Halloween

I've been under the weather for a few days, but thankfully I was feeling better today, because I'd already asked off at work so that Tyson and I could take the kids to the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. We were going to go last weekend, but both of the kids were sick. So this morning we packed a picnic lunch and headed off to see the pumpkins.After the kids had their fill of bounce houses and hayrides, we headed over near the farmhouse on the property, where they had a picnic area set up. The first table we picked was abandoned by us before we even unpacked the lunches when we realized that it was right near the horses and hence, their manure. We moved over to another area where we were immediately accosted by hordes of flies, bees, and yellow jackets. I tried to eat my lunch as quickly as possible and avoid swatting at the flying insects, as there were as many bees as flies buzzing around me, but when a bee landed on my finger and tried help me finish my half eaten sandwich, I gave up, flung my sandwich through the air, and quickly vacated the picnic grounds. I watched from afar as my family at the rest of their lunches, then we packed up and went home for some much needed naps.

BittyBit wanted to be a goose for Halloween this year. I thought it was going to be one of those things that she forgot about, but weeks later, she still wanted to be a goose. Unfortunately I couldn't find a goose costume in all of my Halloween costume hunting, so she got stuck being a pink monster. I might have been able to find a goose costume online, and I'm sure I could have made one if I'd had the time, but I haven't had time for much of anything since I've been back at work. LittleMan got to wear the monkey costume that his sister wore last year for Halloween.
Monster and...monster pirate?Tyson picked up our niece Brittany, and we suddenly had a rainbow princess in our party!Tyson and I weren't going to dress up but we stumbled upon an idea for a costume earlier today. This morning I found some of the kids' magnetic letters on the floor and I put one on BittyBit's forehead and told her to hold it in place and ask her father who she was supposed to be. He of course immediately answered correctly - Arnold J. Rimmer, a character from Red Dwarf, which is one of Tyson's all time favorite shows. This guys is supposed to be a hologram, and he has a holographic "H" on his forehead to represent that. The show is a low budget British sci-fi comedy, which I am not a big fan of, but Tyson realized that with very little preparation, we would have our costumes for the ward Fall Social. Tyson made the H's for our costumes while I tried unsuccessfully to take a nap, then we picked up the missionaries and took them to Costco for pizza before heading to the ward party. The most amazing thing about our costumes is that several people actually knew who we were supposed to be!Here's our little monkey man in his cage during the "trunk or treat" portion of the evening. By this point he was beyond tired, so I put him in the back of the car behind the cargo net and let him scream eerily at the trick or treaters. Very spooky special effects, and it didn't cost me a thing (well maybe another shred of my sanity).

Kayla & Ash's birthday party

Two weeks ago Saturday, my niece Kayla came into town and all of the extended family met out at a local (some of my family would argue THE local) Tex-Mex restaurant to celebrate her and Ashley's birthdays. Their birthdays are only 4 days apart. It was nice to get together with family and catch up, and the girls obligingly wore sombreros while we sang "Happy Birthday" to them and Kayla's other sister April, who also has a birthday within a week of the others.
BittyBit made her rounds around the table, sitting in anyone's lap who would share their chips and salsa or queso with her. Ashley taught her a useful life skill during the evening, making the "MySpace" face every time someone tries to take a picture. That's OK Ash, you know what they say about paybacks... :)

Primary Program

This is the first year my eldest was able to participate in our ward's primary program. For those of you who might not be familiar with the concept, it is our congregation's annual program put on by the 3-11 year old children and their patient teachers. The children sing songs and say small spoken parts during the main worship hour of church.

They sent BittyBit's small part home from church with her a month ago with a request to mom & dad to help her memorize her part. We practiced every Sunday and many times during the week. She had the part memorized in a day and a half and I was so impressed that we actually remembered to teach her the part and she learned it so well. My only regret during the program was that all of the children in her class were whispered their lines, so she didn't have a chance to say it from memory. But that's really a vanity issue I suppose, wanting to show off how wonderfully my child memorized her part, and the way they did it was good, because it left no room for a child to be put on the spot if he didn't remember his line. The program was great, and afterward I was able to follow BittyBit into the children's primary class and help her give a talk on service in front of all of the other children during sharing time.

Oh, and here's a funny update to the makeup incident. Yesterday morning before church, BittyBit saw me putting on my makeup. She looked at me and said,"Mom, I'm sorry I got into your makeup. I won't do that anymore." (We'll see.) To which I replied, "I accept your apology. When you get bigger I'll teach you how to put on makeup like a young lady." She looked at me, furrowed her eyebrows, and stated,"When I get older and older and I can wear makeup, you won't have to teach me how to wear it. I already know how to put on makeup!"

Adventures in Makeup

This is what I found when I awoke this morning...
Apparently she was trying to look like me, so I guess she really meant it when she said she thought I look like a clown when I wear lipstick. This isn't the first time BittyBit has gotten into my makeup, here she is in April using a similar technique, only using eyeshadow instead of lipstick all over her face.

LittleMan's New words

LittleMan is growing so quickly. We've been teaching him signs, but until a month and a half ago, he wasn't interested in learning those. Now he has a growing list of words he can sign to us. He's so excited that he can communicate and we actually understand what he's saying.

Right now he can sign:
Hello/bye bye
fan
light
eat
drink
more
sleep
change (as in "let's go change your diaper")

A few nights ago, as I was brushing his teeth, he said his first (non family name) word. He said "light". He looked right up at the light, did the sign, and said it. I was so excited and BittyBit shared my excitement. We gave him a huge round of applause and she said, "Good job! You did it, you said light!"

Later that day...

After BittyBit attended her first princess party, we stopped by Grandma Connie's house and visited with Breanne and Liam before they left town. Liam is the kids' cousin and right now he lives far away, but when Tayton and Breanne relocate back to Texas from Tennessee sometime in the next few years, it will be fun for them to get to know each other better. When I was younger, I always wished I had cousins my age.That evening we had yet another princess birthday party to attend, this one for our friend Jordan. Check out that cake...amazing! It was so much fun to see Jordan tear into her presents. I think she would have had more fun if she had taken her nap earlier, but she's already little miss independent.

What a cutie.

Sweet & Sassy

I know, I know, it has been forever since I posted. I've been trying to go to bed at a reasonable hour, since I have to be responsible and awake early to get ready for my new job every morning. I've also started clipping coupons, and I spend much of my evenings trying to stay on top of that hobby.

Almost a month ago BittyBit attended a friend's birthday party. I was a little skeptical before I went, because I'd been told it was a dress-up party, makeup and all, and I was expecting my daughter to look like some sort of JonBenet Ramsey clone when we were finished. The making up mostly consisted of fingernail polish, hairspray, and glitter. It was actually a really cute party and I'm glad I let BittyBit go (and that someone else was paying for it, I don't even want to know what something like that for 12+ four year olds costs!)

Here are some pictures from the celebration.

The birthday girl
The painting of the royal nails...
This was the best part of all...All of the little girls were boogeying to techno versions of the hokey-pokey and other formerly mellow children's songs. Then they each walked down the catwalk one by one as their names were announced and were crowned with their very own princess tiara.
The princesses in all their glory.
About 2/3 of the way through the party, LittleMan decided he'd been exposed to enough estrogen and demanded some fresh air. As soon as Tyson put him down on the sidewalk, he took off running. He's a smart kid, he can see when he's outnumbered and he chose the path of least resistance!