Highlights

Here are some of the highlights from our life over the last few months:

• I have been canning like crazy! It all started when we discovered grapes growing on our fence. So, of course, I had to bottle grape juice. Then, mostly because my mom got me a screamin' deal on some apples, I also put up a bunch of applesauce and apple butter. It has been a lot of work, but its very rewarding to have a pantry full of food that was basically free. And, by the way, homemade apple butter is DIVINE. You should try it sometime.
• Little Man is FINALLY using the potty ALL BY HIMSELF! All of a sudden, he's just doing it! I have never been more proud of him!
• Little Man's current obsessions are Buzz Lightyear (Don't let him get started on his "Buzz Lightyear shoes that light up the dark!" He's had them for months now and he stills talks about them nearly everyday.), dinosaurs (more on that later), Spider-man, anything spooky, including ghosts, monsters, skeletons, and jack-o-lanterns (he can't get enough of Halloween, even though its been over for weeks!), and Harry Potter (yes, I'm turning my kid into a total nerd).
  
• Last month, we visited the Natural History Museum at the University of Utah. We made it just in time for the Dinosaur Show. At the end, when the kids got to come up and ask questions, Little Man walked up the guy and asked, "Is that a Utahceratops?", referring, of course, to the skulls that were recently discovered in Southern Utah. The guy looked at him, and said, "Yes, it is. How do you know that?!" Again, my kid is becoming a nerd.
• Little Man dressed up as Buddy the T-Rex from the show "Dinosaur Train" for Halloween this year. I guess it is now a tradition that I make all of L.M.'s costumes. This one took me nearly 20 hours (including much unpicking), but he loved it, so it was worth it. My favorite Halloween-night quote was when L.M. saw a kid dressed up the "Scream" killer, complete with sickle. When he saw him, Little Man pointed and said, "Look, Mom! A paleontologist!"

Besides that, life is pretty much same-old around here. We have enjoyed the fall very much and are now looking forward to the Holidays. Little Man can't wait for Santa to bring him every toy he's ever seen advertised. A kid can dream, right?