Christmas at home

On Christmas eve we had some friends over and had an early afternoon Christmas meal. Tyler had some presents to give Peighton and Reese, and Tyler had a couple gifts under the tree from them as well as from Uncle Jared and Aunt Jessica. He wore himself out playing with Reese and Peighton and all his new toys. As tradition for us we opened our stockings later that night. Chad and I were so excited for Christmas morning we could hardly stand it. Unfortunately Chad woke at about 2:00 am Christmas morning feeling terrible. He tried to gather strength to enjoy Christmas morning breakfast with us and opening the presents but spent the rest of the day on the couch. His fever got up to 104 at times. He did scare me a bit so I went between playing with Tyler and all his new things and taking care of Chad. By the next morning he still didn't feel much better so Tyler and I took him to the doctor and found out it was strep. It wasn't the Christmas we had anticipated but he is much better now and making up for time he lost out of playing with Tyler. Even though Tyler had no idea about this Christmas we know next year he will probably be much more excited for Santa.

Christmas continues

Well, this will be Tyler's second Christmas. We got to my parents house Wednesday evening (on the 19th) Thursday we just relaxed, but of course started our day out with breakfast at Bob Evans. A tradition we do every time we visit my parents. Tyler had his very own plate of french toast, didn't eat even half but enjoyed what he did have. Thursday night we went over to my nephew's house James where his wife Annie had made us a wonderful meal. Due to everyone's different schedules we ended up having our Christmas meal on Saturday so mom, my sister, and I began our cooking for all the food that morning. Poor Tyler he had so many cousins to play with by the time we sat down to eat he didn't get to enjoy any of it, he just fell asleep sitting in Uncle Mark's lap. On Sunday after worship we exchanged our presents, so much fun. Time always go by too quickly. Tyler got to sit on Uncle Mark's Harley, he really seemed to enjoy that. (Although mommy hopes he never wants one) We had to pack up and leave Sunday afternoon. Tyler again had played so hard he fell asleep and, despite a few brief times he awoke, he slept from 5:00 pm - until 6:00 the next morning. Christmas was wonderful.

Tyler and mommy take a flight

Daddy went on a sking trip to Colorado from December 5-9th so mommy and Tyler decided to take a trip to see my family. I was a little nervous about the flight, unsure of how Tyler would do. I should have known that Tyler would be just fine. Once we got on the plane he just curled right up, took a pacifer and went off to sleep. He woke just in time to see the lights as we were landing. We were greeted by my sister and niece, who immediately took Tyler (shocker). We didn't get to my parents until late that night so Tyler was a little wild, but of course that didn't bother Nana and Papa any they were more than happy to stay up and play for a while. We had so much fun spending some time with everyone. Papa got a Christmas tree and we helped decorate, while Nana made ginger cookies. Tyler even got his first taste of ginger cookie, YUMMY! The flight home went just as smoothly. I think he actually liked the flight.

Thanksgiving at Granny & Grandad's

Tyler had a wonderful first Thanksgiving/Christmas. We spent it with Chad's parents, Granny and Grandad. We decided to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas together since actual Christmas will be with my family this year. Tyler tasted turkey, dressing, green beans, sweet potatoes, & bread and loved every last bit. He has discovered a new favorite, Granny's dressing. He just broke down and cried when it was all gone. Thursday night we opened presents and he was much more into the gifts than we all expected. He got lots of toys, clothes, books, and a stocking with cookies and bath toys. We had to break out most of the toys from the boxes. On Saturday we drove up to stay the night with Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara. Tyler spent some time with Aunt Kara and mommy and daddy went out to a UK basketball game. Time went by to quickly but it was so much fun being with family. We just can't believe how big Tyler is getting. He is getting so close to walking, we wouldn't be surprised if he was taking steps by the end of this month.

Little man Ty

Tyler is becoming such a little man with a personality all his own. He has his likes and dislikes. Among his likes, breakfast of graham crackers, oatmeal, and bananas. He makes little sounds while he eats, it just tastes so good! He loves to crawl after Bigler and Bailey. Bigler puts up a challenge so he is much more fun to chase around. Bailey just lies there, which is no fun. He loves his baths, now that he takes big boy baths he has so many more toys that fit in there with him. We could stay in there for hours if the water didn't turn cold. He loves to stand just as much as he loves crawling. His toy remote control, it's is favorite. It's not quite as cool and mommy and daddy's remote but it's a close runner up. The phone is just amazing, it lights up when he pushes the buttons. And a lot of times mommy will find it off the hook, he was just having too much fun. He loves playing with Mackenzie, Catherine, and Peighton from church. He is already getting the attention from the ladies, and he loves it. His eyes just light up when he sees them. He actually loves all the kids at worship, he is going to be our social butterfly. We are leaving for Granny and Grandad's in the morning for Thanksgiving. Actually Tyler will have Thanksgiving and Christmas with Granny and Grandad since Christmas this year is with my family. Our first holiday as a family, we are truly blessed and have every reason to give Thanks.

