{pumpkin carving}

Our friends Phil and Tiff had us over for pumpkin carving last night. We had such a blast with our friends. Everyone did such a good job on their pumpkins. Except Dave, we don't think it's cool to do a BYU logo on a pumpkin. Lame!



None of us brought any cool utensil to carve so we just did the traditional pumpkin. I thought they still turned out great! Our pumpkins were definitely the biggest. I didn't realize our pumpkins were so big when we picked them up at the farm. Aww well.













Here are the hosts of the party in the last picture. Tiff is such a goof. Thanks for a great time!

{Trick-or-Treat}

Another year has gone by and Nolan was officially at his second trick-or-treating outing.
He loved it! Well, he loved all of the strollers that were there. He would go up to people we didn't even know and start pushing their strollers. A little embarrassing but what do you do. Nonetheless, Nolan got lots of candy and had a great time going from room to room at the Medical College.



The room he liked the best was one that had a pretend rat. Nolan thought it was pretty sweet.
I was so impressed with all of the rooms that were decorated. People are so clever. Even my husband was so clever. He dressed up as the crocodile hunter and Nolan was his crocodile. Aren't they so cute? I think so. Can't wait till next year!!! I wonder what Nolan will be..........

{Tick Tock}

We had our "Super Saturday" on the 25th and the craft that I chose was to make my own clock. It is a 20 inch clock. Such a perfect size. I used an espresso for the base, then did some crackle pant, then I used a sandstone paint over the crackle so you could see some of the espresso showing through, after that I used a sponge to blend the rest of the clock with two colors, antique white and sandstone. It turned out perfect! I couldn't be more happy with it. I know you can't really tell from the picture of how detailed the paint is but just trust me, it looks fabulous. I can't wait to put it up. I never knew making your own stuff could be so rewarding. And it only cost $26. What a steal! I've already signed up for the Milwaukee Branch "Super Saturday" for November 15th. I can't wait to show you what I'm doing next.

{Dinner}

We finally did it. My friend Kelsey had her birthday at the beginning of the month and we took forever to take her out to dinner. We went to a yummy restaurant called BRAVO! Best Italian food ever! It was so nice to go out with just the girlers. I have really cute and fun friends out here in Milwaukee. Lucky me.


The best part about dinner was all the high school kids there. It was the Homecoming dance for a lot of schools and Bravo was the place to be. Let me just say that they dress very immodest out here. I would never let my daughter go out in what they wore. We did get a kick out of some crazy dresses though. It made us think back to our high school days. It seems like only yesterday. Yeah right. I felt so old around those crazy kids. Well, happy belated birthday kels. It's always a good time.

{Papa}

Happy Birthday Papa Rabe!!!!

One year older and wiser too....... We wish we could be there. We hope you like the picture Nolan drew for you. Nolan can't wait to see you again. Have a great day!

happy BIRTHDAY Cole!

Today is my sister-in-laws birthday. She is turning 23. It is so sad that we aren't there to celebrate with her but I'm sure she is having a blast anyway.
We love you Nicole! We hope you have had a great birthday. Courtland better have done something good, being your first birthday as a married couple.
Nolan officially can say your name correctly. Wahoo! We have been working on it for along time. Love ya Cole.

pumpkins

Friday afternoon Jake took off so we could take Nolan to a pumpkin farm. We headed up to a place called Barthel Family Farm. It was so cute. They had all these fresh apples and pumpkins. You could either just buy what they had at the front of the farm that they had picked or you could go out to the farm and pick your own. Of course we decided to go to the pumpkin patch and get our own.




Nolan was beside himself! He has been obsessed with pumpkins. Every time we color all he we wants me to draw is a pumpkin. I'm starting to get pretty good at them I might add.

















My favorite thing was to watch him go around and gather his favorite pumpkins. He would put them all together. Such a big boy! The terrain was pretty rough with all of the pumpkin vines, Nolan kept tripping over them. Jake and I couldn't stop laughing.



We were able to pick out two big pumpkins for Jake and myself and then Nolan picked his own out and also some cute ones to do as decoration. They were so cheep I couldn't pass it up. Everything at the pumpkin patch was between $1-$5. What a deal!!!
I think we are going to make this a tradition every year. We could have stayed there for hours if we were to let Nolan. I can't wait until next year! Then both our boys will get to experience the fun of pumpkin picking.

