Mermorial Weekend FUN!

The Weekend started with a trip to Rob and Amy's pool with Tyler's cousins. We had so much fun...Tyler showed off all his new tricks, Matthew and James went down the slide, and Andrew was swimming with Grandma. We could only stay for an hour...Tyler has to have those 2 naps, he was conked out in 5 miuntes once we were in the car and stayed asleep for a long time! YIPEE.

Saturday night the best man in our wedding, Ron came down from Atlanta (which is starting to be a tradition since he's been coming down on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend for 2 years now since we've lived here). Sunday morning Scott and Ron had a tee time at Wilmington Island golf course and later Scott's Dad, Brother, Ron and I played a round of golf at Hunter. I had a blast getting out of the house. All weekend long Scott and I had great teamwork giving each other chances to "be a kid and play" switching off taking care of Tyler...and lots of other people helped too! So, swimming on Saturday, Golf on Sunday, and grilling out, water skiing and tree rope jumping on Monday. It was fun-filled packed fun! I hope the pictures do some justice to the amount of fun we had!

I haven't skipped a beat...from taking a year off while I was pregnant! It felt so good to be on the water and being a kid again! Here is the master of skiing, my talented husband touching the water while only on one ski.

John-E AKA Gumby! He was up for a long time...until the boat tried to turn.
Jenny waving HI....she got up for a little bit, but we didn't capture it on picture...only on video. maybe I'll try to upload some of them this week. We have some pretty funny video's!

Ron showing his skills!

Ron, Jenny, JohnE and I swam to the middle of the River where there is a sand bar. We are seriously in the middle of the river!

Welcome to the Jungle. Our neighbor Dennis shows JohnE the technique to the Tree Swing.And there JohnE goes! AHHHH!

Ron getting ready to take the plunge.

Jenny does some trick moves with her back to the camera. And there's me, the first time I didn't plug my nose and water went straight to my brain!

Look what we did today!

Tyler really loved this little park we went to today! Some of my friends from MOPS also went and one of them took these pictures for me! He's not sitting up perfectly quite yet, so that's why my leg is there holding him (didn't want him to crack his head on the cement). He was so comfortable with the water. It must be all of those Star Baby swim lessons we've been doing. He is really doing great in his lessons and can hold his breath and close his mouth to go under the water. It is quite a sight! We are having so much!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Separated again

Scott and I are separated again (not really!). This time Scott is away. Scott and my brother are in Lima, OH finishing up improvements on an investment property we bought a while back. It's officially on the market...just in case anyone was thinking about moving to Ohio. Anyways, so far it sounds like it is going well....Scott's family is up there helping as well as some people Scott found on craig's list and Johnny is "learning" some tiling techniques from none other than Tyler's daddy (we joke that is how he got the name Tyler/tiler)! Everytime I talk to Scott he sounds really positive on the progress and so thankful for all the help. Get 'er done and come home already! We miss you!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

This is what I got from Tyler at church today. These are the only footprints I have of him so far. The hospitals in GA stopped doing them when they are born and I never got around to doing them. So here they are at 5 1/2 months old!

PS-Scott got me McDonalds for breakfast at my request! YUMMY!

Happy Mother's Day!

Tyler the Flirt

WOW! I feel like I should never complain again about Tyler fussing. He was absolutely amazing on ALL 4 flights we took from Savannah to Des Moines this weekend. He laughed and cooed at all the passengers sticking out his tongue and being quite the little charmer. He sat in the seat next to me (thankfully open on 3 of the flights) for a bit and played with his "quiet toys." I nursed him thanks to my new HOOTER HIDER, yes, that is what it is called. It took some getting used to for him being covered up, but it worked wonders for me and I'm sure the people around me! He slept on all the flights and I got to sit and stare at my gorgeous baby boy while he slept peacefully in my arms. Maybe the constant rumble of the plane helped a bit. His ears did great...as far as I know...I tried to keep the pacifier in when he wasn't nursing so he would continue to swallow...which was good because it helped me to remember to swallow to pop my ears! We had a wonderful trip. Tyler met a few people for the first time: Great Aunt Carla and Uncle Chuck (still waiting on pictures), Great Uncle Tony, my friends Tricia and her boy Gavin, Stacy and Stacy's little boy John, my cousin Jimmy and his girlfriend Ginny, and a bunch of my grandma's friends from her church. We were pretty busy, but also stuck to his napping schedule which helped him be such a good boy and not fussy at all during the day. We went to La Pizza House on Saturday night and the zoo on Monday with Great Grandma and saw the giraffe's. I even was able to go out to a NICE dinner with Jill and Stacy while Tyler slept and Granddad kept watch. On the Train at the Zoo. And with the giraffe's.

I am so glad that we went on this last minute trip...and you'd think I'd be exhausted but I feel more refreshed now than I did before Tyler was born. My mom took the night shift with Tyler for 2 nights in a row giving me 7.5 hours of straight sleep on Saturday night and 9.5 hours on Sunday night. I feel like a million bucks! And now that we are home, Tyler is officially in his crib at night and we're hoping that he won't need that night time feeding anymore. So far so good! YIPEE! Way to go Tyler!

Tyler with Granddad one early morning...and Tyler trying to feed himself with Grandma.

