July 4th

I woke up and my first thought was something about it being Tyler's first 4th of July. That lasted about a second, when I remembered that he's over a year old and therefore will not have any more "first holidays". What a strange thought!

We spent the day out in Sterling, as we usually do on any type of holiday. We went to my family's house and got all the siblings together once more, since Zach was on leave and back home.

Me and my baby. ♥

We then went to see Tory's family and visited with some of their friends for a while. We didn't stay out late at all, and got home right at Tyler's bedtime. No fireworks for us this year!

Measles! (sorta...)

Tyler woke up on a couple days ago covered in red spots! I took him in to make sure it was nothing horrible, and it turns out that it was a reaction to his Measles vaccine. The doctor said that a small percentage of kids react to it, and it really shouldn't bother him, even though technically it's a mild case of the Measles. He doesn't have any other symptoms, just lots of polka dots! I've tried to get a picture that shows them, but no such luck. Here's the best I got:

Tyler at the doctor's office- he wasn't interested in taking pictures, but he sure
wanted the camera!

Maybe if you look close enough you'll see all the red spots... let me assure you, they are everywhere and they look so horribly itchy. :(

My son is the awesome-est

He loves to hug his daddy:

He loves reading books:

And his grin is the cutest ever:

That's all I have to say about that. =)

It happened again. I had my 12 week appointment today and found that the baby is gone. The doctor couldn't find a heartbeat, so she took me in for an ultrasound and confirmed it. He/she stopped growing around 10 weeks. We won't find out what happened or what's going on until/unless I have 3 miscarriages, because insurance won't cover the tests until then.

12 Month "Milestones", or just cute things...

~ He still has 8 teeth
~ He can walk, but is too lazy to most of the time. He'd rather push his toy walker around than do it himself.
~ He waves and says "Hi" (AH!) and "ByeBye" (Dye-Dye), when leaving the house, or even just leaving a room! He always waves "Dye-Dye" to Dexter when we leave. ♥
~ He says "Mama" and "Dada"
~ He signs "more" for more food, more drink, or if he wants to read a book again, or if he just likes something.
~ He can drink through a straw! He learned that with Sprite, and has since done his "more" sign anytime he sees someone with a drink and a straw. Oops!
~ His favorite toy is his push-walker that he got for his birthday. He also loves his toy remote controls... and our regular TV remote controls!
~ He will eat anything. He loves M&Ms, Goldfish, and animal crackers, but is just as enthusiastic about green beans, cinnamon toast, apples, and really anything else we put in front of him!
~ He talks and laughs at Dexter.
~ When I raise my voice at him (which I admit to doing at times) he thinks it's the funniest thing ever, and laughs hysterically. Uh-oh!
~ His favorite book is called Polar Pals, and he will sit still for as long as we keep reading it to him- over and over and over... I've memorized the story and where all the pictures are so now I "read" it to him and point out the pictures while compiling a grocery list in my head or some other such thing!
~ He loves Scooby Doo!
~ He gives hugs and kisses to me all the time. ♥
~ He is no longer on any formula- just plain old whole milk!
~ He can climb the stairs faster than I can!
~ He shakes his head yes and no- especially no!
~ He loves being outside, and points at everything. Especially birds and cars.
~ He likes to push buttons.
~ He think dog food tastes really good, and probably wonders why he doesn't get it as a meal sometime.
~ He thinks bellybuttons are funny. He lifts my shirt to find mine, and I lift his shirt and tickle him- this game can go on forever.
~ He kisses my tattoos.
~ Earrings are tug-toys to him. Ouch!
~ He will hold a cell phone to his ear with one hand and wave "Hi" with the other.
~ He likes to wash his hands with me after a diaper change.
~ He still likes to dance.
~ He still looks bald in pictures, but actually he has long white-blond hair.
~ When I ask him where his tongue is, he sticks it out and laughs.
~ He recognizes his aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

A Picture, Just Because

Ever since Tyler was born, we've kind of forgotten to take pictures of just me and Tory. We actually got a good one last night at Nick's graduation banquet, and I'm feeling the need to show it off. =)

ONE Year Old?!?!

