everton's first halloween

i was so excited for this year's halloween. knowing that we're gonna dress up as a family, we're gonna have a theme, i could dress everton in whatever i wanted due to him not being able to have a say, and it was gonna be AWESOME.  it didn't turn out as awesome as i hoped but there's only so much you could do with a little baby whose idea of entertainment is bringing anything he can get his hands on into his mouth.

so for costumes i had planned that i'd be pocahontas, brett would be john smith, and my little everton would be meeko!  i didn't realize trying to get costumes together for a family, even for a little one like mine, could be so time consuming.  i really need to get a sewing machine and learn to sew so we're not having to fork out money for such cheaply made costumes...orrrr we could just live by my parents and my mom could sew em.

but alas, i had no sewing machine and no mom.

i wanted to get my outfit done as fast as i could for a little party i went to, where i hosted and brought lumpia, apple nachos, and wait for it...TURTLE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE.  i think that was the sexiest thing i've ever made.  but the whole thing just stressed the crap out of me, along with the stress of completing my costume.  i say this again and again, i would've passed out or would've been running around tooele screaming if brett wasn't there to tell me to calm the freak down and to not stress over dumb crap.

i had my little party at a friend's and then we had our ward's trunk or treat halloween party.

my necklace was the hugest pain in the butt to make but my costume was completed.

everton's meeko "costume" was the easiest.  my friend JILL made the hat and we just threw on some gray clothes on him.  as much as i wanted to dress him in a cute little furry raccoon costume, there are no baby raccoon/meeko costumes out there!  i guess no baby really wants to be a raccoon/meeko when they could be a cuddly lion or a cute monkey.

as for brett's costume, it was non-existent.  time just ran out for his.  it seemed easy, we just needed to plan it better.  also there wouldn't have been time for brett to change because he got off work a half hour after the party started.  he was never a costume guy anyways.  he didn't seem heartbroken not being able to dress up.

but brett sure was heartbroken over his baseball team, the texas rangers, losing the world series...sorry honey.

so brett went to the ward halloween party dressed as i like to say, "the banker john smith who married pocahontas and had a raccoon baby with her."

that would make a GREAT disney movie.  pshh john rolfe who??

everton's first trunk or treat consisted him sitting in his bumbo in the trunk of the car staring at the cute little kids that came and took my favorite candy from our blue bowl.

and this lovely one is jill as that haggardy old hag from snow white.

definitely legit.

the actual trick or treating on the actual halloween night, on the other hand, was SO boring!  we got EIGHT, count em, EIGHT trick or treaters.  yes there's the trunk or treat church party and the "main street trick or treating where you go to businesses and get candy."  but do we have to forego the going from house to house, knocking on doors, wearing a fun costume, and getting even MORE candy?

as an ex-trick or treater i feel that kids should take advantage of every opportunity to get more candy!  build up that stash under your bed to last you till next halloween!
idk maybe it's just a tooele, utah thing.

note to self for next halloween, don't buy as much freakin candy.

more for me i guess, maybe i'll build my own secret chocolate stash.
so we spent our halloween night as a little family, watching halloween specials on tv, ordering pizza, and playing with everton.

all in all, not a bad halloween this year.

6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

my baby is 6 months!

halfway to a year.

i seriously started tearing up when i was chatting with a couple and they said their tiny baby was just 7 weeks!

WTHeck?!

i love my raccoon monster baby so freakin much.

-he's been trying to sit up, he'll try to sit up and then he'll just topple over onto his legs.

-he's not on breastmilk as much anymore.  i only nurse him in the morning but for the rest of the day he just sucks back that formula as if it's goin out of style.  he even holds his own bottle now!  sometimes we help him out but he likes to hold it himself.  so seeing him hold that bottle made me feel not as needed anymore and that all i'm good for now is changing his booty....but yet, I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

i'm grateful i was able to nurse for the first 6 months,  but i felt it was time to change. and i think he thought so too.  him pulling off every few mins got really annoying really fast.  i'm feeling really good now giving him formula, when i used to feel so guilty.  but i do feel good. but HOLY CRAP that crap's expensive!!!!!!

