'Tis party time...

It was finally time for Rylan's Pirate Party (after over a month of talking about it and trying to get him as excited as I was for it). It was so much work, I cannot even describe the type of exhausted I am. But it was worth it because Rylan had fun and I really think the other (12) kids did as well. It was not-so-organized chaos. I tried to keep it all under control but we had our moments. Good thing there were mothers and my in-laws there helping out.

Well, all good parties have cakes--and boy did this have a cake. I had wanted to try rolled fondant for some time so I decided to use this opportunity. I learned a lot (mostly I learned that I absolutely hate rolled fondant now) and luckily I had some much needed help from my friend Vickey when it came time to work with it. Here is the finished product:


The basement was decorated in a pirate ship theme and the decorations really transformed our basement. The wall mural was awesome and it was so simple to work with. It was definitely worth every penny. Thank goodness for Oriental Trading Co.!!! I decorated the night before the party when rylan went to bed (yes, I was up most of the night) so that when he woke up the next morning it was all a huge surprise. He didn't really know what to think. Once everyone came and we had so many people in the room, it was really quite a party. Here are a few of the videos of the day...

The reveal:



The fun begins:



The big present:



In the end, I will say that although it was worth all the work, it is not a once a year thing. Maybe every other year? Hmmm, we'll see. I do know we are planning on a water/pool party in the summer. I think having a party outside will be good--lots of room for the noise to go.

What a pile of .... leaves

So yesterday I decided to go out front and rake up some leaves. Rylan was outside "helping" and it was the perfect opportunity for him to have a little fall fun. So the little boy from across the street and his mom came over and the boys had a ball playing in the HUGE pile of leaves. Thought I would share in the fun.


Here is what I walked in to see the other day. This is how he fell asleep on the couch. He is such an angel...when he's asleep :).
Okay, to be fair to Aaden, here are a few cuties of him as well.

Trunk-or-Treat

Last night was the annual trunk-or-treat at our church. Rylan and I had made the finishing touches to his costume a few days ago and he has been waiting (not-so) patiently to wear it. I really didn't think he would wear it for very long but he actually wore it the whole time. He looked so great. I know I'm a little biased, but I think he was the cutest one there. I will say, there were some pretty cute costumes. My favorite being the home-made ones. We still have the neighborhood trick-0r-treat tomorrow and then weather-permitting we will go to Nauvoo for their big Halloween thing on Saturday. I really hope the weather is good because every year I want to go to Nauvoo because I've heard it is so much fun, but every year something happens and we can't go. So keep you fingers crossed!

Anyway, here is a picture of me and my boys (don't mind my frazzled looks--I haven't been feeling super well lately).

Isn't my husband handsome?

Also a few video's. I never get over how at home Rylan seems like such a big boy but when we get around other kids, he still seems so small and sweet. He was really excited to play all the games, and then especially for the candy. The first video is very funny because he is playing the game and then he just randomly starts laughing for no reason. It was great.

Thank You Kiki!

Sorry about the dog whining in the background.


Translation: "Thanks aunt Kiki, I lub you."

Here is my amateur attempt at restoring some old photos of my dad, uncle Bruce, and Grandpa Bill. I think Aaden looks so much like my dad (the smaller guy). What do you think?

Random Pictures

Disclaimer...I acknowledge that it is ridiculous and/or pathetic that the majority of the pictures I am about to post are so overdue that it is laughable (to emphasize my point, let me just tell you that some of these pictures are from April...yes, I know it's October...give me some slack, I've been busy). I am going to lean on the old adage "it's better late than never" to excuse my lack of blog focus this past...year? Anyway, bring on the cute pictures...I am starting with this one as it is obviously the oldest. It actually doesn't seem like that long ago, but this was taken when Aaden was only about 5 weeks old. Aunt Kiki is quite good and cuddling and loving on my little tykes. I love this picture. I love my sister and this makes me homesick for her. Plus, I'm loving the glasses on her.


Here's one for you. Not only is it sad it has taken so long to post this photo from Jon and Alyssa's wedding...it is actually the ONLY photo I got...of the whole wedding! This is literally IT!!! What was I thinking?!? I suppose I was thinking I'd just get copies of the professional ones, which I'm still planning on doing but of course haven't.

This is another oldie that I couldn't pass up due to cuteness factor. This was Easter morning when the kids were in their sunday duds. You can't really see the cuteness in its entirety as the plaid tie and coordinating belt which are key elements of Rylans ensemble are hidden from view. Just take my word on this one---he was a babe (except for the rugburn received while rough housing with his uncle jon). Oh, my babies looked so cute!
This was a dual effort for grandchildren photos. The hope is continually there that we will someday get all children coordinated, perfect hair & outfit, perfect mood, sitting in the perfect location and smiling for the perfect picture. Although that is never likely to happen, I find the beauty in pictures such as this one. I love how the expressions of each person is very indicative of what is going on inside their minds. This was fun.

Couldn't you just eat these two up! They are so funny to watch. Rylan sort of follows Kayli around like a puppy and doesn't hesitate to let her be boss. They love playing together every chance they get. Rylan is always saying, "We go to Kali's house today?" when I say "no she lives far far away" he says "Oh, OK we go to kayli's house next week". It's actually kind of sad but in a sweet way.

