Fall happenings...

Fall is busy around here. Every year. So I don't know why I'm surprised when it rolls around and we are running about like chickens... well, you know where I'm going with this.

Biggest news... Scottie got home! WAHOO! No joke, SO exciting. 

 Halloween. Can I just start out by saying... I dislike this holiday. Blake hates dressing up. I hate giving him sugar. All around its not fun for me. 

I will say we had an enjoyable night. Visiting grandparents, then back home to watch a movie and go to bed on time. Just how mamma likes it. :) 

Quinnie was a Ballerina. Blake was a Wolf. He had a grey sweatsuit on Halloween, but these were taken the week before.

The night BEFORE halloween... was pretty darn exciting. 

We started the afternoon by driving up to Kolob to pick up my deer (BTW.... I shot a deer. But that's a boring story... so I'll leave it at, I shot my very first animal. It was a 2pt deer. Beau was very proud.) Okay, back to Kolob. So we are driving up the mountain, with the kids, when Beau sees a huge herd (like 200 head) of elk on their property on lower Kolob. He gets all excited and so after we pick up my deer, we run home, drop off the kids and head BACK up the mountain. In my mind... we park by the gate, walk up a hill, shoot the thing and go home. Done deal. Not. 

We started by hiking a little big hill. Not horrible, but I'm winded. When we get to the top, We sat and watched the elk for a bit. There was a beauty standing against the skyline, and every time it put it's head up and we could see how big he was, I would tell Beau, "That's the one I want."

After a few minutes of deliberation, and whining on my part, Beau decided to hike DOWN the other side of the flipping hill that I had JUST finished walking up, and hike UP UP UP UP UP a freaking mountain. No joke. 

TWO HOURS LATER. 

We reach the top. Two hours people. Uphill. On rock. I seriously told Beau I hated him 50 bajillion times. Then I would have to stop and say "But if I fall down this mountain and die... just know I don't really mean it." 

When we finally got to the top, we snuck around for a bit and all of a sudden, Beau whisper/yells, "RIGHT THERE!" 

I aim.

I shoot.

I hit it.

Whew. 

It took a few more shots, and a lot more swear words to kill the dang thing, but I did it. Seriously though, loading a muzzle loader, while your elk is literally running for his life away from you, is stressful. 

When he finally fell, I'll admit, I teared up. Beau was so proud. like, SOOO proud. He was totally in hunting mode though.... he high fived me.

No hug. No kiss. 

A high five. 

Haha, sweet babe.

It really was a neat experience though. Weird as it may seem. Sharing something with your husband, that he has SUCH an immense passion for is a great bonding moment. He loves hunting so much and works hard at it. Harder than anyone I know. So I loved sharing that passion with him. I'll certainly remember it for the rest of my life. It was hard work, but seeing how excited he was made it worth it.

 In case you care to keep count, that's 4 animals in the Stratton household this year.

Beau got an Elk during archery season.

I got a deer opening day of deer season.

Beau got a deer 4 days later.

I got an Elk opening day of Elk season.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

6 months

a WHOLE 1/2 of a year! Oh my Hannah that went by fast!

Quinn is SUCH a fun baby! I seriously always think that if I knew how much better our lives were going to be with her, I would of gotten pregnant the minute after I have Blake! She is SUCH a joy in our home!

Stats: 16.4 lb - 25.6 in - which puts her in the 50th%. Perfect little lady!

 

She is in anywhere from 3-6 mo to 12-18 mo clothes. Depends on the style and brand.

 

Nicknames: Quinnas, Quinners, Skunk, Missy,Sas and Sis seem to be the ones of choice right now.

 

She LOVES food! Baby food to be specific. I can get her to eat bowl after bowl of sweet potatoes, but not so much a bottle. She only wants a bottle when she is going to bed.

She loves: Sweet Potatoes and Squash. Bananas: she likes, but they give her tummy issues, so I have to mix them with other foods. She hates peas, but I think it's a texture thing. I make all of her baby food and the pea skins didn't get 100% pureed, so she gagged on them. Same thing happened with green beans. She doesn't love pears alone, but loves them in rice cereal. She's also had plain potatoes (from my plate) and avocado and she seemed to enjoy both. If you don't feed her fast enough though, she will take matters into her own hands and grab the bowl and spoon from you to feed herself!

