We have enjoyed dressing to a theme the last few years. This year we dressed Weston as a garden gnome, me a potted flower, Laurel as a ladybug and Nathaniel as a caterpillar. It was one of the hottest Halloweens I can remember in here in Florida. The mosquitoes went right along with our theme. They were thick and hungry. We attended the ward trunk or treat and chili cook-off. It was alot of fun. 
Nathaniel is usually a serious kid, so it was fun to capture this smile.
Laurel woke us up after climbing out of her crib 2 mornings in a row. The 3rd morning she didn't make it out so smoothly and tumbled to the floor. Weston decided there would be no more of that, and that he was going to set up her toddler bed. We had the bed, but couldn't figure out where the hardware was to go with it. So while we prayed and searched for a few days, she slept with her mattress on the floor. She is excited about the bed, however she had several nights in the past week where she woke up screaming a few times during the night. The past 2 nights she has been sleeping really well and I (mommy) am really grateful for that! She's also been doing really well to go potty. She would be a full-on big girl if we could just get rid of the pacifier for good.
He is becoming more alert everyday. We are so blessed to have him in our home.
Laurel loves her little brother and likes to be up close and personal with him. I am glad that she loves him but it doesn't always make it easy for Mommy. I never know what she may attempt to do with him, so I have to keep a close eye on her. She is not always aware of unsafe situations for the baby, like jumping on the bed next to his head or covering him with the blankets. I know she wishes he could play with her more. She is very attentive to his cries and noises often stating, "Did you hear that?" Which is generally a signal to me that she is headed in his direction to "help him out". It will be fun to see how they grow together and play as time goes on.
It was so nice to have my mom here for 2 and a half weeks. It sure made the transition to 2 kids so much easier. In fact, it has been easier to go from 1 kid to 2 than it was from 0 to 1. It may sound crazy, I know, but I never knew how rough the recovery was after Laurel's birth until I had Nathaniel. Let's just say it's nice to have energy to get out of bed and get dressed in the mornings.
Thursday I came home about 10:30 PM and Heather was having contractions. I told her to go to bed in hopes they would go away and we could continue our plan to deliver our son next week when Heather's mom will be here (now shes coming tomorrow). As it turns out he came into this world at 5:28 AM this morning, July 31, 2009. I only slept 1 hr last night but I'm doing okay. Laurel stayed with our good friends Matt & Trena Nalley. They live just around the corner and we really appreciate them. 
Everything went smoothly. By 7:30 AM we were in our room with the baby and all was well. I picked up Laurel later and brought her to the hospital at 2:30PM. My boss Alan from work and his wife Rita were there. Laurel didn't know what to think of baby brother and mommy in a hospital bed. She didn't want to interact with him at first but by the end of the day she spent a good amount of time peering into his bassinet wanting to see him. When Laurel and I pulled into the garage tonight she said, "I'm tired, Daddy" and, " I'm happy to see baby brother."
