As most know, Garrett's family lives in IL and we decided to take a trip back there to see everyone and celebrate Easter together. I was dreading the flight a bit but as you can see here, everyone else was excited and all smiles.
The flight there was a bit harder. Ty hates being held all the time and likes his space. I spent most of the first 3 hour flight standing in the back with him in the Ergo. But we got smart on the way back and put a blanket down on the floor below Tatum's seat and let him sit there with toys, much more enjoyable. Of course the flight attendants didn't care for it in case of
turbulence but we were ready to grab a flying baby if need be in exchange for some peace and quiet. :)
The first thing on the agenda after we arrived was attending Garrett's Grandpa's funeral. We gathered with many family members, ones we'd never met and others we were excited to see again.
The ceremony was beautiful and I'm so glad we were able to be there to experience it and say our good-byes.
That night we went to the
TRN, Nadine and Jerry's club. They were having a fish fry for Good Friday and a raffle where Tatum was chosen to pick the winning ticket. What an honor!
Saturday we headed to Garrett's friend Ben's house where we had a fun BBQ with his high school friends.
Ben and Cassie live on a large plot of land where Tatum enjoyed rolling down the hills with Lauren, Jen and Josh's almost 6 year old.
And lots of running. :)
Ty just enjoyed sitting in the grass. :)
Sunday morning we woke up to Easter baskets that the Easter bunny had left in the house. And then we went out back to hunt for Easter eggs he had hidden, so much fun!
Easter egg hunting is done best in fancy high heels, just to let you know. It also really drags out the event. :)
Ty couldn't participate in the hunt this year but I'm sure he'll be giving Tatum a run for her money next Easter. :)
Here's my sweet little man getting a bath in Grandma
Dini's sink! Look at those chubs!
After the egg hunt, we went to brunch with Garrett's Dad's side of the family, the
Silveris. Lots of fun and good food. The best part for me was sitting at the opposite end of the table as my kids. A nice meal in peace and quiet. :)
Then we headed to Aunt Diane's house for another egg hunt...
Here's Peyton and Tatum showing off their treasure. :)
Here's the whole gang.
Then we headed inside where everyone got Easter gifts and then the Easter raffle began where we all started out with $500
Easter money and could bid on various items ranging from jewelry and purses to poker goods and Twilight items. Lots of fun!
This is such a cute picture of Tatum and Peyton chatting it up in Aunt Diane's front yard. Peyton is 6 1/2 and the two of them got along so well. Between him and his sister Carlie who's 11, I barely saw Tatum because she was kept busy with these two playing I Spy and other fun games. If I could have packed them and brought them home, I would have. :)
We never got around to dying eggs on Sunday so we did it after Easter, which was still lots of fun, and then put the eggs in a potato salad dish for the fishing derby on Tuesday.
Here's Grandma
Dini helping Tatum with her masterpiece.
And then Tuesday was the fish derby. And Tatum caught her first fish! On that little plastic pole, no less! But this was the only photo I could get of her near the fish. Once it came flopping out of the water, she wanted no part of it. :)
And here's Carlie helping Tatum fish. The two of them loved being together, it was so cute. The whole trip was wonderful and over so fast. I wish I could say we'd turn around and do it again right away but the distance makes it hard. But I guess everyone just needs to get out here and visit us now! :) Thanks for an amazing visit everyone!!!
This is Ty's favorite position. When you're a bit on the large side, it takes a lot of energy to get up on your feet so when he gets this far, he just hangs out and rests a bit. :) Or maybe the world looks more interesting upside down. Maybe I should look into this... :)
But this is what it does to his hair. Too funny. He's now crawling and gets all over the house. Tatum didn't get around to crawling till she was 10 months and even then, was very cautious and took her sweet time. Ty is a mover and will be out of the living room and down the hall before I can count to five. I guess it's time to get a baby gate!
Here's my sweet boy after the bath. He LOVES the water and doesn't mind if you pour water right over his head and into his eyes. Such a difference from Tatum who goes through a complete melodramatic display when it comes to washing her hair. These two couldn't be more opposite, yet they look exactly alike. Funny.
Anyway, on to Tatum. She got to see Sesame Street Live with one of her BFFs, Ellie. They loved it! All the important characters were present and the show was all about imagination and how you can close your eyes and be anywhere in the world. We've kept this thought going all weekend. Tatum keeps closing her eyes and asking if we're at the park and I keep closing my eyes and asking if I'm at the spa. Hmmm, maybe it doesn't quite work like that. :)
Tatum and Ellie had fun getting up and dancing lots...
and then fixing all the arms on the chairs at intermission. I think they both may be asked back to the Sports Arena for their first job. :) But Mandy and I won't be letting them work there as we were appalled to smell pot all through the show. Really? I understand it's Sesame Street and maybe not a parents first show choice but come on.
We drove up to Irvine on Friday and on Saturday, Lee and I went up to Manhattan Beach to celebrate Shauna's birthday with a delicious brunch of yummy food, bottomless mimosas and a blow job shot. Wow, it's been a few years since I've enjoyed one of those, thanks Michael! :)
And later that afternoon we went to Jenny's mom's house for a Welcome Sam baby shower. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of mommy and baby but I got lots of the kids playing ring around the rosie...
(the falling down is so funny!)
sitting in the grass...
and Ty showing us what he does when he goes on a roller coaster. :) This is my favorite because Tatum use to do this and she looked so different. Ty is so large that you can see, he barely gets his arms around his big head and cheeks. Oh my little butter ball. :)
