My abused child

This is being posted for Sara who laughed at me all day today. Chris's grandparents came to town for a visit. One night I took my corn casserole over for dinner. Of course we are getting ready to leave and my kids are having meltdowns about everything. Carter didn't want his bulky winter coat on and Gene wants to do EVERYTHING himself which really slows me down. Anyway, I get them bundled and got the bags slung over my shoulder, and I bend down to get the casserole dish. On my way up, not realizing that Gene is next to me, the casserole handle on the lid makes contact with Gene's poor eye. Now he is histerical and I feel just horrible for what I did to my baby. Anyway, here is a picture of my poor 'abused' child with his shiner.

Santa Baby

Everyone knows by know how much Carter loves to eat. He even has a round little bump on his belly. I thought it would be cute to get him a Santa suit. I finally found one and had to post a couple of pictures. Also pictured is Gene with Chris's newest acquistion- the rack from the 10 point buck he shot last week. Gene loves bucky. We are so proud of Gene at our house. He has started to potty train all on his own and is doing pretty well so far.

1st Twinkie

If you know Carter, you know the boy loves his food. The kids and I went to the grocery store the other night and got everything for supper. At checkout Gene was throwing a fit because he wanted Twinkies. We bought the Twinkies eventhough we had John Deere snacks, Christmas snack cakes, Puffs, Goldfish, and everything else. I gave in and got the Twinkies and so after we had our spaghetti, the kids got the Twinkies for desert. Gene was shy about being messy, but Carter was excited over this new food.

Crusher Claw!!!!!!!

Chris's dad does this thing with the kids he calls crusher claw. Carter has already picked up on this and was doing it back one night we were over there. It was really cute.

Buster is growing

I thought I would post a new picture of our dog Buster. He wouldn't look at me when the camera was going off, but you can see how big he is getting. Carter tries to use him as a horse! He is going to get bigger than we anticipated.

Trick or Treat

It was such a nice evening on Friday when we took the kids Trick or Treating in North Liberty! The weather was cooperative and it wasn't bitter cold like I expected it to be. Anyways, here are some pictures of the kids in the costumes out trick or treating.

So Fresh and So Clean

Gene was giving Carter a kiss because he just landed on top of Carter while performing his stunts.
My boys just love their bath. I was playing around with the camera the other night when they were in the tub and snapped some cute pictures. Gene was holding the water olympics during this time. He uses the back of the tub as a slide and swims laps in the tub. Carter tries to do what his brother does, and at some point during bath time someone usually ends up crying. Anyways, here are some pictures of the boys at bathtime.

iGoogle

iGoogle

Carving Pumpkins 2008

Monday evening we decided to carve our pumpkins. Gene was so excited! Carter had no clue what we going on. We are not pros at this by any means, and to make matters worse, our pumpkins this year had such thick skins that the pumpkin would crack and break off when we were cutting them. Needless to say, there are no pictures of our homemade designs on here. I thought I would post some pictures of the kids with the pumpkins though.

Tim & Amy's News

Our family is truly blessed to have so many people to love and support one another through everything that life brings. We have a blessing on the way. Chris's brother Tim and his wife Amy found out today that they are expecting a little girl in March. She went in for her 20 week ultrasound and they were lucky enough to be able to see the sex. I am so excited for them! Amy was wanting a little girl. Chris tells me we are done, so atleast I will get my fix somewhere for buying all the cute little girl stuff. Congratulations to you both!

5 Things I hate to admit......

Sara and Mindy that I work with both did this and I thought it was kind of cool, so what the hell. Here we go.

1. I am with Sara on this one. I love to clean. I get a natural high when my house is spotless and my laundry is done and put away. Not to mention I love buying cleaning products. When I see something that is new and inventive and is supposed to do something wonderful, I usually get all excited and try it. Granted there are the old reliables such as Mr. Clean magic erasers and Windex Antibacterial. I love the smell of bleach and lemons in my cleaning products too.

2. I have to have the toilet paper roll on the holder a certain way. It has to be on there so that the sheets cascade down over the top of the rest of the roll. It can't go between the roll and the holder coming down through the bottom. If I am at your house and it is the wrong way, I will have to change it.

