November 30: On this last day of November, I would like to say that I am infinitely grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, all of these grateful posts wouldn't mean near as much without the knowledge and testimony of His atoning sacrifice for us. I know He died for me and that He lives again.
11.30.2013
11.29.2013
Gratitude Day 29
November 29: I love my in-laws! I'm so glad to have married into such a great family. I've gained 4 sisters and 2 brothers, 2 nieces and 4 nephews, and another mom and dad. I love you all like I love my own.
11.28.2013
Gratitude Day 28
November 28: I know I've already mentioned this, but I am beyond thankful for this family of mine. We are so blessed.
11.27.2013
Gratitude Day 27 and PIE
November 27: I'm grateful for the aromas in the kitchen on this Thanksgiving Eve!
Check out the pie I made for tomorrow. My second ever pie! Completely from scratch with real, not canned pumpkin, made with honey not sugar, coconut milk, and a whole-grain spelt flour crust. It did spill a little before it got baked, hence the darker crust. Can we eat it yet? I don't care if others like it, they'll be more for us!!
Check out the pie I made for tomorrow. My second ever pie! Completely from scratch with real, not canned pumpkin, made with honey not sugar, coconut milk, and a whole-grain spelt flour crust. It did spill a little before it got baked, hence the darker crust. Can we eat it yet? I don't care if others like it, they'll be more for us!!
11.26.2013
Gratitude Day 26
November 26: It was probably a fluke, but I'm grateful for the 5 hours of sleep in a row that I got last night!
11.25.2013
Gratitude Day 25
Just because she's cute.
November 25: I'm thankful for Family Home Evening. No, they aren't always reverent and spirit-filled, in fact it kind of feels like RARELY, but I sure like it when they are!
11.24.2013
Gratitude Day 24
November 24: I'm thankful my husband is so good at foot rubs. I blame (thank!) my mother-in-law for this one. He rubbed her feet almost daily while growing up.
I AM SO LUCKY!!!
I AM SO LUCKY!!!
11.23.2013
Gratitude Day 23
November 23: Today I am grateful that I have been blessed with three healthy children. I hear so much about children with this-and-that medical problem/disease/etc. My cute babies are such a blessing.
11.22.2013
Gratitude Day 21 and 22
November 21: I'm thankful for the scriptures. I know they testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
November 22: I'm thankful for fun evenings with friends.
11.20.2013
Gratitude Day 20 and Checkup
Lexie had her first checkup today with her pediatrician. She weighed albs 11oz and was 21.25 in long. Since I took a picture of Lexie, Nora needed one, too. Naturally :)
November 20: I'm grateful for friends, both old and new, and for those friends that no matter how long it's been since I've seen them, we just pick up where we left off.
11.19.2013
Gratitude Day 19
November 19: I'm thankful Corey's semester is almost over. This has been a challenging one. Very busy for him, lots of work. But he felt compelled to work really hard to finish early. We're hoping that it will mean he gets a job soon and having the semester already over will really open up his time.
11.18.2013
Gratitude Day 18
November 18: I'm grateful for modern conveniences. My day of household chores was made a whole lot easier with the help of a washer, dryer, dishwasher, and a tv to watch while I folded.
11.17.2013
Gratitude Day 16 and 17
November 16: My Grandma Perry told me that Lexie is her 52nd great-grandchild. *GREAT* grandchild!!! I'm thankful for this legacy and the wonderful blessing of extended families.
November 17: I'm grateful for moments to appreciate the simple things---like tucking my kids into bed and doing eskimo kisses or cuddling with my husband.
11.15.2013
Gratitude Day 15
November 15: I'm grateful for the extra bit of service we have received this week with meals, watching kids, and picking Nathan up from school for me.
Look at this cutie doing tummy time!
Look at this cutie doing tummy time!
11.14.2013
Gratitude Day 14
November 14: I'm thankful for showers, even when they happen at 3 in the afternoon.
11.13.2013
Gratitude Day 13
One week old today! She's still an angel baby. She has a calming and comforting ability already in her. I think we'll keep her. I love love love holding her while she's sleeping. I just want to cuddle her.
November 13: I'm thankful for essential oils and the aid they were in my labor and delivery. But even more so the aid since then with my recovery. I feel more stable emotionally than I did with my other kids. I also truly think oils have helped Lexie adjust to life here in a very positive way and have helped a lot with gassy, fussy, sleeping, calming- all of it. I love serenity, balance, solace, and whisper for me. Those have been the ones I've probably used the most. I've been using digestion, peppermint, lime, and lavender on Lexie. Within minutes after Lexie was born, Corey put frankincense and myrrh on her feet and swiped geranium across her forehead. We also put myrrh on her belly button/umbilical cord.
