Our Easter Weekend

 My niece Kaleigh has been here visiting this past weekend from Ohio. It was great to see her. I can't believe she is already 18 years old and about to graduate from high school. It seems like only last year I was picking her up from daycare and she was tagging along on mine and Titus' dates.

 Both of our boys love her dearly. This was the first time she and Tyler ever met!

 Thomas on Easter Sunday straggling in the nursery before he went to his Sunday School class

 Tyler gets some attention from Pa

 Two future "back row" baptists in the making :)

 Titus and Thomas

 Nana gets some Tyler love too!

 Grandmom gets the boy some Easter goodies...

 Tyler seems to like sucking on his new rubber duckies beak

 I am pretty sure this was the highlight of Thomas' Easter afternoon

 And Uncle Michael didn't seem to mind it either

 The boys checking out what the Easter Bunny brought to them

Tyler was playing with his Easter Eggs

This is the Bunny Cake we made

Here we are dying Easter Eggs



7 Months Old

Tyler Patrick you were 7 months old yesterday

What are you up to these days??

•You weigh 17lbs and 9oz you have actually lost a few ounces from last month  (because of being so sick)...

•You still wear a size 3 diaper and mostly all 12 months in your clothes.

•You are eating solid food 3 times a day. So far you eat Gerber rice cereal and oatmeal, any baby food fruit or vegetable...even peas and green beans, and yo baby organic baby yogurt. And of course you still have several bottles of formula each day. This month you tried your first table food...a french fry you stole from your brothers plate. I think you just wanted to try out those new teeth, you bit it right in half and got very mad when I took it away from you. You also tried some smashed up fried potatoes this week and loved them! You kept reaching for them while we were eating as if you were just begging for a bite so we finally gave in and let you try them.

•You have been a very very sick boy this month, going on 3 weeks now, you had your first case of RSV then an ear ache and some severe teething on top of that, several ER visits at Children's Hospital, and your first stay in the hospital.  It's been a really rough month. You have been very fussy and have not been sleeping good at all...and very understandably so!  We love you so much and are so very thankful that you seem to FINALLY be getting better.

 

Introducing Dr. Etherton and his patient...

Thomas is pretending to be Tyler's doctor...

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail....

The Easter Bunny visits Tyler at DayCare today.

Our Weekend in the House...

Tyler had another "first"....

Tyler had another "first" this past weekend and week but not exactly the kind of "first" we were excited about. On Friday night (April 8th) he was wheezing and coughing really bad and we had to take him to Children's Hospital to the ER to get him checked out. Turns out he has RSV. They used a machine to suction out his nose and basically told us its viral and has to run its course. Things got significantly worse on Saturday night and into Sunday morning so we ended up taking him back again on Sunday...He started getting dehydrated and fever went up, he had more wheezing and more difficulty breathing...this time they used the machine to suction him several times, in addition to that they did 2 different kinds of breathing treatments, a chest x-ray, to make sure they weren't over looking anything, and gave him and IV to hydrate him and also a steroid through the IV. They couldn't find a vain in his feet, arms, hands, etc...so had to put the IV in his head...this was so pitiful, it broke my heart. By Tuesday he seemed worse again and we took him to his pediatrician who after briefly seeing him said he wanted him admitted to Children's Hospital immediately. We are home now and for the first time he really seems to be feeling a little better. His breathing sounds much better and he is staying hydrated on his own. He is even playing a little bit for short periods now...He surely isn't getting better as fast as his mommy wishes he would but I am so thankful he does FINALLY to seem to be on the mend!

 Who knew they had hospital gowns this little...how cute and sad...all at the same time!



 Bless his little heart...this is the part where I lost it...

 Here he is in his hospital bed, finally starting to feel a little better

 And here he is getting a little daddy lovin'

Please excuse the terrible picture quality but I didn't have my camera, so I had to use my cell phone

Tyler discovers toys...

Since Tyler started sitting up by himself...just in the last couple of weeks he has totally discovered toys. This morning Tyler was just sitting in the floor where I left him while I was doing laundry and Thomas came through playing with his little trucks and trailers...Tyler was fascinated watching him then started grabbing at them so went and got him a baby proof truck and he was so excited.

This is the first time the boys have really actually played together! It just melted my heart watching them...

So...Who do you think Tyler looks like?

I was looking through some old pics just a few minutes ago and saw this one of me...
Thomas says it looks like Tyler in a dress...What do ya'll think?

Six Months Old

Tyler Patrick...You are 6 months old today!

 

What are you up to these days??

