Christmas Came Early at the Marchant Home!

Yesterday, we celebrated Christmas together as a family. We are flying to Utah tomorrow to be with our families for the holiday, so we wanted to do our own family Christmas morning before we went. As cute as Ty was last Christmas, he was so much more fun this year!! He was crazy about unwrapping the presents, and then completely overwhelmed by his new toys. He kept running back and forth between the new toys, trying to decide which he wanted to play with most. It was so fun to watch! It was also way nice to be able to spend the whole day together as a family. Adam is usually busy doing something on Saturdays, but he was able to delegate all responsibilities to others so that he could be with us for the day. It was wonderful! In the afternoon, we went to a nearby rec center. Adam and Ty went swimming (which Ty LOVED!) while I got in a good workout. In the evening, we had our ward Christmas party. Santa showed up at the party, and Ty sat on his lap. Ty was not the slightest bit afraid of the big guy! He just kept saying, "Ho, ho, ho!" So cute!

Ty is now 18 months old, and he is hilarious and exasperating all at once.  I have two funny Ty stories that I wanted to write down, so that I don't forget them.

A couple of days ago, Ty and I were out running errands.  We stopped at the bank, and without my realizing it, Ty snatched a pen from the counter.  Unfortunately, this pen had no cap.  We got back in the car, I buckled Ty in his carseat, and we were on our way.  A few minutes later, I heard an unearthly shriek from the back seat.  I turned around to see Ty grabbing his eye, and realized he must have stabbed himself in the eye with the uncapped pen.  To make matters worse, he had written all over his face, ears, and head with the black ink!  Of course I was driving, so there wasn't a whole lot I could do.  I simply turned the car around and drove home.  I couldn't finish my errands with my shrieking, "artistic" son in the condition he was in!

This second story made Adam laugh like crazy when I told it to him, and I could tell he was as proud as can be!  Ty LOVES basketball.  I mean, I literally can not often convince him to do anything else.  He has a basketball hoop, but it is tall enough that he can not reach it to shoot on his own.  Usually, Adam or I have to lift him up to shoot the ball.  He has recently figured out, though, that if he climbs on the rocking chair in his room, he can stand on that to shoot the basketball into the basket on his own.  The problem, obviously, is that it is a rocking chair. He has taken a few headers off it in the last few days!  Yesterday, I walked into his room just in time to see him faceplant off the rocking chair onto the floor.  He came up crying, and I asked him if he wanted a hug.  He quickly responded, "NO!  BALL!"  And he climbed right back up again.  He is definitely all boy.  

Family Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, we had a friend take us out to shoot our family pictures. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't very good, and not too many turned out. We got a few good shots of the family, but she got TONS of cute pictures of Ty. I guess it's not too hard to get great pictures of a kid as cute as him!

Monkey Business!

I haven't really been in a blogging mood lately, but I decided that since it's a frigid 11 degrees outside, it's probably as good a day as any to post. I'm certainly not going to venture out today!
Adam was fortunate to have the entire week of Thanksgiving off of work. On Monday, we took Ty to a place called Monkey Business. They have all sorts of inflatable slides, obstacle courses, bounces houses, and other fun things for kids. Ty had a blast, and I'm pretty sure Adam did, too!

Adam and Ty on one of the slides
(I'm obviously not very good at the action shot!)

My two favorite boys

The Results are In...

...and we are having another BOY!!! I was seriously so shocked! I had myself convinced that this baby was defintiely a girl. When the ultrasound technician told us that it was another boy, my response was, "Uh-uh." I asked her if she was sure several times. Sure enough, a baby boy is on his way! We are all super excited. In many ways, I actually wanted another boy next. Ty and this baby will be only 22 months apart, so they can be best buddies (and probably worst enemies at times!) as they grow up. Another bonus is that we won't have to buy brand new clothes, bedding, etc. Hooray for hand-me-downs!
The only problem is that boy names are so hard for us to agree on! I have been calling this baby "Abbie" all along, but I bet this child doesn't really want that for his name! Any suggestions? I guess it's a good thing that we have 4 1/2 months to figure it out!

Blue vs. Red

Yes, today is THE game. It's the once a year event that splits our family in half!! Last year, Adam and I decided that we couldn't dress Ty in red or blue, because we were arguing so much about what color to put him in for the big game! This morning, Adam offered to get Ty ready for the day. I didn't think much of it, until I saw him come out of his room like this:

Considering Ty doesn't have any Utah gear, this was the best Adam could do. So much for neutrality in our children, huh? I am getting my revenge by making sure Ty reads this book repeatedly:

Go cougars!! Lets keep the winning streak vs. Utah alive and make sure the Utes do NOT get into a BCS game!!