 

She is a decent sleeper. Naps are getting better, she usually falls asleep for an hour when Blake is at school, and then takes 2 semi-long naps (1-2 hours) somewhere thru ought the afternoon. (Ps... that's honestly how you spell that? Or is spell check messing with me?) She sleeps pretty well at night. We are working on having her put herself to sleep, and she's already pretty good at it. She drinks a bottle in her crib, and then when we hear her start to stir around again, we go in, giver her a binky and she smashes her face up against the blanket and she's out! It's really not too bad! She does still wake up quite a bit at night, however. Not fun. Some nights it's only twice, some nights I'm out of bed 5-6 times. We need to work on that one.

She is a binky FREAK! She loves the things! Blake was nowhere near as into them as she is! She doesn't need them 24/7, but more often than not, she has one close!

 

She LOVES yelling and loud noises! It's rather odd, actually. She laughs and grins when Blake gets in her face and growls like a bear or roars like a dinosaur. He gets confused at why it scares other kids, because Quinn LOVES it! The louder you jabber and babble, the bigger she smiles!

 

She is a talker! We drove to the mountain yesterday and literally, the entire way up, she just talked to herself!

 

 Her feet are super ticklish! She doesn't laugh though, she gets mad! Just like her dad! But her MOST ticklish area is her right jawline. Funny, huh! If you munch on that, she will giggle and laugh so hard! It's completely adorable!

 

She loves to just sit and play/watch people. In fact, right now, both kids are in my room; Blake is playing cars and Quinn is just sitting on our bed jabbering and watching him!

She still doesn't mind her bows. Every once in awhile she will get ahold of one and yank at it, but most of the time she leaves them alone! Thankfully!

 

She has the BEST chubs and rolls!

 

She gets stinky. Haha, honestly I don't know how it happens, but if I don't keep her wiped down, she smells sour. I think it's her formula.

She does NOT like being thrown in the air. Beau isn't too happy about that one, he used to throw Blake in the air SO high, and he loved it. But Quinn, she just gets this really nervous giggle that sounds like she is on the verge of tears!

 

She is a Momma's girl! I think it hurts Beau's feelings sometimes, but when I walk past her, if I don't pick her up she bursts into tears!

99% Of the time.. she is happy. But when she goes into 'Diva Mode'... watch out! 

 

She makes the funniest faces!

We sure do love this little Diva baby! I honestly don't know what we would do without her! She is such a bright spot in everyone's day and she is the BEST baby! Blake is always SO excited to see her! When we pick him up from school, she is the first person he talks to, and when she wakes up from a nap he has to go in first and give her a kiss. It melts my heart how much they already love eachother!

3 Years.

Blake turned 3 last sunday! I really can't believe that it's been 3 whole years! I love being his mom so so much and I wouldn't trade it for anything! He is SO much fun to have around, he makes us laugh every single day!

Stats... pretty much in the 90th% from what the doctor said. Our big boy!

He loves Cars (especially Lightning Mcqueen), trucks, dinosaurs and animals. He is really big into pretend lately and loves to be a bear or a puppy. He will bark and whine and snuggle up on your lap, its actually pretty nice, since he isn't the biggest cuddler. He has a HUGE imagination and is always off playing with his toys and telling some sort of story line to go along with it.

His favorite tv show is Mickey Mouse, but he likes movies more than just TV. He gets so excited to see the Planes movie previews ever since we went to the theatre for his birthday! 

He is learning his colors, he can name purple, orange, white, blue and sometimes green and red.

He can count to 5 by himself, and to 10 with help.

He loves the bath, and floods the bathroom every time he is in the tub.

His favorite foods are cold cereal, blueberries, waffles/pancakes, tortillas, muffins, bananas, apples, strawberries, carrots, grapes, and chocolate covered granola bars. He will occasionally eat chicken nuggets, quesedillas and peas, but he is still so picky. He is actually really good at trying things, he just doesn't like them. 

He has 0% interest in the potty whatsoever. And I mean NONE at all. Oh well.

He hates having his hair done and teeth brushed. It makes for interesting mornings.

He LOVES riding the bus! LOVE LOVE LOVES it! When the honk in the mornings he is out the door and down the driveway before I can catch him! He is so excited to get buckled in and after he kisses me goodbye he is totally fine! 

From what his teacher tells me, he is doing great in preschool! She said that he will try and stay in one 'center' for the whole day, and kind of resists when it's time to move. That doesn't surprise me at all, because he has an amazing attention span. He can play one thing for hours. 

He loves Quinn more than anything in the whole wide world. He is SO excited to see her when she wakes up, and he is constantly bringing her toys or her binky. He is a phenomenal big brother! He is so patient and gentle with her! He calls her Quinn or Quinnas now, instead of Kwee like he did when she was born.

His speech has improved drastically over the past 6 months. I am SO glad we got him into that program! He still has a ways to go, but we are so happy with his progress!

Before preschool he went to bed at 8 and woke up around 9 or 9:30... now that we're in school, I try and get him to bed around 7:30 ish, and then he has to wake up at 7:30 to get ready for the bus to come at 8:20. 

If he takes a nap, which is rare, it's around 3:00 and usually lasts 3-4 hours. But when he wake up, he is usually super cranky... so its a toss up whether we should make him take one or not.

He always needs a shirt on, he will drag me to his closet to get him dressed.

He is so kind and loving. He has a little problem once in awhile with playing too rough/hitting, but he really has a tender heart and worries about other people. 

He is the best kid ever. I honestly couldn't of asked for a better little buddy. He is such a big help, loves his family, and the outdoors. He is so smart and quick to remember. 

We love you so much Bud! Happy 3 years!

life is amazing.

It's been a crummy few days at our house. At least for Quinn and I, that is. I seriously can't believe how much I take my health for granted. I have had NO energy the past few days and my house has seriously payed the price. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who picks up the slack and lets me take a nap everyday. I'm hoping I'm on the mend, and to be honest, I should be cleaning something, or putting up the other half of my fall decor that's all over the living room floor, but the kids are both asleep at the same time, which is a rarity these days, so I am laying on the couch blogging. 

At least dinner is in the crockpot. 

I'll take my wins where I can get them!

So Blake started preschool! 

We now officially have a kid in school, which completely blows my mind! 

I took him in on his first day, and he was totally cool with it! Not one tear! He was a little irritated when they made him go back over to the door and get his name 'frog' to put it on the chart, so I took that as my cue for the teacher to take over and I left. I emailed her the next day and asked her how things went and she said he did good. I'm not sure is she means "He did SOOO GOOOD!!!" or "...well...he did good." But at least she didn't say he did horrible! I really think he had a great time, because he was all smiles when I picked him up!

Today was his first day on the bus. Not too sure how I am feeling about that yet. The bus comes at 8:20, and he doesn't start school until after 9:00. Then they get out at 11:00... and today he didn't get home until 11:40!! That's almost 2 hours just on the bus! The bus driver said he had a meltdown because they wouldn't let him on the first bus, and he thought he was getting left. He didn't realize there were 2 busses. It broke my heart. I really do still feel like he is so young to be going on the bus! Especially for that long! So we will see if we continue with it, or if I end up taking him. 

In Quinners news.... she got her ears pierced! Yay! I am absolutely in love with them! I kind of wish we would of done them sooner because I just think they look so stinking cute! 

Beau ended up holding her because I was freaking out, and he just happened to be with us because he had gone to the doctors with us. She started crying because Beau had to hold her head down, and she was irritated, and then the actually piercing made it worse, but after that she was fine. They haven't bugged her at all, every once in awhile she will reach back and notice they are there, but she doesn't pull at them or anything. I think it's just like her bows, they are just a part of life to her! ;)

Is she not to die for? I am loving this stage that she's in! 

I have been really thinking about another baby over the past month or so. Odd, I know. I just feel like Quinn is SOO easy, that I really could handle it, and if we're going to have more, we might as well have them quick! I just have this overwhelming feeling that we aren't done.tyi Beau, however, is just recently even opening up to the idea of having another baby at all. He was so set on just having two. Baby steps. No pun intended.

I am so ready for fall to be here. I am over the heat, and the $300 utility bills. Bluck. I was so excited for it to warm up, so I could send Blake outside to play. Turns out, we can't do that, its too blasted hot out! I've been trying to find structured things for him to do inside, but he is so good at playing by himself, I'll admit, somedays he will just play around the house, eat lunch, watch a movie, play some more, and then poof. Dinner and bed. It's been nice at least having him in school so I have somewhat of a game plan for the week. Like this week he's been learning about the color red, and circles so I can work on those with him.

Potty training is officially on the calendar for this weekend. EEK! I am absolutely terrified. Like, beyond scared out of my mind. Everyone says boys are hard. Not to mention, everyone has an opinion of how to go about it. Naked method, 3 day method, pull-ups, undies, floor potty, potty insert.... its overwhelming. I have no idea where to start. I just know he's ready. so we are going to just do it.

Beau got an Elk in the archery hunt this year! So proud of him! He is such a great guy. All the way around. He LOVES hunting SOO much. It's really his passion, besides his family, we always come first to him. Every day of the hunt he would make sure that I was okay with him going, and that I didn't need his help with anything. I am so happy that he got one.
One hunt down... 3 or 4 more to go!

That's about all the big news in the Stratton household. I feel like we need something big to look forward to. A vacation or something. Scottie boy comes home in just over a month actually! That's big! I can't believe it's been 2 years already! Hopefully I'll post before then, but if not. There's something to look forward to! ;)

Blake is 3!

Blake's third birthday was so much fun! 

It's always so fun to have everyone over, and this year we invited more kids, so it was extra fun!

I did a Plane theme this year. Beau thinks I went a little overboard... I don't think I did enough. Go figure. I always feel like I have to defend myself when I do big parties for me kids. But they are important to me! My mom always did big parties for us every year, and they always had a theme. I had mermaid parties, princess parties, rollerblading parties... they were always so fun, and I REMEMBER! I want my kids to remember their birthdays! I want them to see that I took the time to plan and prepare for their special day. I'm not saying ANYTHING against moms who don't do big parties, but it's just one of the ways I feel like I can show my kids that I love them.

Ok I'm done defending.

Back to the party!

Blake LOVED all the decorations! He thought all the clouds and plane on the walls were so cool! He was pretty sad when I took it all down! We made Pulled Pork sandwiches and had a bunch of salads, and then I just made cupcakes that looked like clouds. 

He got lots and lots of fun gifts! We got him a bike for his big gift, and then some stuff for school and a few other little things. 

After his party we took him to see the movie Planes with his cousins, and he loved it! He sat through it amazingly well for a 3 year old! 

All in all, I think he had a great birthday weekend! 

I'll be getting his 3 year old post up as soon as I can get pictures taken! :)

On the morning of his birthday.... Waffles and blueberries. His ultimate favorite foods!

Update.

I really need to be better at blogging. I used to be really great at taking pictures, and documenting everything we did. Now... not so much.

Anyways... 

Things are good.

Life is good.

Busy.... but good.

Beau has been hunting up a storm the past few weeks. We've stayed up at the trailer with him a few times. I neglected to take any photos though. Mom fail. The kids actually sleep really well in the trailer! Thankfully! I think we are headed right back up tomorrow to spend the night, but we'll see I guess. I'll try and take pictures this time!

I am starting to really enjoy our ward! I finally feel like I'm meeting people, instead of being stuck in primary by myself. Don't get me wrong, primary is fun. But I don't think it's fair to stick new families in there a few weeks after they've moved in. We have been in this ward almost 3 1/2 years now, and we are STILL getting the "Are you visiting!?" comments. SUPER annoying. I've loved going to Relief Society lately though! It's been so nice to actually MEET ladies in our ward! I've been heeling a bit with the Super Saturday that's coming up, so that's been fun. But I enjoy stuff like that! Haha!

I don't think I have ever mentioned that Beau got called into Young Mens! He is really excited! Well... as excited as Beau gets! ;) His is the Priest Quorum advisor, and so far, they've had a lot of fun! Last weekend they did Peach days, and it seemed like he enjoyed it! 

Speaking of Peach days... 

