Following in his Uncle's footsteps

The kids and I got back last night from a long weekend at grandma and grandpa Tolman's. Addison loves it there. She follows around my mom saying, "Dama" (grandma). It was very nice to spend some time with my brother Jordan who just returned from his mission to Africa. Libby took this adorable picture of Austin and Jordan. We did pictures of the kids for Christmas cards and since I have yet to get a good one of both kids together. They came out cute, so when I get those from my sister in law, Libby, I will post some! I would be very pleased if Austin followed in his Uncle Jordan's footsteps. Jordan is such a wonderful young man and I am very proud of him!

Halloween

Dorothy and the cowardly lion

Austin, the cowardly lion

Miss Dorothy (Addison) would not pause to take a picture. She was too busy playing Wii with her cousins.

We had a very busy Halloween weekend. We headed down to my parents on Saturday for my nephew Tanner's baptism followed by family pictures with all 32 of us! (yes 32!) Then we went to Trunk or Treat with all the Tolman cousins. Addison had a great time. She kept trying to get the candy as soon as it would hit her bucket. On Sunday my little brother gave his missionary report at church and then after church we had a carnvial for the kids. It turned out so fun. We had bobbing for apples and donuts, balloon darts and balloon toss, the fishing game, face painting, fish ping pong, and a pinata. The kids had so much fun and it was fun to watch them! We had such a fun time with our family.

Pumpkin carving

We had a fun time carving pumpkins this year. Addison was old enough to help clean the pumpkin out but she got bored when daddy was actually carving the pumpkin. So I gave the kids a bath during that time and when we were done the pumpkin was finished. She loved it! She kept wanting to go out on our porch and see it. And she would say, "punkin". This girl has got some crazy hair! Here she is helping clean out the guts. Which she tried to eat several times!! :)

I have a picture of Addison and I last year just like this one, so I thought it would be fun to have one of Austin and I. Although it looks like he's pushing me away!

Addison showing off her pumpkin.


The finished product. Matt is really good at carving pumpkins. He usually does the really hard ones that are spooky, but he thought something simple would be better for Addison. It turned out really cute!

Pumpkin Patch

We enjoyed a fun trip with my side of the family to Bishops Pumpkin Farm. It's always so fun and gets you in the Halloween spirit. (Even though it was like 90 degrees!) Addison LOVED the animals and slides. She also loved the pig races. She keeps telling us, "go piggy!" Austin didn't really care too much. But next year we will have our hands full with both kids running in different directions I'm sure. We are getting SOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited for my brother Jordan to come home on Tuesday. He has never met either of my kids. When he left I was pregnant with Addison, so it should be fun to see him.

Waiting for the pigs to start racing. Max, Tanner, Benson, Blake, Jaxson, Chase, Tyler, Karsyn, Addison and Josh

Addison riding the train. She wasn't so sure about going through the tunnel. She grabbed my leg really tight. Her cousins were a few cars up screaming through the tunnel so that may have been what scared her.

Our two little munchkins. We are lucky to get them together for a picture so I don't worry about trying to get them to smile.

This little guy is 8 months old now. He just recently has gotten two teeth, one on top and one on bottom. And he is mobile, crawling ALL over the place. He loves his big sister and smiles really big when he sees her. He is such a sweet boy and we love him!

Here is Miss Addison playing on the hay trampoline. She is now 20 months old and is so smart. She can count to 10 and can say some of her ABC's. She can say most anything you ask her to say. She loves the Wiggles and Madagascar. And she loves to boss around her little brother.


She loved feeding the goats.

I am lucky enough to have my sister Afton live about 15 minutes away. Her daughters are always babysitting for me. My kids LOVE them. Everytime we get in the car Addison asks, "Aly?" Here is Aly holding Austin.

She was so brave. I didn't think she would do so well. Karsyn helped her out

I can't believe how tall my little girl is getting!



Austin, Karsyn, Addison, Tanner, Brady, Blake and Chase

Beach video

Here is the video from Santa Cruz. Sorry for the poor quality. It was taken from our regular camera.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Saturday Matt and I took the kids to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We had such a fun time and the kids did great on the 3 hour drive. When we first got there it was a little cold but it warmed up and ended up being a beautiful day. Addison rode on a few of the token rides.. she was a little too small for the bigger rides on the boardwalk. We had garlic fries and cheesecake bites.. YUMMY!! And then we took the kids to the beach. Addison LOVES sand so she had a great time. I had so much fun getting the sand out of every little crease and crevice of her little body!! :) And she loved the waves. She got pretty brave and fell a few times. I will post the video of her playing and falling.. it's pretty cute and funny! Sunday the kids and I headed down to stay at my mom and dad's for labor day. Matt had to work Monday and then he rafted down the river with my boss. We had a great time at grandma and papa's and Addison came home with some mosquito bites to prove it! Addison and her cousin Karsyn. Karsyn loves to help with Addison and I love it too!

Austin fell asleep swinging at grandma and papa's.

Grandma always takes such good care of us when we stay!

Cute little man!!

Addison and her cousin Brady. They were playing football and Addison fell in the mud so Brady was nice enough to let her borrow some clothes while we washed hers!!


Daddy buried Addison in the sand..

Playing in the waves.. the water was so freezing. But she didn't care..


Such a sweet picture.. Daddy and Addison

Austin hanging out in the stroller checking out all the action.

Daddy and Addison playing games on the Boardwalk.

I sure do love this girl!!

Addison riding the helicopter.

"Thank you Ashleigh"

I never would have thought at the age of 18 months my daughter would already be calling me by my REAL name.. but sure enough the other day she called me Ashleigh. And now she's always saying, "thank you Ashleigh". SIGH!! If it wasn't so cute I might be sad.. Addison is growing up so fast. She is talking really well and will mimic most of what we tell her to say. She is always into everything and we have to constantly keep an eye on her and chase her everywhere. She has started to like to watch TV somewhat which is helpful. She loves to dance, jump, say her ABC's to the best of her ability, and count to 3. Her hair is getting so much longer and I love putting it in pig tails. She has started nusery at church and is doing great. She goes right in and never even notices me leaving. It's so nice to be able to sit through all 3 hours of church again.
Austin is growing fast as well. He is now 6 months old and will sit up by himself for a few seconds and then falls over. He would much rather be on his tummy. He rolls everywhere and has started to scoot to get to what he wants. He loves to laugh at his big sister and his daddy. He has started to eat rice cereal and a little bit of fruit. It's taken some time to get him to eat solids better, but we are getting there. He is such a sweet boy.We are getting very excited for my brother Jordan to come home from his mission in October.. he has never met either of our kids! Here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment.