Christmas

This year, we went to Idaho for Christmas. My parents were gone for most of the month, so the first order of business was to get the Christmas Tree up. It is quite the process...

We've begun the tradition of opening some "Christmas PJ's" on Christmas Eve. Seth was super excited to finally get to open a present after waiting for SO long!

Modeling the new PJs.
I'm not sure why Seth automatically wraps his arm around Audrey's neck every time I try to get a picture of the two of them. She's not amused.

 Christmas morning.
The paper is better than the actual present at this age...

Someone is pretty pleased with Christmas:

Audrey thought this whole Christmas thing was pretty fun too:

It was really fun this year watching Seth get so excited about all his gifts. He would get it halfway unwrapped, see what it was and start screaming, "A Train!!!!! A Train!!!!" or "A Car!!! A Carrrrr!!!"

Trying out his remote control train:

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Werrett!

It wouldn't be Christmas in Idaho without some sledding on the infamous "Kay's Hill." I began by starting just a little way up the hill, then the next run I went a little further up, then I took him halfway up and he started yelling, "faster, faster, faster!" So, I took him all the way up to the top and he had a blast. We went all the way up from then on and he was on Cloud 9.
Who would have thought from our usually pretty cautious little guy...

We had a fabulous trip. It was so fun to see everyone and play!

Halloween

It seems like every year, Halloween lasts longer and longer -- but we had a lot of fun. Seth went trick-or-treating 3 times before the actual Halloween night! First up we had a town parade that all the kids dressed up and walked in a parade and then got to go Trick-or-Treating around to all of the businesses on Main Street. I had taken pictures on my phone, but Seth deleted all of my pictures on accident! I'm still heartsick about that one. :(
Next, we went to our Ward Halloween shin-dig and Seth got to bust open a pinata. He's pretty funny about candy though, he zeros in on one piece that he wants and that's all he takes. The rest of the kids are hoarding as much as they can get their hands on, and he walks away with a single Dum-Dum and is happy as a clam. (I'm not complaining).
This year for the indoor events Audrey was "Little Bo Beep", and Seth dressed up as Clark Kent/Superman:

Seth also got some loot from Grandpa and Grandma Hoopes -- Seth was pretty excited to open that package!

And we went to the Library Storytime and afterward walked over to the Civic Center and went Trick-or-Treating to all the government offices. Again, all camera pictures that got deleted!

Then, finally, Halloween night arrived. Because it was chilly, Audrey was a little bear this time. A pretty cute little bear!

Getting ready to go out:

I told Seth to show me his Superman muscles!

As for the actual Trick-or-Treating, Seth wasn't that interested. We went to three neighbors that we know first and after that, he was done. So, we came back home and he spent the rest of the night helping Daddy answer the door. He thought that was way more fun!

Silly One, and Silly Two.

Seth's Birthday

The birthday celebrations began the night before by building a blanket fort -- or a "house" as Seth called it.

So fun for our little birthday boy!

He could hardly wait for Daddy to get home to open gifts -- I probably shouldn't have had them sitting out teasing him all day...

He thought the cooking set Grandma and Grandpa got him was pretty awesome. Luke and I got to sample his culinary creations -- mostly "cookies" and "eggs".

The headliner this year was a basketball hoop. Not a bad shot for a rookie...

His "construction cake". I'll tell you what -- easiest. cake. ever. Just make a mess with frosting and Oreo crumbs and stick some trucks on it. ;)

The candles were already blown out before the cake got to the table. I was trying to shield it so I could set it down before he blew, but he was ready to go as soon as they were lit. Although, it is a good sign he doesn't take after his mother -- I never could get those darn candles blown out.

Audrey had a pretty good time at the party too:

Can't believe he's three!

* He LOVES IS OBSESSED with cars and trucks. This boy is ecstatic about anything with wheels and he has an amazing knack for recognizing cars. He pretty much knows what everyone drives and all down the road I hear, "Amy's car." "Grandpa's truck." "Daddy's car." etc. The color doesn't matter much to him, but he's always correct on the make and model. It's amazing.
I also get car commentary as we walk through parking lots. Yesterday he said, "Fast car!" I looked and three rows over there was a fancy-pants red Corvette parked. Yep, fast car. ;)
Also, dirty cars are not allowed. After a storm, a lot of cars were pretty muddy and as he walked past them he would point to them and say, "Dirty car! Wash car!" Yikes, I'd better get mine to the carwash soon...

* He loves his baby sister. He is still trying to figure out exactly what she does -- which to him is pretty much nothing -- but he has figured out recently that he can make her laugh and he's pretty excited to be the entertainer. She watches him very closely -- mostly amused, but somewhat terrified.

* He has the best laugh ever. He's got one of those laughs that you cannot help but chuckle every time you hear it.

* He's a quick little guy. Anytime he plays chase with other kids, I always get comments on how fast he is. Which is good, because I'm afraid he's going to be vertically challenged for most of his life. Poor guy.

* He's a great helper. He loves to clean up messes, help me cook, help with laundry and his favorite chore is to pick weeds and throw them in the garbage.

We love our Seth!!!