Trunk or Treat

Halloween's just not complete without a ward trunk or treat. Lots of people liked Bergen's costume and Bergen loved wearing it.

School Halloween Carnival

We went to one of the elementary school's Halloween carnivals. We had talked about getting cotton candy there for days and Bergen was really excited about it. We let Bergen pick which games he wanted to play and were really careful to make sure we had enough tickets left to get the cotton candy. Unfortunately we waited too long into the evening to get the cotton candy...they had run out :( It was sad but Bergen handled it very well. 

They had a corner of the gym sectioned off for silly string wars. Bergen REALLY wanted to do that but I kept trying to persuade him to do other things. It was a lot of tickets and I wasn't sure if he would be able to actually spray the string. After our cotton candy strike we decided to do the string. I was right in that he had a hard time spraying the string and really didn't get into the action much for all the work it took just for the poor little guy to spray his string. I was feeling kind of bad for him and maybe even like it was a waste.  But that night when we asked what his favorite thing of the activity was he said the string! I was surprised but happily so! He had had fun so I didn't need to feel bad about it anymore. 

He got lots of candy, loved wearing his "firefire" outfit,  liked carrying the ax him and daddy made together, and thought the special candy bag I made for him was cool.

Fall Weather Picnic

Bergen wanted to have a picnic outside after getting home one day. I decided we should just do it instead of trying to convince him to come inside. I also decided that even though I had just done Zumba and really didn't look that awesome, I needed to take some pictures of him and I together. So this is us eating while sitting in the driveway. Bergen also used his time for planting some seeds, playing with the hose, and soaking himself. Pretty good afternoon!

Rediscovering The Jumper

I went through a couple boxes of our baby clothes today to see what we had and what we might still need for baby brother. In those boxes Bergen found the jumper. He wanted to try it and before I knew Travis had told him he was too big now, I had helped him climb in. Funniest. Thing. Ever! I couldn't stop laughing at first. It actually held him, and his jumping, and his swinging. He was having a blast and finally asked for a drink of water because he was working so hard :) It was fun for him to do and me to watch. I just hope he doesn't expect brother to use it quite the same way he was...at least for a few years :)

We took Travis to the airport shortly after all his jumping. Granted he didn't take a nap today, but he was out only a few miles down the road. When we got home he was disappointed he didn't get to take daddy to work. I said he did, he was just asleep and when daddy got out of the car he gave him a hug and a kiss just like always. He kind of believed me.

Guys Workout

Like father like son. What else can you say about this? :) Travis has told me lots of Bergen doing exercises with him when I haven't been home, but it was way cuter to actually see!

Great job guys!

Monster Painting

Sometimes I have Bergen look at pinterest pictures for something he would like to do. He saw some painted monster 2 liter bottles with an opening for their mouths that served as a candy holder, and decided that would be a good idea. Luckily I had this little bottle in the recycle bin we could easily pull out. I also remembered we had a few left over face stickers from last Halloween we could use. I talked him out of cutting the bottle and putting candy in it, but he kept reminding me of that detail. I was super impressed at how thorough he was at painting the entire bottle on his own. He also kept referring back to the picture to see we needed things like eyebrows and black at the top...that actually got painted over later with purple :) I painted the eyes and mouth on paper that we cut out and glued onto the bottle, and Bergen put the other stickers on. All of which made for a very cute monster that he was super proud of!

Bergen's getting to a stage that he does awkward poses and smiles when I want to take his picture, but in this one he actually somewhat resembles his monster :)

Finally I had him lay down next to his bottle and say "monster" instead of cheese. That's the natural smile I love!

We were on such a monster kick we kept it going later in the week. Bergen liked a picture of some felt monsters. I had intended on cutting things out and letting him glue them together with the glue gun. Something he loves to use. But once I got going I realized it was a little more work than I anticipated. Something about making decisions and being too precise while free handing these little guys. At that point I decided a "monster kit" was better. Travis helped hot glue velcro onto each of these monster "parts" and now the monster making options are endless. I was so excited about them that some other little monsters I know are getting a set of their own for Christmas (so don't let them see this picture yet!). Now let's just hope all the boys like and use them enough to have been worth all that time and effort! :)

Pie Making Time

We tried making baked cinnamon apple chips. They were ok, but not great and we weren't eating them. Instead we made them into a pie. Again, not great but at least it's slowly getting eaten. And it was great to do some baking with my best kitchen buddy!

