Happy Halloween!

Over this past week I realized how much I love dressing up and (more emphatically) love dressing Ty up!  I'm glad that I finally broke our the ol' sewing machine again and although I procrastinated, finished sewing our costumes.  Russell's was really just gathered together, but that was work, too!  Anyway, we had a fun time going to Russell's class party on Friday night and our ward trunk-or-treat/chili cook-off on Saturday.  Please, enjoy the festivities and appreciate our ridiculous costumes.

I went to a witch party earlier in the week.  Unfortunately, you can't see my purple shoes and patterned tights.

 Here's our lovely Gourlie Circus Sideshow costumes: Russell is the bearded lady, I'm the Strong Man, and Tyzar is the fortune teller!  Ty pretty much only wore his goatee for this picture on account of his drooly chin.

 One little boy (age 2ish) saw Russell and said, "Jesus!"

 How precious!

 Let me break down this costume: wig on clearance at a Halloween store pinned back by loving wife, necklace on loan from said wife, blouse from Salvation Army, dress from Ross, shoes (size 12) from Goodwill, lady lumps are tights from my drawer, and beard allllll natural.

 And my costume: Mustache from Halloween store (I don't know how Russell has face rodents--it was annoying and scratchy), shirt and shoes from Walmart, pants from my drawer, belt from my closet, costume sewed up by yours truly sans pattern, and muscles out of toilet paper and socks--both are being used again.

 Halloween costumes were kind of "opposites" for us.  :)

 At our ward trunk-or-treat in the back of our circus trunk!  Because we didn't feel quite right cross-dressing at a church function, Russell changed his costume to be a sword-swallower/carnie and I'm the strong woman.  Ty is still the Incredible Tyzar.

 Wow--she's really strong!

 Going with our sideshow theme, Tyzar handed out candy with "fortunes" attached.  (I think this is a product of a mom who has a lot of brain time to come up with cheesy things like this.)

 AND (last but definitely not least) Tyzar's costume: vest made from a pillow sham, feather from JoAnn's, turban (which looked a little better in person than in pictures) very un-authentically made, onesie from his drawer, MC Hammer pants and sash sewed up sans pattern.  I'm pretty sure they'll be put into his regular pants rotation.

All together, a lovely Halloween.  We didn't end up carving pumpkins, which just means that the pumpkin sitting on our porch is now a Thanksgiving decoration.   The biggest problem I have now is figuring our where/when we're wearing our costumes again! 

Pumpkin Patch: Take 2

We went back to the patch today, but our photographic success was less than stellar.  For one, the sun was much brighter than we anticipated and Ty was crankier than I had hoped.  Oh, well.  Here are some of the shots we ended up with. 

 

 

 We made him hold a pumpkin...and he dropped it about a second later.

 Looks like he's pushing his glasses up.  Sadly, I lost my glasses at the pumpkin patch, so they'll have to live on in this picture.

We tried to get one of the 2 of us, but the team effort just wasn't there.

 Maybe we're mean, but we had to get a picture of Ty and Addie in the baby pumpkins.  (In case you can't tell, Addie's the pumpkin with arms.)

 

 

 And the trip ended with a surprise Tyger attack!

 Happy Harvest, everyone!

The Punkin Patch!

I remember the good ol' days going to the Nut Tree Pumpkin patch in Vacaville, CA and seeing all of the scarecrows and little rides and so on but never buying our pumpkins there.  Now I know why.  We went to a pumpkin patch last Friday to get a pumpkin and take some pictures of our little "punkin."  We only bought a mini one for Ty because the regular-sized ones were like a million dollars!  (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but they were overpriced.)  We just used the pumpkins as a background for our little Tyger. This is one of his costumes, which we love. A-dorable.

First, we set Ty up against some nice, sturdy pumpkins. 

Then he slipped between the pumpkin...not as sturdy as we had hoped, apparently.

So, we tried again, but he kept trying to eat his Tyger tummy and wouldn't put his head up!

This is about the only little smile we got out of him!  (I'm pretty sure Mimi was snorting for this one--see previous post.)

"Simba."

One of about 3 pictures we have as a little family!  We'll take more when we're all dressed up, too.  :)

I love this face

This little Tyger was done and needed to go home.

Cuddling on our way back to the car.  (He always wraps his little arms around ya.)

We're planning on going back to try again and see if we'll have a happier little guy! 

Mimi, meet Ty

Russell's mom (Mimi to Ty) was able to come out from Oklahoma for a week and hang out with us and admire and play with Ty.  He LOVED her! With all of the fun noises/sounds/stuff she'd do, his favorite was when she snorted--he'd crack up!   Ty's tummy has had lots of tummy pressure lately (let's just put it that way) and he's been a bit fussy, but she's champion at putting him to sleep, too.  He's lucky to have such a fun grandma--we're lucky, too.  :)
 

Taking a "grandma privilege," Mimi let Ty lick some candy.

Sharing secrets

My favorite:

Laughing together even more

Snuggling asleep

Ty Makes a Move

Ty dictated to me and asked me to type this up for him:

So, I was just chillin' on my blanket where my mom left me (because I can't move on my own yet) and I looked over and saw a fine lady!

"Excuse me, dollface..."

"Will you hold this for me?"

(Awww, yee-ah!)

"Wait--what the heck!? Why'd you leave me hanging? I'm a cool guy: I have a clean diaper and no spit up!"

Maybe if I just sneak back in she won't notice...

