A package of wet wipes: $5

Two unsupervised minutes for a toddler: PRICELESS!

Wanna see something really Creepy?

A bathtub full of rusty water!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH

Hot water heater trouble prompted this little surprise. Something my dad forgot to mention after fixing the part. Silly, daddy! The water doesn't look all the bad unless you realize there are little non-slip decals at the bottom of the tub that you can barely make out.

NASTY!

HalloWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEn

It's funny how some holidays are just SOOO overrated. Halloween is one of those holidays. You use up an entire month planning, spending way too much money, and all for one night so your kid can collect a few bucks worth of candy. It's cruel irony really!

That being said, I will admit this is one of the best Halloweens I've ever had, in spite of everything. It would have been better if Halloween hadn't landed on a Sunday. We just didn't feel comfortable trick-or-treating on the Sabbath. Anyway, here are some photos of our fun little weekend.

We dressed Kaleb up as an ewok. He walks like one, so we thought it would be a cute, appropriate costume. Here is the little bear costume we got on Amazon.com. ISN"T HE SO CUTE?!?!?!?!?

I made the ewok hood. It took me about 5 or 6 hours!! Never again!

Looks like Kaleb felt about the same way

Here is our cute little family. Ammon was the zhombie again (since we spent so much on his costume) and I was "Yo MAMA!"
I got two quick videos of our pre-trunk or treatin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKNRmy0Cbao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiFLFmrZWso

Once he got over wearing his costume, Kaleb seemed to have a... a time. He never smiled while we were at the trunk or treat (until we took the costume off). My suspicions are that he was probably too hot and turns out he had a cold the next morning. He was a trooper though. He didn't smile, but at least he didn't cry!

Here's our after-party. My sister Jess and her rugrats came with us to our ward Trunk or Treat and her hubby met us at our house afterward. If you want more details about that see her blog (don't wanna do too many repeats)

Mmmmmm.popcorn

My tired face and curled hair

Happy little zhombie

Ammon's mom was in charge of a haunted house Saturday night, so we were invited to be spooky clowns placed in there to frighten people. Overall it was a really fun experience, and we got some really good scares out of people (and others got some out of me). Thanks for inviting us, Shary, and thanks for watching the kids, mom!!

Thank Goodness It's Fall

My favorite season has got to be Fall!! There is so much to look forward to with beautiful weather and the holidays! For some reason I always get a little twinge of butterflies, almost like I'm about to ride a rollercoaster. So many changes are coming and going! Ammon is working and will be starting slightly later hours soon. I begin my online college classes next week! And then there's Kaleb. Constantly so much learning and growing:

**MOMMA'S BOY**
Kaleb seems to be slightly obsessed with me of late. If I leave his side for any amount of time there are tears and often some screaming. I think it's primarily brought about by Ammon's going back to work... and it's 'that age.' I try not to encourage it, but sometimes it is nice to feel so loved.

**WORDS?**
Playing with sounds is Kaleb's new pasttime. He likes to buzz his lips like a bee and blow raspberries and screech at the top of his lungs (obnoxious but his face makes me laugh so hard that I cry, so I'm still trying to teach him not to)... and now he's even sounding out letters he had never attempted before. "Wutta Wutta Wutta" and so forth. He's getting closer to forming words. Yesterday, I would swear he asked me to open the door. It sounded something like, "wis is en da wa da door", but he said it twice in a row and gestured to the door, so my mom-dar was apparently working.

**Routines**
1)Kaleb HATES having his diaper changed (tears and screaming and squirming), but every time I tell him we're gonna change his diaper, he trots himself to his room like a lamb to slaughter.

2)Today we were going to the park, so all i needed was my housekey. Kaleb had a hard time leaving the house without the diaper bag draped over my shoulder. He kept tugging at it as I waited at the door saying, "Let's go."

3)Kaleb SO associates a bag with leaving that when he was playing with my purse the other day, he threw it over his neck and said "Bye" to all of us with a wave of his hand. He was ready to go!!

**The Park**
We live so close to a park it's almost torture to drive past it every day during the summer and not be able to utilize it except after 9 PM. However, with the great weather we've had recently Kaleb and I have gone to the park multiple times and really enjoyed ourselves!!

>With the new park adventures comes Kaleb's love to play with the stroller

It's especially fun when all three of us can go. Here's a great picture of Father and Son on the way to the park

Sliding is something Kaleb will rarely do without both of us there. I think he realizes that if one of us isn't watching the other will be there to catch him.

So happy to be with Daddy!!

Trips to the park also give Kaleb time to ponder the mysteries of life.

Here's a closeup. What do you suppose he's thinking about?

I love showing all the wonders of nature. Like trees (and shade)...

and grass...

and bouncy panda bears...

and sand!

There he goes, pausing for thought again. Seriously, what IS he thinking about?

Oh, I see. He's thinking about how time is like grains of sand passing through our fingers!

