Halloween Festivities 2011

We had a weekend full of Halloween fun this year.  A trunk or treat, a ward carnival, a school party, and we finished it all off with good old fashioned trick or treating. 

I’ve said it before, but thinking of a pregnant costume is tough for me.  Especially when trying to do a family theme.  Ace wasn’t too thrilled about my idea this year.  He doesn’t like the movie very much, but he was a super good sport and went along with it (and pretty sure he secretly enjoyed it).  Especially when I reminded him that he wouldn’t have to hot glue pretend ears to his head.

Here’s the line up: Ace is Willy Wonka.  I am Violet, in the process of blowing up into a blueberry (incredibly fitting, if I do say so myself). Easton and Ty are the official Oompa Loompas.

First off, we headed to the Trunk or Treat at Raylene and Larry’s ward.  Just the kids dressed up for this one.Brothers and their boys.

Then we headed inside for some games…Carson as a cute little monkey trying for a hole in one.

Easton had the girls cheering for him.

Ty was just happy to be there.

Saturday was our ward party, we all dressed up for this one.  Even Grandma Leelee got in on the action using my Princess Peach costume from last year.

More gamesMore treats.Happiness.
We won first prize for the costumes at the ward party, and we were awarded Gummy Pirate Teeth Candy...are you jealous?  You should be.

Monday afternoon was Easton’s school party.

They sang us some songs.  Easton looks thrilled.Easton and Mrs. Story --They almost got blown over by a crazy wind burst--

And then we were off to go trick or treating …back into costume one last time.

It’s hard to see in the photo, but I think Ty’s favorite part was getting to run down driveways over and over.  He’d say “Weeeeee” everytime.

Best house of the night?Probably the one with a giant movie projector playing “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” in their driveway.

It was a fun, fun year.  Easton and Ty both thought being Oompa Loompas was pretty cool.  Ty never wanted to take it off.  He’d say, “No. I don’t want to.  I want to stay a Loompa Loompa forever.” 

She’s Still A Girl

I keep having dreams that this baby is actually a boy.  And then I have to return all the girl things that I’ve bought.  It has me a little paranoid to buy girl things, and the things I have gotten, I have yet to take the tags off and wash them.  I know, it’s completely ridiculous.  

I had another ultrasound to make sure everything was still okay.  It’s all looking good.  So, I asked the technician to double check. She said “definitely” a girl. 

Here’s a couple profile shots of our cute girl…

I am really excited about having a girl.  My crazy pregnancy dreams just keep making me nervous that I’m planning for the wrong gender!

School Stuff

We’ve had a few fun things happen at school.  First, Easton won lunch with the principal…this happened when I signed up for something (I feel like I am signing up for something every dang day).  They gave your kids tickets to play a bean bag toss game.  I got two tickets, and gave them Easton to play the game.  The first toss he made it in the hole to get a piece of candy.  So now of course Ty, wanted to get a piece of candy.  I told Easton to throw the bean bag to the same spot to get a candy for Ty.  But apparently, he wanted to test his skills and went for the hardest one, and made it!  This won him lunch with the principal. And I still had no candy for Ty…not good. 

Since Easton doesn’t get to have lunch at the school considering he is only in Kindergarten, this was kind of a big deal.  So, he went a bit early that day and had lunch in the cafeteria with the principal (whom Easton now calls “The Lunchable” instead of the principal).  We packed him a special lunch, and the best part was he got to officially use his Batman lunchbox.  Best. Day. Ever.

Next was the school carnival.  The boys got their faces painted…

Easton was a bit concerned by the whole thing.

But it quickly turned into pure happiness.

Ty was completely freaked out.It took him a while to get over it.But after he had a tear stained/batman face, he decided he was ok with it.

We went on the train ride…And Ty got his mojo back.

Mostly.Yay for Carnival Day! 

No clue what Ace is doing, by the way.

And Last, but definitely not least.  It was school picture day.

I just love the forced smile, showing no teeth, hillbilly look he was going for here.  But, I have to say he’s still pretty darn cute.

Like Father, Like Son

What happens when Easton gets ahold of the camera…

What happens when Ace gets ahold of the camera…

Can you see the resemblance?

Ultrasound Says…

I want to say first, that everything they saw on the ultrasound looked normal.  The placenta has moved out of the way, so they are just going to keep an eye on it, which is just the best news.  They didn’t get good images of the lip and spine, so I am going to have another ultrasound in 4 weeks to double check those things.

Now for a walk down memory lane…

I remember growing up, playing ‘house’, and dreaming about having a bunch of little girls…picturing boys as my children wasn’t even a thought process for me because boys were, well, gross.  And probably because the only little boy in my life was my little brother who (AT THE TIME) was my one, true enemy.

When I first got pregnant with Easton, I realized my thoughts had changed.  That I was thrilled about the idea of having a boy just as much as I was excited about having a girl.  

With Ty, I do remember thinking it would be nice to have a girl just so that we had “one of each”.  But I also thought how much fun two boys would have together…plus it would be ten times cheaper.  When we found out Ty was a boy, we were so excited.

I thought for sure by the time I was having my third, that I would be desperate for a little girl.  But that never really came.  I kept watching Easton and Ty playing together, and I was completely content with the idea of having another boy.  I mean, I just love boys!  Of course, Ace and I loved the idea of having a girl too, but I think we were both assuming it was a boy, and we were super excited about it.  Almost from the beginning, I guess out of habit, I was calling this baby a “he'”.  Easton and Ty both non-waveringly said it was a boy… Easton mostly because he is currently obsessed with patterns, and the pattern he really wanted was, “boy-boy-boy-girl-girl-girl-boy-boy-boy-girl-girl-girl”  No matter how many times I tried to explain that pattern would never happen just for the mere fact that there will NEVER be that many children, but still, he was sure that it was a boy. 