Anyway, that was Ty's little adventure with his "friend" Addie. I'm sure they'll have more to come. :)

Motherhood Bits

First of all, I watched a documentary thing on Netflix about 4 babies in different parts of the world from birth to about 18 months. They ranged from every-toy-and-baby-item needed in Japan to having virtually nothing in Namibia. It was kind of boring and there was no talking, but I think I kept watching it waiting for cute stuff to happen. (It occasionally did.) It did make me think, too, so I guess that's good. Here's the conclusion that I drew from it: your baby will be fine. If you lay your baby bare-bellied in the dirt and let her eat rocks and dirt, she can still grow up healthy. If you wipe your baby's bottom on your knee and then scrub off your knee with dirt and a corn cob, you will still be fine. If your baby is bathing with a big ol' goat drinking from its bathwater, the goat will be fine. Anyway, I'm not a germ-a-phobe and I'm not a big time freaker-outer, but I do worry sometimes about Ty's health and so on. If a baby in Namibia, Africa is alive and healthy and happy playing with rocks and sand, I'm sure Ty can be just the same. This leads me to say I feel confident in my decision not to wash all of his baby clothes before he wears them. Call me a bad mom, but the baby in Namibia wore a loincloth that was probably never ever washed, and I do at least wash Ty's clothes after they're worn. There.

Second, I had an interview on Friday to be a substitute teacher in the Clark County School District so that I can sub on Fridays when Russell doesn't have class to bring in a bit o' bacon. I dressed up in my distantly familiar "teacher clothes" and was gone for about an hour. When I came back I strangely felt like I was coming back from work. I felt very inappropriately dressed for caring for a baby and am glad that this is not a daily occurrence. (Wow--it took me a while to figure out how to spell occurrence!) I do enjoy/miss teaching in a classroom, but am SO glad to be home with Ty. I'm grateful that I can be and that I have a supportive husband who doesn't expect me to work while he's in school. I realize that there are different situations for everyone and some moms do work for whatever reason, but I'm happy with my choice and opportunity to stay home.

Third, I am forever dropping things on my baby. Wait--that sounds violent! I mean that sometimes I eat while nursing Ty and I find bread crumbs, raisins, etc. that I drop on him. I'll also rub my eye and my eyelashes land on him. Oops! I guess I should be more careful.

Last, but not least, we were playing on my lap some last night and Ty was laughing a little. It's his new trick!

Leakin'

I realize that I posted 3 times yesterday (really 3 posts, one time), but I had to write this down before I forget. First of all, I am grateful for a washing machine and dryer in our apartment. We experienced lots of leaks today in all types of fun forms:
1. I woke up this morning to find that I had "over-produced" and soaked through my nightclothes and was presented the immediate opportunity to wash the sheets.
2. Ty was sleeping in his swing until he started fussing, I got him out, smelled him, and carried him to the changing table. I felt something wet on my arm and then found the counterfeit mustard all over his pants, onesie, and self. Then, because he was so excited (read screaming) to be changed, he peed all over himself and the changing table, missing the disposable changing pad, of course. AKA, presentation for more laundry.
3. While we were playing on my lap, Ty's diaper leaked pee on me in a significantly-sized puddle. Clothes/laundry yet again.

I realize now that I was the victim of caring for a baby. Comes with the territory...

I can't take it anymore.

I can't handle how cute this kid is. Someone else has to share the cuteness of this baby guy. Here--you can have some!

[WARNING: Lots of cute pictures and intentional overuse of the word "cute" ahead.]

LOVE this cute smile!

Always smiling so cutely for Daddy!

What a cute scene to walk in on: father-son bonding.
Would you not just LOVE to wake up to this? Ty has been playing in his bed for about 10 minutes after waking up until he realizes he's hungry. It's so cute to see him wiggle his arms and legs after they were wrapped up all night!
Cute straight out o' the bathtub!

I love these cute little pants on him. Plus, he likes to hold my hand.
Look at this cute outfit from Auntie Lel! I had to make sure and get a picture before we left for church just in case he didn't come home in the same clothes. I'll get a better one next time...

Reno!

Ty and I took a 1-day trip to Reno, his first stomping grounds. Why? Well, for a few reasons:
1. Close a bank account in Reno we were no longer using.
2. Meet with the new Drama/Speech and Debate teacher and give him my materials and such.
3. Visit with people and prove that I really had a baby and not just a big appetite for 9 months
4. Because Russell is nice and noticed that I was in need of some NorNev love.

We flew in at 8 a.m. and out at 8 p.m. Now that I think about it, spending more time might have been a good idea because there were people that I didn't get to see (and never get to spend enough time with anyone) and I could have gone over to Fairfield. I really didn't want to have to pack for a long trip, especially without Russell--remember my summer? Yeah, not fun--and wasn't sure how Ty would do. He got a little fussy being thrown off of his regular schedule, but slept on the airplane during both flights and didn't have any big blow-outs, so I really can't complain! I'm sure we'll visit again (with Russell and for longer). In some ways it felt like I never left. I love my people in Reno. Very much.

Ty's first airplane ride. (He passed on the peanuts.)
Stacy (Ty's future counselor) and Ty after Spanish class. We learned the alphabet and how to introduce ourselves.

Traveling with Mama Michelle back to "home base" at her house.
At Chili's with a bunch of Stead Ward ladies and kids! (We really had a big group, I just wasn't smart enough to get a picture before most people left.)
Julie got to meet her old room(womb)mate! I stayed with Julie for about 3 weeks after Russell left until the end of the school year. We would play with Ty in my belly sometimes. :)