Where in the world does the time go? I always thought time started going faster as I got older, but apparently having a kid kicks it into real high speed. In some ways it feels like Tyler was born yesterday, while in other ways I feel like I've had him forever. What a crazy thing, celebrating you're first kid's first birthday... it makes me feel like a real adult. ;)

We woke up and had monkey bread for breakfast- which is something I remember from being a kid myself. My mom always let the birthday kid choose all the meals of the day, and we all always chose monkey bread. So I decided to introduce Tyler to it on his birthday.

After breakfast, the three of us headed out to Sterling for the day. Our first stop was Tory's family. We visited with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Sam, and Great-Aunt Meagan for a while, then got down to business opening presents! Tyler got a set of bongos that play lots of different sounds, which was a big hit, and a couch/futon which he loves too. (As I write this he's watching his new Veggie Tales movie while laying back on the futon.)
He (well, me and Tory!) also got some diapers- which are still one of my favorite things to get! Along with some money to redecorate Tyler's room. We're going to go to Ikea soon to hopefully find some good frog things for it!

After presents, we ate pizza, and then cake! His birthday cake wasn't really a cake, but a giant cookie. He didn't mind though. He had a nice piece of cookie and lots of ice cream.

We left their house to go see my family. We played for a while- meaning Nick threw Tyler around like it was nothing, and Tyler laughed like it was the best amusement park ride ever!
After almost puking up his "cake" and ice cream, we got down to business once more, opening presents! He got lots of fun stuff here too- a drum filled with other loud musical instruments, a talking remote control, stackable cups and some balls which, by the way, are his new favorite thing! He loves putting balls into cups that are a little too small for them and getting them stuck.
He also got a... thing. I don't know what to call it- a walker? On wheels? That has toys on it and he can push and walk behind. He loves it! He walked back and forth across the living room, and fussed every time he hit something and had to be turned around. I guess we need a really long hallway for him!
All in all it was a good day. We had fun, took lots of pictures, got lots of cool new toys and clothes, and wore ourselves out! When we got home, Tyler went straight to bed. I think it was am excellent first birthday for him. :)

Ultrasound!!!

Finally I got to see my baby today! At first, the tech couldn't find the baby OR a heartbeat, which pretty much made my own heart skip a few beats. She said that it may be too early, so she wanted to try a vaginal ultrasound just in case. Thank God, she was able to find him/her immediately that way. Phew! I got to hear the heartbeat, and I'll be honest, it was even better than when I first heard Tyler's, because with him I wasn't worried, but this time I was scared out of my mind! There is just nothing like hearing your unborn child's heart beating away!

I saw the head (which is on the left), both arms (one up by the head, the other poking out along the bottom), and the legs beginning to form.
It really shocked me how clear the picture is. All other early ultrasound photos I've seen, I can't even make out a baby- just a blob! But this one is really awesome. It actually almost looks like a baby. ♥

She said that the doctor will call me if she sees anything wrong, but as far as the tech was concerned, everything is perfectly normal for 8.5 weeks. What a relief!

Pregnant Stuff

My first baby-doctor appointment was supposed to be... right now as a matter of fact. Instead here I am writing about it. :/ I got a call an hour ago saying that one of the doctors is in L&D and my doctor is taking over her patients, which means her regular patients had to reschedule. Aaargh. I really can't tell you how frustrated I was! It wouldn't be such a big deal to me, but Tory has to be at work on time today so I couldn't go in later today, and he's going out of town all next week, so I had to make an appointment for the next week. Ugh. All this because I'm to wimpy to take my 11 month old to an appointment with me. lol So anyway, my first appointment has been moved to Tuesday, May 26 at 9am. I hope they don't have to change that!

Weekly pictures starting at 6 weeks? I doubt it! But here's my 6-week-pregnant picture, just so after the baby is born and I'm having trouble losing the weight I can prove to people that I once was skinny! I hear it's a lot harder to lose weight after your second than your first. Uh oh!