Ward Halloween Party

Introducing.... "Sober in Brewtown." That's right my friends. Our ward has the coolest band. I just think it is so great that these guys get together and practice. They sounded great. Nolan especially loved it! He would stand right up front forever and just watch. I think a lot had to do with the flashing lights but he was completely entertained.







There was so much to do at this party. The activities committee really outdid themselves this year. Nolan's favorite thing was the dough nuts that were hanging from strings. He went right for it trying to eat it just like the big kids.



He also enjoyed the popcorn that they had for everyone. It was yummy! My favorite thing was the homemade root beer and ice cream. Oh man was it delicious! Nolan got the special treatment last night. We let him have all of it.





I loved all of the kids in their costumes. I don't think there was a sad kid in the building because there was so much to do.
They had some crazy lights going off the entire night so Nolan was occupied by that for awhile. He also kept following around a ward member who had her baby in a stroller. He wanted to push the wheels on the stroller. Seriously! Is this kid ever going to give up on the wheel thing?



The trunk-or-treat was great! Nolan didn't really get the idea of going around from car to car but he did come away with some candy. Candy that I will be eating myself. Yum!
We really had a great time! I just love our ward.

bIgGiE, bIgGiE

I'm officially 30 weeks!!!! This is the point in the pregnancy where you start to feel not so cute. My belly looks huge in this picture. I don't feel as big as I am. I still bend over and pick Nolan up. I can still pick up all of Nolan's toys. I can still vacuum till my hearts content. I can still, sort of, get in and out of my couch with out much effort. I can still hop in to bed without a running start. (our bed is really high) Things are still in my favor right now.
However, even though I say I can still do all of those things, that doesn't mean that it is easy. I pretty much complain to Jake whenever he is around. I'm just so much more tired this pregnancy. I don't know if it's because I am running around after Nolan and Harry most of my days. But seriously, motherhood has aged me. I'm not in the shape I use to be.
I seriously can't wait till I can go back to body pump and work out at the gym without any worry of over exerting myself or the baby. I really miss that. I feel so sluggish right now. I have to tell myself everyday that the change in my body is totally worth it to get a wonderful little boy out of it. I'm probably one of the most selfish people for saying that but I hate the way my body changes when I am pregnant. I really don't embrace the pregnancy like I should. I just worry how big I am getting and how much work I will have to do to get back down to what I was previously.
Okay, enough negative. I am so excited for this new little boy to come in to our lives! I think about it everyday. Who will he look like? Is he going to be mellow or crazy like Nolan? Will he sleep well? I'm just so excited to see him!!!! I love being a mom to Nolan and know that I will love being a mom to this next little turkey. I especially love the fact that Nolan is going to have a buddy. Only 10 more weeks until we get to see him!!!!!! Wahoo!

Raking the sidewalk

We have a plastic rake that Nolan loves but hasn't really figured out that you can rake the leaves not the sidewalk. He just walks around pushing it along the sidewalk. Go figure.
It was such a beautiful day yesterday that we had to go outside almost all day. Who knows how many more days of this we will get.
Also, I was going through Nolan's clothes yesterday clearing out the ones that are too small and I came across his cute Weber State football jersey. He loved it! He kept telling people there was a football on his shirt. He will probably be wearing this a lot. He looked so dang cute in it! He's my future football star. We bleed purple.

hApPy BiRtHdAy

Yeah for "Ganmama" Rabe!!!!
Happy Birthday Ann!!

We really wish we could be there to celebrate your big day. We love you so much! You are a perfect grandma to Nolan and a wonderful mother to Jake and me. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. Hope you have a big party for yourself and make Brad treat you right!!! Have a wonderful day!

It's been on my mind

We all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an amazing thing. Well, I found out that my dear sweet Aunt Dianne was diagnosed with the horrible disease. I was in complete shock. She is such an amazing women and has so much to live for. Ever since I found out it has been on my mind. I pray for her everyday. I wish I could be there to let her know how much we support and love her.
She is going to be having surgery and then will find out if it is in her lymph nodes and if it has spread. If so, then she will have to go through the Chemo, Radiation thing. I can't even imagine how she feels.
When I talk to my mom she tells me how optimistic she is about the whole thing. What an inspiration she is to me. She is really salt of the earth. I hope and pray that this surgery will get everything and she will be on the road to recovery. I love her so much!
She has taught me to just take life and enjoy it. My Aunt Dianne loves life and everyone in it. I've never seen her down. She is the most upbeat person that I have ever met.
I went to San Clemente, California (where my aunt and uncle live) for my senior trip. Both my Aunt Dianne and Uncle Phil were so kind to have me and my friends to stay with them. We had a great time. I always have a blast when I am visiting them. They know how to make you feel loved. And it has past down to their kids. I love my cousins so much. I hope they know that I pray for them as well to be able to cope with all that is going on. I can't imagine what I would do if my mom had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
So anyone that has had a family member or friend with Breast Cancer pray and support them in any way you can. People like my Aunt Dianne are so precious and we need to have them around. I love you Dianne!!!! Go pink!

