Cheerios!

Not only does he love his Cheerios, but he loves bread too! And my goodness! This boy can eat!!!

He is On the Loose!

James has figured it out! Now there is no stopping him! Yeah, he may be cute but he is a stinker. And he knows it!

Great Grandma Barbara

Great grandmas are the best. They are good at a lot of things, especially reading. Clara really enjoyed having G. Grandma Barbara come and read to her at our house. She must have read nine books with Clara.
While James was spoiled by Grampa Choo Choo with some ice cream. They couldn't get enough of each other So they were at it again!Grandparents are the best!!!

Dickinsons of Dickinson, TX & Pratts of Pratt, KS

Just Kidding! We don't live in Pratt, Kansas-still Derby. We thought it was funny though that Faith and John Dickinson live in Dickinson, Texas.We had a lot of fun with them while they were here. We can't wait to visit them when we go for New Year's Eve week. You know, if the rest of Dale's family moved closer we come visit you for a week too. Then again, maybe that would keep you at bay. I mean really who want "us" for a week.

Christmas at Bradley Fair

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! How lovely is Bradley Fair (at Christmastime)! So, as if Botanica wasn't cold enough, we went to B.F. and saw the big Christmas tree and rode in horse drawn carriages. James was asleep in the car, so I stayed with him while everyone else was in the cold. Sleigh ride complete with sleigh bells! Faith, Autumn and John under a cozy, red blanket. Looks like everyone is having a great time, except Clara, who had "ran to the tree and fell down on (her) butt and cried". Beautiful! As a native of Arizona, Mom Pratt did very well with the cold weather. Then again, she had Dale's super awesome coat to keep her warm! Yes, this is out of focus (You can file your complaints to Dale.), but I added it because you can generally see some of the scenery.

Christmas at Botanica Garden

While Mom Pratt, Faith, John, and Autumn came up to visit us for Thanksgiving, we decided to get into the "Christmas Spirit". John, with his "nifty" phone, found some of the local holiday events that were happening in Wichita, and we made our plans. One of the things we did was attend the "Festival of Lights" at Botanica. It was a chilly evening, but so worth it!

Clara absolutely loved the Butterfly Garden! She was so excited that she found "her blue tree". We entered the Candy Cane Garden and to our surprise saw . . . SANTA!!!!!! James couldn't take his eyes off him. Clara's goal was to get a candy cane from him and get out! She really was unsure about him, which is weird because in past years, she would run to him every time she saw him! Here are some beautiful lights that we were able to capture. The entire garden looked like a vineyard. So awesome! After we froze ourselves outside, we went inside to taste the delights. Chocolate "Mouse" anyone?! Beautiful, hand-crafted candy canes! Had to take a picture!We really had a lot of fun. Dale and I plan on making this a Holiday Tradition!

Matching Pajamas!

I just couldn't resist buying these pajamas. They are the cutest things!

Yeah, they'll hate me for this later on in life. But I'm a parent and I don't care!Aren't they the cutest kids! I could just eat them up, but I am not a cannibal.

The Sign of Snow!

So, you may be wondering what you are looking at. Well, this is what some of us call "SNOW". We were so excited when we saw it coming down from the sky. Clara, especially, wanted to go outside to play in it. Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of accumulation, so the excitement was short-lived.

You can see it a little better against our truck (Love that truck!)

Primary Activity Family Night

What happens when you play a game with Clara? Well, unless your name is Clara, you never get to win, especially if you are daddy.Daddy's turn. Be careful!Our ward's Primary put on an activity where the family could come and play several games, as a family. We really enjoyed ourselves and created some good family memories. Dale and I really enjoyed watching Clara and her little friends play "Twister Moves". They were all hopping and dancing around. You had to have been there, I guess.

The Bike Twins

Daddy finally got his bike for his birthday. Now they can ride up and down the street or in the church parking lot while mommy is at Cub Scouts.

(Yes, Dale is wearing shorts sleeves in November-it was 78 degrees on Saturday.)

Leaves . . . GOOD!!!!

I spent all evening Friday and all morning Saturday raking leaves. When I was done, we had 6 HUGE piles of leaves in our front yard. Here's the kicker: We don't even have a tree in our yard. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity and take some pictures of the kids and the leaves. You know what you get when you have a 7 month old and leaves?

So I thought I'd distract him with the lens cap, but he still insisted.At least I got a good picture of Clara-dirty face and all.

Halloween Party!

We went to my parent's ward for Trunk-or-Treat. They had a huge party planned, including a pinata, cake walk, face painting, and other fun games.

Daddy helped Clara with the cake walk. It was funny to watch her count all the numbers. (She knows them all!)

She landed on number 11, and to both her and daddy's surprise, she won the first cupcake!! She was so proud of herself. I have never seen a kid snarf down a cupcake so fast!Here is our family: "Wendy"-mommy, "Cheese"-Baby James, "Tinker Bell"-Clara, and "Captain Hook"-daddy.

Clara's Big Girl Bike

For daddy's birthday, Clara got a bike. I know what you are thinking, that's a bit backwards. Well, daddy has been itching for all of us to get bikes so we can ride around the block and go to the park. So, Clara was the first to get a bike. She loves it so much she likes to ride it on a patio in the backyard.Doesn't she look so cute!

Let's Party!

We decided that Daddy deserved a party so we went to Memee and Grandpa's house. We had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, chips, soda, and best of all OREO CHEESECAKE!!!! I attempted to make my very first cheesecake and added some Oreos in it (because they are Dale's favorite cookie). Everyone seemed to enjoy it-or at least no one is dead yet so that's a good thing right?!

This is what daddy looks like in the morning.

I think Baby James realized it wasn't his birthday.

There's my happy boy!

Daddy got a LED light for his computer,

A fan with interchangeable blades (he likes the pink one best!),

and a mini vacuum for his keyboard,
He was really excited to take everything back to work and show everyone just how geeky he REALLY is!