Thanks to Halloween, Sam has had his first lollipop. He sucked the stick soggy, and once it started to sag, he didn't really want the lollipop anymore. But he liked it while it lasted.

 This is how Afton looked the other cold morning before we went to the park: homeless. My sister would be ashamed.

 But don't worry, Candice. We made up for it by putting her in this ADORABLE outfit made by my very talented friend. Isn't that so cute? (And check out her pretty blue eyes...)

Yo Gabba Gabba has a little segment in it where kids make funny faces. Sam's been into that lately and asking us to make funny faces. Here's his:

Happy Halloween

Saturday was a pretty busy day around the Durst house, but we managed to get our act together to attend our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. There were a ton of cars there and we had a lot of fun. We'd been practicing "Trick or treat" with Sam all week long, but he forgot those three little words and reverted back to his shy self when approaching a car for candy. He would stand really far back and just kind of stare. Then I'd coax him into holding out his pumpkin and saying "Thank you." I think he said "Trick or treat" only a handful of times. He was so cute, though.

(The pictures are in messed up order but I don't feel like trying to fix it.)

He LOVED holding his candy-filled pumpkin and wouldn't let go. Once it got heavier, it was harder for him to manage, but he didn't care. It sat on his lap on the ride home and he carried it around the kitchen for a while, too.

Afton just wore a Halloween sleeper. And (wouldn't you know it?) slept through the whole thing.

We ran out of candy on Saturday and didn't want to give out candy on Sunday so we turned off most of the lights and lived like zombies in our own house. It was annoying. We noticed this year, though, that way too many parents DRIVE their kids around. Are you kidding me? You can't walk from house to house? Part of the fun was running from house to house, going as fast as you can to get the most candy. Now the parents drive around slowly while their kids canvas the street, hop in the car, and drive to the next street. I couldn't believe it. People must be getting lazier.

Pumpkin Patch

I took my kids to the pumpkin patch. I think this picture sums it up nicely.

A Morning in the Life of a Superhero

0800 hours: Eat a healthy breakfast.

 0802 hours: Practice an entrancing gaze.

 0900 hours: Converse with sidekick about combatting evil. Form a plan for the rest of the day's events.

 0902 hours: Practice loopy gaze.

 0930 hours: Exercise calves and practice leaps. Also practice crazed gaze.

 1000 hours: Attend community event. Mingle with the people. Hug a bear.

 1003 hours: Run into your old friend, Woody and cheer him up because he looks sad. Compliment his hat.

 1015 hours: Listen to a story about pumpkins. Then give a presentation about proper Halloween safety.

 1040 hours: Pose for pictures with old friend, Mr. Dragon.

 1100 hours: Take clothing to Goodwill. Proceed to crawl on your hands and knees through the store while your superhero mom cringes in disgust.

1130 hours: Visit Target and bring smiles to people's faces.

1200 hours: Eat a superhero lunch of (what else?) peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, and water.

1230 hours: Watch "Cars" while taking a breather on the couch.

1250 hours: Change into civilian clothes. Practice a stealth crawl.

 1300 hours: Nap time!

Finally Caught on Camera!

Close...

 Closer...

Almost there...

Got it!

We keep getting letters in the mail from the homeowners association about various things we need to fix or else we will get a fine. First, they sent us a few letters concerning our trash can being in plain view.

Give me a break. You can hardly see it. (I originally took this picture to show our giant dead tree which we have since removed.)

They're still sending those, but in addition to that, now they're on our case about our weeds. We know we've got weeds, it's just that Dan's been really busy w/ work stuff, I have a newborn to watch, and we're waiting until the weather gets cooler before we plant things/weed our garden. Back off, people! I wonder if one of our neighbors is complaining about us or if someone drives around slowly finding issues with each house...

Sunday Afton turned 2 months old. She gave us a present of sleeping from 9pm until 6:45 that morning. Usually she's been waking up around 5, but we think it's because she wakes up when Dan turns on the shower. Since it was Sunday, that didn't happen! Since she's been doing so well, we moved her out of our closet and into a room of her own. She woke up this morning at 6:10, ate, and is still sleeping at 9:22. Very exciting! She's started smiling more, but we haven't captured one of her big smiles yet.

But she usually looks like this:

Sam and me reading a book.

And a preview of Sam's halloween costume. He got to wear it to a party this weekend. He loves it. Sometimes he puts it on just because. He wanted me to take pictures of him in it while he ran around.

Bye for now!

Have you ever ridden a camel?

I have. My dismount left something to be desired. I think I pulled a muscle. Not only that, but apparently several people from church saw me trying to get off that thing...

In the order the pictures were taken.

First, I wanted to learn how to applique so I started by practicing on a onesie. Here's Afton modeling the finished product.

(She has a hemangioma on the top of her head. Hopefully hair will cover it!)

Sam saw me taking pictures of Afton so he wanted to show off his pumpkin.

 Mom and Dad Cheney flew out on Friday to spend the weekend with us. (Afton's blessing was on Sunday.) We went to the park and hung out, and went out to dinner on Friday. They spent Saturday w/ my brother and Sunday with us again until my dad left for a business trip. Mom left on Monday.

 Dan's parents and Dan's brother's family came late Friday. Saturday we went to the Houston Zoo. Here's Sam and Audrey.

 Looking at monkeys.

 Sam, Cecilia, Zev, and Carmen.

 Sam, Grandma and Grandpa Durst, Afton, Cecilia and Carmen before church.

 As I mentioned, Afton was blessed in church on Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing. We took pictures before church but the lighting was really bad. I didn't think it was that bad while we were taking the pictures...

Cheney family.

Durst family.

Mom and her grandbabies before she flew home.

 Mom D snuggling with Afton. After this she gave Afton a bum massage. Afton was loving it. Seriously.

 Mom and Dad Durst bought Afton a playmat. Sam got in on the action.