Wild Man

It's been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I'd tell everyone what Ty has been up to. He is growing so fast, it seems like he is doing something new every week. He is now in what I like to call the "wild man" stage. He is still very happy and rarely fusses, but is now very vocal and extremely mobile! Most of the time when I call Becca during the day to see how everything is going, I can usually hear how it's going as soon as she picks up the phone. He has been sleeping great at night lately, but I think it is because he is so. . . "active" during the day. When his personal Jungle Gym (daddy) gets home, then it's really game on! Although he cannot pronounce the words yet, I'm pretty sure that "daddy. . . UP" is what he is saying to me most of the time. And you would think that he would get tired after a while, but he rarely does. He is going through that stage now where everything is about mommy. He constantly wants to know where mommy is and watches her as she leaves the room and lets out a little fuss, before going back saying da da da da da da eeeeeeeee, which tranlates "daddy. . . UP."
He still enjoys church quite a bit. That's his main time to show off for everyone. He still squirms around until I'll eventually stand him up on my lap so he can see/distract everyone around us. He loves to stare at people until the make eye contact with him, then he gives them the big smile. There are alway plenty of willing participants ready to be distracted.
Becca wrote about her surgery, what fun that was. I never knew completely caring for a child is soooo much work. While I pride myself in being very involved as a father, inevitably Becca does most of the work. Until the surgery, when I had to completely care for him all by myself for 2 full days, I never realized how much work that is. Getting him for a few hours at night and on the weekends is one thing, but all the time. . . wow, that's WORK! Props to my wife for all the work she does! She's a better, more patient person than me. Obviously I married well!
I'll try and get up some more pictures soon. It's much more difficult now that Jason is taking classes at night. I know how much everyone likes to see them, plus we really enjoy showing him off!

Unexpected events

Well the week of October 9-12 has been an unexpected week. Tyler was sent to see a neurologist by his pediatrician due to not finding his soft spot very well. They wanted to make sure that there were no issues. We had the appointment scheduled for the 11th and have been very nervous about it, trying to keep our minds on positive things. On Monday evening (the 8th) I began to experience extreme pain in my lower right side. Finally at around 10:30 I called our personal nurse (my mother) explaining my problem. She really wanted us to go to the ER, giving her diagnosis that it sounded like my appendix. Being the subborn person that I am I decided it probably wasn't that big of a deal and really not wanting to get Tyler up to spend the night in the ER, I waited. By Tuesday morning the pain had gotten worse so Chad and I took Tyler and headed to the doctor's. They took one look at me and sent me to the ER, exactly where we didn't want to go with a 7 month old. They finally got me back into a room and after waiting for the better part of the day came in to let us know I had to have an appendectomy. Chad scrambled to get home and pack up Tyler and the dogs to take them over to Uncle Jared's and Aunt Jessica's and make it back quickly. I was instructed that I could not pick up Tyler until the following Monday so it was going to be a busy week for Chad. We arranged Melissa to come over Thursday morning to get Tyler ready to take us down to meet Chad for Tyler's appointment with the neurologist. After examining Tyler he told us he was not worried but ordered a CT scan for his head the following week. That afternoon Lynn and Larry were more than happy to come and kidnap Tyler for the afternoon until Chad could pick him up after work. On Friday Chad arranged 4 of my girlfriends to all take shifts from 8-4, coming over to care for Tyler until he could get home. Saturday morning Aunt Faye and cousin Liz came over to help and picked up Nana,my mother, who flew in Saturday evening. My mom and I took Tyler for his CT scan on Thursday and Tyler did fabulous! They said that if he didn't lie still they would have to start an IV but he was the best, he just watched the machine as it spun around his head but didn't move at all. The doctor saw us after the scan and said everything looked just fine. He just has a big head, just like his daddy :) Nana had the best time with Tyler that week and stayed until Papa could drive up after his classes on Wednesday. She was a big help but I know it was more of a treat for her to be here with Tyler. Papa made it up here by Thursday am and spent some quality time with little man until they had to leave on Saturday morning. We also got a surprise visit from Uncle Steven (Chad's brother) and Aunt Kara who drove in on Friday night. Talk about a busy couple of weeks. Tyler is not going to understand why it's just mommy here with him tomorrow. He is getting used to all this attention.

Granny time

Chad's mom decided she just couldn't make it until Thanksgiving to spend time with her Tyler so she made time to come and spend a whole week here with us. She got her on the last Sunday of September and stayed until Saturday October 6th. Grandad was a bit jealous but made it through with getting updates by the phone from Granny. Tyler is crawling everywhere now so he kept Granny very busy. Often I would catch Granny sleeping while Tyler took his naps. He is so busy now but so much fun. Granny helped pick out Tyler's Halloween costume, he is going to be a puppy. He thinks it is so funny when you bark like a dog for him. Of course that gets Bigler and Bailey barking so it turns into family fun. We all went to see daddy play basketball on Tuesday night and Tyler was just amazed with the game. He hardly took his eyes off of them playing. We were sad to see Granny go, but the day after she left Aunt Lisa came to stay the night on Sunday night. He has had so much company lately, he is getting spoiled.

Beach Fun

Our week vacation to the beach was so much fun. Our first day the weather was not the best but the rest of the time there we had fabulous weather. Our first night we took Tyler out for a evening walk on the beach, he loved it. The next day we decided to find out what he would think of the ocean water. We sat him down so he could just barely feel the waves on him, he was unsure at first but quickly changed his mind. He began to splash, so we stood him up and moved him knee deep. He could hardly contain himself, splashing and stomping. He was having the best time, so were mommy and daddy. We took his float so he could play in the pool also, he is really starting to get the hang of kicking his legs. I think our boy is going to enjoy swimming! He loves to be outside so we did a lot of sitting on the top deck or swinging on the porch swing while daddy grilled out. Every morning we would sit out of the deck and look at the rabbits that would come out or watch the dolphins in the ocean. It will be so amazing when he can see that and get excited about it. We can't believe how much he is growing. The last night there we took some adoreable pictures of him in the sand with the water behind him. We will get them on the website soon.

Tyler's first camping trip

Well, our annual camping trip came around last weekend. There was a lot more preparation going into packing for us, two dogs, and Tyler. We loaded up our 18 bags :) and headed out Friday afternoon. Tyler loves going outside so we really weren't too worried about how he would do. The only thing I was concerned about was how he would sleep. We got to the camp grounds at around 6:00 to a down pour of rain. Some of the group had gotten up there earlier and had already set up some of the tarps so we took shelter under them until Chad could get our tent set up. The first night Tyler slept really well. On Saturday we loaded Tyler up on my back in the back pack and headed out for a family hike, all five of us. Tyler was so happy on the walk he made little half giggle sounds the whole way. Bigler was a bit worn out towards the end but Bailey was still going strong. Afterwards we took Bailey to a big open field so he could run the rest of his energy out. Saturday night the temp. dropped so much that I kept Tyler in bed with us for a portion of the night. I was so afraid he would get too cold. I had him so bundled up I'm surprised he wasn't drenched in sweat. That night I don't think any of us slept the best. On Sunday we all gathered to worship together before packing up and heading home. Tyler was worn out, actually we all were. That afternoon we had to recover with a little nap before worship that evening. We leave on Wednesday for the beach so we will have to update again next week.

Summer Fun

There is something about the end of summer beginning of fall that stays crazy for us. We have been having fun doing so many new things. A couple of weeks ago we decided to let Tyler see what he thought of the pool. We have been holding off on that until the doctor's said he could go in. We got a cute blow up float for him, put his precious swim trunks on and got ready with the camera. We fully expected to only be in for maybe 10 minutes. He LOVED it. We ended up staying in for 30 minutes. He splashed and laughed when daddy swam him back and forth from deep end to shallow. The cutest picture was when we finally got him out, wrapped him in the towel and he just about fell right asleep. His Nana and Papa came to see him for a few days. They got to watch him eat his bananas, squash and carrots. He is such a big boy now. He has really discovered the dogs now and just talks and laughs at them even when they are just laying on the couch. He loves to pet them but we are working on not pulling the ears, they are just so tempting. We got to take him to his first Braves game! We saw Barry Bonds about 2 weeks after he broke Hank Aaron's home run record. We didn't last the whole game. He flirted so much with everyone around us, that he wore himself out.
We have experienced our first sickness, actually the whole house got it. We have some kind of cold/flu and are still working on getting over it. He has proven to be a very happy sick baby, aside from a few times of fussy moments he has been a trooper. If only mommy could be that happy when sick. We are getting prepared to leave him overnight for the first time. Granny and Grandad, Chad's parents, are coming into town next week and Chad and I are actually going to go away for the night. I think it's very natural to feel nervous leaving him. Next month will be busy one too, many trips planned (camping, beach) and visitors coming to see us.

Tyler spreading joy

First let me say a big sorry for taking so long to update. I don't have a lot of time in the day to get this accomplished but I do need to get better. We have had a very busy past 2 weeks. We made a last minute trip down to see my father after news that he had been admitted to the hospital. After getting a hold of one of my nephews (to help keep Tyler company in the back) we left for the long ride down to Florida. Papa, my dad, instantly brightened when Tyler came in his room. He had the room to himself so the nurses didn't give us a fuss. He had Tyler on his lap playing with his toys and not paying too much attention to all the wires Tyler was about to pull. We had to keep an eye on that for him as he was much too involved in playtime with his grandson. Tyler did bring a lot of laughter into that hospital room. They determined a heart issue with my father and had a pace maker put in so he is doing much better. After returning home my nephew stayed with us for several days and was an amazing help with Tyler. They had real cousin bonding time. Tyler is getting so big, now at 26 1/2 inches long and 17 lbs. He has been eating cereal for about a month now and just last Sunday we began to introduce bananas. He is a BIG fan and has begun to cry when we go from a bite of bananas back to a bite of cereal. He is rolling over like a pro and even has begun to roll over at night while sleeping. It scared me at first but the doctors told me that it is fine if he does this and not to roll him back over. His sleeping through the night is not quite happening anymore and we are hoping that these early morning wake up calls will be short lived. Well, Tyler has been attempting to help me type this blog the whole time and it is now obviously nap time. We are all doing very well and send out love to everyone.

