18 months old today

We can not believe that Tyler is 18 months old today. I planned to take Tyler out to the park and play for a while in the morning. I was getting ready and changed to leave and Tyler was reading books in his bed when all the sudden he came walking into my bedroom. We knew the day was coming that he would be climbing out of his crib, he just decided that 18 months was the cut off for a crib. After our morning of play it was time for his nap. I was waiting to hear the sound of little feet running throughout his room but it never happened. He decided he would lie still and take a nap. Tonight should be interesting to see if he will settle and sleep or if we will spend the night trying to keep him in bed. He is way too big these days. His favorite time of the day lately has become when daddy gets home. I just sit and laugh as they both go running through the house, complete with barking Bailey on their heels. They are the typical daddy and son silly, loud and just being boys.

Traveling all over

On Tuesday August 26th Tyler and I began our many days of travel. We set out for Georgia to pick up my dear friend Lisa, the bride to be. Our intentions were to set out for Ky incredibly early Wednesday morning. However, with a full energy Tyler and slow moving, in need of coffee girls we didn't get the start we wanted. Once we did get on the road Tyler did very well. He watched his movies, slept and kept us entertained with his excited squeals at all the trucks and buses that went by. Once we got to Ky we were able to eat and attend worship with my nephew Paul and his girlfriend along with my good friend Linsay. After worship Tyler and I were on the road once again, only 30 minutes this time, to a very anxious set of grandparents. Judging by the timely manner that the door was opened and Granny and Granddad emerged from the house I can only imagine how long they were standing at the door waiting for us. Tyler enjoyed a couple of days of tractor time, helping Granny pick veggies from the garden, and helping to feed the horse. On Friday Tyler and I were off about 1 1/2 hours north to pick up daddy from the airport and to stay with Aunt Sherry and Uncle Rod. They own and live in a beautiful home with a amazing cafe, in which our cousin owns and runs, and a tea shop that our Aunt Sherry owns on the first floor. We were so exicted for a full weekend of time with family and me attending brial events. Our plans were crushed when Saturday evening Chad came down with a high fever and feeling terrible. By Sunday after worship I had also begun to feel a little queasy. Aunt Sherry and Uncle Rod happily took over care of Tyler and had the best time with him. Tyler did a lot of entertaining over the weekend to the cousins and aunts and uncles in town. Chad and I continued to remain sick, however with Uncle Rod (the doctor in the family until Steven graduates) prescribed advise and medicine for us. The wedding was Monday morning and I was able to get up the isle and kept focus to stand through the ceremony and not get sick. Chad said that Tyler was very vocal when mommy walked down the isle and also called Aunt Lisa's name a few times when she appeared. Sadly after we were announced into the reception Chad, Tyler and I had to exuse ourselves. It was terrible that we were so sick and were unable to stay and enjoy ourselves. What was even worse is that Tyler was to be going to spend a week with Granny and Granddad and mommy and daddy were taking a week vacation alone. Chad and I attempted to keep on our vacation schedule but some things were changed and or cancelled. We enjoyed time together but of course the week wasn't exactly what was expected. Granny and Granddad brought Tyler home on Friday and he came home telling us lots of stories of the tractor, the barn, Granddad's motorcycle, the horse, and the cows. They had so much fun with him taking him to the park, showing him off to friends and family, and just spending every moment with him. He now even tells strangers that we encounter while out in stores about the barn and the tractor. Now nana and papa are waiting for their turn for Tyler to go spend some time with them. Tyler is very lucky to have such different places to visit when going to see grandparents. He enjoys the horses and tractors when we are with Chad's parents and then also is able to enjoy the beach and swimming when we visit my parents.

Busy, Busy

My niece Megan and my great-nephew Brayden stayed with us until last Wednesday. Brayden is crawling everywhere and into everything so he and Tyler played well together. Tyler is really going to be a wonderful big brother. He would get Brayden's bottle for him when he would drop it. He would get Brayden toys and show him how to play with them. Ty did need to be on mommy's lap every time Brayden was there so there was a little bit of jealous feelings. We enjoyed the park, the pool, walks, and just playing in the play room. Tyler is amazing at learning his letters. Usually after breakfast Tyler pulls mommy on the floor and we work on our letters on the fridge. He can show you letters, A, B,X, Y, O, T and is learning more each day. He LOVES his books and we usually read a little bit through out playing every day. He runs to his books yelling BOUT, BOUT and picks out a favorite. He loves three particular books because they all have a mouse in it. Our books are getting worn fast, but I love it. It just means we put them to good use. He loves the I Spy game, so we play that often. He still loves his bubbles but has upgraded to a bigger blue bubble stick (you will see in pictures that will be added soon). He actually did swim for the first time last week at the pool. Instead of just going under water he went from daddy to the steps and back again. We are going to be looking into swim lessons. He will tell you on a regular basis "my mess" meaning I'm a mess. He is full energy but a ton of fun and a lot of laughs. He is just amazing.

