Halloween

I think Halloween might be my new favorite holiday. We have had so much fun going to the pumpkin patch, dressing up, carving our pumpkin, going to fall festivals and going trick-or-treating. I let Tyler have his Buzz Lightyear costume (Thanks, Nana!) about a week and a half before Halloween so he could wear it to a festival, and he has worn it every day since. He was so cute when I first gave it to him. He was so happy - running around, squealing and saying, "To infinity and beyond!"

We asked Ty Ty if he wanted a scary jack-o-lantern or a nice one, and he said, "A nice one!" So, Matt and Tyler looked at some jack-o-lantern faces online on Saturday night, and Tyler picked one out. He sat next to Matt, smiling, the entire time he was carving it. Then, as he'd go to bed each night after that, he'd say, "I need to give the jack-o-lantern a kiss goodnight!" and he would kiss it. 

We went on walks through the neighborhood in the days leading up to Halloween - Tyler loved looking at all of the decorations. He loved all of the "pooky ghostses" (spooky ghosts). The only time he seemed a little nervous was when he told me, "I don't want the jack-o-lanterns to get me."

Matt dressed up for Halloween, and when Tyler first saw him, he ran behind me and let out a little scream. Then, we just talked to him about how silly Daddy is, and explained that it's "just Daddy", and then he was fine with it. I was very impressed because Matt looked pretty scary!

Tyler seeing his spooky daddy:

My boy going trick-or-treating:

I can't believe I caught this precious moment. Love them!

Fall

Fall is here! The weather here in south Florida is not very "fallish", but the extreme heat is beginning to subside.

My childhood girlfriends and I had a girls weekend recently. It was the first time I've ever left Cora overnight. It went terribly (for her and Matt), actually, and I felt awful for leaving. She got up screaming a few times, and Tyler was up also. Needless to say, Matt didn't get much sleep. I'm so thankful that he watched the kiddos for me because I had such a great time with my friends. I love how much they love my babies.




I love this one of Tyler.


Next door neighbor growing up



I recently went to Washington D.C. with my parents for the weekend to attend my cousin's wedding. We brought the kids. I'm glad I went, but it was exhausting! Driving, flying, train rides, hotel rooms, etc. - It was nuts. When we arrived at about 5pm, Tyler hadn't napped all day, and the hotel was hosting a happy hour. Tyler was so tired that he was laughing hysterically every time he did something destructive. Before I knew it, he grabbed a glass of wine and slammed it down in the ice bin, shattering it. That was my cue to take the kids upstairs and put them in bed. The kids actually did great on our trip. We went into D.C. on two different days - Took a tour of the capital, walked around the mall, went to the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. All weekend, Tyler kept saying, "I don't wanna get married!" I had a babysitter for Cora on the night of the wedding, but Tyler came with us. He looked SO cute in his shirt and tie! He was really exhausted all night since the shuttle didn't take us back to the hotel until 11:30pm. Then, Cora woke up for the day at 3am, so we were all pretty exhausted on our trip back to Florida. My parents were an incredible help all weekend! I wouldn't have survived it without them - for reals.

We visited our first pumpkin patch yesterday and despite Ty Ty being pretty sick, he had a great time knocking over and/or throwing all of the pumpkins. Prepare yourselves for ridiculous cuteness...










As he was climbing down, another kid was climbing up. When Ty saw the other boy, he scrambled back up to the top, sat and just stared down at him. Hay King.





































Cora Update:

She is nine months old. She's cruising along the couches now. I don't think walking is too far off! She's mostly sleeping through the night, and she's eating more finger foods in addition to nursing and eating baby food.

Tyler Update:

He will be three years old in December!
He knows left and right.
He's still working on counting. It's usually still somewhat out of order. Counting to five goes like this: one, two, three, five, four!
He's awesome at puzzles. He's learning about corner pieces and side pieces. Today, I hurt my toe, and he ran into the room yelling, "What happened?!" Then he rubbed my back and quietly asked, "Wanna do a puzzle? Dat will make you feel better."
My parents took Tyler to a puppet show recently. In the car on the way home, he wouldn't stop chattering. Then he said, "That made Ty Ty so happy." When he got home he told me, "When the puppets come out, dat made Ty Ty a little bit nervous."

I have to take both kids to the pediatrician this week by myself. It's for Cora's 9 month appointment, and Tyler's three year appointment. I'm really nervous because they both are getting shots, and this is the first time where Tyler is at an age where he can understand what a shot is, be afraid of it, and try to fight the nurses off. It should be an interesting morning!

She Is Fierce

I recently came across this quote by William Shakespeare:

"And though she be but little, she is fierce."

I think this describes my girl so well. Everyone comments on how petite she is (15.1 lb. at her doctor's appointment when she was 7.5 months), but I'm telling you -  she is a fierce little soul. She's already letting me know what she wants, already so persistent (crawls around after me constantly until I hold her), and she is all over the place - crawling so fast (I love the sound of her little hands slapping down on the tile. I always know when she's coming), pulling up, and climbing.

She still has four teeth, and I think she's working on getting four more. She typically will either sleep through the night (down by 6:30pm, up between 5:45-6am), or she'll wake up once (and I'll still nurse her). She's not nursing that great anymore. She just gets too distracted, looks at me laughing, looking at Tyler, etc. She only usually nurses for a few minutes at each feeding.

She still LOVES Ty Ty. She cracks up every time she looks at him. He recently gave her a black eye when they were playing in her crib. He was being silly and then just slammed his head into her face.





Tyler has warmed up to Cora ("B. Toya" is what his "Baby Cora" sounds like, so it has become her nickname) too. He tries to make her laugh, he brings her toys, and he calls her "baby" sometimes, which is very cute.





Tyler is HILARIOUS...




Superhero outfit

My dad recently got his wisdom teeth removed, so his face was extremely swollen. Tyler would just stare at him with the biggest grin on his face. The other day, we pulled into the driveway and Tyler said, "G-pa's cheeks all better?" I said, "Not yet, but they will be soon." Tyler started laughing and said, "Him so funny! Him look like a monster!"
We have been house hunting lately, so today I asked Ty if he wanted a new house. He said, "No, I wanna live with G-ma forever!"
Whenever he sees a motorcycle drive by, he comments on whether or not the driver is wearing a helmet. He'll see someone not wearing one and he'll say, "Uh-Oh! Him not wearing him helmet! Him gonna bump him head!" He also said one time, "Dat make me sad."
Ty recently screamed "NO!" at me, so I put him in time out. Before I let him get up, I asked him if he knew why he was in time out. He said, "Because I say "no" to mommy." After explaining why he shouldn't speak to me that way, I let him get up. I went in the other room and started talking to Matt. About a minute later, Tyler comes marching through the room, glancing at us out of the corner of his eye, singing the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", but adding his own lyrics: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no...No, no, no, no, no, no, no."
He memorized his first bible verse in Sunday School: "God is with you wherever you go!" He says it so proudly.
He rides his bike all by himself now! Yesterday, he fell off. When I tried to help him up, he said, "No!", then ran away and stood about 20 feet away, hanging his head. I think he was embarrassed. Hopefully he will try again soon!
He has a book called "Duck and Goose". He tells me that the duck is Ty Ty and the goose is "Misle" (his buddy, Miles). So, he makes me read the entire book like that, saying things like, "And then Ty Ty looked at Misle..." (Instead of "And then Duck looked at Goose...").
If we ask Tyler who his best friend is, he says, "Misle and Daniel. They have two Buzz Lightyears!"














Sweet dress! I think she's going to be an early walker.


Finally taking normal baths together. Cora loves it!




She used to do this all the time. Love her.


Black eye