weather, and all of the activities associated with it. One of those activities is the corn maze. We joined up with our good friends, the Stones', to attend a corn maze in North Ogden at the fish farm. The maze is designed for kids ages 4-6. Perfect for our kids.


Our first stop was the fish farm to feed the fish. There were millions of fish and it was a fish feeding frenzy. Ashley enjoyed her accomadations snuggled up with Scott.




Then it was off to the corn maze with our entourage (which in reality the maze was just a trail through the corn with a few scary things in the middle). Paige plowed right through it but got a little nervous around the big fake spiders. She even managed to hold hands with her sometimes mortal enemy/friend.




At the end was a visit to the pumpkin patch for a tiny little pumpkin. Paige is still excited about her tiny little pumpkin. Then it was off to the Stone's for some dinner. Always a good time when we're together.

BOOK Sale

To those of you who are interested, I am holding a BOOK Yard Sale Saturday, Oct. 17th (next saturday). My address is 3635 Gramercy Ave. in Ogden, UT and it will go from 9am-1pm. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll move the books into the garage. I have hundreds of books to choose from. Each hardback will be $3 and paperbacks are $1. Please stop by if you have a chance.

The circus

Last week we went to the circus. What a fun experience! Two of my sisters and their families went along as well as my mom. We had dinner at the Spaghetti Factory beforehand and then it was off to the circus. We didn't get there early enough to see alot of the pre-show entertainment and to see the animals and clowns but what we did see was fun. Scott and I found out that we aren't as fun to be around as uncle Eric and "cousins". Paige sat with them the first part of the show. She was almost overwhelmed with all that was going on. She had big round eyes and was trying to look at everything all at once. Ashley was so good. She slept for a short while but the noise was too much and she ended up staying awake and trying to watch most of the show. She sat with my mom for a while and was thoroughly entertained by everything around her. Finally for the second part with the elephants and tigers, we had Paige sit with us. The circus is much more fun when you get to share the excitement with a child.

Ashley at 4 months old

Technically, Ashley is 4 1/2 months old but I'm a little late updating the blog. She is such a cutie! At 4 months old, she weighs 12 lbs. 11 oz. and is 24 inches long. She looks so much more chubby than Paige at that age but when I looked back at her stats, she weighed 11 lbs and was about the same height. Ashley just has more rolls. She is such a talker. She jibber-jabbers constantly and occasionally throws a few grunts in. She loves to put her hands into her mouth and lately has been picking up toys in front of her and putting them in her mouth as well. She does not like tummy time and can only tolerate a couple of minutes before she starts fussing. She has no desire to roll over so the doctor suggested that we work on that. She loves Paige. She'll watch her and smile at her all the time. I just wish Paige were a little more interested in her but I think she views Ashley as a toy when it's convenient for her. (Although she is very soft with her!) I tell everyone what a good and happy baby she is. Even the babysitter says they wish they could clone her. She sleeps from about 9pm to 5am and then will go right back to sleep after eating until 9:30am. Which means we get some pretty good sleep as well. Her favorite thing is to lay on the blanket, bring her legs up to her chest, and talk and lick her toys. She is also a great laugher. We can get her going pretty good sometimes just by making funny noises. We are so blessed to have her in our family. She has truly brought an extra amount of joy and love.

A long drive - worth it!

We just had a great weekend and fun mini vacation. I decided to fight through my loathing of road trips and take a trip to Blanding, Utah. What could pursuade me to take on this endeavor, non other than seeing our good friends, Zeb and Hilary bless their little Camden. We took off after I worked on Friday (although a little later than usual not realizing how long it would take to pack up the car) and set off on our long drive. We had Ashley fed, Paige pottied, and treats packed. We were off. The reason I complain is due to my terrible issues with patience. I don't want to take time to get anywhere, I just want to be there. During our drive, we stopped a few times for potty stops (one on the side of the road) and to feed Ashley and ourselves. Paige and Ashley did so good with Paige only asking when we would be done with our roadtrip (interpreted to be are we there yet).We also saw some beautiful scenery starting with the gorgeous mountains and ending with the red rock country. We finally arrived in Blanding 7 hours later with warm greetings from our great friends. We also were able to meet their new little Camden and inroduce our little Ashley. Then off to bed.