As the ultrasound was getting started, the tech was asking about my other kids.  I said, “We have two boys.” and she said, “Let’s hope this one is a girl.” (a comment I have heard a whole lot these days) I said, “Actually, we are really going to be happy if it’s a boy too.  I’m thinking it’s probably a boy.”

As soon as I said that, she stuck that thing on my belly and she immediately said,

“Oh!! Nope. It’s a girl!”

Both Ace and I said, “What?!  Are you sure?” She said, “I’m so sure.  That was the easiest gender telling I’ve ever done.”

It was as if this poor little girl was so sick and tired of hearing me say “boy” she wasted no time letting us know, she was no boy!

I was so shocked.  I still don’t know if it has sunk in all the way.  I went to the store with my mom (who, by the way, has wasted no time in purchasing a whole slew of pink), as soon as I was in the baby section I went immediately to the boy section…it took me a good 10-15 seconds before I realized I was in the wrong section!  

We are so excited to meet this little baby girl!  And more excited that she is growing and that everything is looking good.

“I’m Just Ty”

Ty: “Mommy, I’m Superman!”

Me: “Hi Superman!”

Ty: “No.  I’m teasing.  I’m just Ty.”

That’s the kind of conversations I have with Ty.  And they always end in “I’m just Ty.”

Some others things about Ty at 2 1/2ish:

First, he has a way of sucking people into his sweetness.  Somehow he can get anyone to do anything for him.  People always say they can’t believe how sweet, calm, patient, etc… he is….  Here’s the thing, it’s all a big show.  He is using you to get candy!!  I watch him get his way all the time using his incredible manipulation skills.  He sucks you in, and once you’re in there is no getting out.  He has you in his clutches.             He even managed to pull Penny in…which is no easy feat.  (She normally tries to avoid the torture that is involved being near children)

Most of the time, he really is a super cute laid-back kid.  Loves to cuddle, has a soft sweet little voice, and is always saying cute little things.  But he does have a dark side.  There is no in-between with him.  Either he is happy as can be, or the world is ENDING. 

Right now, the way he talks cracks me up.  He tries to talk just like Eason, but sometimes he can’t quite pronounce things right.  And other things he says all the time, and they make no sense whatsoever.  Some of my favorites:

“How bout a sishy piss”  {How about a fishy kiss} This is his favorite way to give a kiss (with your lips sucked in to look like a fish)  I will say that never have I heard anyone say the word “piss” and make it sound adorable.

“Pease Piss Mine Owey” {Please Kiss My Owey} I mean, come on.

“Hey you know what?  Eastie said no hitting outside.  Okay?”  There is no translation for this one.  He says this at least 3 times a day, and I really have no explanation.

"The Honey Ge-ger come on”  {The air conditioner came on}  This one took me so long to figure out what he was talking about, and again, no real explanation.  Except he is obsessed with the air conditioner unit.

Me: “I love you, Ty”  Ty: “No, I wuve you” Me: “No I love you” Ty: No, I wuve you  This game continues until he starts to cry saying, “No, Mommy I WUVE YOU!”  and I let him win.

“Let’s sing Bity Bity Bider”  {Itsy Bitsy Spider}

“Hey.  Look at me do.”  {Hey. Watch what I am doing}

Ty has a love for all things kitchen.  Especially doing the dishes.  As soon as he hears the water on he comes running in, grabs his step stool, and says, “I wanna help you do dishes.” 
It is also very rare to ever see Ty without some kind of kitchen utensil in one or both of his hands at all times.  His favorites are measuring cups, spatulas, and wooden spoons.

He seems to thoroughly love to make a mess with anything possible.  Ripping paper to shreds, dumping every basket/bin of toys out all at once.  He always says with a smile when he is caught, “I’m making mess.”

But his OCD comes out if the mess gets on him.  He hates to be dirty, sticky, or spilled on.  If he does get dirty, it generally ends in tears.

A few seconds after I took this picture, he realized what he had done to himself and it was all over.

No matter how crazy or manipulative he is, we just love our little Ty.  He really is just the funniest kid and makes us laugh everyday.

Back to School-2011

Easton started Kindergarten this week.  He’s been waiting and waiting for this day.  Every time going to school was brought up he’d just say, “I’m so excited!  I so excited!”  Time to line up...Look at all those moms and dads

Easton found his name tag and was ready to go.

But, not without one last hug from Ty…

When he got home, we ended the day with some cookies and milk.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

So far this week, the thing that has made Easton the most excited is the new friend he met, Tanner. 

The first day, that’s pretty much all I could get Easton to tell me about.

The second day after school, Easton got into the car and immediately said,

“My school is so cool!  I have the coolest best friend ever!”

Whoa, best friend status…that was quick.

Third day at the play ground before school, Easton came up to me concerned and told me Tanner wasn’t here.  I told him he’ll probably be here soon.  When Tanner arrived and saw Easton he said, “Hey man! Hey man!”  Easton turned to me while dramatically pointing at Tanner he yelled, “Mom!  HE’S HERE!!!”

I love that Easton has such a good friend so quick.  They are so funny to watch.  And I love that he is so excited about school.  Now I hope he comes home just as happy and excited everyday.