11.12.2013
Gratitude Day 12
November 12: I'm thankful for my missionary brother and his example of gratitude and being positive even when he was discouraged. I'm thankful for his example of dedication and hard work. Love you brother.
11.11.2013
Gratitude Day 11
November 11: I'm thankful for the people who have sacrificed for our country so that I can live the way I do.
11.10.2013
Gratitude Days 9 and 10
November 9: I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and knows me as an individual and listens to my prayers, even when they are about 'simple' things like poopy diapers and breast feeding.
November 10: I'm thankful for primary and the very sweet program we saw today. I'm thankful for my knowledge that I am a child of God.
Gramma Kathy and Grampa came down to listen to the primary program. I went to church just for the program and then left during the closing song. I couldn't miss the it! Nathan was so sweet. I could tell he was a little nervous. We had practiced his line, and he had it memorized. When he stood up to say it, the pitch in his voice was a little higher. Funny! When he sat down, he and I made eye contact and I could see the tears coming in his eyes. Me and my emotional self, we both sat there staring at each other while I cried, and cried, and cried. Day 4 after baby comes is supposed to be the most emotional. It didn't help either to have such a spiritual program and knowing the blessing the children of God that are mine to raise in the gospel. It was very special.
Lexie also got her first bath today!! It's always a little bit of a struggle that first time. They are just so wiggly and small with rigid movements. She did pretty good though. Such a sweet heart.
November 10: I'm thankful for primary and the very sweet program we saw today. I'm thankful for my knowledge that I am a child of God.
Gramma Kathy and Grampa came down to listen to the primary program. I went to church just for the program and then left during the closing song. I couldn't miss the it! Nathan was so sweet. I could tell he was a little nervous. We had practiced his line, and he had it memorized. When he stood up to say it, the pitch in his voice was a little higher. Funny! When he sat down, he and I made eye contact and I could see the tears coming in his eyes. Me and my emotional self, we both sat there staring at each other while I cried, and cried, and cried. Day 4 after baby comes is supposed to be the most emotional. It didn't help either to have such a spiritual program and knowing the blessing the children of God that are mine to raise in the gospel. It was very special.
Lexie also got her first bath today!! It's always a little bit of a struggle that first time. They are just so wiggly and small with rigid movements. She did pretty good though. Such a sweet heart.
11.08.2013
Gratitude Day 8
November 8: I'm grateful we get to go home today! Look how cute Lexie's 'cuddle' is. All the kids have one. It's a tradition now that we can't give up. We started calling Nathan's 'lovey'. When he started talking, he referred to it as 'lala'. For awhile, I kept saying lovey, but eventually, Lala just stuck. Nora has Lovey and now Lexie's is Cuddle.
11.07.2013
Gratitude Day 7 and Birth Story
November 7: Lexie is an angel baby. We can't get over how mellow and calm she is. Today I'm grateful for my mom and all the help she's been over the last few days. Also for our friend Beth Lee for her help yesterday. We are very blessed!
Recap: Up all night Monday night with contractions. They started at about 11 and were irregular and inconsistent all night until about 3am. We would almost be ready to go to the hospital but then I wouldn't have a contraction again for 10 minutes and/or it would be really light. They were uncomfortable enough that our bed felt awful. We went down to the family room and I slept on the couch. Corey grabbed the foam pads and made a bed on the floor.
**Throughout this time, I have been taking walks every day and sitting on the exercise ball doing hip rocks. I've also been trying to do yoga stretches of hips, etc. I've also been using oils trying to help progress contractions. Just a side note...**
Tuesday day - Midwife checked me and I was dilated 2 cm and 50% effaced. That was honestly a little disappointing because of how many contractions I'd had and the almost no sleep. I was up all night again that night. We went upstairs to bed on Tuesday at 10:30 and as soon as I laid down, I had a contraction. It was bad enough that I immediately told Corey that I needed to lay down downstairs. He got the foam pad again. Made up his bed again. We timed the contractions again. They were a little all over the place, but then they started to get a little more regular. Corey kept saying that he wanted to go to the hospital. I kept telling him "No, not yet." I'd had contractions 4-5 minutes apart for a little over an hour. I finally said 'Yeah, ok let's go.' Corey grabbed the bag, all the last minute stuff we needed, turned on the car to warm it up, knocked on my parent's door to tell them we were leaving, then I stood up to walk out. This was about 2:30 or 3:00. I decided I wanted to use the bathroom before we left and then all of a sudden my next contraction went to 7 minutes, then jumped to 12, and got worse after that. I sat back down on the couch thinking that moving around was what made the contractions slow down, and they just kept slowing and basically stopped about 5am. So we (kind of) slept for a couple of hours until the kids woke up at 7:00.
