Halloween 2013

This year for Halloween I kind of forced Layla to be Ariel. She wasn't set on being any one thing, in fact, she never even said anything she wanted to be and was excited to be Ariel. I loved it because she already had the Ariel princess dress and crown so all I had to buy her was the wig. I also wanted her and Marcus to be something that went together, so I found him a lobster costume for super cheap and he was Sebastian. (I realize Sebastian was a crab, not a lobster, but close enough.)

We had lots of fun for Halloween. Layla had a Halloween party at preschool where they decorated sugar cookies and made a Halloween craft and wore their costumes. Well actually, Layla didn't wear her costume. I offered it to her but she said no "because it's not Halloween." It was the day before. She is so literal sometimes. Ha, ha!

We went to the ward Halloween party and carved pumpkins, which I mentioned in my previous post. On Halloween day I took the kids with my mom to go trick-or-treating a my sister-in-law's, Natalie's, work. She works in a huge office building with rows and rows of cubicles so Layla practically filled up her bucket! She was excited and kept saying, "Candy! Candy! CAANNDDYY!!!" Ha, ha. We went to lunch with my mom and Natalie afterwards at the only place we go to eat with my mom anymore: Zupa's. Layla loves it and so do I. I could eat their every single day. Seriously.

Mitch came home from being out of town that afternoon and we had a quick dinner in between passing out candy every 30 seconds. It really seemed like our doorbell rang at least once every minute and I would guess we easily had over 100 trick or treaters, maybe closer to 200. It was fun.

Mitch took Layla trick or treating around the block. She was SO excited and really, really wanted Mitch to dress up, so he wore an old dinosaur mask and gloves he had. It made her day, even though he only wore them for a few minutes since it was hard to see through the mask. But what a good sport. Layla LOVED trick or treating. Mitch said she was pretty chatty with everyone who was passing out candy. She told one neighbor that they had a lot of stairs on their porch, another lady that she has a cool Mickey Mouse pumpkin, etc. She's my little social butterfly, that's for sure!

Now we've been dealing with Layla begging for Halloween candy every day since. I can see why some parents bribe their kids to get rid of the candy. It's annoying. Plus, I eat it too. Can't help myself. All her chocolate candy is gone, except her Whoppers. Which reminds me, Layla's candy consists primarily of Whoppers, Smarties, and any kind of sucker. Apparently she still hasn't learned what the good stuff is. I'm trying to teach her. :)

Marcus seemed to really like being in his lobster costume. He would just hang out in there, content as could be. Maybe because whenever he was in the costume he was being held. That always makes him happy. He's just a happy little guy. Still not sleeping through the night, but wakes up as happy as can be. The other morning he would not stop smiling and Layla kept calling him "Mr. Happy Face." She thought of that all on her own and I think it fits him perfectly. He has the most handsome, happy little face and I must kiss those cheeks 1,000 times a day. I love that little man! I hope he remembers that when I start letting him cry it out in a couple of weeks. I decided I'd give him until his 6 month check up with the doctor then I'm going to do the cry it out thing. It worked with Layla and I'm desperate enough to try it again.






















Anyways, we had a very happy Halloween around here and can't wait for next year!

October

So, this month turned out differently than I would have expected. Mitch has been out of town practically the entire month for work. Thankfully he was able to come home for Halloween and most weekends. To say we missed him would be an understatement. Layla really struggled and seemed more emotional than normal. I think it was confusing for her to have him gone all week, skype at night, and then home on the weekends. Anyways, we are thankful for his good job, even if it means he has to travel at times.

Already hogging the remote.

We went on a field trip this month to a pumpkin patch. It was fun, despite the fact that it rained practically the entire time and was super muddy. Marcus fell asleep on the tractor ride and Layla love riding on the "cow train."

Last weekend while Mitch was home, he took Layla on a date to another pumpkin patch and they picked out a pumpkin for each of us. (16 cents a pound. So cheap!) They had fun even though Layla was disappointed that this pumpkin patch wasn't nearly as fun as the one we went to on her field trip (but it was only 10 minutes from our house).

The next day Mitch and Layla carved the pumpkins. Layla told Mitch what she wanted each one to look like and he followed orders. She wanted things like "triangle eyes, a circle nose, and a crescent mouth." Cute and easy.

We also attended our ward Halloween party. Everyone brought soup so there were dozens of kinds to choose from. The kids dressed up and the older kids had a carnival for the younger kids with 6 different activities, prizes, and candy. Layla loved it of course. At the end they had a trunk or treat in the parking lot so Layla got plenty of candy. It was a fun night. Too bad I didn't take any pics while we were there!

Marcus turned 5 months old! He's getting so big! He rolled over all by himself for the first time yesterday and has done it several times since. Layla and I clapped and cheered for him the first few times. He can roll over both ways now. Funny how that just happens one day, right? He is also loving his baby food. So far he's had rice cereal, butternut squash, sweet potato, and avacado. He hates avocado unless I mix it with something else. If I give it to him plain he literally gags and throws up. It's very dramatic and quite funny.

