Here are Carter’s stats from his four-month well-baby today:
Weight: 15lb. 8 oz. +50%-ile
Height: 26.5 in. +90%-ile

On October 18 we had family portraits taken. You can see some of them here.

And here are a couple of my favorites that aren’t on the photographer’s blog. (My absolute favorite three are on our Christmas card so you will just have to wait to see those.)

I had a really hard time finding Halloween costumes this year. Everything in the store was snow-suit style and considering it was still 80+ degrees outside, that wasn’t going to cut it. So I decided to make Raine a Super-Girl outfit.

But then that turned into making Carter a Super-Boy outfit (you can’t see his cape, but rest assured he has one).

Which, of course, turned into making DJ and I Super-Dad and Super-Mom shirts.

So by the time the Ward Halloween Party rolled around Friday night, I has some super-bags under my eyes from sewing instead of sleeping. But that’s okay, ’cause it was worth it.

Saturday we went to the “Boo at the Zoo” with the Staheli’s. It was a beautiful day and Raine had a blast.

They had a designated “toddler area” with easy games and (my favorite part) non-candy prizes!

Carter enjoyed it too. (See his cape, I told you he had one.)

That night, we attempted to go to a trunk-or-treat at the church, but since we had the wrong time, we missed it. But that was okay because everyone else from our ward had the same wrong time so we all just chatted and swapped candy with each other.

I find myself constantly asking two questions:
1. Is it really hurting anything?
2. Am I willing to follow through with the consequences?

Here are some of the battles that I have chosen not to fight.

Raine always wants to “do it myself.” She is so proud of herself when she does something all by herself that I can’t bring myself to tell her that she did it wrong. As a result, she regularly goes places with her shoes on the wrong foot.

Nap time is a big enough battle by itself, so I really try not to create any extra problems. As a result, Raine has slept with all sorts of things in her bed. She has also worn some rather unusual things to bed — like her “princess” shoes.

I normally don’t let Raine watch TV, but when she started asking to “sing with the prophet” after we watched General Conference, I happily consented. Thank heavens for the on-demand links to every song the choir sang. And yes, she always conducts the choir with a hymnal on a chair in front of her.

This one really wasn’t much of a “consent.” I’m not a big fan of traditional gender roles, so letting Carter play with dolls is perfectly fine with me. I just included these photos so he would be adequately represented on the blog.

The day Grandma and Grandpa went home, we stopped at DJ’s office to show them around and go out for lunch.

Raine loves Daddy’s white board.

Raine’s birthday week culminated with a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Dewey on Monday. Raine enjoyed watching the animals so much more than she did last year, it was really fun.

Carter was blessed today at church by his daddy. Grandpa Anderson, Grandpa Dewey, Bishop Ted Beal, and Brother Jacob Brown (our home teacher) were all in the circle. We were so glad to have our parents here for the special event.

Grandma Anderson made Carter’s vest and shorts out of my wedding dress (just like she made Raine’s blessing gown from my dress). There weren’t many large pieces left on the dress, hence the shorts rather than pants.

I love that my kids are wearing my dress when they are blessed. It symbolizes the eternal bonds we share as a family — I wore the dress when I was sealed to DJ and now because of that sealing our kids are sealed to us forever. It makes my heart smile every time I look at them.

In this photo: Cosette Phillips (a friend who used to be in our ward), Grandma Dewey, Grandpa Dewey, Carter, DJ, Kim, Raine, Grandma Anderson, Grandpa Anderson.

Ahhh, my handsome boys!

Raine is officially two years old. The terrible two’s, the terrific two’s, whatever you want to call it, we are living it. Her birthday celebrations started Monday night when we had some friends over for a post-FHE ice cream social. Our neighbors, the Eastman’s, gave Raine some “princess shoes” which she instantly fell in love with. There were tears involved when we made her take them off so she could get in the bath tub. And she ended up sleeping in them that night despite our best efforts to get her to leave them next to the bed.

The celebration continued at school on Tuesday. She took banana cookies to share with her class during snack time.

That evening we went to iHop for dinner. It is one of the only restaurants that serves food Raine will eat. Here are DJ and Raine coloring in Raine’s new coloring book while they wait for their pancakes.

Mmmmm, a giant create-a-face pancake for Raine.

We came home and opened the rest of Raine’s presents. Here she is with her pink kitty bath towel.

Saturday evening we had a family party for Raine since all of the Grandma’s and Grandpa’s were here.

After much practice and coaching, Raine blew out her candle all by herself.

Mmmm, strawberries!

Since Raine isn’t a big fan of cake, I opted for the boston creme with strawberries on top. Raine ate a few bites of strawberry, one bite of cake, and then was done. Oh-well, the rest of us really enjoyed it. Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

Raine and Carter both had their well-baby check-ups today.

Carter
Age: two months (closer to two-and-a-half)
Weight: 12 lbs 12 oz, 75%ile
Length: 25.25 in, 95+ %ile

Raine
Age: two years
Weight: 30.5 lbs, <90%ile
Length: 38.25 in, off the chart
If Raine was three years old instead of two, she would be in the 75%ile for height. That gives you an idea of just how TALL she is.

Have you ever wondered if you say or do certain things repeatedly without thinking about it? In order to find out, you just need a two-year-old to follow you around. Within a few days, they will have identified your quirks and begun to copy them. Here are some of the quirks that have been “identified” around our house (and some other Raine-isms):

1. “Hi Caw-doo wuvie.” Anytime Raine says Carter’s name it is followed by “wuvie” (aka lovey). And she always says it with a whole load of attitude.

2. The other day we were driving in the car and Carter started getting upset. Soon we heard Raine, “Caw-doo, sshhhhhh. Sshhhh, Caw-doo.” Yep, when Carter cries we shush him just like we learned on “Happiest Baby on the Block.”

3. If you ever hear Raine saying, “careful, careful” you better go check on her because it means that she is climbing on something. (Obviously my warnings aren’t really having the desired effect.)

4. A while ago, Raine started saying “Eww, gwoss” every time I changed her diaper. Apparently I haven’t been real subtle about what I find in her diapers!

5. When Raine wakes up in the morning she scoops her hair out of her face and says “cwazy haiw.”

6. “Spit on it!” This one is ALL DJ. His natural remedy for itchy mosquito bites is to spit on them, so now Raine walks around asking you to spit on her “bug bites.” She also applies her own spit to anything she thinks is a bite on your leg, so watch out!

At this age, there seems to be a constant stream of hilarious, quirky things she does or says. She really keeps us laughing.