Pumpkin Patch

Tristan and I attended Gabe's annual trip to the pumpkin patch with his preschool. We grabbed some Wendy's to eat on the way, since he would be going straight to class from Farr West. We played with some friends while waiting for the entire class to arrive. (He thinks it is hilarious to smile like this in pictures.) Tristan let me do his hair today, I love it this way. Then the kids all gathered around the scarecrow, he stood up, and starting talking to them! (This happens every trip, but it's still fun.) Here are Gabe and Tristan picking out a $1 pumpkin to take home. Gabe wanted to try the head on. Picture time with pumpkin man and Miss Jackie. There are so many fun photo opps at this place. Obviously, Tristan was done with that crazy pumpkin guy.We had a great time. Gabe took his pumpkin back to class to decorate, and brought it home after school. On Wednesday they get to take their pumpkins back to class and smash them, he is anxiously awaiting this splendid event.

Oh yeah! Here is Gabe's preschool class earlier that week. They had a costume parade. Gabe is Spiderman.

Tristan is 2!

Holy cow, I can't believe that my baby is two years old already! How did we celebrate? By letting mom sleep in until 10am, wahoo! I had to go wake him up. We opened presents on our bed while Colby slept, he had just come to bed from a long night of work at 7:30am. Gabe was excited to hand him a basketball to unwrap. And Braxton gave him some Marvel Hero Figurines to open. Then we led him out to the deck for his gifts from mom and dad. Colby had picked out a basketball hoop that was just perfect for him. It grows with the child, and can be as tall as 6 feet. I had chosen a slide. He loved both gifts, and sometimes combined the basketball (among other things) with the slide. Next, we had breakfast and got dressed to run over to Grandma Miller's home for a quick (long overdue) haircut. He wasn't very cooperative, but he looks a lot better. On the way home we picked up pizzas to share a birthday lunch with his friend Mason. We ate and played with his new toys, as well as enjoyed putting the slide into the kiddie pool. Nap time proved a great time for me to whip up some cupcakes for his family party later on.

We had lots of cousins and other relatives over. The cupcakes were a hit. Thanks to all that brought gifts, though they were unnecessary. We ended the night around the fire pit, it was chilly after the sun went down (about time).

A little taste of our vacation so far...

Here we are hanging at the Toone home this afternoon, and Rob decided to use our children for some of his tricks. Very entertaining for all, including the participants.

When the 3rd gets forgotton...

Okay, so does this happen to anyone else? My third child gets forgotten in his highchair quite often. I usually sit at the computer while they eat breakfast or lunch, mostly because I do not eat what they eat. Anyway, so I just sit and carouse the Internet and get up and help them if they need anything. Well, most of my kids rock in the highchairs while eating. Don't ask me why, I always try to stop them for fear of choking. They do it on the couch too, when listening to catchy music or during an intense part of a movie. We never taught them, but all three have ended up doing it on their own. Or, at least Braxton did, maybe Gabe learned it from him, and Tristan from Gabe. Back to the subject...I only find that he is asleep when I finally notice that the rocking has stopped and it's too quiet. Well, today I caught him in action. He was too tired to even finish his first chicken nugget.

Forts and fun.

Last week, I took time out of house work to sit down and play with Gabe and Tristan. I admit that I am not the most fun mom, because this rarely happens. Usually I do housework, fiddle on the computer or read, while they just play alone or together. They were bouncing off the walls and begging for my attention. So, we put the couch cushions on the floor, and played some music, and they had to jump from cushion to cushion like lily pads. Gabe had a blast, and Tristan was copying him and laughing. Next, we built a fun fort with the love seat, a blanket, some cushions, and a couple of glow stick swords. The boys' loved it, and Skitterz kept climbing in their with them, to their delight. I must have worn them out, because we had lunch and Tristan went down for a nap. I got on the computer, and then wondered where Gabe had gone to. Here I found Skitterz resting in front of a heater vent........and HERE I found Gabe asleep on top of a bathroom heater vent.

Lunch nap.

I think the taquito won the battle.

Gabe. Enough said.