We went a few times this year! Friday night we met Sandy, Tiffany, Brian and the girlies over there, but the weather was HORRIBLE! booths were flying everywhere! Quinn hated to wind, and being wrapped up in a big blanket, so we headed over to TJ's for dinner. Which was amazing... as usual! :) 

The next morning, the kids and I got up early (and with the help of my amazing mother) went to the parade! It was a lot of fun and Blake loved it! Quinn mostly just loved being held! 

 We went back home and picked up Beau (he had gone hunting) and headed right back down for lunch! Which was a tiny bit miserable, because of the heat and Blake's fascination with the stupid bounce houses. I wouldn't let him near the things. 

Blake is our little big guy these days! I can't believe how much he has grown up since Quinn was born!  He is a HUGE help to me (most of the time). He loves to go give Quinn her binky, or take her a toy when she is crying. I could say a million and a half things about him... but then I wouldn't have anything to say in his 3 year old post this weekend! :)

Speaking of... This kids birthday party is sending me over the edge! I always have big plans to get everything ready weeks before the party... and then it gets down to the week of... and it all goes out the window! We did get all his shopping done though! So that's one thing off my list! Now I just have to fold 40 paper airplanes and bake a bajillion cupcakes!

Quinn-o :: 5 months

I never did a 'shoot' for Quinn's 5 month post... haha, so these are just a few random photos I've taken lately.

Quinners at 5 months...

15 lb 4 oz :: 25 1/4 inches

She has tried rice cereal and butternut squash so far. She seems to really like both, but she obviously liked the squash more! She also had a strawberry (Thanks to great Grandma!) which completely freaked me out, because that's one of the no-no foods for a baby... but she had no reaction, so all was well. I had started to get her on rice cereal at 4 months, but her doctor told me to hold off until she was at least 5 mo. So that's what we did! Next week I'll probably try peas, and then sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, and oatmeal. I am keeping her off fruit for at least another month or two. With Blake, we started him on everything right off, and he is SOO picky! I've heard if you do straight veggies for the first few months, they will learn to like them just as much as the sweet. SO I thought I'd give it a try. Other than that, she is still on sensitive formula, 4-6 oz every 3 hours.

She is a SQUEALER! She doesn't jabber... she squeals! All day! At everyone! It's kind of funny.. kind of annoying. ;)

She loves anyone and everyone! She is such a people person! 

She LOVES toys! Blake was really never that into baby toys, but she LOVES them! In fact, I've been saying that we need to invest in some more! I wasn't going to buy her any toys for now, just because I didn't think she would ever play with them, but she totally does! She loves laying under the play mat that was blake's!

She has rolled over a few times... from her back to her belly. But for the most part, she really doesn't seem too interested in getting around! She will scoot around on the floor a bit, but not a whole lot.

She can sit for, oh I'd say... like 10-20 seconds. A lot longer if she has something to bounce off.

She loves when Blake is around! She would watch him all day every day if he would stay in one spot! She honestly loves him more than anyone in the world! He is getting a lot better about playing with her, he has never been mean or cold towards her, but now he will play with her and kiss her, and bring her toys. It's so sweet!

She has the exact same smile as Blake! It melts my heart! They have a lot in common! It's fun to watch!

She is a grabber! She wants whatever you have, and she will do what it takes to get it! 

She has the biggest thunder thighs! 

She goes to bed at 8:30, and wakes up at 9:00 or 9:30... and wakes up usually twice in the night. She is a horrible napper. No consistency whatsoever. Some days she will take a 3 hour nap, some days it's only 15 minutes. She sleeps best when its pitch black, just like her brother.

She is finally okay with being in her carseat. 

She still doesn't mind headbands/bows. Thankfully!

She likes binkies a LOT more than she used to! It makes me a tad nervous, because by this age, Blake had gotten rid of the bink by himself... and she seems to be getting more and more attached.

I am SO excited to start buying 'bigger' girl toys, like dolls and barbies! Don't get me wrong, boy stuff has been fun, but I have always oohed and ached over the girl toy isles! 

I can't ever say enough about how much we love this sweet baby girl! I keep telling Beau that I could have her in this stage forever and ever! She is so much fun and so happy all the time! We get comments from everyone about how good of a baby she is. She brightens every day with her bubbly personality and we are so so so thankful for her!