3. I love Coke! I need my pop! Try as I might, I can't give it up. Something with the carbonation and the caffeine. I know it would help my figure huge to give up this legal drug, but I am hooked.

4. I am a tomboy in a non butch sort of way. I don't like getting all dressed up and being made a fuss over. I would never wear a dress again if I didn't have to. I am fine with a nice top, shirt, or whatever you call it and a nice pair of black pants. I love being outside and would be a farmer if I could. I would have a huge vegetable garden, fruit trees, and my herd of cattle.

5. The kitchen is my favorite part of our house. I love to cook. I love dishes and have a sick obsession with serving pieces. Right now I do not need another dish for anything, but the next time I am out and see something bright and fun or organizational, you know I will come home with it and have to find a place for it.

Grandparents

For those of you that don't know, there is just something so special about my Grandpa Gene. I love all of my grandparents and been truly blessed with a lot of really good ones, but Grandpa Gene is extra special to me. I took this picture at my cousin's wedding the beginning of this month. There is Grandma Diane, Grandpa Gene, and my uncle Kenny. I just love this picture and had to put it out there.

October 2008

We at the Hautt house have been hanging out and enjoying what little free time we have these days. I haven't posted anything in a while because life just gets away, but I thought I would post some new pictures of my little darlings.
In the one picture, Carter is shaking his little booty to the John Deere song on their John Deere kids movie. My family should live on farm!!!!

Buster

Here is a new picture of our puppy Buster. I can't believe how shiny he is. He is just a pretty boy for a dog. We sure like having him around.

Pumpkin Patch 9/28/08

Yesterday we took the kids to Bloomsbury Farms Pumpkin Patch in Atkins, Iowa. Chris's whole side of the family went. The kids had fun at the petting zoo, rode some little mini John Deere toy tractors, and played outside. Gene was loving the tractors and his face just lit up when a Johnny Popper pulled our hayrack out to the pumpkin patch. He knows his John Deeres. Chris about popped his cork when he found a 47# pumpkin that is now sitting outside our front door. Carter just went along for the ride and did whatever. All in all it was a fun day outside with the kids.

Buster Reunited with his mom

We just love our new puppy Buster. We took him home with us last weekend and he got to spend some time with his mom Emma. They had all kinds of fun. They went up to the hog barns and drug back some parts of a dead pig, ripped up some of mom's landscaping, and ran around the yard wrestling with each other. All in all a fun weekend away for a dog.

Grandpa Gene's 70th B-Day Weekend

Happy Birthday Grandpa Gene! This guy is so lucky to have so many people around him that love him and want him to stick around. He is one of the people I look up to most. His license says he is 70, but he is probably about 35 in actual age. He has kept in him the little things that children have and we love and most often loose as we go through life, but he also has the wisdom that parenthood and life experiences bring to a person. We love you Grandpa!!! All four of his kids were home over the weekend and all of his great-grandkids as well. Here are some pictures from this weekend. Notice how wore out my kids were when it was all said and done.

Buster

Dad's dog Emma had a litter of pups back in July. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a major weakness for a puppy. I managed to return home without a puppy when we visited in August. When there was one puppy left, and no home for him to go to I just couldn't take it. Mom and Dad brought the pup with them when they came for the Iowa & Iowa State game. A lady that I work with was going to take him and find him a home, but now I think Chris is in love with this dog as are the kids and I. If we get to keep him, we are going to call him Buster. Chris had a Springer and Beagle mixed dog that was his growing up. We had a Springer Spaniel named Buster at the Grabill house as well. The name only made sense. Things are interesting right now with everyone adjusting to the dog. Gene is even coming around and thinking that he is kind of fun.

Grandparent's Day

We went over to Mark and Carole's house yesterday and the kids were playing outside. It was Grandparent's Day and Mark and Carole just got back from a week long trip to Minnesota fishing.

Prep for Hunting

As you all probably know, Chris is off limits for the week of his early muzzleloader deer hunt. He has been spending hours watching deer hunting DVD's and practicing his rattling. Gene and Carter have also started rattling and paying attention to these videos with Chris. As you can imagine, my husband is ecstatic that we have two boys and the fact that they are now enthralled with deer hunting puts the icing on Chris's cake. I thought I would post some pictures of the boys and their antlers.