Just Because

David is quite the cheezer and can work it! So, here are some pictures to show off his cute self.

The next two pictures are of him last week after breakfast.

He likes to put a variety of toys in the bucket, dump it out and begin again. This particular time, he decide to put it on his head.

He also loves to mix things and play pretend. We keep the third drawer with the things that are easiest to wash and the most fun to play with.

This next picture is of David right before church. He wouldn't look up at the camera for very long and I had told him that we were going to go see Kai. Maybe thats why he has mischievious smile :-)

We just got back from a weekend in Pocatello for a family reintegration event. As we walked through the hotel (well, more like I ran after David), people kept commenting on how cute he is.

David loves the phone. The room had not one, but two. So, I unplugged one of them and let him do with it as he please.

This was also the first time David went to child care. It was an experience. The people were great, however, there were about 25 kids to only 4 adults. So, one day after the meetings, we went over to the mall and let David run and play. He loves going on the little rides.

And last, but certainly not least. David loves books. He will sit and read for a very long time, whether it be on the floor, chair, or bed.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and that this holds you over for a little bit :-)

Marks birthday

Mark turned 27 this year and I wanted to make it special, especially since last year he was in Mississippi getting ready to deploy. We started the day off with homemade donuts. Yum! Then Mark opened some presents (he had already opened the one from my family because it was a new Cardinals shirt and they were playing to win the world series).

David loved the presents and was very helpful in bringing them over to Mark:

And even more eager to help Mark open the presents:

Then we headed off to church, home for naps, a delicious dinner and a party with some friends.

Halloween 2011

Once again I am playing catch up on this thing. Oh well. Halloween 2011 was a blast. I was down to the wire on getting David a costume. Nothing caught my eye, and I wasn't willing to pay mega bucks for a costume I didn't love. However, my fabulous neighbor Michelle offered her sons costume from last year. It is the cutest monkey costume with a padded tummy!

Our ward had a Halloween Party as well. It was so well put together. It is nice to be back in a family ward where they go all out. The Tataipus were there: Kai was also dressed as a monkey.

I love watching these two play and laugh together. Kai was a good sport as we tried to take a picture of the two of them sitting next to each other-David tried to hit him off the little bench.

Our stake had a Trunk or Treat on Halloween as well. They certainly know how to do it right out here. There was plenty of candy as well as hot chocolate/cider, a variety of soups, as well as chips and salsa. People had this in the back of their cars, it was slightly amazing.

David was loving that people were just giving out the candy to him. It was a slow trip because after each piece of candy, he would stare at them and then to his bucket.

Earlier in the day, we went to a little spook fair. David again loved the candy and playing with the football.

As for our candy giving out, we only had a handful of trick or treaters. All in all, our Halloween was great and it was great that Mark was able to participate fully in all the activities.

Handsome little man

David keeps growing and getting more handsome daily. Last Sunday, he wore a little red tie and looked too cute not to share :-)

Marks friend Brennan Bradley (or Uncle B) and his fiance came over for dinner a little over a week ago. They were both so good with David. Davids favorite part of the evening though? Bradleys boots!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We decided to venture to Idaho Falls and go to the U-Pick Red Barn. You can go here for more info. We choose this one because David loves trains and they had a nice size one.

Next up, was picking the perfect pumpkin. David also loves balls. Anything in the round shape category (tomatoes, grapes, pumpkins, etc) is a ball. David kept pointing to the pumpkins and shouting "ball" with a big smile across his cute little face.

Then we went through this cute little straw maze. Of course, it is a great time for a couple of pictures

And that concluded our trip this year. It was a lot of fun. I'm glad David is a little bit bigger this year and that we can enjoy things like this.

Idaho

We are back in good ole Rexburg, Idaho. It's kind of a surreal feeling. Most people leave Rexburg and don't look back, let alone come back. Haha. But we are here and it is good. Since we have been back, David has done lots of exploring and checking his new place out:

Ridden in the back of a truck. (Don't worry, it was parked in the drive way at Ralph and Normas. We were busy cooking some delicious dutch oven cooking.)

David and Mark have continued to cheer on the St. Louis Cardinals. It seems it has paid off too!

We have survived our first snow.

Enjoyed frozen yogurt. There are 2 in this small town :-)

David and Mark were able to ride in the "Welcome Home" parade.

It has also been fun getting together with the few friends that are still in Rexburg. The Tataipus came over for dinner 2 weeks ago. David and Kai were born 4 days apart. Here they are at 1 month old and Talmage (Dennett) was 2 months.

(David, Talmage & Kai)

And here are Kai and David at 16 months:

RunforBrad

I had the opportunity to run a 5k in Troy, IL on September 10. It was in honor of a soldier that would be 26 this year. He left behind a wife and baby girl. He was killed in action in Afghanistan. (For more information, check out his site.) It was a very humble experience; Mark had just landed back in the US. He was safe. And is alive.

I ran it with Vivian and Ben Gardner. This was Bens first 5k. He pretty much had to do it, because I was able to convince Shalon to get ice cream one night :-)

My good friend Lindsay and her sweet baby Chloe were able to come and cheer me on. Dana brought David, unfortunately, I never saw them.

Thanks Lindsay for being there and for the pictures. I was able to do the race with a time of 39:20. I need new knees though. Haha.