-i FINALLY got him on solids.  i think i had a case of da denial where i thought he wouldn't be ready for solids yet, even though as we're trying to eat he'll throw himself into our food, just to get a little taste.  so he now eats the single grain oatmeal and loves it!  ugh no more rice cereal ever.  and he's been really likin his sweet potatoes.  i am getting excited for all the concoctions i could make with his food.  so he's a eatin and a poopin beautifully.

-can't crawl yet.  but he gets on all fours, sticks his bum in the air, and does that movement where it looks like he's ready to launch.

emo meeko

happy raccoon

thanks to JILL for the kick-A raccoon hat.

trip to rexburg for a cute little girl's first birthday

well, it was time to go back to rexburg idaho.

it was our best friends, steve and gwen's daughter sienna's 1st birthday!

i can't believe that little girl is one!

last time we were in rexburg everton was in my belly, so coming back to rexburg with an actual baby in tow felt really weird yet awesome.  it was fun to show him where brett and i met, lived, went to school, etc. as he mindlessly sucked his fingers.

this trip was also the longest everton's been in the car.

and as many of you know, he HATES his carseat.  he shrieks the minute he knows we're putting him in it.

BUT one thing helped us to keep our sanity during the drive...

keep a bottle in his face!!  i'm still breastfeeding but not as often so formula has become our saving grace.

we give him a nice full bottle, he polishes it off, and then he's snoozin away.  he did SO great on the trip.  even better than when we would drive to salt lake city, which is only 30 mins.  and the drive to rexburg is about 4 hours.

he's also a lot more aware so toys now keep him occupied a lot longer than before and where his carseat is positioned he knows to look up and there i am.

the birthday girl!!

they're betrothed.  so what if sienna is 6 months older?

he'll catch up.

but there sure were a lot of other baby bachelors at the party so everton does have some competition.

but his hair always gets the ladies in our ward, even if they're like 60 years old.

gwen!  i miss her SO FREAKIN much.  i miss living close where we'd have game nights or vegging out nights.

but a 4 hour drive isn't bad.

traveling and sleeping somewhere else really does mess up everton's schedule a lot.  he definitely knows when he's not in his own crib.  last night being back home he did wake up a few times squawking but then went back to sleep.

EEEEE i LOVE him SOOOO much.

and brett too.

that kid with the cast

i have never broken a bone, therefore i have never had a cast.

and neither has brett.

so dealing with everton's cast business has been really interesting.

and it's not even a REAL cast.

just a tape one.

for one thing, his arm has become a nuisance when it comes to rolling over.

poor kid's arm gets too heavy to completely roll over and is left hangin out on his back.

foiled by the blasted thing!

another thing, 

SPONGE BATHS.

so gross.  you can only clean a baby with a wet washcloth for so long.

and that hair, it needs to be fully wet, fully shampooed, and fully brushed in order for it to look and smell good.  and as you can see in the pic above, we've been slacking in that department.

but thank goodness for baby cologne!  

a shower of that stuff right before church and the old folks at church would be none the wiser.

figuring out sleep attire for everton and his cast hasn't been too hard a problem as i thought it would be.  we just shove that cast through his sleeve and it fits just fine.

and lastly, he hits me in the face with it.

first fam photos for fall 2011

we just took our first official family photos and i think it shall be a yearly tradition.

this was before everton's surgery so in some pics you can see that sweet little 6 fingered hand.

i really miss that extra mutated finger.  well i miss his actual thumb too because it's being covered by that chunky green smelly thang.  

anywho, everton did pretty good at the shoot.  he didn't cry but he did bring his classic "deer in the headlights" look is because that darn camera is so mesmerizing.  

i was so bummed we weren't able to get his newborn pics done so 5 months after will just have to do.

we also got some shots in his little blessing tux.  the dude is just so tiny he could still fit in it.

i think his chubby knees are one of my most favorite attributes of everton.

