Haunted Trail

Tonight we went to the Murray Park Haunted Trail with a few of our neighbors. Mason was a little scared and first hid his face from the fire pit, then buried it in the stroller as we walked along the trail. I can't believe that he actually took that Tootsie Roll from the scary lady at the entrance. I guess he really wanted it!

We all made it out alive (and Mason wasn't too traumatized).

Afterward we had yummy donuts and hot chocolate. We couldn't get Mason to take a bite, but at least he held the donut for a while! Crazy kid doesn't know what he's missing!

Thanks to the Cooks, Nelsons, and Wiggins for a fun (and scary) couple of nights! We also had dinner and carved pumpkins with them last night for FHE. We're lucky to have such great neighbors!

First 'real' food - Oct 19th

We gave Tristyn rice cereal for the first time last week. She had about the same reaction that Mason did--she spit it all out! I was able to keep a little bit in, but she wasn't quite sure what to think of the whole thing.

She had such a messy face (I'm sure I had wiped it off several times before I took the photo).

My pediatrition said that a baby is ready to start solids when she'll watch you eating and act interested in what you're doing. Well, Tristyn has been watching me and practically reaching for the fork for several weeks. It's funny that she changed her mind as soon as I actually put food in her mouth! You can see that she put her hands in her mouth so I wouldn't be able to get anything else in!

In comparison, here are a couple of photos of Mason's first try at cereal (he still has the same expression when I try to give him real food!). He was about 4 1/2 months also. I still wish Tristyn had his long hair!

I can't believe this little guy is turning 3 this week!

Happy Columbus Day!

I'm so glad that Columbus didn't fall off the edge of the earth! Otherwise my ancestors wouldn't have made it to this great land. And just as important, Melissa and I wouldn't have had today off work! I'm also glad that our daycare wasn't closed! It was nice to drop the kids off for the day and run a few errands. I didn't get half as much done as I needed to (the floors still need to be vacuumed, I still need to work on a scrapbook exchange, and I really should have spent some time working), but Melissa and I did pamper ourselves for a while. As you know from a previous post, I really needed a pedicure! My toes look much better now! We both picked an orange shade of polish just planning to paint the whole nail the same color, but the ladies are a lot more creative than we are and they had a better idea.

I'm sure Melissa would agree that we both need one of these chairs at home. It was very relaxing and I could have fallen asleep.

I was trying to hold still for the photo despite the shiatsu massage!

My toes are on the left and Melissa's are on the right. We both have colored tips and flowers on our big toes. I like the flowers on Melissa's toes better, but I'm just glad to have something other than chipped purple polish!

Don't they look a lot better than my last foot photo? My little toe is still a tad swollen, but surprisingly it doesn't hurt hardly at all. It might be another 6 months before I can get them done again, so I wonder if there's a way to keep my nails from growing until then (maybe the extra cells could go toward regrowing my postpartum hair loss--I swear I'm going to be bald soon!).

Blowout Outfit

There's something about this outfit that causes blowouts! It has spent more minutes in the washer and dryer than actually on Tristyn's body! The first 5 times I put it on her, I had to take it back off within 2 hours (a couple of times it was within minutes). Yesterday it finally made it into the laundry without having to be sprayed and scrubbed! I shouldn't mention that she only had it on for about 2 hours before church, she blew out of the cute denim dress I put on her before church, then blew out of the replacement dress after church! But then this outfit made it through the rest of the day! She looks so adorable in it--I hope the curse is over! Thank goodness for that magic yellow bar of soap that takes it all out (I can never remember the name of it--but it's from Heaven!).