He mostly just wanted to play with the dough. Imagine that!

With not a great filling, and a very over handled crust dough, why not let him do his own lattice?! I showed him a picture of a pie and said that's what we want to do. I did scoot over two strips in the process that were laying on top of each other and pinched the edge, but other than that he did this himself. Not bad!

Job Chart and A Special Lesson

A cute little job or chore chart is something that's been in the back of my mind for a long time now. But not just any chart, something really cute and something that in reality would take me hours and maybe even days to complete. 

Well one day after getting a pack of markers for Bergen to use on his dry erase board I decided to draw some picture job for him to do and cross off. This simple little thing works wonders! He loves it and responds really well to it. It's great for getting him going in the mornings in a direction other than TV, or for helping to get us out the door because he has to do his "jobs" before we can do those other things. We don't use it every day, but there have been days that I've said he needed to do some jobs first and he's ran for the board on his own so I could make his jobs.

Here is a sampling of his "jobs." Getting dressed, making his bed, and eating are regulars. He usually gets some kind of chore like putting away books or toys, and at the least a chore I need to do that day and he's supposed to help me with it, like laundry or vacuuming. And sometimes he gets a fun thing, like doing cars, Mr. Potato Head, a craft or baking project. Since this works so nicely I will probably eventually forget about the real chore chart and save myself the effort and potential unfinished project.

..........

One night as we were finishing up dinner I suggested to Bergen we all play a game together. He was excited and desperately needed to find his Buzz Lightyear chair. I wasn't sure why but he had to have it. He brought it in from the garage and set it up. While we were cleaning up dinner he got out the church spiral picture books and opened one to a picture of Jesus. He had us sit on the couch. From his chair across from us he proceeded to give us a lesson, say a prayer, and sing a song. I guess the only time we all play a board type game together is after FHE. So when I asked if he wanted to play a game, in his mind we were having home evening. Which would explain the Buzz chair because somehow that has become his spot for home evening lessons. We are still pitifully trying to make this a habit in our home, but it did make me feel good that we have at least done it enough times that he knows how it goes. A very fun moment for us "trying to do good" parents.

Chilly Weekend

We got to spend Friday night with friends at a high school football game. It was supposed to be cooling off that weekend, so the day before we hit some sales to get Bergen pants that were actually as long as pants are supposed to be and a few warm tops. It was well worth it because we needed that plus more. The game itself wasn't very good and it was super windy and cold, but we had fun being out with friends doing something outdoors. Bergen also love the popcorn that was shared with him!

Little bit bigger than my high school games :)

Saturday was another chilly day. We went to Home Depot for the fire truck workshop to find out they were doing something at the fire station instead. We had some time before the next event of our day started so we decided to check it out. So glad we did too! It was like a fire station festival. Complete with lots of free trinkets and lunch. We somehow left Bergen's sweatshirt at home but we took in all the activities we could before being too cold and needing to go.

One advantage of the cold that day was that there wasn't a ton of people at the event, there was lots, just not overcrowded. So much so that Bergen got this train ride to himself! At the end of the day he said riding the train was his favorite thing for the day.

We also got to see a demonstration with the jaws of life. Piece by piece this crashed car was cut apart.

And the final activity (the one we were actually planning on doing that day) was going to the park to watch the nearby air show. Turns out we really were still too far away to see much but these planes did fly directly over our heads once.

Yes, several hours before we had our free hamburgers at the fire station, but who can turn down free hot dogs? The park also had lunch so Travis and I did eat a hot dog, but Bergen was fine with just some fruit snacks.

The best part for Bergen though was the bounce houses. Can you see Bergen and Travis standing in line?

It was a fun hour, but by then the cold had really settled in and it was time to go. It was fun to watch them race back to me, both laughing the whole way.

Once we got home and warmed up we started watching our recorded sessions of general conference. I had cut out and laminated this board of chairs, the podium, and a picture of each of the apostles. When any of them spoke Bergen put their picture on the podium, and when they were done he put their picture back on their chair. He enjoyed doing it and it is helping him to learn the apostle's names. Although, he keeps saying Elder Bednar looks like his daddy. They kind of have the same head shape I guess...kind of funny.