Now for a few more recent pictures! Rylan has really been into helping me cook lately. I really enjoy cooking, especially since I've been staying home. He always asks me if he can help and lately I've been allowing him to help out a little bit more. Yesterday he made no-bake cookies all by himself (really, the only thing I did was measure...he poured, stirred, scooped). He was quite proud. So here is a photo of him wearing his own apron he got from aunt Kiki last year.
Not wanting to be outdone by his older (chef) brother, here is Aaden with a colander on his head.Lastly, here are some pictures from the annual trip to Kathy's Pumpkin Patch. The day was ideal as far as weather goes. The perfect crisp fall weather you long for when choosing the perfect pumpkin, playing on the farm, and spending the day with the family. Rylan had a lot of fun with all the play things this year. Aaden was a perfect angel, just riding along in his stroller without a peep. The pumpkin patch is going to "transforming" after Halloween to become some kind of Christmas themed place. I can't wait to see what they do. Here are some of my favorites from the 5 billion pictures that were taken that day:



As far as Seth and I go...we are doing pretty well. Seth is still supremely busy with work and school. He's doing really well in school and he will be done in the spring. He's very anxious to have the whole school experience behind him. I, on the other hand, can't seem to get enough school (because I am CRAZY) and so have started a program towards earning my professional doctorate in Audiology. It's already pretty crazy trying to juggle it all but I feel it is what I am supposed to do. So, that updates you on us!

Crawling??? Um, not exactly...

So here is the video I promised my sisters. Aaden is 6 months old this week and he has started to "crawl" ... sort of. I'll let the video speak for itself. It is so funny to watch him!

Swing....

So we finally broke down and purchased a small swingset for the backyard. Rylan absolutely loves to go down slides so I wanted to be sure to find something with a little slide attached. It took Seth and I a few hours (and a few choice words) to set everything up and make sure it was plenty safe. Rylan was so excited to get going with it. He really loves it. I'm hoping the excitement doesn't wear off too much throughout the summer so that he'll have plenty of fun days out in the backyard. He likes the swings more than I thought he would, and of course, he's fearless when it comes to the slide.

I love this picture because you can see his long eyelashes...

And here's a sample of what happens on a typical morning in the Tubaugh backyard:

Tell me all about it...

Ok, as promised I got a little video of Aaden smiling and talking a little bit. Usually we can get him to talk a bit more but he just wasn't in the mood. But this is still cute.

Finally an Update!

OK, so I know it's been forever since I've updated. I'm really not even sure if anyone checks here anymore! But just in case someone is out there interested, here is an update on our life. I can't believe Aaden is already 2 months! He is such a sweet, good baby and he's smiling and cooing a lot now. I love when babies start to do that. I know we'll really start to discover his little personality soon and I'm so excited!

Today we blessed Aaden in church. Seth did such a great job with the blessing and I was a little worried that he'd cry but he didn't make a peep! I was also worried he wouldn't fit into his outfit but it still just barely fit. Rylan also looked quite fantastic if I do say so myself. We also had the beautiful blanket that Alyssa made for Aaden and it matched his blessing outfit perfectly. Thanks Auntie Alyssa!

Seth's family came down for the blessing and dinner afterwords. It was such a beautiful day here so we ate lunch at the park and the kids all had a ball playing with each other while the adults got a chance to chat and laugh. It was a perfect day.
CIVIL WAR

In the town we live in there is a Civil War Re-enactment every spring. This year we decided to take Rylan to see it all. He was mostly excited about seeing soldiers and horses. Seth was happy about the funnel cake, and I was content with my fresh squeezed lemonade! Aaden just came along for the ride. It was a pretty fun time but I have to say that Rylan's favorite part was playing on the slide right before we left. I really think he could play on a slide all day long.
SPRING

I love Iowa in the spring. Everything is so beautiful and green, green, green. The only problem is that in order to get that gorgeous green, we get a lot (and I mean a LOT) of heavy rain. Well, we've gotten a lot of flooding this year in our basement. So on the first nice day, Seth was up on the roof doing his much needed gutter work. It's a nasty job, but obviously necessary. It turned out to be pretty fun because while he was working up there, Rylan had a fun time going around and blowing dandelion seeds. I know, I know. I let him blow the seeds despite the fact that we will now need to spray 4 times as much to kill the dandelions. But I can't resist watching a child blowing dandelion seeds. It's the epitome of childhood. Just look how sweet...how could you stop this angel...
BIKE

Finally, Rylan got his first "bike". He's been asking for one for a while. Finally, I bit the bullet (I can't believe how expensive a plastic trike is!). And he loves it. He specifically requested blue of course. He "helped" Seth put it together, and everyday he asks to ride it. He doesn't understand the peddle part but he gets around just fine, and he'll catch on to that eventually. Now if we could have a few more sunny days, he could ride it a bit more.
Well, I guess that's all the updating I'll do for now. I really want to get a video of Aaden smiling and talking, so perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to pull that off. Be sure to comment if you're reading this so I know there's someone out there that cares!

Pictures of Aaden

I'll give details later, but for now, here are some pictures--9 lbs 3 oz--22 inches long!!!

What?