Coming Along

Mason had a haircut yesterday and for the first time he sat in the chair by himself! Normally Dan or I have to wear the cape and hold him. We didn't even try to put a cape on him since we didn't want him to freak out. He didn't sit this nicely for the whole haircut, but at least he stayed in the chair. As you can see, we still had to bribe/distract him with suckers. He always needs one in both hands. He ended up taking one more for the road, also! Holly is always very patient with him and despite his wiggling around, she normally gets it pretty straight. Mason has been going to her since his first haircut at 4 1/2 months and he is always disappointed if he has to sit in a different stylist's chair. His hair grows crazy fast, so we take him in about every 5 weeks. I'd love it if he had waivy hair so we could grow his it out, but it's bone straight and it bugs me when it gets long. Soon he'll be able to pick his own hair styles! I'll try to find photos from his first haircut to post later.

The Homestead

Last weekend Dan had a work conference at The Homestead Resort in Midway, so we all went up with him. My sister Melissa was also nice enough to come and watch the kids while Dan and I went to the dinner. It's the first time that we'd been to the resort--it's a nice little place for a getaway and I wish that we had planned to stay another night.

Friday we got there just in time for dinner, so we didn't have a chance to look around or anything. However, we did fight Mason until about 12:30 am. For some reason he just wouldn't go to sleep. We took a pair of PJs that he hadn't worn before, and even though they are 3T, they were a little snug. He and I were both laughing just trying to get them on. Sneaking into the EL Fudge cookies probably didn't help them fit any better!

Saturday morning after breakfast, we fed the ducks and fish for a while. It was fun to see them all sworm around.

Yeah, I know I look like an idiot in this photo. I was just trying to get Mason to look at the camera and smile. She caught me with a cheesy grin. As you can see, it didn't get Mason to cooperate.

Melissa always has cute poses for the camera. She wanted me to stick out my butt for this one, but I really wanted to do the opposite.

Since we had the big stroller, Tristyn and I stayed and read the Homestead Crater sign while Dan, Mason and Melissa climbed up all the stairs to check it out.

There's cute Melissa again. Mason kept leaning out away from the stairs and wanted Dan to hold him up. It looks like he's dragging him down the stairs, but I promise he was just playing around.

Since we were all tired from not getting much sleep, we didn't swim for very long. Mason was pretty upset about that. We could hear him screaming from the gift shop when Dan was changing him in the locker room. He liked going back and forth between the 'cold' pool and the hot tub. I just enjoyed staying in the hot tub!

Dan stayed out with Tristyn, other than just dipping their toes in the warm water.

And with a pound of fudge, we were off! Although it was a quick trip, we had a good time. If you haven't been to the resort, I'd highly recommend it.

4 Months

Our little Tristyn turned 4 months old yesterday! I can't believe how fast time flies! She spent the morning visiting the doctor because she was having a lot of fevers and we just wanted to make sure it wasn't an ear infection or something. Everything checked out okay so it must just be the cold she's been fighting. They didn't want us to take her to daycare, so Dan brought her by the credit union and she hung out with the insurance gang for a couple of hours. She hasn't had high fevers today, but hasn't been her normal happy self either. Hopefully it will pass soon!

On Sept 24th, so started to roll from her back to her front and she became a pro instantly. I think she's forgotten that she can also roll to her back. She has really enjoyed tummy time lately--as long as she has a toy in front of her or Mason is nearby to entertain her. Here's video from that night:

Here are few recent photos of our little lady!




We're lucky to have this little bundle of personality! She's very sweet and we love her to death!

Pumpkin Paining

The other night we finally pulled out the paint and let Mason go to town on a few pumpkins. He had a great time. When I told him to paint hair on the pumpkin, he immediately put the brush in his own hair and painted it blue and green! He probably thought I was the coolest mom on earth since I was going to let him paint his hair! Well, I guess I'm not that cool of a mom, because he was only able to do one streak.

He did a great job painting eyes and hair--then he swirled over it with another color. Now comes the test--will the paint really come out of his clothes in the wash?