Summer is almost over

Visitors are still in and out in between some trips of our own. Two weeks ago Tyler and I traveled to see my brother (Uncle Jim) his family and my best friend Lisa. We brought my niece back with us allowing her to stay for a week. The following weekend my brother and his wife came through to pick my niece up and my sister flew in for a visit. Tyler has had so much fun with aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is amazing in the pool, at 17 months he just dives in. He jumps off Chad's shoulders and falls into the water. We are nervous when he falls and dunks himself but you can see him under the water and he smiles the whole time. He never takes in water, he just has naturally learned to hold his breath. My sister flew home last Wednesday and Chad's older brother Jared, our sister-in-law Jessica, and our nephew Carson came into town that night. We have had a blast with them the last couple of days. Tyler has been really getting a taste of what it will be like to be a big brother and share his toys. He is actually doing very well with that. Tyler is the older cousin by 10 months but soon he and Carson will be getting into trouble together. We went out for a walk and instead of riding in his stroller Tyler wanted to be out and helping Aunt Jessica push Carson. We had a play date here today also so we had a total of 7 kids here playing. They had so much fun. Chad's brother has to leave tomorrow morning but after they leave we go to pick up my older niece and her son at the airport. They are coming to visit until next Wednesday. Tyler is getting some good time with some of his cousins.

Fun time with friends and family

After papa and nana left to go back home some of our friends came into town to stay a few days. We had so much fun. Tyler had such a blast playing with his friends. They played in the sprinklers, in the play room, on the playground at the mall. The kids had fun, the grown ups had a blast. Chad was a sport having 4 kids and 3 women in the house all at the same time. We had a few days here, just the three of us, before Tyler and I left to go visit Lisa and my brother. After spending some quality time we came back, bringing my niece Liz back with us. She is spending the week with us here. We have been busy swimming every day (sometimes twice a day) and going to the park. On Saturday my sister is flying in to spend a couple of days with us. We keep busy here, but we are loving every minute. Tyler is getting bigger by the second. He is such a funny boy. He has had a yellow bubble wand that is basically his security blanket that he carries with him everywhere. We have to wash them frequently. He can tell you his name when you ask him (he actually started that about 3 weeks ago). He loves bible class and sings along with the songs. It's sad how quickly he is growing up.

Nana and Papa visit

Once we returned from Ky my parents (nana and Papa) got here to spend a week with us. It's been a fun week. They bought finger paints for Tyler, he had fun just getting messy. Papa has gotten Tyler spoiled with 2-3 walks everyday. We have been having fun going to play grounds, flying the helicopter, and reading lots of books. Tyler has a thomas the train video now that he loves to watch. Trains have been added to his favorites list now. He is developing quite a vocabulary and repeats words contstantly. Nana and Papa bought him a little football which he carries around with him everywhere. We know that we have a sports boy on our hands. If there is any type of ball game on tv (soccer, baseball, football, etc) he stops and watches for a while. Chad is so excited for football season now. Mom and dad have to leave to go home on Thursday but we have more visitors coming into town on Sunday. Summer is just a busy time.

Time on the farm

Tyler got to spend a whole week on Granny and Granddad's farm. He kept us busy all day long. By the end of the week Granny and Granddad had broke down and pulled out all three tractors for Tyler to ride. He helped feed Rawhide (the horse) every day. He had daily trips out to the barn to see the cows and try to get a peek at the "barn cat". He had so much fun feeding the geese, and going down to the pond to see the fish. He never showed a bit of fear with any of the animals. In fact we had to make him keep his distance with some of them, he wanted to get up close enough to touch them. He even went out in the boat to fish with daddy and Papaw. Chad, Granny, Uncle Steven, Aunt Kara, and myself took Tyler to his first amusement park. We had the expectation of staying only a few hours, thinking Tyler would get bored quickly. We ended up staying until 4:30 and even then he really wasn't ready. He had one expression on all the rides, which seemed to us that he wasn't really enjoying himself. Then we went to take him off, he would cry and hold on to the rides. Once we got to the water section Tyler was in heaven. We couldn't get him to leave. He had so much fun. We started him off on the little slides, but that really didn't do it for him so before long he was going down the big slides and loving every minute. It was a blast. On Friday (the 4th) we had a big cook out and had a baby shower for Chad's younger brother and his wife (Steven and Kara). By Christmas Tyler is going to have two cousins on Chad's side to play with. We had a great week and will be leaving again for Ky in August. This time Ty gets to spend two weeks up there, one week all by himself since mommy and daddy are taking a little get away.