4 month check up

We had a good trip to Kentucky, he slept the whole way back. I guess he was worn out from never being put down. He had his 4 month doctor visit on Tuesday, he is a very healthy boy. He now weighs 17 pounds 3 ounces and he is 26.5 inches long, he is in the 90% range of weight and in the 95% range on length. I initially thought he'd be a linebacker, be his size may push him to play offensive line. Becca said he was wonderful at the doctor's office. She said he was just laughing, smiling, and talking trying to show off for all the nurses. He was great, right up to the point where they treated his little legs like a pinata! He was not happy about that at all! Becca said his bottom lip started pushing out pretty far and they really hurt his feelings. He was fussy the remainder of the day and most of the day yesterday. I took him to church by myself last night while he was still a little fussy. . . probably not the best decision. Between his talking and fussing, I spent most of the night in the back.

Busy week

It has been a busy week. We started feeding him cereal on Saturday. He didn't like it at all the first couple of times. He mostly cried and gagged, not understanding how to swallow. This morning we fed him in front of Granny and Grandad and he was opening his mouth, leaning toward the spoon. What a difference a few days makes; he seems to be liking it a lot more now. Wednesday was a big day for us, we had Tyler's final court hearing! It was actually anticlimactic. It was not out in the middle of court, we went back into the judges chambers and did it all back there. We were in and out pretty quick, but we were able to take a couple of pictures with the judge. Becca was proud of me for behaving the entire time! I didn't even ask to bang the gavel!! We are glad the process is finally through, it's a big load off.
Last night we travelled to Kentucky. We didn't leave our house until late, so Ty slept most of the way. Granny and Grandad waited up to see us, oh wait, I mean him. They hadn't seen him for a month, which is the longest they had been without seeing him. They have already taken him on a tour of the farm this morning. He got to go see the cows, the horse, and even got to set on Grandad's tractor! This is right up his alley, because he loves being outside. They also couldn't believe how much he has grown. I went and bought him a couple of outfits the other day and had to buy 9 month. He just turned 4 months on Tuesday!!
A couple of nights this week Becca has had to work because he's required more attention during the day. We've had some good daddy time!! He's so much fun to take out, and he is so easy! We went out Monday and Tuesday nights. One night we went the the grocery store and then got some gas and went driving around. The other night we went to Sams and Krispy Kreme. I just put him in the Baby Bjorn (baby backpack on front) and go. He loves it! We walked down every isle and he would just look at everything. He is very easily entertained. The women are all over him! I've had to have a couple of talks with him about that. He draws them in by waiting until they look at him, then he starts smiling really big. We may be in trouble in several years!

Tyler's growing too fast

It seems that each night we put Tyler to bed one size and he wakes up a little bigger each morning. He is getting so big so quickly. Tyler has had a few new play mates born over the last few weeks, it's so hard to believe when we go to see them that Tyler was once that small. He remains a very happy baby, even through the teething. Last weekend we went to see Eli, the first of the future "best buds" born. Then last night we successfully, without the nurses kicking us out with a young child, took him up to see the most recent born Lawson. He has become quite a show off with the smiles and laughs, it seems his most favorite time to perform is in church. He enjoys to see just how distracted he can make people around him. He had visitors this weekend, my sister and my niece came up. We had so much fun shopping for clothes for him and his aunt Angel found him his first July 4th outfit. He is so active lately and loves his excersaucer. He has turned over both ways now and scoots himself in circles on the floor. So far we are keeping strong with sleeping from 10:00pm to 6:00 am and we are hoping that we continue. He has developed a cute little habit, he sings/talks himself to sleep. I know when he is really tired because he will begin to talk over and over until he just falls alseep. That has also become his habit when he wakes in the morning. He doesn't cry when he wakes up he just lays in his crib and talks/sings. Tonight we had to get on camera Peighton making him laugh out loud over and over by blowing on his tummy. It was too precious. Chad and I are so blessed.

Father's Day Weekend

Things have continued to be busy for us. This weekend we made a trip down to Florida to see Becca's family. Ty did pretty good on the way down and back, but it's a long car ride for him. I think 6 hours is his max and the trip was about 7 hours each way. It was a very busy weekend! We left early Friday morning and got there around 3:00. Friday night we went over to see Brent and Stacy (Becca's college friends) for the first time since we've had Ty. Saturday we went to Bob Evans for breakfast (as if there was anywhere else to I'd go). Actually, Tyler's first trip anywhere was to Bob Evans when he was 4 days old. Saturday afternoon we had pictures taken of all Becca's family before James' graduation party. After the party we met Liz, the only cousin on my mom's side that had not seen him, for dinner. Then we went to James and Anne's house for a father's day celebration for Guy. Wow! What a busy day. Tyler was exhausted by the end of the day! Sunday morning Becca and Angel made a Father's Day breakfast, it was great! She actually made real bacon, not the turkey bacon! I had forgotten how much I liked pork. After church we had to eat a quick lunch before heading back home. It was a busy, but very good trip. It was Ty's first trip to Florida! Hopefully I'll get some more pictures up soon.