Preschool has been good for Gabe. It has opened him to a whole new world of artistic expression. Instead of hitting or throwing things when he is bored, angry or frustrated in general, he has now decided to teach Tristan some art projects. Yesterday, while I was soaking in the tub, he wanted to finger paint. But, why wait for mom, when you can just handle things on your own? He moved a chair and climbed up to the shelf that we keep our diaper bin on. This holds diapers, wipes, lotion for Tristan's eczema, and diaper cream. That way we can tote it room to room. Back to the story, the mediums chosen to paint with were diaper cream and lotion, the work surface (no, not the easy to clean tile) the carpet. The art project was on. How much cream and lotion can we get onto the carpet before mom gets out of the tub and starts down the stairs? As soon as Gabe heard me drain the tub, I imagine this is when he knew they needed to attempt a cleanup. A newly opened tub of wipes will be an easy way to clean. I came downstairs to an ENTIRE tube of diaper cream and an ENTIRE bottle of lotion and an ENTIRE new tub of wipes all over my carpet. There was a smidgen of painting done to Tristan as well (Gabe needs to put his signature on the disasters). After a ton of screaming and carpet cleaning. I salvaged what I could of the supplies. An ounce here and there of cream and lotion left over, but no wipes survived. Let me tell you....both Colby and I scrubbed and scrubbed the carpet, but it still appears white from Desitin.

Are you up for another art project? Well, here it comes. This morning I got up to go to the gym at 4:30am. I arrived home about 10 after 7. I got the kids up and ready, and Braxton off to school. Then, after checking that all downstairs was childproof and the diaper bin was hidden, I went upstairs to take a nap while Gabe and Tristan were playing with toys and watching The Polar Express. They each had a drink and snacks, and I was napping with the door open, so as to here all. Several times I yelled downstairs for Gabe to come talk to me, since it sounded as though he was beating on his younger brother again. Usually he jumps at the chance to come in our room, but not once did he venture up as asked. So, I grudgingly got out of bed and trotted downstairs, mumbling under my breath that it was way too quiet. I find Tristan crying and wandering around with marker all over his clothes and face. Crayons and markers, pencils and a glue stick scattered through tout the family room. Where is Gabe? He is in the bathroom trying to wash the evidence off himself as here hears me coming down the stairs. They had colored with marker on their shirts, on Tristan's face, and on my microfiber couch. There was glue stick rubbed between all their fingers and used as hair gel on Tristan's head. Stickers were used throughout the room and kids. Tips of markers were bitten off, and pencil sharpenings were scattered on the floor. After more yelling, and sending Gabe to his room, I had to take a couple pictures before starting the cleanup process, again. I knew we would find it funny sometime in the future and wish we had pictures. Colby cleaned up the couch while I ran Tristan up to the tub. I think all is back to normal now, though I am missing a pair of scissors that Gabe says Tristan had. That makes me more than a bit nervous. By the way, I'm sure now, that the reason he was screaming like he was being beat up, was because Gabe was holding him down and sticking him in the face with a marker. Or pulling his hair while applying a liberal amount of glue stick to his noggin.

Ward Trunk or Treat and Halloween.

Here are me and my boys all ready for the annual Ward Trunk or Treat.

My parents with the boys on Halloween.

The weather was perfect for Trick or Treating and they got lots of loot.

A Little Red Dragon

Yesterday was Gabe's preschool Halloween party. And right before I went to watch his costume parade and pick him up, I tried Tristan's costume on for the first time. He is so stinking cute, Colby and I were just laughing so hard. He can barely walk in it.

Here we are at preschool.

My Little Red Dragon and China Man(Ninja).

Pop Rocks Adventure.

On Saturday, Colby decided to treat Tristan to the adventure of Pop Rocks. He loved them, and kept wanting more. He got so angry with Colby when the package was all gone. Here is a clip, enjoy!

Walking

Yeah! Tristan finally started walking on Tuesday. He took his first steps probably 2 months ago, but had decided that crawling was faster and less scary than walking. We were fine with it, because he would get into less trouble. But, recently I had been anxious to see my little one make the leap of faith and trust his abilities. It had been fun to watch last weekend, he was getting braver and braver by the day. He would walk about 5 steps if he thought nobody was watching. If we caught him in the act, he would quickly sit down and smile. If I clapped and cheered for him, he would just smile and clap along. Finally Tuesday he walked across half the kitchen to me, without me knowing he was going to. And, he knew I was watching the whole time. I know other people's children tend to start walking as early as 9 months old. But, my kids have never done that. Braxton walked at 16 months. A friend was visiting us, and commented after we told him how old he was, "Isn't he supposed to be walking by now?" Colby just replied, "Thanks Mike, thanks for rubbing it in that he's behind." We always tease him about that. Gabe was about to walk at 9 months old, but than he broke his femur two days before our move to Utah, and was put in a body cast because we (the doctor as well as us) thought he had broken his hip. So, we had to travel with him in a body cast, shoved into a car seat as best we could. Poor guy, how uncomfortable! Good thing we made the drive in 2 days, rather than our usual 12 hours straight. But, he managed. Before his cast was taken off, he was rolling over, crawling and even pulling himself up to cruise along the couches in a body cast. Impressive! But, Gabe has always been motivated and way too independent for our sanity. He finally walked at 14 months, long after his cast had been taken off. Now, Tristan has finally decided to believe in himself and make the plunge. I knew he could have done it much sooner, because again, I was watching him out of the corner of my eye. But, he gets nervous easily. Examples of this: He can climb up onto the couch some days, but whines because he is afraid to get down. He can climb up onto the boys' mushroom chair, but again whines nervously like his is stuck. He is a great stair climber, but cannot go down them, just cries at the top of the staircase. He is 14 months old.

Happy Birthday, Tristan!

Only one day late this time, Gabe's was a week late.

Tristan Raiden Koch entered our crazy family by scheduled C-section on Saturday, August 18th, 2007. He was born at 8:14am in the Ogden Regional Medical Center in Utah, weighing 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long.

We thought we were done after Gabe, but both Colby and I felt we needed this one last child. Boy, has it paid off! Though he wasn't our much hoped for girl, he is a treasured addition and we wouldn't trade him for anything. Photo courtesy of Shupe Photography.

Tristan has been such an easy going and mild tempered baby compared to the other two. He has always been our happy child until lately being plagued with more teeth and heat rashes that flare up his eczema.

He loves to dance to music, splash all of the water out of the tub and to be tickled. He usually enjoys wrestling with Braxton, but Gabe is a little too rough for him. Recently I catch him giving the cats kisses, open-mouthed and slimy. He gets very excited to see his grandparents, though he seems to lean more towards the grandpas. It is the same with Mom and Dad though, if I am holding him and Colby walks into the room, he leans out and reaches for Daddy. He hasn't learned many words, only Mama, Dada and Hi. But we think we can understand kitty. He is almost standing on his own, he cruises everywhere he can hold on, and IS the fastest crawler in the west. I don't care what you other moms say, I will race your kid against mine any day. I have cat treats dumped all over my kitchen to prove it. I just turned to pick something up and he has sped from the TV all the way across the living room and kitchen to get into the one cupboard with the broken child lock.

His birthday party yesterday consisted of our traditional first haircut on the first birthday. We invited family and a couple of our long-time friends to attend a BBQ in our backyard. All the kids played, we visited and ate. Tristan was passed around by loved ones, played with cousin Grant and friend Mason, opened great presents and enjoyed his own large piece of birthday cake. Again, tradition is dig in to your cake, get as messy as you can, then have a warm bath and get ready for bed. He wasn't too messy of an eater.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for celebrating this day with Tristan and us. We had a great time, and Tristan has had a blast playing with all of his new toys today. (So have Braxton and Gabe.)

Please don't stop the music...

This is the overall opinion in our home. Please....don't stop the music. My kids all love music, and they like the music that is popular now days. All of my boys have started "rocking" to music at a young age, Tristan is just carrying on the tradition.

My sweet baby boy!

Tristan has been so much fun lately. He has two bottom teeth, so his grin is to die for. He just started crawling this week, which might be slow for 8 months old, but I have two other energetic boys to keep up with, so it's fine by me. He is so small still, maybe 16 pounds now. So, it's a lot of fun to play with him, your arms don't get too tired. This little tiny kid doing all these fun things. I forget how much fun it can be to play with your kids, isn't that sad? Most of my time is spent fighting with them, or breaking up fights. I need to just relax about the household chores, and hang out with my boys before they don't want my attention anymore.