• You weigh 17lbs and 13oz today and are 26 1/2 inches long
• You still wear a size 3 diaper and mostly all 12 months in your clothes.
• You are eating solid food 3 times a day. So far you eat Gerber rice cereal and oatmeal, any baby food  fruit or vegetable...even peas and green beans, and yo baby organic baby yogurt. And of course you still have several bottles of formula each day.
• You sleep about 9-10 hours at night. You normally go to bed around 8 or 8:30pm and wake up around 5:30-6:30am. We can't complain about that :)
• You take about 2 good naps a day, around 1 1/2 to 2 hours each and then 2 or 3 little cat naps...about 30 min or less each.
• You smile all the time...you like it when people smile back at you too. You are so cute when you laugh out loud. Grandmom can really get you going with the laughing!
• Your favorite time of day is still bath time.
• You have just started being able to sit up by yourself in the floor.
• You have one tooth that has broken through on the bottom front and the one right beside it may have broken through today I can't tell for sure.. if not it will in a day or two.
• When we hold stuff out in front on you ...like our hands, a toy, or your paci you reach out and grab it from us.
• You are obsessed with your toes...you suck on them mostly. You can even suck on them while you are sitting up.
• You blow lots of slobbery spit bubbles...and spray us real good sometimes...Your Daddy especially appreciates it when u do this while he is trying to feed you. You got him real good with some peaches the other night.
• You are very lucky to have a brother that adores you so much. I have never seen a sibling be so proud of his brother and help take such great care of them. Thomas is always patient with you and is always thinking your best interest. He genuinely treats you as though you are his own special gift from heaven that he asked for and received.
• I am so glad God chose me to be your momma...I have been given the greatest gift of all. I love you and Thomas with all my heart!
• 

First Tooth

Tyler had his first little tooth break through yesterday. It's on the bottom in the front. I haven't been able to get a picture yet, you can feel it big time but can't really see it very well yet. He keeps rubbing his tongue on it. I think he isn't too sure what this new addition in his mouth is right now! Also he has been sitting up by himself for a few days now...He is growing up so fast!

The Love Bug is still going strong...

The saga continues...Thomas is still writing his little notes daily and here is a sample of some of the notes that have been coming home with my boy lately...

Apparently this note exchange takes place daily in the lunchroom. And little Layla is quiet the artist...

Thomas can't wait to show me these notes each day. This is just a sampling of a few of the ones he has recieved so far. For the record I am neither encouraging or discouraging this little romance...I have decided that at this point the best thing I can do is just to listen as Thomas keeps me informed and see what happens.

Happy St. Patrick's Day....

Only a week shy of his sixth month birthday...Tyler is celebrating his first St. Patty's Day....And he decided we should be up extra early to start the celebrations apparently!

And what a lucky momma I am...to start of my day with two smiling faces!

Thomas' shirt says Lucky and Charming...what an appropriate shirt to describe him...

 

Thomas, Abigail,and Parker at Daycare this morning before I took the big kids to school

 Tyler with Ms. Becca...she is the one who bought him this cuper cute shirt...Thanks Ms. Becca...You're awesome!

Exciting Afternoon....

I pulled in the driveway at Grandmom and Grandaddy's house this evening to this guy....riding the same 4 wheeler that my Daddy bought for me and Uncle Michael to ride....24 years ago he reminded me. Wow...talk about getting your money's worth from something! This brought back so many memories...I would have never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be climbing on the back of this very same 4-wheeler with my 6 year old son one day! He can drive it all by himself, it fits him just perfect.

I am so glad Thomas is having such a wonderful childhood...he will never forget stuff like this! I surely haven't. Grandaddy is working on creating memories for a second generation now...I am so thankful for the best Daddy any girl could ever ask for! Grandmom even climbed on for a ride with Thomas...and for the record she did not have any interest in riding this back in the day with me...or Michael for that matter. And when I reminded her of that she simply said "yes, that's right" and just smiled! My how grandkids have changed her :)

Scrub a dub dub...

Scrub a dub dub...my boys are in the tub! This was Tyler's first bath in the big bath tub. It was Thomas' idea. And they both loved it! I just love kissing on my babies right after a bath!!!

Brother Love...

I couldn't resist snapping this picture very early this morning right before I was leaving for work. These two guys were just so precious. It made my heart melt!