New things every day

Well, to begin I must rewind about 2 1/2 weeks ago. My parents were able to come and stay for a week and spend time with Tyler, my father had not seen him since he was 2 weeks old. We made a trip over to my brother's house for my nephew's high school graduation and to visit with friends that I had not seen in quite a long time. Faye, my sister-in-law, threw a party for Josh's graduation and was sweet to add a cake for Tyler. We had a great weekend and it was so nice to see everyone and introduce them to our son. My niece, Elisabeth, came back with us before returning home with my parents. She had the best time helping to take care of Tyler, I think she is also enjoying not being the youngest grandchild anymore. The day that my parents left to return home my oldest nephew(actually a twin) and his wife came for memorial day weekend. This was their first chance to see Tyler. We had a wonderful weekend just getting to hang out with them. They were both so cute helping to feed, change, and care for Tyler. They were able to stay long enough to go to a BBQ at a friends house with us on Monday before heading back to Florida. Over the past several weeks Tyler has begun to do so many new things. He watches his feet in his bath, watches his hands and of course finds his mouth. He is now hitting his toy on his car seat, laughing and talking,rolling over, and now he is beginning to get his first two teeth. Last weekend we made it up to Kentucky to see good friends from college and Chad's family. On Saturday we spent some time with my best friend Lisa. She had lunch made for us and invited her parents and Josh, a good friend of ours, over to see Tyler. After that we left to go over to a graduation party held at Chad's cousin's cafe. Tyler was able to meet almost all of his 2nd cousins for the first time. Haley was gracious enough to share her party with Tyler who was stealing the show by sitting in the middle of everyone laughing, talking, and basically being a doll. Granny was so proud she couldn't stop smiling. On Sunday we were able to make it to the congregation that Chad and I went to while dating, also the church that my other nephew (the other twin) attends while in college. We had the best time showing Tyler off to all of our friends that we haven't seen in so long. After meeting Matt and Renee (more friends from college) for lunch we headed back home. It was a busy weekend but so much fun. This past week Chad and I made the big decision to go out to a movie and let Uncle Jared and Aunt Jessica watch Tyler. They have been anxious to babysit for a while now. Being the first time we have left him we checked our phones frequently but it was kind of nice to get out. Chad's mom is now here and she is going to be able to spend a whole week with us. She is so excited to be able to have Tyler all to herself. There are so many new pictures to update we hope to get them on before too much longer. We have also taken pictures of a friend of ours who came out this morning to paint Tyler's name on the wall behind the plane, it is so adoreable and she did it all free handed (amazing) I know that was a lot for one blog, hopefully I can update more frequently from now on.

Times are busy

I know it has been so long since I have updated, there is a lot to tell so here it goes. After the terrible soy change we are back to milk and doing just fine. Tyler is such a happy baby, laughing and talking. He is getting so big, not eating through the night any more. He is not exactly sleeping through the night yet but maybe that will come soon. Last weekend was such a wonderful weekend. We went out as a family on Saturday night to dinner to celebrate mommy and daddy's anniversary, the big seven. On Sunday morning daddy got up with Tyler at his normal breakfast time of 5:30. After Tyler had his breakfast daddy made me a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon, I spoiled the breakfast in bed by getting up too early. After church we went out to eat to celebrate my first Mother's day, such a good day. On Monday we had to go to the doctor for Tyler's 2 month appointment which meant all the shots. I was not looking forward to that at all. It was so terrible because he was so happy when we got in to see the doctor. Tyler was just laughing and talking to the doctor while he was examining him, I felt so bad since I knew what was coming for him. The doctor was very happy with his health and development. He is now 24 3/4 inches long and 13 lbs 11 oz. such a big boy. I took some good advice from some friends and gave Tyler a dose of tylenol before his shots. After the crying stopped, mommy's crying too, he settled and went to sleep. He was really not too fussy the rest of the day so I decided to go ahead and take him to daddy's basketball game. Well, the minute we walked into the gym he lost it. I could tell he had a bit of a fever so luckly I had the tylenol with me and gave him his second dose. He fell back asleep and that was pretty much the end of the fussy time. Last night Granny and Granddad got here, they leave for Europe today and are gone for 10 days but they had to come see their baby before they left. Granny helped me give Tyler a bath last night. She was having such a good time she was ready to trade in her plane ticket and stay here instead. She said that if she didn't know she was coming back to stay with us for a week to see him she would stay. Papa and Nana, my parents, get here tomorrow morning to stay for a couple days. We are leaving on Saturday morning to go over and see my nephew graduate from high school. It will be the first time that everyone at Martinez, the place I spent my teenage years, gets to meet Tyler. Hang tight, we will be updating new pictures of Tyler soon.

It was a busy week! Ty wasn't feeling so good for most of the week. He has had some sinus problems, so Becca took him to the doctor on Monday. They had us switch from milk to soy based formula. Not a good idea! Ty is apparently allergic to soy. His little butt was sooo raw. We switched him back and everything is good now, but wow, that was a tough couple of days.
He is still changing every day and he makes so many faces. Sometimes he looks at himself in the mirror over his swing and just starts laughing. Becca went to a shower today for Jenny, so Daddy got him today all to himself. We ate and played some Xbox. Believe it or not he really does watch the football players when I play. After some football, we met up with uncle Jared at the mall and shopped for a while. Ty was a perfect angel! He always does extra well for his Daddy.