Wednesday - Got Nathan off to school, Beth took Nora, Grandma J did some errands, Mom and Dad took a nap, picked up Nathan from school, picked up Nora from Beth's, came home had lunch, took it easy on the couch, dozed a little, did homework with Nathan, put Nora down for a nap, Corey did some homework/watched a class. But today was Nathan first Parent Teacher Conference. The appointment was at 2:30. I'd sent Ms. Reeves a message and she knew that I was going to have a baby any day now and if I didn't show up she'd know why. Starting about lunch time, I started having contraction again. They were at least 20-25 minutes apart, weren't lasting very long, but were strong enough I couldn't carry on a normal conversation. I had a contraction in the middle of doing Nathan's homework with him. Another while we were doing his reading. I couldn't keep reading and my mom had to pick up were I was. Ha! We went to PTC. I had a contraction in the parking lot just as we were getting in the car. We walked in slowly, had a nice visit. Ms. Reeves was extremely surprised to me. We told her I was in-between contractions. That surprised her even more. She kept saying that I didn't really need to be there. We had our visit, everything was good, then we left. Right as we walked out of the school, I had another contraction. So I went to PTC literally in between contractions. Hahaha!! At about dinner time, so maybe 5 or 5:30, the contractions really started progressing. By 7:30 we decided we would leave for the hospital. I said goodnight to the kids. Nathan was actually a little nervous and a little worried about what was going on. My mom said that he said a prayer for me and Lexie. Mitzi, the dog, was actually acting really funny, too. She was following me around and acting very excited about everything. I got all checked in to the hospital around 8:30. I was very anxious to be checked to see how much I'd progressed. I was so nervous they were going to send me home! I had a contraction while we were being checked in. We got to our room, got out our oils and my birth plan. I was probably viewed as 'that one patient who doesn't want any medication'. I was hesitant about even getting an IV because I didm' want them to give me anything. The nurse did convince me that was if there was a problem they could quickly and easily get fluids or whatever in me right away. We also had to talk about paid meds during and after. When the midwife got there and checked me, I was dilated to 5cm and 80% effaced. I was so surprised and a little bummed again. I mean, really?!? I started talking to Corey about it all - my water hadn't even broken yet and I wasn't sure how much longer I could do this. I was just so tired already. The very little sleep 2 nights in a row was taking it's toll on me. They started bringing in the tub and filling it with water. They said it takes awhile to get it all ready. Corey and I decided that we wanted to have the midwife break my water to help things progress a little faster. She waited until I was in the middle of a contraction to break it. Things did start to progress after that. The tub did indeed take awhile. They water was first too cold but it was all the way full. So they had to bucket out some water to put hotter water in to get the right temperature. The hospital worker used a little bucket and just kept dumping it in the shower. Corey offered to use the hose and just blow air into it and would be faster....anyway, she just kept saying no. Finally, I got in the water, which was very comfortable. There was a built in seat that I sat on for the first little bit. Then moving around to different positions felt good. I could kind of float a little and that felt nice. I got on my hands and knees as the contractions were getting harder and harder. The midwife just said listen to your body. I started feeling like I needed to push and told her that. She told the nurse to prep things and just said to me again, ok, just do what your body tells you to do. The actual pushing part was really hard. I hurt, I'll be honest. And I screamed a little. Each time I pushed. I really think it felt the way it did because I physically was so tired. I didn't have the right amount of strength. I didn't have the right amount of stamina. Getting her head out was really hardest part. Once the midwife said things like "I see her head" and I also heard Corey say that too - "I can see her head, she's right there, she has lots of hair." - it was pretty easy to push the rest of her body out. So I was still on my knees, leaning over the edge when she came out. What a relief of pressure that felt like. The midwife just automatically picked her up out of the water. I turned over, lifting my leg up and over the umbilical cord that was still attached, and sat down on the built-in seat. They brought Lexie up to my chest and I held her there. A nurse brought over a blanket to put over us. I felt very ...shaky... the adrenaline, tensing up, being tired, all of those things, I felt like I didn't know how to hold a baby all of the sudden. After the umbilical cord stopped pulsating, Corey cut it. The nurses took Lexie to wipe her off a little, weigh her, etc. They helped me out of the tub, put towels around me and a dry hospital gown. I laid on the bed and they gave Lexie to me again. I still felt like I didn't know what to do. I felt weak and limp almost. It was really weird.