The next morning, we had an excellent breakfast cooked by Zeb's dad, Paige helped Zeb feed the chickens, and then Scott and Paige took a little ride on the 4-wheeler. She loved it and kept saying again and again. Next we were able to visit with everyone and catch up on life. Later that afternoon, I joined the boys (with my girls as well) and went skeet shooting. I've never shot a gun in my life and thoroughly enjoyed it. The guys were so patient and such good teachers. I shot one clay pigeon and had a little help on a second but it was so much fun. I just need to work on my gun safety since I like to rest my finger on the trigger. Paige and Ashley tolerated the loud sounds and were so good while Scott and I played. That evening, we had a little bar-b-que with the whole family. It's always fun to meet other families and see their family dynamics. We felt so welcome like we were a part of this family. After a couple of games of horse and making some smores, we were off to bed for early morning church. (A funny story, that night Paige was walking with Zeb's brother, Farley, who she kept mistaking as Zeb. She had a beloved flashlight and when walking by the chicken pens, she told Farley to, "SHHH, be quiet. The chicken's are sleeping." She's such a funny girl.)
The boys in a line to shoot



Ashley and I are pooped out

The next morning was the baby blessing of both Zeb and Farley's babies. They were beautiful blessings. Then off to the family cabin for some yummy navajo tacos and more fun visiting with the family. We were lucky to be able to stay one more night while everyone else went home so our little family and Zeb and Hilary slept up at the cabin. We saw so many deer and we were in such a breath taking area. That night we stayed up to talk and laugh. It brought up memories of old times and I had forgotten just how fun a storyteller Zeb is. The next morning we packed up, said the dreaded goodbyes, and left for the long trek home. We were so glad to be able make the trip to visit such close friends and meet their amazing families. We are so grateful to Forrest and Shirley and enjoyed getting to know Farley, Tina, and Skyler. Thanks for your wonderful hospitality.
Ashley bundled up for the weather


We did make one stop on our way home at Arches and did a short little hike that even Paige could do. Ashley was a trooper in her carrier and hat and Paige just took off up the mountain but rememembered to be "very careful". We decided it was a place to come back to when the kids were older and we had more time. Beautiful scenery. It was such a great weekend and so much fun to see great friends and spend quality time with our little family.
Lunch in Moab

More summer fun

This summer has been so full of fun things. When we bought the house with a pool, we didn't really know what we were getting into. The pool itself was more like a pond and there was a lot of hard work ahead of us. Scott immersed himself into cleaning the pool and worked on cleaning it day in day out. By the middle of july, the pool was ready to go. We have really enjoyed swimming and playing in the pool. We've had both our families, friends, neighbors, and church groups over to swim in it. It's been so much fun and Scott says that no matter where we move in the future, we'll have a pool. His hard work has really paid off and even Paige has become the little swimmer.




While Scott's whole family was in town for his parents 50th anniversary, we had some fun outings with them. Paige, Ashley, and I went up to Pineview dam with Scott's sister and sister-in-law. The dam was cold and Paige wasn't quite the swimmer yet so we spent a lot of time on the beach. Paige was content to sit in the chair and watch her cousins play for awhile (I think she was tired from not having a nap). Right before we were ready to leave, she finally got up and played in the sand. She is such a cutie in her swimming suit.



We also bar-b-qued in his niece's backyard that same week. Scott was throwing all the kids in the air and we got some great pictures of Paige. She kept telling everyone that she was "flying high in the sky" all night long and even into the next day. These pictures are priceless.


Scott ended his internship just in time for me to go to young womens camp for three days and youth conference the next week for three days. So he has been playing Mr. Mom. While I was gone he perfected Paige's potty training. He is so patient and doesn't give up easily. The right person for the job. I started training her and thought for sure she was never going to get it. She was afraid to pee in the potty, she wouldn't tell us when she needed to go, and she would hold it and then pee on my floor. I was so frustrated with her and three days later, I was losing my patience. Instead of encouraging her I wanted to punish her so it was time for Scott to step in. He was amazing. I came back from camp to find Paige having no problem going in the potty and prefered the big potty rather than the training potty. We're still working on going #2 in the potty. I can't figure out why she is so afraid of it. Hopefully it won't take too long. For a reward, we took her to the dinosaur park where we fed the fish and played on the slides. The following pictures show just how exhausting going potty can be.