Having Fun

Tyler is making life so fun, especially now with his laughs and talking. Daddy and I got out the video camera again and got bath time on tape. It is so fun to watch him laugh and talk, he is laughing all the time now as you can see from the new pictures. He is growing so fast, I feel like I need to dress him in every outfit he has and take pictures because he won't be in them much longer. He is really loving his baby einstein now, I have it set up in the study so he can watch it while I work some on the computer. Bailey enjoys watching it with him, mainly due to the fact that there are some parts with a dog. It is a fake dog but a dog none the less. Bigler follows him everywhere. If he is in his crib sleeping Bigler is on the floor in his room. If he is in his swing Bigler is usually somewhere on the floor near by. Bath time is always a family event, the dogs run in to lay on the floor by the heater that I turn on so that the room stays warm. We had another busy week last week. We went and enjoyed the park with Lindsay and Ada, had fun at the mall with Jennifer and Jacob. We went to watch daddy's softball game on Monday and his basketball game Friday night. He is so alert now and not always having to eat during the game. On Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful weather and went to watch Peighton play in her soccer game. That afternoon we had a bunch of our friends over for pizza, and games outside. We helped celebrated daddy's birthday with a special breakfast for him. We are going to see the doctor this week so we will see offically how much he weighs and how long he is now. Our scales say that he is 14 pounds so we will see if that is correct. Well, Tyler has just went down for his morning nap so I'm off to get things done. I will update again very soon.

A couple of firsts

I won't say much since Becca already posted today. I got home at a decent time tonight and after dinner we all went for a family walk through the neighborhood. We loaded Ty up in the baby Bjorn (backpack on front) and went walking around looking at all the houses and trees. He really liked it. Then we came back home and he got his first haircut. I know what you're thinking, a kid with that much hair and you waited 6 weeks to cut it! Ty and Daddy enjoyed it, but Mommy wasn't too crazy about it. You can barely tell we took anything off. I'll try and update some photos this weekend. I need to remove a bunch, but we've just been so busy.

Staying Busy

Well we had another busy weekend. Tyler and I traveled down to Buckhead on Friday morning where Lanier and the ladies from Curves held a very sweet shower for us. It was so nice to see everyone and have them finally meet our little man. Tyler was the best, sleeping through most of it. He woke up at the end only to eat and go back to sleep. That afternoon my sister and brother-in-law arrived. We all made it out to eat Friday night to celebrate birthdays, Chad's, Mark's, and mine. On Saturday we ventured out the mall, where again we managed to bring home more bags for Tyler than anyone else. Tyler is getting so big, he is beginning to show signs of smiling (and not just from gas) He is a huge fan of bath time. He enjoys splashing his feet and hands and looking at this colorful bath toys. He is starting to stretch out his sleep time at night to about 3 hours at a time now, it's amazing how 3 hours in a row of sleep can make you feel so rested. Well, nap time is coming to an end so I have to make this update short. We are all doing very well. Life is different and wonderful these days.

Playing catch up

I know it has been so long since I updated last, there is a lot to tell. It seems like we never have time to rest, we are so busy these days. Last Thursday Nana, my mother, got here to spend some precious time with Tyler. She has been enjoying her alone time with him, and even though she doesn't have to she always disappears up in her room at night and gives Chad and I alone family time. On Friday night Tyler and I went to see Daddy play basketball, even though he ate during most of the game we know he was cheering on the inside. On Saturday morning Tyler and Daddy had the morning to themselves while mom and I went to the shower that the girls gave for me. They worked so hard and put together such a beautiful display of food, from quiches, to muffins and fruit, and of course the awesome pacifiers made from white life savers and blue jelly beans. Everything was beautiful, Tyler was represented well with the black and white pictures that Lindsay took. After the shower we all decided to go to the mall as a family. Other than the one store for Tyler, Daddy didn't shop much, just walked very briskly around the mall with the stroller (Tyler likes to go fast). Saturday night Nana wanted to take Tyler all shifts so that Mommy and Daddy could sleep. We decided that our other babies (Bigler and Bailey) needed some attention so we allowed them to sleep with us. Well Bailey, overwhelmed by the exciting news, jumped a littled too quickly and hit his incredibly hard head on my eye. Chad, being very compassionate for my pain, tried to help me while telling me that if I could cry a little more quiet that would be helpful since Tyler just went to sleep. I now have a very attractive and very black eye. Monday night was softball game night, still a little chilly outside we buddled up really warm and headed out to support Daddy. We again cheered through eating, Daddy was just excited that his little man made it out. Tuesday was extra special for Mommy, it was my birthday. Nana took Tyler and I out for breakfast and then on top of the orignal birthday present my parents got me, Mom took me to Bath and Body works to get some bath salt. Nana took Tyler that afternoon and I went upstairs for a very long bath. Chad cooked an amazing dinner (Tyler helped, I have pictures of Chad with Tyler in the baby bjorn cutting tomatoes) and invited some friends over to help celebrate. I got a very sweet card from Chad and a very special card from Tyler. It was an amazing birthday, although my most precious birthday present came early this year:) My mother leaves tomorrow, I know she is not looking forward to leaving, and my sister and brother-in-law get here Friday. This will be Angel's first trip up, not by choice she just wanted to wait until she had some time off to spend more days up here with her nephew. She has been going crazy waiting, marking the days off her calendar. I will update again after this weekend. Thanks to all who have patiently waited.