my 6 quirks

My cute friend Manda tagged me to tell you about my 6 quirks. I have way more than 6 but here goes.....

1. When I put socks on I have to check the toe of the sock and make sure it goes on the right foot. You know, you usually have an indent on the big toe. I can't have that not match up on my foot. It will bug me the whole day. It sounds pretty crazy but I have always done that.

2. I'm the same as Manda by not finishing the last part of any drink. I just can't do it. It really grosses me out. But that is why I have a husband. He finishes everything I don't. It's wonderful!

3. I am very obsessive about a lot of things. I have to vacuum everyday. No joke. I can't stand when there is stuff on the floor. And along with that, I am always dusting and straightening all day long. I can't go to bed with the apartment messy. It has to be tidy and uncluttered, which is very hard to do in a small apartment and with an 18 month old. Someday, when we have a house, I can have all the room that I need.

4. I can't go to bed with any drawer or closet open. I get scared that something is going to come out of them. Jake thinks that I'm crazy. But when I was little I would have dreams of things coming out of my closet if I didn't close it. So every night I go around the room and make sure everything is shut completely.

5. I pretty much dance and sing to almost anything. I don't know if it goes back to my cheerleading days but I seem to always make up some dumb song and cheer to any daily tasks. For example, I will do a cheer to Jake if he is bugging me. This is how it goes, now remember it is more like a cheer, "shush, your pie hole. Shush, shush your pie hole.....Shush, your pie hole. Shush, shush your pie hole." And while doing that I am doing the North Ogden Jr. High clap. This quirk thing is making me realize how weird I am.

6. My last quirk I just realized that I do is because my husband is sitting right by me as I am typing right now and correcting all of my errors and pointed it out to me. It really bugs him when I do this next one. The quirk is, if I misspell a word that is quite a few words back, instead of putting the mouse where the word is and correcting the word, I just hit the delete button until I get back to the word that needed correcting. I don't know why I do this. Maybe it is because I like typing so much that it doesn't bother me to retype the rest of the sentence again. Whatever it may be, I do love how much it drives my husband crazy!

I could go on and on about my quirks, so thank goodness I only have to do 6. You all might think I'm a crazy person.
Now I tag Kendra, Haley F, Kelsey, Jenna, Ky, and Missy

cOnFeReNcE

General Conference is a different story when you have an 18 month old running around your apartment. You really have to focus alot more on the speakers and what they are presenting. But we were happily surprised when Nolan would sit for more than five minutes at a time and watch it with us. He was so cute with his little bulldozer in hand just watching what was on the computer. We taught him how to say, "Prophet Monson." He thought that was pretty cool.
It is so nice to hear from our awesome Prophet! I always feel so uplifted after conference. I think my favorite talk was by Elder Wirthlin from the Saturday session. I need to be better about when things come my way to just love it and take it. He is such an inspiration to me.



After conference Nolan was a little restless because he hadn't been outside much because it was raining. So we got his mattress out of his crib and put pillows all around the living room. Needless to say, Nolan loved it. Endless entertainment for him.








He was laughing and giggling for a good hour and a half. I need to do this more often. I know I probably went a little picture crazy, like always, but his was so irresistibly cute!















Things around the Rabe household are slowly getting back to normal. I don't have a locked jaw anymore. The antibiotic has kicked in. I am, however, still as stuffy as ever. But I can handle that as long as there is no pain associated with it. Jake is kind of doing better. I feel so bad when he doesn't get a good nights sleep. That really is the only way to a quick recovery. But Jake is so much stronger than I am and never complains. So we are on the verge of a healthy family again. At least until the next cold or ear infection or teething comes along. There's always something. But I will take it and love it! Right?

