Pumpkins, Lion and Baby Sister of Mine

Last weekend, we drove to Phoenix for a Halloween party that Troy's parent's ward puts together. It is quite the show, so we went to help out and enjoy the party. Saku did a little round of trunk or treating. He wore his pumpkin PJs, which got covered with his sweatshirt when it got cold.

He quickly learned to get the candy, put it in his pumpkin, say thank you and wave good bye--and then moved on to the next car.

Saku is checking out what he scored. He liked M&Ms, but we really didn't go to many cars since he doesn't need too much candy.

One of the fabulous attractions of Grandma's house is the piano. It's an electric one, so you can turn down the volume; however, Saku figured out how to use that button so it doesn't help us much.

Another perk is Grandpa's love for football. All the boys enjoyed watching it. Saku has started to say "ball", but only when you sort of whisper it to him. if you ask him to say "ball" in a normal voice, he signs it.

Saku has loved the Halloween season and all the decorations; especially, all the Halloween lights in the neighborhood get many "wow" remarks from him. I can't wait to decorate for Christmas since it is my favorite holiday and I think Saku will enjoy the decorations.

Last night was our ward's Halloween party. I made and frosted some cookies and Saku was happy to lick off the frosting.

Thanks to Camille. Saku made an adorable lion. He even kept the hoodie part on until it just got too hot.

Saku "tossing" some bean bags.

The balloon was a hit until it popped and scared him:)

After the party, it was time to pick up Aino from the airport. Saku was already in bed, but this morning they became instant friends. Aino supplied us with TONS of candy. Few adorable clothes for Saku and the baby girl and this sweet soccer ball for Saku.

Saku is more into cars than balls, but he was in heaven as Aino and I kicked the ball around in the backyard and he got to chase it.

We are thrilled to have Aino with us for the next two weeks. Right before she went to bed tonight, she said "just wake me up whenever you need me in the morning". Oh, the joy of sisters and having extra pair of hands around the house. This means that momma will probably get to sleep a little more in the next two weeks and I will get to do fun things with my baby sister.

Our goal is to take pictures every day for the next two weeks, so I hopefully I can finally do a pregnancy update with pictures. One of our friends commented how I have exploded in the last few weeks, which is ironic because people at work keep making comments about how tiny I am. I'm thinking that I'm pretty average this time around, but I'll let you decide once pictures come up.

Today Aino informed me that I have been lazy about blogging and I agree. I just don't have the energy to do it...is anyone else feeling unmotivated to blog as well?

Success!!

Today was such a good day. So ordinary and so good. Saku had a rough night last night so we brought him to our bed. I have no idea how such a little body can move so much and take up so much room. Troy went to work little later than usual, which meant that momma got sleep in until almost 8 am. I actually woke up with a smile on my face even though the night had been rather restless for all of us.

Saku and I made banana pancakes for breakfast and went on our usual walk to the park. Since it was much cooler today, I even dressed up for today and received compliments from Troy. I know some of you super moms look like fashion models every day, but I am not one of them, so little fashion made me happy today. While Saku napped, I talked to Anna and enjoyed an episode of "House".

We took Troy to school as we do each day and shopped at Sunflower Market while he was in class. I love to get a treat there when we shop. They have delicious muffins and candy bins, but my self control was solid and we only bought produce.

The afternoon was filled with playing, a 1.5 mile run and another stop at the park. I vacuumed the whole house and folded laundry. Saku and I took a shower together and cooked dinner.

Troy and I finished watching "Robin Hood", which we had started last night. It doesn't get much better than snuggling with your hottie hubby while he rubs your round belly while baby girl is rocking it.

So ordinary, yet my heart is so happy right now.

Saku found his floating device and wanted to put it on. After about 45 seconds, he got sick of it:)

This is my big boy who is eating a ham and cheese sandwich.

He is 90% angel and 10% little monster. Though some days it seems that those numbers flip:)

Also good news about my job--but I will wait until things are finalized to post anything! I am so blessed.