An eventful weekend

We had a great Easter weekend! We left Friday afternoon and got to my parents house in the early evening. Ty did pretty well for his 1st road trip. It was a 6.5 hour drive (5.5 with no kids) and he handled it like a champ. Papaw and Grams came over to eat dinner and to see their great grandson! When we walked in I tried to hug Mom and talk to her for a while, but apparently I was not the main attraction because she was having none of it. It had only been a couple of weeks since Mom and Dad had seen him, but to watch them you’d think it had been 6 months! They had fixed up the basement for us and had a crib set up down there for him (they apparently didn’t realize he would be sleeping in their room some of the time). Friday night Becca still got up with him a couple of times and then let Mom and Dad take the early morning shifts. Saturday we hung around the house all day and a couple of my aunts came by to see Ty for the first time. Dad just sat around the house all day with us, which is extremely odd for anyone who knows “the Captain.” He probably fed Ty more than anyone, yet complained when I wanted to feed my own son! After some convincing on my part, Becca decided to not get up Saturday night with Ty. This was ground breaking for her because she always gets up with him, but she has been really worn out lately. She went to sleep at around 8 and didn’t wake up until 7 the next morning. Mom and Dad said that he was pretty good all night sleeping 3 hours at a time. Believe it or not, they even made him sleep in his own bed all night (at least that’s what they say).
Sunday morning we went to church with Mom and Dad to show off the little man. He wore the white sweater vest that Becca and I bought him and looked adorable! After church we went over to Aunt Gaynell’s house for a family gathering/shower. Everyone was excited to see him and hold him, plus Clay and Stacy were able to make it over to see him as well. After getting back to Mom and Dad’s house and taking more pictures, we finally left at 7:00. Ty was wonderful all the way home, but boy was I tired. We had to stop several times to feed and change diapers, but we finally arrived at our house at about 1:30. I think next time we’ll leave earlier! I’m glad we decided to drive the truck because we wouldn’t have made it in the car with all the presents we brought back. The back of our truck was completely packed! I was joking around all weekend that if this normal to get this many presents, we needed about 3 or 4 more kids. Becca, with bags under her eyes, thought maybe we ought to wait a bit.

Life as a Family

Well, I have a few seconds before Tyler wakes up to eat so I'm taking this time to update everyone again. We are preparing to leave for our first road trip at lunch time today. We are traveling to Chad's parents where they are throwing a shower for Tyler. We are so excited to see everyone, and of course are a little anxious about our first trip and how he will do during the trip and after. Our life is so different now, a lot less sleep, a LOT more busy, but we have never been happier. We attempt to put all other things to the side in the evenings to them to family time. To all my family and friends that are patient with me for not having time for the phone or email, thank you, I love you tons (Angel). There are times when I still can't believe that he is here. I will be washing clothes or bottles and then walk into Tyler's room and see him sleeping; I'm just taken back all over again. There were so many days I would walk into that empty nursery and feel so sad, it's such an amazing feeling to walk in now and see him. Tyler is doing very well, it seems like he is changing every day. He is so alert and loves to watch his light show, the dogs, and the airplanes in his room. He still loves to eat, it's hard to believe that he will only be 4 weeks on Saturday, and has already gotten so big. He seems to really know Chad and I now, looking for our voice or calming his crying if we come in the room to talk to him or pick him up. I will try to update everyone after we return home from our trip; I make no promises on how quickly though.

Mommy's turn

Well, so far Chad has been taking care of the updates but I thought since I had just a minute I would give an update myself. We had a very packed weekend filled with pictures taken, Tyler's first cookout with friends, church, and going out to Sunday afternoon lunch. He has been a trooper through it all. His "aunt" Lisa was in town from Wednesday until this afternoon. She took so many pictures of the little guy, I think she may be afraid of how big he is going to be the next time she gets to see him. He is growing like crazy, that little man is not afraid to eat. He is keeping on schedule with eating about every 2 -2 1/2 hours (even through the night) so mommy tries to sleep a little in the afternoon when he naps. His aunt Jessica came to visit him on Sunday afternoon, she even took note of how big he has gotten just within the last couple of weeks. My other babies, Bigler and Bailey, are still wondering why there isn't as much mommy time for them these days. If I had a camera set up every time I sat down to feed Tyler, each time you would see a picture of me trying to juggle Tyler and finding a good place next to me for both of them. Tyler does enjoy watching them while he eats. Well, that is about all the time I have before it gets exciting around here again. I'll attempt to do better updating in the future.

