8 Months or Two Thirds

  This adorable kid is 2/3 of a year old today.
He's getting so good at sitting up on his own and loves to watch the train go around the Christmas tree with Dad.

 He had a fun treat last week: Grandma came to visit while Tim completed finals. She spoiled Ty, and all of us, and left more presents for him than Santa. As the saying goes: "Who needs Santa when you have Grandma?" They are best buds now. BTW, thanks for the Reindeer Jammers, Grandma!

 The day Diney left, we found this mysterious note from Ty to Santa:

 

Apparently, Ty is REALLY excited for Christmas and has been REALLY good!

At 8 months, Ty...

Still has two teeth

His favorite foods are pumpkin, carrots, and berries

Has started waking up for no reason around 4am

Still loves walks and singing

Is really good at grabbing things with his hands 

Is not very close to crawling

Is good at sitting up

Loves for dad to throw him in the air

Is good at giggling and thinks he tells funny jokes

Is the most popular baby at church

Favorite toys are mom's earrings, mom's phone, & mom's hair

Likes to be out and about. He stares strangers down until they look at him and then he smiles and looks away shyly 

Still has an unspecified eye color

Has the best smile ever

Is the best, cutest baby ever

Georgia Thanksgiving

Ty had his first plane ride to visit Grandma and Grandpa's cabin in North Georgia. We all had a great time visiting with family and meeting Ty's new cousin Matthew.

Proud of himself for being on a plane

The cabin is located on a golf course in the mountains of Georgia. It includes free golf cart rides (and some golf is included in the home ownership, but I know that golfers just do it for the cart rides on those fun tracks) Aubrey took these pictures and I guess I only saved the tiny copies-sorry.

We were spoiled the entire time. Ty even had pancakes of his name!
 
Tim and I were in charge of the Thanksgiving day Turkey Trot/Hunt (we used homemade "blow guns" and mini marshmallows):

 For your Thanksgiving cuteness viewing pleasure:

 The feast:

 Fun with cousins

Watching the train

 Ty and Matthew even had a dance party on the table before changing into jammies.

And, of course, Tim teasing Mackenzie


Mackenzie and Grandma Diney getting the tree ready (cut just from just outside the cabin!) 

Cousin photos

We almost got the perfect picture

 With a little cropping, Ty sure looks Christmas card worthy

 Ty loved spending time with his Grandma Diney and Grandpa Rod

 And had lots of fun playing with Aunt Aubrey!

 We all took fun train ride with Grandma and Grandpa.

Half way, we even got to get out and see the engine on the turntable!

(Chattanooga, TN)

 After a long week and a great Thanksgiving, the boys took a rest at home.

Decisions, Decisions...

Ty has been doing his research

 to find what he wants for Christmas.

 Some toys caught his eye.

 He discussed his options,

 Did some analysis on the subjects,

 And created his Christmas wishlist.

 Now all he has to do

 Is keep being a good boy

 To stay on Santa's Nice List!

The End

Fall Family Fun

 Last weekend, we took a quick trip to St. George to go to Ben and Kaitlyn's sealing in the temple.

What a cute couple!

 They had lots of family to support them. This is Ben's (my) side:

 Below is just our Lotz family. We're becoming quite a group:

 I love having a photographer in the family to always take updated family pictures. Thanks Kristen!

 Ty and Grandpa

 He is starting to experience some stranger anxiety. I guess my dad needs to visit more often :)

 Aunt Jenalee likes to be the favorite aunt by using bribes. For me it was gummy worms. Ty seems pretty happy with her necklace.

 Ty thought it was so cool to hang out with his cousins. Take a look at the smile on his face:

 The older cousins even created a club called the "Ty Club" with Ty as the mascot. Henry's job was to NOT touch the center pole of their hut, Will's job was to teach stuff, and Makayla's job was to teach origami. These kids are funny!

 Grandpa with Ty and cousin Kathryn

We had fun at the park with TJ and Kristen's family. Kate was pretty tricky to get the ball past Tim.

 I love the picture below. I snapped it just as Tim was jumping and I got both of his feet in the air without even trying! Haha!

 Cute Hailey was too cool to play with the older kids.

 Tim and I enjoyed playing with the "big kids" while Kristen got some baby holding time in.

Driving is always harder with a baby. Our 10 hour trip home ended up taking over 12 hours.  At least the scenery at some of the (6) stops was nice.