Go Blue

And I'm not talking about the Y! In my last post I mentioned that I almost shed a tear last night when I stubbed my toe for the second time. Well, I was even closer to shedding a tear when USU finally scored against BYU with 13 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Then I almost shouted outloud when they scored again within minutes, but I didn't want to startle Tristyn. It was great when KJZZ showed the crowd and there was a student fan gesturing to the other team with both hands. The score is still 34 BYU 14 USU. There's just under 7 minutes left. I didn't expect them to come out with a win, but am just proud that they scored!

Dan took Mason to the game in Logan. It's his first football game. Dan sent a text saying they were having fun, but I'll have to get more info when they get home. Hopefully he let Dan actually watch a few plays!

Go AGGIES!

Two Big Toes

Look how huge my 'little' toe is! It's as wide as my big toe! At about 6 am yesterday morning I was walking by Tristyn's bed and stubbed my toe on the corner of it. It was really painful for a while, then just felt tight and almost numb. Then last night about 8:30 I did the same thing! It hurt so bad that I almost shed tears! Ouch! It's pretty much the same color as my Sally Hansen Chrome nail polish (I promise this is the first time I've used it since college--I should have known better). I'm kind of embarrassed to show everyone my foot since I really need a pedicure. I normally don't have painted nails unless I've had one recently and the polish hasn't worn off! I guess I need to plan a girls' night out and get some pampering! There should be worker's comp for moms!

Does anyone have a second toe that is as long as mine? I've heard that if your second toe is longer than your big toe that you wear the pants in the family. So, there you go, Dan! It's in my genes, so I can't help it!!!

New Dollar Bill

This is the economy in a nutshell. I'm sure that after the 777 point Market drop on Monday he's rolling in his grave with the same expression! I think the banks are set to start handing these out tomorrow (credit unions will still have the real thing, of course)!

I have to admit that I'm excited for the Palin/Biden debate tonight. I'm not a huge fan of McCain, but he definately picked an interesting running mate. It's been fun to watch her for the past few weeks and I really like that she doesn't put on a front. I figure the ticket isn't perfect, but it's better than the alternative!

All In A Day

Since you all know what goes on while Dan's at church--here's what goes on when he's at work. Both kids woke up a little earlier than normal today (7:30, which isn't bad). I listened in on a work meeting in the morning and the rest of the day consisted of work emails, calls, and this:

I ordered a bunch of cute things that were on sale at Old Navy and I had to try Tristyn's cute winter hat on her! Adorable!



I love Tristyn's face in the upper left photo! Mason has to take his turn playing with all of Tristyn's toys, including the excersaucer. At least he can climb out of it himself too!

Mason likes to play with a wind-up musical manger scene that I inherited from my Grandma, but I always get nervous that he'll break it, so today I let him play with this little ceramic house instead. I was trying to get him to eat the banana, but he thought it would be more fun to store it in the house. I had laid Tristyn down on her belly and he got down next to her. She loves to watch him play. It's also cute to see him look in her direction occasionally. I'm not sure what the look is that he's giving in the lower right photo.



Mason finally had one bite of that banana, but I couldn't get him to eat hardly anything all day (even less than usual). After his nap he was still super tired and just moped around all night. Dan's been sick, so they relaxed on the couch watching The Office. Mason ended up falling asleep. That was a for sure indication that he's not feeling well either. After Dan put him to bed, I checked on him and the poor guy had a fever. We had to force some Tylenol down and he already fell out of his bed, so we're hoping that he'll sleep through the rest of the night! I'm not sure what is going around here! I thought I had tonsilitis a week ago, but am feeling better now. Tristyn has been feverish off and on for a couple of weeks too. I'm crossing my fingers that it will pass quickly!