Ty's first trip to church

Tyler made his first trip to church last night. Things have certainly changed in our lives. I think we started getting ready at 5:30 for a 7:30 meeting. We did actually arrive about 15 minutes early though. I can't wait for Sunday morning, he may have to stay up after his 5:00 feeding. It was fun to finally get to take him to church and show him off a bit. Becca was just ready to get out of the house for a little while. Unlike lucky me, she doesn't "get" to go to work everyday. A lot of our friends from church had already been by several times to see him, but there were still plenty who were seeing him for the first time. I'll post some pictures later, but he wore a cute baby blue sweater vest and khaki pants that his granny got for him. He actually didn't mind getting all dressed up in it. We fed him 4 ounces at 6:30 hoping that it would put him out for most of the service, but oh no, Becca had to take him out after the second song. He had been having gas all day and his stomach was bothering him a bit. I hope the people around me didn't think that was me passing gas. He calmed down after a little bit and then she brought him back in and gave him to me. Let me tell you, having him on you shoulder is like having a heating pad on you. I was sweating like crazy, but was afraid to move him because I didn't want to wake him up. He was fine for the remainder of the services and slept most of the time. Of course we stayed around for 30 minutes after the services were over, talking to people and showing the little man off. I'll have to say last night was pretty easy. If we can just cut down the getting ready time and duplicate his performance in church, we should be on easy street. I just have a feeling that is not likely! Today we are getting our pictures taken. I wanted to wait a couple of months, but obviously I have no say so in these matters. I'm not even sure my objection was noted. I'll post one or two once we get them back.

PS. We changed over to this blog to make it easier on my friend Jason. He designs websites and does all kinds of internet/computer services. If anyone is interested just let me know. His work is awesome and his rates better than you'll find anywhere. Plus he updates around the clock because he has trouble sleeping! :)

Home with Ty

It has been a while since I've updated. Jason was on vacation and we've been busy with the little guy. He's small, but packs a powerful punch. We arrived at the airport on Saturday March 17th to a warm welcome. Our family and friends were there to greet us as you can see in the pictures (gallery 1 and gallery 2). There was a very excited "Granny" who refused to give him up. When we got back to our house our friends had decorated it for us and even left some food in the refrigerator! My parents stayed with us from Saturday until Wednesday and were great about getting up with Tyler in the middle of the night and early morning. Becca's parents came Thursday night and her brother's family came Friday night. They were such a big help with the chores around the house and with Tyler. Everyone left on Monday morning and we've been going solo since then. It's been nice just the three of us (and the dogs), but very busy. I've been playing catch up at work, so I've had to work a little later. By the time I get home at night, Becca is waiting at the door to give me "my son". She's been working really hard this week! She gets up with him every time he wakes up at night, and doesn't get to take many naps during the day. He's doing better during the night, but still wakes up about three times. He eats all the time and is getting bigger really fast. I'll try and write again tomorrow to let everyone know more.

Day 3

After the doctor's appointment yesterday, there wasn't a whole lot of activity; mostly just eating, sleeping, and changing diapers. We tried to keep Tyler up a little bit after each feeding, but he sometimes wouldn't agree. Once he decides it's time to sleep, there is little we can do to change his mind. Becca took the first shift last night while I got some sleep. He was good, but did not sleep most of her shift. I got him at around 3:30. He stayed up a little bit, but eventually fell asleep after making me change several diapers. After that, he slept the rest of the night. There's not been much activity today. Today's big event is the arrival of Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara. They are re-routing there vacation to come by and see "the little man". I'm including some more pictures of just Tyler. Dad so kindly told us that we were getting in the way of his pictures. Apparently we are not the focal point. I'll call yesterday a draw.

Tyler 2
Parents 2

Day 2

What a difference a day makes! We followed through with our plan to keep him up more throughout the day. He cried about that a little, but was a trooper for the most part. Becca and I took some naps during the day to make up for the lack of sleep at night. He slept most of the night except for feeding every 2-3 hours and boy can he eat! Becca and I alternated those and actually got the most sleep we've had since last Thursday night! We took him in this morning to see the doctor for his check up and everything was great. He really doesn't like getting naked and being put on the scales though. We got to hear his lungs working well during that. He's back up to slightly over his birth weight which is good. His body size is slightly bigger than average in weight and length. His head is in the 90% range, 37 cm I think. The doctor assured me that it is larger to allow for his large brain. Baby Einstein! He and Becca are sleeping now getting ready for Jmac and Jennifer. They are in the area and plan on driving up to see him. I'd have to give this day to the parents.

Tyler 1
Parents1

Day 1

I'll try and post updates every day or so for the next two weeks as most have not seen him. Yesterday (Monday 3/12) was a big day for us. We actually got to bring the little guy home from the hospital. Everything went great! We were so excited, but at the same time it was a very emotional time. I've really matured and grown spiritually in the last several days. God has been in control and we have seen first hand the power of prayer. There are far too many examples to begin to state them. We got Tyler back to the hotel around 6. We took many pictures, a fraction of which are on this website. He was a complete angel all night. Then bedtime came! Apparently daddy's little angel is a daytime sleeper and a night owl. Becca took the 1st shift from 11-2. I was awake most of the time, but finally got out of bed to help and took my shift from 2-4:30. Becca got very little sleep during that time. She took over again at 4:30 then finished up the night. I got about 4 hours of sleep and she got about 2. All of a sudden 7 o'clock came and he was out like a light. We've tried to keep him awake more throughout the day today so we'll see how tonight goes. I'd have to give last night to Tyler.

Tyler 1
Parents 0

To be continued...