Eventually we made it up to our recovery room. We were both so so tired. I had to at least snap a couple of pictures.
Later, my mom brought the kids over to meet Lexie. It was all so fun. Nathan was really excited. Nora wasn't quite sure about the new baby at first. We love her!!!
My oil regimen. We ended up adding a couple of more after we took this picture.
The last pregnant picture we got. Taken Monday the 4th, when we thought we might go to the hospital that night.
2 minutes old.
Maybe 3 minutes old here.
All cleaned up and dry doing skin to skin.
8 pounds 4 ounces!
Proud daddy right there. And cute.
Bath!
And a bow!
Lexie, meet your family.
And Corey loved the food...Not. Haha.
Recap: Up all night Monday night with contractions. They started at about 11 and were irregular and inconsistent all night until about 3am. We would almost be ready to go to the hospital but then I wouldn't have a contraction again for 10 minutes and/or it would be really light. They were uncomfortable enough that our bed felt awful. We went down to the family room and I slept on the couch. Corey grabbed the foam pads and made a bed on the floor.
**Throughout this time, I have been taking walks every day and sitting on the exercise ball doing hip rocks. I've also been trying to do yoga stretches of hips, etc. I've also been using oils trying to help progress contractions. Just a side note...**
Tuesday day - Midwife checked me and I was dilated 2 cm and 50% effaced. That was honestly a little disappointing because of how many contractions I'd had and the almost no sleep. I was up all night again that night. We went upstairs to bed on Tuesday at 10:30 and as soon as I laid down, I had a contraction. It was bad enough that I immediately told Corey that I needed to lay down downstairs. He got the foam pad again. Made up his bed again. We timed the contractions again. They were a little all over the place, but then they started to get a little more regular. Corey kept saying that he wanted to go to the hospital. I kept telling him "No, not yet." I'd had contractions 4-5 minutes apart for a little over an hour. I finally said 'Yeah, ok let's go.' Corey grabbed the bag, all the last minute stuff we needed, turned on the car to warm it up, knocked on my parent's door to tell them we were leaving, then I stood up to walk out. This was about 2:30 or 3:00. I decided I wanted to use the bathroom before we left and then all of a sudden my next contraction went to 7 minutes, then jumped to 12, and got worse after that. I sat back down on the couch thinking that moving around was what made the contractions slow down, and they just kept slowing and basically stopped about 5am. So we (kind of) slept for a couple of hours until the kids woke up at 7:00.
Wednesday - Got Nathan off to school, Beth took Nora, Grandma J did some errands, Mom and Dad took a nap, picked up Nathan from school, picked up Nora from Beth's, came home had lunch, took it easy on the couch, dozed a little, did homework with Nathan, put Nora down for a nap, Corey did some homework/watched a class. But today was Nathan first Parent Teacher Conference. The appointment was at 2:30. I'd sent Ms. Reeves a message and she knew that I was going to have a baby any day now and if I didn't show up she'd know why. Starting about lunch time, I started having contraction again. They were at least 20-25 minutes apart, weren't lasting very long, but were strong enough I couldn't carry on a normal conversation. I had a contraction in the middle of doing Nathan's homework with him. Another while we were doing his reading. I couldn't keep reading and my mom had to pick up were I was. Ha! We went to PTC. I had a contraction in the parking lot just as we were getting in the car. We walked in slowly, had a nice visit. Ms. Reeves was extremely surprised to me. We told her I was in-between contractions. That surprised her even more. She kept saying that I didn't really need to be there. We had our visit, everything was good, then we left. Right as we walked out of the school, I had another contraction. So I went to PTC literally in between contractions. Hahaha!! At about dinner time, so maybe 5 or 5:30, the contractions really started progressing. By 7:30 we decided we would leave for the hospital. I said goodnight to the kids. Nathan was actually a little nervous and a little worried about what was going on. My mom said that he said a prayer for me and Lexie. Mitzi, the dog, was actually acting really funny, too. She was following me around and acting very excited about everything. I got all checked in to the hospital around 8:30. I was very anxious to be checked to see how much I'd progressed. I was so nervous they were going to send me home! I had a contraction while we were being checked in. We got to our room, got out our oils and my birth plan. I was probably viewed as 'that one patient who doesn't want any medication'. I was hesitant about even getting an IV because I didm' want them to give me