Or maybe he's thinking how he just likes this weather, too!!

Updates

Kaleb at 16 Months

**Kaleb keeps a growing and growing. We had to get new shoes (Size 7.5 Wide) a few weeks ago because his feet had grown a whole size since June. Yoiks!! I also got him a new outfit that was a Size 3T. The shorts were a little big, but the shirts fit perfectly.

**Kaleb has started to make some verbal advances. He calls me Mama (finally)... but then again most of what he says all day sounds like "Me" or "Ma" or "Be." He usually says "Ba" for ball or Bye and I've gotten him to say "Beez" for please a couple of times. That's a little tougher since he knows the sign language for Please. He continues to surprise us with what he understands.

**Over the last few weeks Kaleb has shown SERIOUS clinging issues. Any random person use to be able to come up to him and he's happy for any kind of attention. Now he takes about 20 minutes to warm up to practically anyone, sometimes even mom or dad.

**Kaleb LOVES babies!!!!! Anyone that is near his age or less he HAS to give hugs to a bunch of times before he feels totally satisfied. Below is a classic example of bestowing that love on his cousin. Unfortunately, he has also started grabbing kids' shirts with a vice-like grip which drives most kids (and his parents) a little crazy. My little linebacker is taking his role a little too seriously

Do the Zombie

**A friend of mine had a birthday party the other day with the theme Zombie Prom. Ammon can never do anything halfway, so here were our costumes. We had so much fun I can't possibly regret spending more time and money than we would normally for even Halloween!!

Gauntlet

**As for our diet, we are doing our best to stay as true to it as possible. It's difficult however when you're not supposed to have salt, sugar, wheat or milk... or anything processed at all. I've had to change mine up a little to include a few more calories (800 a day don't cut it for me). After two days of migraines and another of being nauseous a whole afternoon, I just couldn't take it anymore. However, the good news is that after 6 days, I lost 5 pounds and Ammon lost 10. We're excited to see if the results will continue! If they don't we may have to change it again to include cheaper food. Unprocessed meat gets expensive when you eat it five times a day!!

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown!

Starting tomorrow, Ammon and my sister Jessica will be joining me in a weight-loss challenge. We will be utilizing the information of the "6-Week-Body-Makeover" to change our diet and create an exercise program. We decided to do this all together, not only for the peer support, but also for the reward. We are each putting $10 into a 'pot' so that whoever loses the highest percentage of weight gets the $30. We are all very excited about it, even though I'm sure Ammon will probably win (if he sticks with it.) Men naturally lose weight faster, not to mention the simple fact that Ammon has NEVER done anything DIET-esque EVER!!!!! My personal goal is 20 pounds. I will try to keep the blog updated on our progress. November 13th is our last day. Wish us luck!

The Answer to Prayers

Twice this week I have taken the time to say some very special prayers. One was for my sister-in-law to help promote labor and the other was for me to find peace with Ammon's long-haul job. I can't go into too much detail because I feel that both of these experiences are private and sacred, but I will say that both prayers were answered very quickly. The second was answered in the form of a phone call.

There was a chance that Ammon was going to be gone for 6 weeks during his training with Swift. That six weeks was bound to start some time this weekend. At about 10 this morning he got a phone call from the company he was working for when he learned to weld. They were looking for a welder for a few months. After a long pro's and con's discussion, we agreed that he should take this job and continue to look for a local driving or welding position. I am so grateful for this opportunity that we have as a family to spend a little more time together, if not permanently then at least for a little while longer. I'm also very grateful for the gift we have to talk with our Father in Heaven and ask Him for help. This is such a wonderful blessing!!

Smarter than I thought

I know this sounds awful... but I have always seen Kaleb as good-old-fashioned "normal." He seldom has been ahead of or behind the developmental stages, sitting up at four months, crawling at 7.5, walking at 11. I've just accepted the fact that he would probably be average in his learning and I think that's better than constantly hoping he will excel at one thing or another and then getting disappointed. Again, I see how that might sound a little... odd, but I think most mothers of average children can see where I'm coming from. Well, the other day, Kaleb totally surprised me by completing a puzzle all by himself. The video I was able to capture doesn't quite do him justice, but I still think it's pretty impressive. So here is my moment to brag about my little one, who is, after all, smarter than I thought!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHDuCd5djOY

Bam Bam

Kaleb smashed his forehead into a wooden toy one day and smacked his chin on the wall the next. I promise I'm a good mom, if not extremely talented at passing on my clutz genes.

Per Request

Photos and Videos of Kaleb:

"I make this look good!"

Group Hug

"I claim this playplace for all Tellers EVERYWHERE!!"

Urban Cowboy





Just before the picture above was taken I shot a video of Kaleb wearing Daddy's Shirt as well as the cowboy hat. It's just silly fun... as always here at the Teller Bear Cave!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbFxryopR4A

here's another one with Kaleb in a different shirt, just for a little overkill!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUUkMGlXnHs