The Nitty Gritty

I love it when Will says this... I don't know what is funnier-Will laughing or Isaac trying to conceal his underwear.

Saturday night we threw a Halloween party for our neighbors. We have great neighbors and don't get together with them often so we organized a progressive Halloween party. We started at our house and played Halloween Bingo and ate some spooky treats. We then went to each neighbor's apartment and did an activity. They included oreo spider cookies, bone necklaces, tootsie pop ghosts, and painting pumpkins. I LOVE HALLOWEEN! It's the holiday that either lots of people love or they absolutely hate it but I fall into the "love it" category. I think it's fun to get creative and dress up. I think I even went trick or treating until I was in high school. Isaac falls into the "absolutely hate it" category but he's always a good sport to dress up with me. This year we are Morticia and Gomez Addams with our son Pubert. Our sweet Pubert. My tombstone chicken salad sandwiches and.. Cracker critters. My favorite duo. Will eating an Oreo. Yes! Oreos are DAIRY F...

Friday night I went out with my sister and two friends Natalie and Trish to Kneader's. Isaac was sick with the stomach flu so I brought Will with me. I was nervous that he would be cranky because he's teething but one of the many things I love about Will is that he is a SOCIAL BUTTERFLY. We can always take him to parties because he loves people. In fact the one time he started crying that night was because Lana and Natalie stepped out of the car and he didn't want them to go!

Last Thursday night I had the pleasure of accompanying Isaac's honors choir at his elementary school to kick off the Lights On After school Celebration. It was very touching to see so many young students involved in such an enriching program. I kept thinking how awesome after school programs are. What else would the kids be doing for those couple of hours while waiting for their parents to get home from work? With the after school program they get to dance, sing, make visual art, receive help with homework, and interact with respectable adults. They had Senator Karen Morgan share a few words because she has been very pro-education in her bills. She mentioned that for every dollar spent on after school programs, the community gets eight dollars in return because there is less money spent on crime, graduation rates increase, the workforce is better prepared, and teen pregnancies decrease. If you believe in these kind of programs or have first hand experience with them, you can do th...

These words were heard at our house this past week: "Uh-oh" "dog. fff. fff" (ruff, ruff) "doh!" (go!)

William was worried about getting the H1N1 flu so I took him to get vaccinated today. Did your baby get vaccinated too?

Here is a recipe that hits the spot on a crisp fall morning: Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins Makes 12 muffins 1 1/2 c. flour 3/4 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/3 c. vegetable oil 1 egg 1/3 c. milk 1-2 apples peeled, cored, chopped Preheat oven to 400. Stir together dry ingredients. Mix in oil, egg, and milk. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into muffin liners or greased muffin tin about 2/3 full. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am not very crafty. I lack vision, motivation, and materials. Lately my goal has been to tap into my creative side and make some fun things. The perfect gift for fall is a fleece blanket. Hancock fabric is selling their fleece 50% off the regular price right now so I went yesterday, bought a yard and 3/4 of fleece, came home, borrowed sewing scissors from my dear friend Lindsay, and had a cute blanket about an hour and a half later! Something that helped keep the strips even was folding up the edges about an inch and half up, taping it, and then cutting. Once you tie the strips, roll it up, wrap a ribbon around it and you have the perfect gift! I was excited that I successfully made something with fabric. Next I'll have to attempt something using a sewing machine. Scary!

These vampire teeth are fun for holding I want a donut! Will isn't too sure about the "brains in a bag toss" Pumpkin Walk! Saturday we went with our friends to the local museum for a pumpkin walk. Every family got to take home a free pumpkin. There were lots of games and free treats for the kids. It was geared for kids 3 and up but Will had fun looking at all the crazy costumes and watching his parents eat free food. The best part was that Grandma Lisa came with us!

Yesterday Will went to see his allergist, Dr. Walker. He is still allergic to dairy and we found out he is also allergic to EGGS! She said it's more like a side allergy so if it's baked goods like cake then he can eat it, but no scrambled eggs, french toast, or raw eggs like cake batter. She still wants him to stay away from peanuts and tree nuts for another year. As far as dogs go she said he can get allergy shots when he's older.

On the trax train with Dad and stuffed puppy William and William. What a delightful pair. Monday was Grandpa Garrett's birthday! We met Grandma and Grandpa G. downtown to see the Joseph Smith movie. Will rode the trax for the first time. He was sleepy but couldn't fall asleep with the distracting "Next stop..." coming through the loudspeaker. He did amazingly fall asleep during most of the movie which was super loud. After the film Will rode with Grandpa on his wheelchair and kept saying "up!" at the ornate ceilings. One time he hit Grandpa in the eye when he was pointing up with his finger. Grandpa commented "Wow! He's fast!" I'm grateful for these memories Will is making with his Grandpa. On a personal note, Happy Birthday Dad! I love you sooo much. Thank you for being such a supportive father and always telling me how much you love me and are proud of me. You've been through a lot of pain these past 6 years with your Parkinson's...

My little pumpkin!

Will looking at the witch very unsurely. Friday Aunt Abbey called and we decided to take the Bickmore boys to Gardner Village. Deacon and Will were very unimpressed. It was so funny. Will kept looking at the witches with this weirded out look and every time we tried to take a picture Deacon refused to look directly at the camera. I had a swell time walking in the beautiful fall weather. One downfall: I completely forgot there was a petting zoo, but we're going to take Will for a pony ride tomorrow for family night. Yee haw!

Clapping his hands for MORE. Don't you love the Craisin beauty mark? Will is "talking" so much! He says: "More" by clapping his hands. He doesn't have the actual sign down yet. "k" which initially meant cracker but now he says it for every kind of food. Mom. Dot (dog, and other animals) Dad (dad and that) Wa (wow) Doll (ball) Up He (hi. I love it when he holds the cell phone to his ear and says it!) He loves to wrinkle his nose and snort like a pig ooooooo

My twin sister asked if I wanted to go sky diving for our 28th birthday. I happily denied her request and told her I would WATCH. Here she is flying through the air! Here they are after the jump. Her hubby Craig jumped too and so did our friend Natalie. Look how happy they are! They said it was the funnest thing they've ever done. One of the things I admire most about Lana is that she is such a risk taker! Often in life I let her do the seemingly scary things first so I know I'll be okay when I do it. Happy Birthday sis! Last year on my birthday I held William in the NICU. This year for my birthday I held William at my parents' house! It was fun spending the weekend with my family. I hadn't had carrot cake in a loooong time (my favorite!) so my mom was happy to bake me a carrot cake for my birthday. It was DELICIOUS! While the big boys went to priesthood session, my sisters and Natalie and I took the lil boys to the mall. Don't the two cuzzies look cute in the dou...

Will turned ONE on September 30th! We had a birthday party at Grandma Lisa's. Originally we planned to hold it at the park, but the weather decided to take a turn for the worse so we held it indoors. Thank you Grandma for being so gracious and letting us do it at your house. The party was a blast. Will stayed happy the entire time. He loved the... cake, Since Will is allergic to dairy foods and has to avoid eggs until he's two, I had to find a cake recipe that would be okay for him to eat. Thanks to the book What To Expect in the First Year , I found the perfect recipe. The cake tasted far too healthy, but good thing Will didn't know the difference. It had whole wheat flour, wheat germ, raisins, applesauce, juice concentrate, and baking powder. The frosting was made of dried apricots and apple juice concentrate. Mmmm. presents, So many fun toys, books, and adorable outfits! Will was a sad baby when he had to go to bed and tell his new toys "night night." You can i...