anything. The nurse did convince me that was if there was a problem they could quickly and easily get fluids or whatever in me right away. We also had to talk about paid meds during and after. When the midwife got there and checked me, I was dilated to 5cm and 80% effaced. I was so surprised and a little bummed again. I mean, really?!? I started talking to Corey about it all - my water hadn't even broken yet and I wasn't sure how much longer I could do this. I was just so tired already. The very little sleep 2 nights in a row was taking it's toll on me. They started bringing in the tub and filling it with water. They said it takes awhile to get it all ready. Corey and I decided that we wanted to have the midwife break my water to help things progress a little faster. She waited until I was in the middle of a contraction to break it. Things did start to progress after that. The tub did indeed take awhile. They water was first too cold but it was all the way full. So they had to bucket out some water to put hotter water in to get the right temperature. The hospital worker used a little bucket and just kept dumping it in the shower. Corey offered to use the hose and just blow air into it and would be faster....anyway, she just kept saying no. Finally, I got in the water, which was very comfortable. There was a built in seat that I sat on for the first little bit. Then moving around to different positions felt good. I could kind of float a little and that felt nice. I got on my hands and knees as the contractions were getting harder and harder. The midwife just said listen to your body. I started feeling like I needed to push and told her that. She told the nurse to prep things and just said to me again, ok, just do what your body tells you to do. The actual pushing part was really hard. I hurt, I'll be honest. And I screamed a little. Each time I pushed. I really think it felt the way it did because I physically was so tired. I didn't have the right amount of strength. I didn't have the right amount of stamina. Getting her head out was really hardest part. Once the midwife said things like "I see her head" and I also heard Corey say that too - "I can see her head, she's right there, she has lots of hair." - it was pretty easy to push the rest of her body out. So I was still on my knees, leaning over the edge when she came out. What a relief of pressure that felt like. The midwife just automatically picked her up out of the water. I turned over, lifting my leg up and over the umbilical cord that was still attached, and sat down on the built-in seat. They brought Lexie up to my chest and I held her there. A nurse brought over a blanket to put over us. I felt very ...shaky... the adrenaline, tensing up, being tired, all of those things, I felt like I didn't know how to hold a baby all of the sudden. After the umbilical cord stopped pulsating, Corey cut it. The nurses took Lexie to wipe her off a little, weigh her, etc. They helped me out of the tub, put towels around me and a dry hospital gown. I laid on the bed and they gave Lexie to me again. I still felt like I didn't know what to do. I felt weak and limp almost. It was really weird.
Eventually we made it up to our recovery room. We were both so so tired. I had to at least snap a couple of pictures.
Later, my mom brought the kids over to meet Lexie. It was all so fun. Nathan was really excited. Nora wasn't quite sure about the new baby at first. We love her!!!
My oil regimen. We ended up adding a couple of more after we took this picture.
The last pregnant picture we got. Taken Monday the 4th, when we thought we might go to the hospital that night.
2 minutes old.
Maybe 3 minutes old here.
All cleaned up and dry doing skin to skin.
8 pounds 4 ounces!
Proud daddy right there. And cute.
Bath!
And a bow!
Lexie, meet your family.
And Corey loved the food...Not. Haha.
Gratitude Day 6
Since I haven't gone to sleep yet I'm going to pretend it's still Wednesday.
November 6: I'm grateful for the newest addition to our family. Lexie Mae Holmgren finally joined us at 10:32pm weighing 8#4oz and 21 inches long.
November 6: I'm grateful for the newest addition to our family. Lexie Mae Holmgren finally joined us at 10:32pm weighing 8#4oz and 21 inches long.
11.05.2013
Gratitude Day 5
November 5: Today I'm thankful for naps. I took a nice long nap after being up most of the night with (non-progressive, irregular, and inconsistent) contractions.
P.S. Update: At my check up today, I was 2 cm and 50% effaced. Which was a little disappointing that I was progressed so 'little' after so many contractions and very little sleep.
P.S. Update: At my check up today, I was 2 cm and 50% effaced. Which was a little disappointing that I was progressed so 'little' after so many contractions and very little sleep.
11.04.2013
Gratitude Day 4
I've been delaying my gratitude post today in hopes I could say something about baby girl who has not made her debut yet, but I don't want to wait any longer.