Fun at the Park

Tyler and I met my mom, Crystal, and Brandon at the park for a picnic and lots of playing. Tyler didn't want to eat because he was too busy watching all the kids running around. So I let him down to play, and he took off in the dirt! Instead of his sandwich, he tried eating dirt, rocks, and sticks. MMmmmm. That kid is ALL boy. ;)
It was really strange to see all these little kids running around like pros, with Tyler just crawling. He was a lot bigger than so many of the walking/running kids who were clearly older than he is. There was one boy who looked SO tiny to me, but he ran right up and started talking to Brandon! I mean, this kid was half a head shorter than my 11 month old! I think I have a big boy on my hands. :)

Of course, Tyler also just HAD to play with his grandma's sunglasses. He is a big fan of any kind of glasses. (As I'm sure you remember from a previous post...) He hammed it up for the camera again this time:

And I got a little baby fix... and a hint of how busy my life will be when Baby #2 arrives! Fortunately Tyler doesn't show any signs of jealousy toward Brandon. Actually, he pretty much ignores the baby most of the time. Here's me at 6.5 weeks pregnant holding 6.5 week old Brandon. ♥
(Would it be TMI if I said that the first day of my last period- which is when doctors say is day the pregnancy starts- was the day Brandon was born? So the two help me remember each other. lol)

And He's Off!

Tyler took his first steps 3 days ago- just one or two at a time. Then yesterday we were at my mom's house and he took FOUR consecutive steps. (Ok, he was being bribed with soda, but it worked!) He hasn't taken any since then, but I just know he'll be off and running as soon as he figures out that it can be faster than crawling.

We spent the day out in Sterling visiting both our families. Tyler got to play on the trampoline for the first time. He didn't like it much, but I think it's because he was so tired. I got up there to hold him and he almost fell asleep on me! I guess the slight bouncing worked like our rocking chair. :)

We played outside with the dogs for a long time, and that's where Tyler first discovered caterpillars! Yuck! He chased it around for a bit, until Madden decided he'd had enough and pawed the thing to death. After which Tyler decided it looked like something good to eat and I made Tory get rid of it. What was I thinking wanting all boys?? ;)

After a long day spent learning to walk and playing outside, Tyler fell asleep as soon as he was in his carseat and slept the whole 75 minutes home, went right to bed when we got home, and slept until 7:30 this morning.

Let's Try This Again...

Looks like Tyler has another chance to be a big brother!
I'm pregnant again, and this time due January 3, 2010. So I'm only about 5 weeks along, and very nervous while very hopeful at the same time. I'm praying that the next 7 weeks pass quickly and uneventfully so I can enjoy my pregnancy and planning for the new arrival.

We were going to wait til Mother's Day to break the news to our families, but yeah right... this is me remember? The least patient person in the world! We told everyone yesterday and of course, they're all thrilled. Kels has already dubbed him/her Adam, just like she did Tyler and the angel baby. I hate to disappoint her, but I highly doubt we will name this one Adam either. ;)

As for gender, my gut feeling is girl. And I will be honest about wanting another boy... Of course I will be thrilled with either though. Tory says his gut feeling is girl too. We shall see...

"Are You My Mother" (Part 2)

Tyler's wearing his "My Best Friend is My Great Dane" shirt today, and I wanted to get a good picture of him with his favorite "person." Too bad an almost 11 month old won't sit still. I didn't even mean to take this picture- I was moving the camera down when I accidentally clicked it, and as it turned out, I got an adorable photo!

Remake of the 5 month old "Are You My Mother" picture.
(which I would post again, but I can't find...)

Just a Few Pictures of MaiTai. :)

He is such a ham!

Trying to drink out of a bucket...

This is what happens when you drink bubble-bath-water out of a cup.

Family Picnic- April 19th, 2009

What a beautiful day for a picnic! We met a bunch of Tory's family at a park in Warrenton. His mom, grandma, all of his aunts and cousins, an uncle, and a few dogs were all there. We pretty much just hung out and ate. What else would we do at a picnic?? ;) Tyler got to play on the swings, slides, in the grass, in the dirt, almost in the water... and wherever else his little heart desired. He was loving just crawling around everywhere.

Dexter got to join us too. Before anyone else got there, the four of us took a walk up to a cow pasture, where Tyler talked to and shouted at the cows and Dexter tried to get through the fence to play with them. I think he was thinking "Hey! Those are my size playmates!" -We saw dozens of other dogs, all teeny tiny things and Dex didn't know what to do with them. We did see one Boxer, who I wanted to steal if her owner would have turned her back. :)