Fun Happenings

I have not been in the mood for blogging lately, but I better catch up before too much time goes by. We survived, I mean enjoyed, this year's General Conference. It is not quite the same when you have a 15 month old running around. Brian and Alia came over on Sunday and we ended up using Baby Einstein as a baby sitter for Saku and Cameron during the second session.

This is my view when I attempt to check out my toes.

It has finally started to cool down and I even put on SHOES instead of flip flops last week as Saku and I went to the park.

I sat on a blanket and read my book while Saku wandered around and enjoyed his freedom. The reading isn't too efficient since I can only look away from him for 15 seconds at a time. He is so quick nowadays.

Saku enjoys eating spaghettios and usually one of his cars accompanies him for meal times. We tend to take multiple showers each day due to his love for smearing food on his hair.

On Saturday night, we went out to Downtown Tucson to enjoy a cultural festival called "Tucson Meet Yourself". This was our third year, but first year that some friends were able to come with us. We enjoyed some eggrolls, swedish meatballs and Indian fry bread with honey and powdered sugar. So delicious!

We found a grass area next to a band playing some music so Saku was able to dance. He gets to excited about music and thinks he is pretty cool when he dances.

Brian, Alia and Cameron

Steph, Mike and Maddy

Do you like how none of the kids wanted to give a smile at the camera.

I know the receipt is difficult to see, but I scored the deal of the year at Frys on Saturday. I was able to get 141.06 dollars worth of food for no money at all. Yes, free groceries. Thanks to coupons and two transferred prescriptions, my weekly groceries were free:)


We are awesome parents and have introduced soda to him. He LOVES dr. Pepper, but enjoys coke as well. We cooked some Cafe Rio Pork on Sunday so we had a little treat of Coke as a left over.

Saku is really strong. He has learned to hang from things such as the handicap bar in our bathtub and the monkey bars at the park. He is able to hold himself for a good 10 seconds. Obviously we are right there in case he would slip.

Saku loves drawing, but he still tends to want to eat the crayons, which makes drawing little bit of a battle. Too often we have to be "all done" after he decides to chew on the crayon instead of drawing with it.
Every day with Saku is an adventure. He still doesn't say any words, but we have learned more animals sounds. We can mimic a cow, a chicken and a fish. He loves to say "wow" when something cool happens and "yay".

Few nights a week, he seems to have a difficult time going to sleep. So Troy or I go and sing to him while rubbing his back. If he is not a sleep and we stop singing, he sits up and makes the "more" sign because he likes to singing so much.

Friday night, Troy was singing to Saku while he was drinking milk from his sippy cup. No more bottle for the little man:) He stopped drinking and turned around and planted a huge open mouth kiss on Troy. Saku is more than happy to give kisses, but this was the first time, he just gave one without being asked. You can bet that his dad was beyond happy.

Saku is such a restless sleeper that we can not have him in our bed because he kicks and tosses around all night. However, on Friday night while mom was at work, he woke up at midnight and ended up sleeping next to Troy all night long.

For the longest time, Saku was a mommy's boy and I kept telling Troy that there will come a day when daddy will be the coolest thing in the world. I think we are there now.

While we love him, not every day is all fun and games. We have started to do time out since Saku has a tendency to want to throw things. I honestly don't think he means to be hurt anyone, but it is not a habit we want to encourage. Yesterday he hit another kid with a toy, so we had to do a time out during Sunday school. Any tips on how to tame a wild boy??? A friend of mine was worried about her daughter pinching other kids and make a comment that it made her feel like a bad mom. I assured her that I would never think that it was her parenting; however, now that Saku has started being rough with other kids every now and then, I start to wonder if people will think I can't discipline my child. I know it's not rational since I can't control my child every second.

I am way due for a real belly update for baby girl. We call her "Eavan" as a nickname for now. It is a Celtic name that Troy found few weeks ago.