November 4: I am thankful for my children. Nathan, Nora, and soon to be here (hopefully) Lexie. They bring so much joy and light into my life. They also bring frustration and worry. But the greatest things in life are the most challenging and I'm grateful for how much I've grown having them in my life.
November 4: I am thankful for my children. Nathan, Nora, and soon to be here (hopefully) Lexie. They bring so much joy and light into my life. They also bring frustration and worry. But the greatest things in life are the most challenging and I'm grateful for how much I've grown having them in my life.
11.03.2013
Gratitude Day 3
Nov. 3- I'm thankful for my friend, Kathryn Berry, for the massage and hopefully it will bring on more contractions! I've officially never been pregnant this long.
11.02.2013
Starting Gratitude Month: Day 1 and 2
My mind has been so focused on November means baby month, not November means gratitude month...I totally forgot until my friend reminded me. So, I'm joining a day late...
Nov. 1: I love, love, love my husband. I'm grateful for how hard he works for our family and how willing he is to sacrifice for us. I'm grateful for his dedication and example to me.
Nov. 2: I am thankful for family walks after dinner and I hope that today's long walk will induce labor.
P.S. Baby update: At my check up yesterday, I was 1 cm and 20% effaced.
Nov. 1: I love, love, love my husband. I'm grateful for how hard he works for our family and how willing he is to sacrifice for us. I'm grateful for his dedication and example to me.
Nov. 2: I am thankful for family walks after dinner and I hope that today's long walk will induce labor.
P.S. Baby update: At my check up yesterday, I was 1 cm and 20% effaced.
11.01.2013
Halloween Festivities
Halloween is about as big as Christmas around here, and it used to be bigger. I remember when we were still in the motel and Nathan laid down on the freshly fallen snow in the middle of the parking lot and started waving his arms. Corey asked if he was making a snow angel and Nathan said, "No. A snow bat." It was probably November or something close to that. Funny kid.
We've had tons of Halloween fun this year. Here's all of it...
We picked out our pumpkins at the Petersen Harvest Festival near Daybreak. They had a band playing music, a corn maze, and tons of pumpkins. The kids loved it.
A tradition since I was little - Halloween sugar cookies. We made some to send to Elder Anderson. The best part? Licking the frosting. Nora ate tons of candy-way more than she actually decorated with. And Nathan loved covering every inch of his cookies with candy. I just wanted to eat them.
We went to Gardner Village and did their witches hunt with my cousin and her kids.
Nora really did like it, but she was tired by the end.
Trunk-or-Treat at Camp Williams. Fun! Nora is supposed to be a 'cute witch' but she wouldn't ever wear a hat. So she's just 'cute'. Nathan is Rafael, the Ninja Turtle. We're fans at our house. Have you noticed?
We had our annual Holmgren Halloween party.
Carved and painted pumpkins.
Halloween is so fun when you get kids in school with school festivities on top of family ones.
Finally time to trick or treat!
And the Switch Witch visited us! They each picked 10 pieces of candy to keep. They did get a couple non-candy items that they kept. Nora got a doodle board, Nathan got a ninja turtle, and both got a new book.
We've had tons of Halloween fun this year. Here's all of it...
We picked out our pumpkins at the Petersen Harvest Festival near Daybreak. They had a band playing music, a corn maze, and tons of pumpkins. The kids loved it.
A tradition since I was little - Halloween sugar cookies. We made some to send to Elder Anderson. The best part? Licking the frosting. Nora ate tons of candy-way more than she actually decorated with. And Nathan loved covering every inch of his cookies with candy. I just wanted to eat them.
We went to Gardner Village and did their witches hunt with my cousin and her kids.
Nora really did like it, but she was tired by the end.
Trunk-or-Treat at Camp Williams. Fun! Nora is supposed to be a 'cute witch' but she wouldn't ever wear a hat. So she's just 'cute'. Nathan is Rafael, the Ninja Turtle. We're fans at our house. Have you noticed?
We had our annual Holmgren Halloween party.
Carved and painted pumpkins.
Tried on Grampa's costume.
Halloween is so fun when you get kids in school with school festivities on top of family ones.
Finally time to trick or treat!
And the Switch Witch visited us! They each picked 10 pieces of candy to keep. They did get a couple non-candy items that they kept. Nora got a doodle board, Nathan got a ninja turtle, and both got a new book.
This is how festive I felt about getting a costume this year. I bought this shirt on clearance last year for Corey to wear. I turned 38 weeks on the 27th. Nora came at 38 weeks 5 days and Nathan came at 39 weeks. I'm hoping I'll have a baby sooner rather than later!
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