 

He is still a happy guy who loves to laugh. I love his little personality. What I don't love is that he quit sleeping through the night and wakes up 2 to 4 times every night! Ahhhh! We tried having Mitch get up with him, but that just made it worse (Marcus is a mamma's boy). I think I'm going to have to do some sleep training soon because I'm starting to go crazy.

His favorite activity: pulling sister's (or my) hair.

The other weekend it was general conference and I explained to Layla who our prophet was and showed her a picture of him (President Thomas S. Monson). A few days later we were at my parents' and Tom Hanks was on TV. I asked Layla if she knew who he was (of course I knew she didn't, but he is one of my top 3 favorite actors, so I was just quizzing her for fun). She looked at him and said, "President Monson!" Apparently Tom Hanks and President Monson look similar to her. It was cute. 

After church a few weeks ago I asked Layla what she learned about in nursery. She said she learned about Joseph Smith. Then I asked her what he did and she said, "He prayed and then 2 Jesuses came!" Ha, ha, ha! Looks like we have a little work to do on that one ...

Layla gave me the best compliment the other day. She said, "You're really good at teaching me stuff, Mom." Awww, I try so hard and it's nice to hear that I'm doing a good job. Especially from the one I'm trying to teach!

I have had several photography sessions every weekend this month and it's been great! What's even better is that I made enough money to buy new editing software, and the rest of my earnings I am saving to buy a telephoto lens. I have learned so much and see that I am improving. Still have a long ways to go to get to where I want to be, but I'm getting there. I am thankful to have built up a good starting client base and hope to expand it more next year. Now I am super busy editing everyone's pics, particularly the clients who need them back for Christmas! Thankfully my new editing software is awesome and I can edit a lot faster and better than I could before.

 

I taught my first lesson in Relief Society last week. I was really worried about two things: remembering people's names and having not having enough material to fill in the whole 40 minutes. Well, I slaughtered people's names, of course, but I did have plenty of material and was able to lead a good group discussion on member missionary work. Several women told me afterwards that they enjoyed the lesson and that made me feel good. Now I won't be so nervous next month.

And, just to embarrass my kids when they're older:

But might I add that right now they both LOVE bathing together. Marcus thinks Layla is the coolest thing in the world, so Layla + water = hyper baby. Layla thinks Marcus is funny and better than any of her bath toys, so it's a win win. I love my kids, even "The One Who Doesn't Sleep." At least he laughs a lot!

Family Pics

We, I mean I, decided we needed new family pics now that Marcus has joined us (Mitch was a really good sport about it though). We scheduled them and rescheduled them several times due to Mitch going out of town and the rest of us being sick. But it finally happened and I couldn't be happier with the results. I love every single picture. I love the bright colors and the way these pics capture Layla's personality perfectly. (It helped that the photographer, my friemd Liz, can do some funny voices that made Layla laugh and smile while looking at the camera.) Oh, I think I already mentioned this on here, but Layla's stuffed animal, Kitty, was in some of our pics. We couldn't convince her otherwise, and he is pretty much a member of our family. I will love looking back on these when Layla is all grown up and remembering her and Kitty. Picture overload, but this wasn't even all of them, just my very most favorites.


(Click on the pics to view them so that they won't be pixelated. They are high-resolution so they look kind of grainy if you don't click on them first.)

So glad I married him.

 I love her hair. All natural. Lucky girl!

The shape of his eyes + long eyelashes = one handsome little dude!

I love their guts.

Phone Dump

Here's a bunch of pics and a video off my phone, in no particular order:

Marcus thinks Layla is downright hilarious. I love it. He has the best sense of humor. Every day he has a period where he is in a laughing mood and laughs at anything and everything we do. It's the best! His little personality is emerging and the more I see of it the more I am reminded of my brother, Brock. They are both lighthearted and looking for a good time. They are both fun to be around. Also, I love this video because my kids such cute laughs!

I was lucky enough to get a head cold from the devil himself a few weeks back. Seriously, it was the worst cold I've ever had. Marcus got a little cold to start it all off, then Layla had a fever for a few hours, then a cough that lingered forever, then I got the satanic cold that I am just barely getting over. Whew, it sucked.

 Layla loves sidewalk chalk. One evening this summer she wrote the following words. I had to tell her how to spell Harvey and Marcus, but the rest she knows on her own. She can also spell her last name and repeat my phone number.

HARVEY

LAYLA

DAD

MOM

MARCUS

On her way to preschool.

Uncle time.

Jordan's first time meeting Marcus.

Now that we're all starting to feel better and Mitch is enjoying his work, life is good and we're having fun.

We went to Antelope Island over conference weekend and enjoyed spending some time in the sunshine. Conference was nice, as always.

We went bowling for my grandma's bday.

Layla ate a fudgesicle.

I wish I had been able to pay more attention to the talks (kind of hard with two kids), especially now that I was called to teach our ward Relief Society lessons on the conference talks ... I teach for the first time this month. I'm nervous.