Gas Prices and Books

Good news!! When I stopped at the gas station this morning to fill up the tank, I only paid $1.96 a gallon for gas! I was able to fill up my SUV for less than $30. That has never happened before! I am in no way complaining about the price of gasoline ;) but I have to say that I really don't understand it. How is it that we were paying over $4/gallon just a couple of months ago, and the prices has dropped more than $2 in such a short time? Adam says the demand for gasoline has gone way down. I guess I understand the law of supply and demand as well as anyone, but could the demand really have dropped that much? It baffles me. I suppose whatever the cause, I should just be grateful to be getting my gas so darn cheap!

On a totally unrelated note, I took this photo recently, unnoticed by Ty. He goes through his bookshelf multiple times a day "reading" all his picture books. It usually keeps him occupied long enough for me to get ready in the morning. He is even to the point that Adam and I can tell him, "Let's read Green Eggs and Ham, or Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" or another title, and he will retrieve the correct book. I am obsessed with the fact that he loves books! I think he definitely acquired that trait from me!

Election Day Results

I have to be honest and say that the evening of November 4th was not a very happy one for me.   Adam and I both requested mail-in ballots, and then we spent hours upon hours studying all the issues and candidates together while we filled in our ballots at home.  I have never in my life spent so much time and thought on an election.  Just a disclaimer, I am generally pretty conservative in my political views.  I was disappointed, then, when Colorado voted strongly Democrat for almost all the issues and candidates.  Not that I think I wasted my time by preparing carefully to vote, I just wish that something I voted for had passed!!  The only good news of the night for me was that Prop 8 passed in California.  WAY TO GO!!

Just One More Halloween Post

We went trick or treating last night with some friends of ours from our ward. Ty caught on to the idea pretty quickly, and began cutting across yards to get to those doors as fast as possible! He racked up quite a bit of loot. When we got home, we combined the candy from all of the parties that we have been to this year with what he collected last night. It was a small mountain! It was enough to fill my very largest mixing bowl. Yikes!


Each Halloween, my family has a pumpkin carving contest. A small monetary reward for the winner has inspired lots of really creative pumpkins! This year, Adam actually decorated a pumpkin instead of carving it:

I tried to carve Cinderella's castle, in honor of our recent Disneyland vacation:
But the winner was my very talented 13-year-old brother, Matt, with his pumpkin, "The Joker."
Fun traditions! I love Halloween and I am a bit sad it's all over, but the wonderful thing is Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

Tagged Again

It seems as though there have been a lot of tags going around again lately.  I have been tagged several times with the "fourth photo tag" but have been putting it off because I was a little scared of what I would find!  Apparently, my fear was justified!  Here's how it works:  you go into your "my photos" folder and pull up the fourth picture of the fourth folder, and then explain what it's about.  

This happens to be one of my bridals.  Yep.  I was feeling a little antsy after trying to look pretty all morning.  I found this random plastic axe and decided to pose.  That's all.  I've never been known to be overly serious!

Husband Tag

1.  Where did you meet your husband?  In the BYU library.  My roommate, Sarajane, was an accounting major and told all of us that lived together that we ought to study on the first floor (accounting lab) because there were so many good-looking guys there.  That's where we first met, but then I needed SJ to get the ball rolling for me because I wasn't too keen on the idea of dating Adam right at first.

2.  How long did you date before you were married?  Started dating in November, engaged in February, married in June.  7 months all together.

3.  How long have you been married?  3 1/2 years

4.  What does he do that surprises you?  He is always doing nice things for me, like bringing me flowers and rubbing my feet.  When we went to California a couple of weeks ago, he surprised me with a professional massage at the spa in our hotel!

5.  What is his best feature?  I love that he is blonde, and I also love how tall he is!

6.  What is his best quality?  So many good ones...probably just that he is so good.  He's a very righteous man.

7.  Does he have a nickname for you?  He only calls me Meg or Meggie, rarely ever Meggin.

8. What is his favorite food?  He loves almost every food, except for cherries and squash.  His favorites are probably steak and burgers.

9.  What is his favorite sport?  He is a sports man, that is for sure!  He loves them all, but tennis and basketball are probably the favorites.

10.  When and where was your first kiss?  In December 2004, on the U of U campus. 

11.  What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?  Watch Utah Jazz games!

12.  Do you have any children?  Our sweet Ty, and baby #2 to come in April.

13. Does he have any hidden talents?  Well he thinks he is a good dancer!  :) He makes Ty and me laugh and laugh when he dances!

