Tagged by Tiana!

I am: sleep deprived! (Lindy and Paige are sick)
I think: a lot about Ginger.
I have: Paige in my arms.
I dislike: seafood.
I miss: Ginger.
I fear: bad influences on my kids.
I feel: hungry... ready for a PB and J.
I hear: Paige sucking on her hand, Kaden rocking in our rocking chair, and the dryer.
I smell: clean... just got out of the shower (before noon!).
I crave: chocolate.
I cry: less often than I used to, but not as much as I want to (need to).
I usually: eat more than Clint does.
I search: for Paige's binkies.
I wonder: if Prop 8 will pass. YES on 8!!
I regret: not being as good of a mom as I'd always planned on being!
I wish: my babies didn't have to be sick.
I love: my little family.
I care: about how Jason and his kids are doing. Wendy, too.
I always: stay up too late; no wonder I'm sleep deprived... you'd think I'd learn!
I worry: about the kind of world our kids have to grow up in.
I am not: as good as Clint is.
I stand by: my hubby.
I remember: lots of fun/funny times with Ginger.
I believe: "in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." I really do.
I sing: my kids to sleep.
I don't always: enjoy singing my kids to sleep as much as I should (but I do enjoy it often!)
I write: in my journal less often than I used to.
I win: when Clint and I play the boardgame SORRY!
I lose: when we play Phase 10 Dice!
I listen: to music a lot.
I can usually be found: at home; I'm a home-body.
I need: to do some ironing!
I forget: all the time which side I fed Paige on last! (no guys read this blog, right?)
I am happy: when I have my priorities straight.

I tag: my sister, Wendy! Come on Winks! Just a quick post! ;)

Spooky flashback

I love these pictures from last Halloween.

Here's our little Cowboy Kaden... and no, I did not tell him how to "pose." He's just a natural.

Bunny rabbit Lindy... she wore those ears for days!

One more favorite... what a babe! (Click on this one to get the full effect!)

3 more days 'til Halloween! Too bad we bought our candy so soon; I've already eaten half the bag... Delish! Terrif! (for all my fellow Thoroughly Modern Millie fans!) ;)

Our pretty, precious, plump, perfect Paige.

I'm in love with this girl... we all are. She's a big 4 months today, and I can't even believe it!

She is very alert now and is beginning to play with toys and reach for things. She still has her amazing sweet and content disposition. Sometimes her tummy bothers her a little (I've given up milk), but otherwise she is one happy girl. She coos a lot and has a very sweet smile and hearty giggle... all of which make me melt.

She loves all the attention she gets from Kaden and Lindy, and they LOVE her! Any chance they get they want to be talking to her, touching her, kissing her, holding her, etc, etc... they definitely haven't gotten bored with her like they have with their toys. The other day a little boy came up and took Paige's binky out of her mouth and stuck it in his mouth, and Paige started fussing a little. Kaden had observed the whole thing, and started shouting at him, "That's my baby's binky!! Give it back to her!" I had to calm Kaden down a little, but I though it was so cute how he was trying to protect "his" baby.

One of my favorite things is when I look over at Paige while she's in her swing or on the floor, and she's just looking at me, like she's been watching me all along. I know I'm her source of "food," but I think she kind of loves me, too. :) She gets so excited when I come to pick her up and just loves to be held. When Daddy comes around, she hardly takes her eyes off of him; she loves the little moments she gets to be held by him. Of course, he adores her.

I wish I could just hold her and play with her all day long, but that's not really possible.

She is such a blessing to us; I'm not sure how we ever got along without her before.

Caramel Apples...

This is such a fun time of year! Even though it's too cold to be playing outside, there are lots of fun things to do inside... like make treats, treats, and more treats!
The kids and I, along with our little buddy, Gavin, made caramel apples!... (the cheater way). Yummmmm... they were actually really good!

Lindy-love waiting so patiently for her caramel apple.

Now she's got it, but can't quite figure out how to get this caramel stuff down. :)

Kaden ready to chow-down!

Cutie Gavin

This next one is my favorite! I noticed Kaden was only eating all of the caramel off.

Me: Kaden, don't eat only the caramel. You need to eat the apple, too.

Kaden: I am, Mom! See?!?

Funny thing is Kaden would eat five apples a day if I let him. He loves them, but when there's caramel on top...

A few things about our sweet Kaden-boy

Remember how I said I was an emotional person? Well today Clint and Kaden were playing around and at some point Clint pretended to cry.