Twins! My mom bought them the ties.

Layla still loves preschool. We also put her in this little dance class our neighbor teaches. They don't learn a choreographed dance, it's more just learning to move her body, stretching, practicing somersaults, etc. She has a good time and is actually way better at her somersaults now.

We make a lot of cookies around here.

Here blonde moment for the day: sitting in the pool with her towel on because she was cold. 

Layla still involves her beloved Kitty in every aspect of her life. She does this little high-pitched voice when Kitty is talking. And man, does he talk a lot! Ha, ha! He is always suggesting fun things for us to do and it's weird how he always knows just what Layla wants (sarcasm). When Kitty talks to me, he calls me "Lacey" and it makes me laugh every time. When Layla has to go to the bathroom or leave somewhere, she will tell Mitch or I to "watch Kitty and make sure he's okay. If he starts crying, just tell me and I'll come nurse him to sleep." Ha, ha, ha. She's such a little mommy to her kitty! Oh, and guess who joined us for family pictures? And was in our family pictures? No, not our cat Harvey. Layla's grey, stuffed kitty, Kitty. Yep, we were faced with two choices: let Kitty be in our beautiful family pictures, or have the pictures completely ruined by a tantrum-throwing three year old. We figured having Kitty in the pics would be funnier. I can't wait to get them back and it will be fun to have those pics and remember when Kitty was our third child (and I'm not being sarcastic about that. While I was opposed to Kitty in the pics at first, I really do think it's funny/cute now).

Tied Kitty onto her bike.

Mitch's Conundrum

So, to sum up a long story that has finally reached a conclusion after several weeks, let me record the following:

Mitch works for a company that wins contracts with the government (i.e. the air force to design/build/maintain missiles) that typically last 5 to 10 years. If they don't win contracts, they don't have work. The big contract that they have in our state was ending and, considering his company has managed the work here since the 1950s, Mitch figured it was a no-brainer that his company would win the new contract. Well, for once in our married life, Mitch was wrong. (Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but he's really rarely wrong. About anything. Sometimes this drives me nuts, but that's another story for another day.) They lost the contract.

Rumors went flying. Everyone expected this new company to offer them jobs with a pay cut. Mitch ended up applying anyways. He didn't hear anything from them for two weeks after interviewing. During those two weeks his current employer gave him a 5% raise, a promotion, and a large bonus if he is still working there in one year from now (they had heard he had applied for the new company and wanted him to stay).

Two weeks later and Mitch finally hears back from the new company. They offered him another 5% raise and a promotion to a management position. At this point we had a big decision to make. We prayed our little hearts out and did not feel that either option was good or bad. This went on for several days. We tried to go to the temple to think about it some more, but when we showed up at noon on a Saturday the temple was closed! Grrrrr! (It was the General Relief Society Meeting that evening, which I even went to, but did not think the temple would close so early that day!)

Anyways, eventually Mitch declined the offer from the new company. So they came back and offered him a very large sign on bonus on top of everything else. I'm not going to lie, but when I heard the number all I could think of was a new kitchen table. Only this could have bought us a lot of kitchen tables. Ha, ha. So, Mitch went and told his current employer, who then doubled the bonus they will give him if he is still there in one year from now. Basically it turned into a bidding war over Mitch's employment.

We talked in circles again that night. Mitch was SO torn. He is very loyal to his company, they have been nothing but good to him, and they value him and his hard work. And Mitch is really going places there. I swear he's going to run the place someday. The other company offers very little (pretty much none) room to advance, their health insurance is more than double what we pay now, and they do not offer bonuses. They also wanted him to hire six employees to work under him for a very low income and Mitch was worried that he would have a hard time hiring people at that salary.

We made a list of pros and cons. Not just any pros and cons list though. Oh no. That would not be good enough for my rocket scientist, engineer hubby. Let's just say this list involved addition and multiplication. Ha, ha! The list said Mitch should stay. I said Mitch should stay. Mitch's gut said he should stay. At one point I actually put my hands on Mitch's shoulders, looked him square in the face, and told him I thought he should stay. He said he thought so too.

The next day at work he declined the position with the new company again. Man, it was a whirlwind of emotions. But we both feel so good about it and know that we made the right decision to have him stay where he is. It always amazes me how we can pray and pray for an answer, but the answer doesn't come until after we take a step forward into the darkness. Somehow showing our faith and stepping forward brings the peace that we were searching for all along. And who would have thought that Mitch applying for a different job would grant him a promotion, a raise, and a large bonus next year? Also, Mitch got his job with his company in the first place because he was a pro at Microsoft Access, which he learned as an office elder on his mission. And now that knowledge he gained on his mission lead to his job and has brought us here to our blessed lives. Pretty crazy the way things always work out. This was a really good reminder to me that Heavenly Father always blesses us when we try our best and are obedient to His commandments. I am so thankful for my husband's hard work and the blessings our Heavenly Father has granted us as a result.