14.  How old is he?  27.

15.  Who said I love you first?  He did.

16.  What is his favorite music?  He listens to sports radio when he is alone, or when we are together we listen to country.

17.  What do you admire most about him?  He's a GREAT husband and father.

18.  What is his favorite color?  Red.

19.  Will he read this?  Probably.

20.  Who do you tag?  My Colorado girls!  Kim, Julie, Lindsey, Katie, Wylie, Casey.  Annie, if you read this and decide you ever want to post again, you too!  ; ) 

Going Golfing

A few weeks ago I posted some ideas about Ty's Halloween costume. We decided to go with the golfer costume, and my mom pulled it off beautifully! Earlier this week, we had our ward trunk or treat Halloween party, so Ty got to don the finished product for the first time. Here are a few photos we took after we got home.

"It's bedtime, Mom!"

Ty with his loot

He wouldn't let go of this sucker!

Our Trip to Disneyland

Warning: this post contains LOTS of pictures. Hey, it's really not my fault. We just got back from Disneyland! It's hard to be selective!
Adam did an audit of a hotel in LA all of last week. Ty and I decided to fly out and visit, too, so that we could go to the happiest place on earth. Anyone who knows me knows that I am OBSESSED with Disneyland, so the opportunity was just too good to pass up!
We have not done Disneyland since Ty has been a part of our family. It was definitely different with a little person. There was no "combating" Disney this time around! Still, we had a blast. We spent most of our time on the small rides, but it was fun!
Our friends Kevin and Tami Rasmussen live in Southern California, not too far from Disneyland. Adam and Kevin did the accounting program together, and Tami and I went through the whole El Ed program together at BYU. They have a little boy who is just a few days younger than Ty. They met us at the park in the morning, and we were able to spend a couple of hours with them having fun and catching up!

We got to meet Buzz Lightyear!

Ty and me in line at Autopia. Ty loved driving the car. He kept saying, "Wow!" the whole time.

Riding the carousel

The Dumbo ride

We loved how Disneyland was decorated for Halloween!

One of Ty's favorite places to visit was ToonTown. They had all sorts of fun things to climb on and in. Ty was in heaven!

At Mickey's house

Chip and Dale's treehouse

Goofy's playhouse

Playing Goofy's piano

The very best moment of the whole day came when we went to Mickey's house to meet the mouse. Ty doesn't know many of the Disney characters, but he does know Mickey, thanks to the show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney channel. As soon as Ty saw Mickey, he squirmed out of my arms and made a mad dash for him. He was laughing his head off and squealing. It just made my whole life!

We seriously had a blast in California! At the same time, we are glad to be home and back into our normal routine!

Ty's Tricks

It's a...

BABY!!

Yes, it's true.  I, Meggin Marchant, who all but swore after my awful pregnancy with Ty that I would never be pregnant again, am in fact, pregnant again.  Fortunately, this pregnancy has been SO MUCH EASIER.  Whereas with Ty I threw up two or three times a day, this time I have only thrown up two or three times TOTAL.  I have felt nauseous at night, but comparatively, it has been a walk in the park.  Because of that, I think it might be a girl this time around.  That would be a lot of fun to have one of each!

I am 12 weeks along.  My due date is April 20, meaning this baby and Ty will be 22 months apart. Here we go again!  

Sorry, Angie, I suppose my last post was a bit deceptive! 

Boring lives

I have taken a bit of a hiatus from my blog.  The main reason for that is that I have had nothing blog-worthy to share (and still don't, really)!  We are all well and good.  Ty's vocabulary has all of a sudden exploded in the last two or three weeks.  He is now saying all sorts of crazy things!  It has been so fun.  Other than that, we are just living our same, boring lives.  Sometimes boring is best, though, right?

Denver Zoo and Bucket Head!

A couple weeks ago, Adam and I took Ty to the zoo.  I took him once during the spring, but he has grown so much this summer that it was a lot more fun for him this time around.  He loved it, especially the monkey house.  We could barely pry him away from the glass.  I guess he thought he belonged there! :)

Ty and Mom with the hippo

A really cool shot of the elephant

Monkey see, monkey do

Ty and Dad

I have one funny Ty story.  A few days ago, I was in my room and I heard a very muffled, "Mama?  Mama?" coming from Ty's room.  I went in, and found that he had put his garbage can over his entire upper body and was stuck inside it!  Instead of rescuing him, I ran for the camera (like the bad mom I probably am!).  Unfortunately, he freed himself from his captivity before I returned and could get a good shot.  I tried to stage it again, but it just made him mad. This was as good as we could get: 

Kids are so funny!!