{pics were taken by complexions photography}

a mutant, no more

what an emotional and physically draining day this was.

and that was just how i felt.

how everton felt i can only imagine.

the day started out with me getting up at 5.30a so i could get a bottle of my breast milk warmed up for everton.  that way he can eat as much as his heart desires and because he won't be able to eat from 6.45a till after the surgery.

the kid was fed, brett and i were showered, and we were getting ready to go out the door.

a challenge-brett found out last night the car wouldn't start.  awesome.  so we used my cousin's car to go to salt lake.  THANKS SO MUCH to scott and katy.  for real.

and we were on our way.  

we got to primary children's hospital in salt lake and brett gave everton a blessing in the car in the parking lot, which also helped calm our nerves.

we got registered and checked in at 9.15.

a doctor gave everton a little exam to make sure he's healthy enough for surgery.

the surgeon and the anesthesiologist talked to us and helped us to know what we can expect from everton after the surgery (which i was expecting everton to give us a certain finger to show how grumpy he is)

we followed the anesthesiologist to this one hallway and we came to this black and yellow tape.  and that's where we said our goodbyes.  i bursted into tears as i kissed everton's slobbery little face and off went our baby boy with the doc.  brett and i walked to the waiting room where they had snacks and drinks for us parents.  i binged on oreos as i read the Lord of The Rings.  as frodo was figuring out what to do with the one ring i kept checking the time.  his surgery ended up taking about an hour.  it went a lot faster than i thought it would and they called us back to see him.

and there he was.  a groggy little baby in the arms of a nurse.  i ripped everton away from her, shoved her out of the way and screamed "MY BABY!!"  bahahaha.  just kidding.  but i sure did tear up again.  what else is new?  he was alert enough to eat and he was huuuungry. he didn't eat for 6 hours.  i examined his little tape cast that was adorned with green dinosaurs.  my sweet darling baby.

the doctors and nurses said he did excellently during the surgery and woke up right away after.

that right there made me so happy.  i'm so grateful for the medicinal technology we have today.  i wouldn't want my little 5 month old to feel this kind of horrible pain.

we brought him home and he's been fussing and sleeping on and off.

the anesthesia was slowly wearing off so he was grumpy, sleepy, and dopey.  definitely not happy.  all he wants to do is be held and be snuggled.

i gave him some baby tylenol, fed and kissed his face, and put him to bed.

he usually sleeps wearing regular pajamas but because of the cast i feel like it wouldn't fit in the sleeves.

i didn't want to try and wrestle his pj's on him tonight.  i just wanted him to get rest as soon as he could.

i'll try the pj's tomorrow but any ideas on keeping him warm at night?  besides cutting a sleeve off of his pj's.

thanks for all the prayers and love.  i'm SO relieved this day is over. 

kid lost a thumb and gained a green plastic smelling tape cast for the next 5 weeks.

we'll get to see his 5 fingered hand then!
but i have to say, i do miss his extra little thumb already...

what has 3 thumbs and has surgery tomorrow?

THIS BABY!

remember this post about the mutant baby?

no, for real, we're freaking out.  i am on the verge of tears when i think about it.  brett and i have been closely examining the little thumb, knowing that soon it won't exist anymore on his little hand.  i don't want him to be in pain.  we wanted to do this procedure as early as we could so that it'll all be over with and if everton is in pain he wouldn't remember it later in life.  i think that's why babies go through such traumatic experiences when they're SO little.  i've heard that being born tops it all, when they're being shoved out of a little hole the size of a piece of chalk, it's just the freakiest thing happening to them at that moment.  they're going from a squishy and warm environment to a cold and hard place with bright lights.  but good thing, he won't remember it.

and i felt so bad for him when he had his circumcision.  we wanted to get it done for him soon after his birth so that he wouldn't have to deal with that kind of procedure when he gets older.  i mean, c'mon, who really wants to have a surgery like circumcision later in life?  that would suck.

babies sure do deal with a lot of crap when they're so little.

so yeah, i know a little thumb surgery is SO minor compared to actually coming into this world or a circumcision to his little tally whacker.  but what i'm actually nervous about is the anesthesia.  that's why they couldn't do this surgery soon after his birth b/c he was so little and wouldn't have been able to handle the anesthesia.  the doctors decided that it would be best to do it at 6 months to a year old. i know most of my posts are usually about me freaking out about the littlest things.  but for me any kind of surgery is major and you never know what'll happen.  i never do this but please pray for my little everton?  he's my treasured jewel and all i want is for him to wake up and be his usual goofy growling baby self.

surgery is tomorrow.
so let's take a moment and take a closer look at everton's chubby little claw.
for one.last.time.

at least i have one less nail to trim right?

:(