Five Months Old

Dear Tyler,
On Feb 22, 2011 you were Five Months Old. You spent pretty much the entire last month of your life on antibiotics for your first sickness...Sinus infection..whatever it was! You weigh 16lbs and 7oz, you are wearing size 12 months in pretty much all your clothes. We went ahead and started using size 3 diapers this time.You have become a pro at eating from a spoon. We haven't put anything in your mouth that you don't like yet. You are now eating cereal with fruit for breakfast, A vegetable for lunch, and fruit with cereal for dinner. You still love the bottle too of course. You sit up pretty well on your own but not totally unsupported yet. You still love your baths, it seems to be one of your favorite parts of the day. You are full blown teething now, your gums very swollen, no teeth have broken through yet but they are driving you nuts. Sometimes the only way to soothe you is to let you chew on my finger. Bless your little heart! You can never imagine how much you are loved!! I am so thankful I get to be your mommy!

Celebrating Read Across America

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's Birthday. In honor of that Thomas' class is participating in Read Across America this week at school. They are doing lots of fun activities all week long. Monday was colorful shirt day, Tuesday wear green for Green Eggs and Ham, Wednesday Crazy Hair Day, Thursday Crazy Socks for Fox in Socks, and Friday is Crazy Hat Day for Cat in Hat. Grandmom and Grandaddy bought Thomas his hat for Crazy Hat Day and he can't stop playing with it, he absolutely loves it!

And he loves having everyone else try it on as well.

His homework each night this week is for us to read together a book of his choice...Last night he picked Great Day for Up and he ended up reading the whole thing to me, I only had to help him with very few words. He was amazed that he could read it so well. And let me tell you his mommy was very proud too!



The Love Bug Strikes...

I think my 6 yr old has been bitten by the love bug! It's Kindergarten Love at our house....and it's very serious! It all started last week when Thomas says..."Mom, I need to write a letter" I tell him ok and continue on about by business. In a minute as he sits at the kitchen table he says "Mom how do you spell Love" I told him and moved on, then he says "Mom how do you spell Layla" at this point I realize he isn't writing a love note to his momma...I told him but then said..."What are you doing?" he explains he is writing a letter to his friend Layla because he really likes her alot. It was in his best handwriting and he drew and colored a very detailed picture of the two of them holding hands and he even drew a bow in her hair. When he got done he asked me where he could put it so he didn't forget it. We decided to put it in his pants pocket for tomorrow, since we always lay out his clothes the night before. When he laid down for bed he kept tossing and turning and wasn't going to sleep. I told him he had to get still and go to sleep so he could get up the next morning and he said "but Mom I just can't stop thinking about my note" and then he asked me to get him up early the next morning so he could do one more thing to his letter that he forgot. I assured him I would and he finally got to sleep. The next morning when I got him up for school instead of the normal whining and not wanting to wake up, he jumps straight up and says I have to go work on my letter. So he works on it while he eats breakfast. Turns out he forgot to draw them shoes in his picture so he couldn't neglect something so important! So when I pick him up from school that day (it was my off day) Titus was with me too and so when he got in the car I ask him how his day was then I say "Did you see your Friend today?" he immediately starts shushing me and cups his hand over my mouth(He didn't want his daddy knowing anything about this apparently). Titus and I were taking him to lunch to spend time with him before Titus had to go into work bc he was working stand-by last week...So as soon as we get to the restaurant Thomas thinking he was being real sneaky takes  me to the bathroom to tell me all about his note and his day. He said "Mom she loved it...and she wants me to give her one every day" Then he proceeds to tell me that she is his girlfriend bc he asked her and she said yes. This saga has continued all last week and now into this week. She has also given him a note and each day he has something new to tell me about her. Over the weekend we were driving in my car and he asked me if he could take her on a date. I asked him what he planned on driving. He thought for a minute and then said "well maybe I could drive the four-wheeler" I told him he would need to ask his Daddy about that. He immediately told me nevermind he would just wait till he was 16. Now he has decided the best place to put his daily note is in his lunch box. So I catch him in the fridge at night sticking his notes in his lunch box for safe keeping. I keep asking him why he won't tell his daddy and he told me its because he will laugh at him or make fun of him. I promised him I would make daddy not do that but he isn't budging on the issue. I am sure I am forgetting all kinds of funny things that he has said and done regarding this but these are most of the highlights I don't want to forget.

I hesitated to even post this bc it was just a secret between me and him for a while but he is now telling pretty much everyone. Except Titus of course so I figured it would be ok.

DISCLAIMER: If you are reading about this....DO NOT MENTION IT TO THOMAS! We don't want him getting upset!

But I figure since I print my blog each year as a sort of journal of our lives. This is something I definately don't want to forget. The picture below is a quick snapshot of one of the most recent love notes. I wish so bad I could have taken a pic of the first one bc it was so perfect...and as this has continued he is starting to get more sloppy and putting less work into them but this one is still cute as can be!