Kaden: "I think Daddy's don't cry. Boys don't cry. Only Mommy's cry."

Hmmm... I wondered how he figured that one out.

Truth is, usually it is Kaden who makes me start crying. Sometimes I just get so frustrated that I have to just sit down and let myself cry.

BUT... when this happens (which really isn't that often), Kaden says, "I'm sorry, Mom... please don't be sad..." (he knows he's the reason). And then he proceeds to start putting every blanket on me he can find, telling me I need to take a nap, as well as getting me tissues... It is so sweet, it quickly makes everything better... and I am reminded of the good boy he really is.

Tonight while he was saying his prayer, he was just saying the normal things he usually says, and then he said (very sincerely), "and Heavenly Father, I miss Cori. In the name..." Cori is his 12 year old aunt who lived next door to us when we lived in Fresno... who he played with all the time. Tonight he only mentioned Cori, but usually he tells me quite often about each of his aunts who lived there: Cori, Kaylee, Kelsee, Kate, and Kammy. He adores those aunts of his; it's so sweet... and so sad to see how much he misses them.



Here is Kaden after I asked him to set the table for dinner for me. He did this all by himself; what a big helper!

While I'm thinking about our Kaden-boy... I have a few more things I want to say...

Clint and I have been noticing Kaden changing a lot; he's really starting to grow up! I know... he's only 3, but he really is learning to be more obedient; it's like things are really starting to click in his brain and he wants to make good choices. It makes me so happy and so proud of him.

He's also such a good big brother. He and Lindy are the best of friends, not to say that they don't have their moments, because they do!! But, they are like two peas in a pod. If Kaden is going somewhere exciting, he always makes sure Lindy is going too! They are inseparable... in playing and having fun... and, of course, in their mischief. Kaden is in love with Paige. He always wants to be near her, touching her, kissing her, holding her, and helping me with her. He talks to her and gets so excited when she coos at him and smiles; it's the best.

Kaden is a very relational person; one thing he thrives on is having "talks" with me or Clint. I will be holding him and he'll say (in a very grown-up tone), "So, Mom, what did you do today?" It's so cute (and so funny because most of what I remember about "today" is disciplining him). We'll talk about things and then he'll say, "Thanks, Mom. That was a good talk." It's all I can do to not laugh outloud, but it also makes me melt... he's such a cutie pie!

We love you, Kaden!! We're so proud of you!!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

My little cookie monsters...

We got "boo'd"! Someone left us some treats and a little "boo" ghost to hang on our front door... so then it was our turn to "boo" two other homes in our neighborhood. We decided to make fall sugar cookies; Kaden, Lindy, and I had a whole lot of fun, as well as a whole lot of mess to clean up! :) Here are a few of my favorite pictures...

We had a few spills. Guess who was the only one NOT to spill? You guessed it... Kaden! I actually spilled this on Lindy... woops. She didn't mind; it's sugar!

Growing up my mom would give us a "glob"... in other words, a nice little bit of dough or batter on the back of our hand... "the cleanest part of the hand." It was always the best part of making cookies. Still is.

Catching the kiddies sneaking more dough...

Yummmmm! I didn't have to wash those after they were done with them!

Day 2 (after letting the dough harden in the fridge)

My little pro.

Lindy making sure the table was nice and flat.

I think more dough made it to their mouths than to the cookie sheet. Usually I don't let them have a ton of sugar, so they were LOVING this!

Way to go, Kaden-boy!

This part took way too long for them!

Lindy sharing some flour with Paige.

Lindy frosting the back of the cookie.

Yummy!

Our little friend, Gavin, came to help us frost.

Ahhhhh... finally done.

So.... we had two nice plates ready to take to our neighbors... until I went upstairs for a little bit. When I came down, wondering why it was eerily quiet, one of the plates was half eaten... so we decided to give cookies to only one family this year. :)

Birthday fun!

The kiddies and I went to Clint's school to have lunch with him; it was a lot of fun being there with him and seeing his school, which is beautiful, by the way. The kids LOVED going to "Daddy's school."


The hokie bird is Virginia Tech's mascot... Clint's school isn't Virginia Tech, but there's a LOT of hokie spirit around, so here is Dr. Hokie in Clint's cafeteria.

I know... I'm a mean mom. I plopped Lindy right on Dr. Hokie's back feathers and took a quick picture while no one was looking. When I got her down, I said, "Did you take a ride on the hokie bird?" She said (in a scolding tone), "Yeah, it's not safe, Mommy." Oops.

Birthday party time... after I made Clint a special dinner called... Peanut something something... not really sure, but it was pretty yummy (it was an Asian chicken marinade recipe from my friend, Crystal). I'd asked him what he wanted for dinner... his only request was, "something new." Poor guy; sometimes I get stuck in a rut making the same meals again and again. :)

I had rented the Spiderwick Chronicles for us to watch after we put the kids to bed, but he was holding Paige on the couch and fell asleep.... exhausted from a long week of studying. I didn't want to wake him up, but fortunately his sister called to wish him a Happy Birthday and his phone woke him up... a little power nap and he was good to go. We were able to watch the movie after all. (I guess Paige was getting a little tired of the flashing bright light while trying to sleep! What a cutie pie!)

The only bummer about Clint's birthday is that now he's 27 just like me. Things were so much better when I could say, "Sorry... I'm 27 and you're only 26..." ;)

How could I resist?

Our little Lindy loves to accessorize. I found her one morning wearing these sunglasses, which wasn't out of the ordinary... but the hair called for a quick camera moment. I didn't touch it at all. My favorite part is her hair in front of her ears... Oh, and of course, the bed head and the fake "cheese" smile.

27 Things...

we love about Clint/Daddy!

1. he loves us!

2. he loves the gospel!

3. he works hard (studies hard) to be able to provide for us

4. he is an amazing father

5. he has a great smile

6. "he dances... yeah, he does funny dances" (from Kaden)

7. he doesn't get upset when a shirt is not ironed or things like that :)

8. he helps around the house
9. he volunteers to get up with the kids when he knows I'm exhausted (during the night and in the morning)!

10. "he plays with me" (Kaden)

11. "he wrestles with me" (Kaden)

12. "he's a boy... like me!" (Kaden)

13. he is a gentleman

14. he is smart!

15. he is sensitive!

16. he is clean... in every sense of the word

17. he is athletic

18. he makes us laugh!

19. he knows it's important that I am home with our children

20. he honors his Priesthood

21. he's understanding when I don't have it all together (which is pretty much all the time)

22. he loves ice cream

23. he is an early riser

24. he makes me want to be better

25. he values family time

26. he is very respectful of women

27. he is a handyman!

I could keep going and going!

You're the best, Clint!!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

We love you!

Summer, Kaden, Lindy, and Paige

Happy Birthday, Kate!!

Hope you have a great one! We love you!!
Summer, Clint, Kaden, Lindy, and Paige

Kaden's got the tickles.

Tonight I noticed Kaden had a bunch of little scratches and scabs all over his body. He has dry skin (I think it's excema), and I could tell he'd been scratching himself a lot. I asked him, "Kaden, have you been scratching yourself a lot lately?"
He had kind of sad tone when he said, "Yes... I just have a lot of tickles."

Poor guy... but it was so cute, I had to hold back laughing.

KFC! Kentucky Fun with the Cottons!

This last week Clint had a break from school, so we took a little (7 hour) roadtrip to Kentucky to visit Brandi and Alan! It was just a short weekend trip, but it was a lot of fun seeing where they live and just spending time with them. They're living at Alan's parents' home (on a beautiful farm) while they're away serving a mission.

Brandi had a cute little pooch; it was fun being able to pass off the sister maternity clothes collection to her. She's due with their first in February!! So exciting! I think it's a girl; we'll see!

Alan put Clint right to work... chopping down trees, mowing the lawn, etc... Actually, Clint loved having a break from the books and doing some work outside! Great brother-in-law bonding time!


Alan working hard in the yard. We got to see some of Alan's great family while we were there, which was a lot of fun.

Brandi and I had a lot of time to talk, which was wonderful! I love talking with her; she's amazing, not to mention hilarious! We also got to go to the General Relief Society broadcast together, which was a treat!

Sweety Paige hanging out outside. Heids, do you recognize the sleeper she's in? Thanks!

Kaden and Lindy LOVE their baby sister!

The kids loved running around outside, jumping on the trampoline, and they LOVED petting the horses. (too bad I didn't get pictures of them with the horses!) They also had fun going on walks with Uncle Alan and Aunt Brandi.

Thanks for the fun time, Brandi and Alan! You two are awesome, and you're going to be such wonderful parents! We love you!