Sunday Afternoons

Sunday afternoons are always interesting at our house. We get out of church at 4 and since Dan stays after to do his clerk duties, the kids and I get to hang out for a while. Mason is normally exhausted by this time and we normally drag him straight to bed, but since he slept for about 10 minutes in Nursery this week, he was set to go! We used to have nice meals on Sundays, but lately our feasts have been very similar to our weeknight dinners--anything quick that I can bake or stir while also juggling two kids! This past Sunday it happened to be salmon and Rice-a-Roni. This is what the kids were doing:

For some reason Mason loves to carry armfulls of pillows and blankets around the house. If they're not on his bedroom floor, they're being drug through the kitchen or, recently, down the stairs. I was washing his bedding, and I guess he wasn't real thrilled with the plain white pillows because he found those green pillows in our guest bedroom to carry around. It's a great feeling when I put him down at night to know that his pillows have been on the kitchen floor and on the tile inside the front door--yuck! That's why they were in the wash.

Tristyn was being so good just chillin' on her fun blanket from Grandma Higbee. She loves to read those soft books that are next to her. I love this cute little skirt that we recenlty bought at the Children's Place.

Mason has become very independent. He knows where his juice boxes are and he doesn't hesitate to get one when he's thirsty. I swear he goes through 2 or 3 a day. Not only does he get them from the fridge, he takes them out of our storage room in the basement! Normally if their on a high shelf in the fridge he'll pull us over to help him--this is the first time I've caught him climbing on the shelves! Luckily I had my camera handy!



Tristyn fell asleep cuddling this cute bear (her hand is covering the DFCU logo). I guess all of that rolling on the floor wore her out!

So now Dan knows what goes on around here while he's at church!

Our big girl!

Tristyn has been doing a lot of new things lately! I was so excited on Sept 11th when she rolled from front to back and I even tried to get video of it on my phone to send to Dan. She did roll over a month or so ago, but I had propped her up on her arms so really really just had to fall over. I was excited that she was rolling without being propped. Well, when Dan got home and I told him about it, he said that she had also been doing it the night before when I was at my scrapbooking workshop. Why the heck didn't he tell me??? That's an important milestone (and is a good reminder that I shouldn't leave her unattended on the bed!). She has almost rolled from back to front several times, but that dang arm keeps getting in her way.

Since she's been holding her head up really well and enjoys sitting up, we brought up our Baby Einstein Excersaucer. She's a little small for it, but her feet reach the bottom and she is able to turn around in it. Within minutes she had figured out how to push the buttons to hear the animal sounds. She isn't content with the toy that's in front of her, though--she wants to get to the toy that's just to the right of her. It's fun to see her in it and I love that I can get a few things done while she plays. It's also a great place for her to watch Mason--he could entertain her for hours without even trying.

It won't be long before she figures out how to reach for things. She's kind of already doing it, but mostly she is good at grabbing anything that brushes by her hand. And of course, anything in her hand goes straight to her mouth! If she doesn't have a hold of a toy, she'll suck on her middle two fingers, or even her whole hand (she seriously has almost had the whole thing in her mouth).

She's quite the jabber box and it's fun to have little conversations with her. She's very matter of fact about things and she has this look like she's telling us the most important secret ever (I wish she could use our words, because I'd give anything to hear stories about where she's been). She's let out a few chuckles, but I have to work hard to get that. I'm excited to hear her laugh. She gets the closest when she hears us laughing--it's like she missed the joke but doesn't want everyone to know she did, so she'll smile and wonder what the big deal is. The other night she was standing on my lap and I was throwing my head back and laughing like a witch and she looked up and chuckled a little bit. It was dang cute.

She has outgrown most of her 3 month clothes, so it's been fun to dress her in new clothes again (as well as buy lots of cute clothes for winter). We went for a walk earlier today and she was able to sit up in the stroller. She loved being able to look around and watching Mason on his tricycle. It's great that she's easily entertained. Hopefully she'll stay that way! We're so blessed to have a good baby that is happy and content. I swear that I could eat her up!

Here's a photo of Tristyn and Mason relaxing a couple of weeks ago. All of my other photos are on the other computer, so I'll have to add those later. I find that I hold off on blogging because I don't have quick access to photos--then I end up not blogging at all. I need to work on a solution for that!