The worst thing about being pregnant.....

This past week has been a horrible week! Actually let me back up. Since Jake started school Nolan has had two really bad ear infections. So he has been on antibiotics for almost 3 weeks out of the 2 months. It has been so sad to see him so uncomfortable and cranky.
Well, this last ear infection I think a very terrible cold came along with it because just about a week later I had a very sore throat. That started the night of the relief society broadcast. Then Sunday I was so sick that I didn't go to church. Jake was kind enough to take Nolan so I could catch a nap and try to get my body back in check. So I was pretty miserable on Sunday.
Monday, I was back on the job with babysitting and I still felt horrible. But there really isn't anyone else that can watch him so I did anyway.
Tuesday, still watching kids. My cold has now reached into my nasal cavity and I can barely sleep or breath. And because I am pregnant I haven't really been able to take anything that will work for me.
Wednesday, started to feel okay. Which was good because I had my friends little surprise party. I was able to make her goodies and wish her a happy birthday.
Thursday, you have got to be kidding me! It was like the cold came back full throttle. I had so much pressure in my head that I could barely eat. I use to get sinus infections alot in high school but hadn't really dealt with this for a long time. The pressure was so incredibly unbearable. Thank heaven that on Thursday little Harry's dad came to pick him up early. A blessing in disguise.
Friday, I think I would rather die then feel the pain that I have in my head. The pressure and pain was so bad that my jaw had locked up and I could barely open it to feed myself. Jake came home from school and I was just crying from the pain. He felt so bad. So he looked up an urgent care that would take our insurance, since we don't have a family physician out here yet, and we headed to the doctor. After almost two hours of waiting we finally saw a doctor. He said I did have a very severe sinus infection and that is why my jaw was locked and my neck was in so much pain. He said he could give me amoxicillin if I called me OB to make sure that was ok to take. So I call my OB, she gives me the go ahead and we head off quickly back home because Jake had two softball games and they were downtown.
He was so nice to take me to the clinic and be late for his game. I really have a very caring husband. After Jake left for his game I had to feed the boy and then get him ready for bed. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but I was still in so much pain that every little thing I did hurt. Finally Nolan was fast asleep and I settled down to watch a chick flick that Jake had rented for me.
Saturday, I have taken my antibiotic only once and I woke constantly through the night because of the pain. Pretty much no sleep. Morning came and I went into the bathroom to blow my nose and wash my face when I noticed I had a rash on my right cheek. That was just one more thing to add to the bag! It is like I am falling apart. Plus the antibiotic makes me nausious every time I take it but I really need this pressure and pain to go away. To make things worse we were scheduled to be at the church this afternoon for our calling as family history consultants. I wanted to cry. But once again, my prince charming came to my rescue! Jake said he would go by himself and let me get some rest. What kind of man is he? A wonderful man, because Jake is sick too! We both have been pretty miserable this week. I feel so bad that I gave this cold to him. I don't know if he just feels worse for me because I am pregnant and not feeling any type of relief, who knows.
But I have just been doing alot of thinking. The Lord has really blessed me with a husband that is so caring and selfless. Jake has been taking care of me everyday without complaint even with him being sick. I am so lucky! I love Jake so much. He really has to endure alot with me. I hope that his blessings in heaven are magnificent. Thank you honey for being so good to me. I rely so much on you. You are the best! I love you!
So there is my sob story. I just really needed to get it out. I just hope that this antibiotic will kick in and my jaw will be back to normal and my rash will go away and my breathing will be clear. Oh, and that my baby is healthy throughout the entire ordeal. Thank heaven for modern medicine. And if this cold doesn't start to go away, I think I am going to make my mom fly out to take care of me and Nolan. Here is to a better week, Please!!

Surprise!!

It's that time of year again.... birthday time! My cute friend Kelsey has already had her birthday for the second time since we have been here. So that means we only have two more times. Wahoo! Her husband Dave got all of the decorations together and planned the get together. She didn't even know it. That's the point of a surprise right?
Kelsey is such a fun friend. I can't believe she is only turning 22 though. It makes me feel old. I am going to be 25 in four months. 22 sounds a lot better to me. Kels, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a fabulous birthday week! We'll be seeing you Saturday for your birthday dinner. So there will be more pictures to post. Until then my friends. I'm sorry that this months posts will consist of a lot of birthdays but that's how the cookie crumbles.