Pumpkin Festival

This past weekend we went to Prescott to go to a pumpkin festival at Freeman Farms in Chino Valley, AZ. Jackson has been waiting to go with Grandma and Papa to get pumpkins, and he was not disappointed! It was a little warmer than we would have liked, but other than that we had a great time.

Brooklyn was so good and content to be pushed in her stroller. She hung out with Papa and listened to some music, while clapping along! She loves music. And it was great for Jackson to just be able to go while sister sat.

He loved the merry-go-round. He rode it at least 3 times, but was still a little disappointed when we had to go get pumpkins and he couldn't ride it again.

And of course he had to get a jack-o-lantern on his face. He sat so still , but did confuse the artist when he said he wanted a green pumpkin. It's so funny how everything has to be his favorite color! The artist assured him it would have green leaves!!

He was a little leery at first to pet the animals, but Papa held his hand and showed him they were nice animals. 

The hay ride was great. They even let us keep Brooklyn in her  stroller, which was awesome.

Jackson always has to "drive" a tractor when he sees one he can climb on!

The train ride was so fun. During it, they got "held" up by robbers, but they gave the kids candy instead of steeling anything! Such a cute idea.

These John Deere bikes were great. Such a fun idea, and of course getting him off  them was a challenge, but when we lured him with pumpkins picking and fresh apples to eat he happily got off!

Jackson is starting to show Brooklyn the ropes. He likes to have her on the trampoline, but just for a minute or two since he can't do all his "cool moves" with her on.

He has shown her all about the sandbox, which is his personal favorite.

But we don't let her play in there too much, since she likes to eat the sand and all!

And he even let her use his sidewalk chalk.

When she wasn't trying to eat it, she was actually drawing on the ground with it! She did have a problem sharing with her brother though, since she needed at least one in each hand, sometimes two! Baths were definitely needed after crawling around in chalk  and dirt all afternoon!!

Our little munchkin is 11 months now! The time has gone by so fast. She  will be walking like a pro before we know it. She is already taking 5-6 steps without falling!

Hasn't started to slim down yet, but maybe soon. She is in 24 months- 2T clothes. We can't even believe how big she is. It's a good thing her cousin Cora likes hand-me-downs since Brooklyn has grown so fast she only wore some of her clothes once or twice.

She is still happy as a clam most the time. She has three teeth, all on the bottom, and is getting two on top, but not the middle two, so we are a little worried she has her dad's teeth and might be missing some. Only time will tell though. We are keeping our fingers crossed!!

Grandma Schummer Visits

Bobby's mom, Grandma Schummer, was able to come visit for a few days over Conference weekend. It was a nice relaxing weekend filled with lots of shopping for toys and playing! Jackson loved the finger paints she bought him and of course the cars! Brooklyn got a new doll, which she plays with all the time. She loves to give it kisses. It's so cute, but of course we have yet to get a good picture of her with it.

We were able to go to the park Saturday after the afternoon session.  The kids had so much fun with Grandma Schummer. The slide was a big hit!

Jackson helped Brooklyn ride his bike. He is such a great big brother. Always giving her kisses and hugs, and usually sharing toys!

Brooklyn liked the bike ride and thankfully Grandma Schummer helped her ride  so mommy didn't have to bend down!

It was such a nice day to be outside too. It's finally cooling down around here to play outside.  We are sad Grandma Schummer lives so far away and we don't get to see her too often.

The one problem with the park was Brooklyn. She puts everything  in her mouth, so we were constantly taking rocks, leaves, sand and grass out of her mouth. And she gets so mad when she doesn't get her way. We have a little drama queen on our hands!

Last Swim of the Summer

Despite swim lessons, Jackson is scared of the water and refuses to get in without floaties, even if you are carrying him. I guess we need more time in the water. Too bad summer is over and it is actually cooling down a tad here. Plus, Kristin moved and we lost our free pool, but that's not the only reason we miss you Tia!!

Love these legs!

Just a little behind in posting, but here is our Brooklyn at 10 months.  She is still crazy big, and still growing.

Love this picture! Shows off her buddah belly quite nicely!!

Aunt Kristin loves to give Brooklyn the good stuff, and it turns out she loves Oreos! Maybe not the best idea to give them to her on Grandma's white couch, but we were so careful!!

Brooklyn in 9 months now. She is 23 lbs. 2 oz, 100% and 19.5 inches, 100%. I'm not sure where our little girl  came from! The Dr. is predicting she will be a tall girl! Must take after the Halterman side!

She never stops. Crawls all over the house getting into trouble. She loves to climb the stairs and play with Jackson. 

And you never find her without something in her mouth, anything she can find goes in!  She is such a happy baby. Still only two teeth, but she knows how to use them!

Here is Jackson on his 1st day of preschool. He was so  excited, and loves it. He only goes 2 days a week for 3 hours each day, but it is good for him to get out and socialize. No tears for him or mom. Hopefully that will continue!!

CA Trip

This summer our big trip was to CA. We got to see Bobby's Aunt Sandy, although no pictures were taken, oops.  We went to see Cora, Amber's baby blessed, yet again where was our camera?  But we did get some fun pictures. Jackson loved the beach and the ocean this year. He couldn't get enough, even though we only got to spend a few hours there.

Brooklyn is a natural water-baby. She had no fear when it came to the ocean. She just crawled right in, and loved the water in her face. The sand didn't stop her either. 

We spent one morning at Birch Aquarium. Jackson loved every minute of it. He got to touch a sea star, but passed on the sea cucumber! The sharks were too cool, he liked the leopard sharks. We even saw shark eggs with a shark moving around inside about to hatch.

Bobby didn't have any fun the whole time!

Jackson is such a ham! Luckily Brooklyn slept through most of the aquarium, so no screaming babies for us!

We went to an Angels game one night, where  they won in the bottom of the 10th inning. And we got to see a cool fireworks show after. The kids enjoyed themselves and did well considering it was 10 PM before we even headed to the car. 

We also went to Downtown Disney for a night. It was a lot of fun. We thought about checking out Disneyland, but  heard it was too crazy in the summer rush, although our hotel was about 5 minutes from it. A good trip all in all, although too short.

We spent a few minutes exploring the town Bobby grew up in, Rancho Santa Margarita, from about  2years - 2nd grade. It was fun to see around and play in the nice cool afternoon sun. Not something you get in AZ!

Amber and Sean came back to AZ with us for a few days, and the kids just loved Cora. 

Especially Jackson. He always had to kiss her, and make her smile. He is just too cute.

Brooklyn is eight months now, and is getting into lots of trouble. She is crawling, and trying her hand at the stairs. She also likes to stand, and pulls herself up on everything. She will be walking before we know it. We're not ready for her to grow so fast!

We couldn't get very good shots of her for the 8 months pictures, she kept trying to roll over and crawl, but she is still huge and getting bigger everyday. It may be good if she walks soon so Mikelle doesn't have to carry her so much!

She has her two bottom teeth, and uses all the time. She puts everything in her mouth, and chomps hard! She is such a happy little girl, and just loves her brother. He makes her laugh all the time, and is always so concerned when she cries. He is a great big brother.

4th of July

For the 4th we went to Prescott. It was a great little vacation to get out of the heat and see Mikelle's parents. 

We went downtown to the craft booths. We avoided most of the crowds, and the rain, so we can't complain. Jackson wouldn't try the cotton candy though, so the adults had to suffer through eating it!!

We did the Gherald Brownlow race, Bobby the 10K and Mikelle and Kristin the 2 mile fun run, although they walked.  This was how we all felt after, but it was fun all the same!