Great Grandma's Surprise

Tyler and I arrived in Des Moines at 3:30p.m. (instead of 10:30 after a 5 hour layover in Memphis) but we headed straight over to Great Grandma Suesy's for a Birthday surprise! The picture above shows it all! She was so surprised and happy, she asked, "Well, how did you get here?" As she was letting it all sink in she realized that we are staying here until Tuesday evening, which is her birthday!

Tyler has really enjoyed Iowa so far, we are keeping him busy though introducing him to all me family and friends. He has been a really good and happy boy (until around bedtime when he's exhausted from the day!). We are having a great time!

This is Tyler and Great Grandma at her house! She was so excited to see him playing and laying down in her living room. It was so sweet!

Sunday we went to church for my Aunt Chris's commissioning into the Stephen Ministry and had lunch at her house. We took a few pictures: Here is 4 generations:

Tennis, running, and Jill and Karly

So, I am doing it! I have ran 4 straight days in a row...slow and short but steady! Monday=6min. Tuesday-Thur=10 minutes! Tyler seems to be fine with it, every once in while a little whine because he can't see something or the sun is in his face. I've also been playing tennis on Saturdays...well 2 in a row. The first week I had a slow start and my partner and I were down 0-3, but came back to win 6-4 6-1. It was fun getting back into it. My body was pretty sore the next day but I agreed to play again the next week. It was a different story my body was saying...NO NOT AGAIN...I GAVE YOU ONE MATCH BUT NOT THIS TIME! I felt like a 70 year old lady out there...and I can tell you that I was by far the youngest one on the court. I laughed but once a competitor always a competitor. So that is my motivation to start running and getting this body back in shape...muscles, joints, my core...you know all that....only to hopefully in the next year destroy my body again to give Tyler a sibling. Oh the sacrifices us women make!

Also...my best friend Jill and her parents are in town with her 13 month old girl, Karly. We are having so much fun! Tuesday her parents dropped her and Karly off and I got to show off all our remodel construction and to-do plans on the house. We had a play date all day...the baby's took naps and we talked (always reminiscing about the same ol' stuff) but it's so much fun. It's always nice to have a few friends that you can be your complete self around and there is no judgement! I love being a mom along with my friends and I love sharing all the details (over and over) with them. I also can't wait until my other married friends start having baby's so they will "get it." I was telling Jill that when I visited her in August last year and met Karly for the first time (she was about 6 months old) and I held her and played and watched Jill do all the mom stuff....but I just didn't "get it" until I had my own. Anyways, yesterday I met up with them at their hotel after Tyler's first 2 naps and we took the ferry across the Savannah River to River Street. We walked some of the shops (I bought some knock off sunglasses) and drank some sweet tea. We then walked up to Bay Street and took them by Paula Deen's restaurant and gift shop and I showed them one of Savannah's Squares (Johnson Square) which are gorgeous. And we ate at Cafe at City Market. I had a wonderful chicken cordon blue wrapped in a puff pastry. YUM! It was interesting with two baby's, Tyler did really great though he ate 1/4 cup cereal and drank a bottle, watched the birds and his new thing is sticking out his tongue. It's pretty hilarious. Another great thing about being around Jill's baby is that I get to see what I have in store for me next! Oh and by the way, Karly may have Tyler on height but not on weight! (PS-I found out I was pregnant the day Karly was born!)

Today I'm headed to their hotel pool with Tyler. It will be his first experience swimming. He's got a cute little swim outfit and glasses to match! Tyler's new swim trunks and sunglasses...and his tongue...another new "toy".

Jill has all the good pictures of us downtown...they will make another days post!

Tyler's new toys...

We finally pulled this new toy out of the attic this week. Another awesome hand me down from Tyler's cousins. It's amazing how one day you look at your son and say maybe he'll fit into this outfit and bam he's in 9 month old clothes...then you think well maybe he'll play with toys and next thing you know he's putting everything he sees straight into his mouth with the force...(insert analogy) not so good at those. Anyways, here he is playing with his slider thingy...at first he was terrified of all the noises and really wasn't sure himself if he could handle it...but day by day he's getting better with it...he still gets pretty frustrated with some of the toys but we've learned to just switch him around. It's pretty funny to watch and listen to him "work out his frustrations." He is so temperamental!

Next we have a jogging stroller. Yep, I'm going to get into shape with Tyler. I've already tried some baby pilates...wow...should have started that when he was only 9.9 lbs! Anyways, the Baby Bjorn is getting too tiresome for my back and I think Tyler gets uncomfortable as well. So we decided on this stroller...so far Tyler really liked it...and I've already learned that you must lock the swivel wheel before jogging with it! I only jogged for like a minute and my legs about died! Wow, I've got a long way to go!

Doesn't he look so grown up! He'll only be 5 months old on the 25th! And by the way, I removed his sweatshirt before we left...it was pretty warm in Savannah today and quite beautiful!
And his 3rd new toy for the week! His toes! Tonight was the first night I've seen him put his toes in his mouth without the assistance of me or Aunt Jenny. We've created a monster! It was really hilarious and despite losing a few tablespoons of oatmeal cereal he had a fun time...off to the bath we go!

PS-today was his first taste of oatmeal cereal...next he tries barely cereal and then on to his 1st foods of peas, greenbeans, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. You are supposed to only introduce 1 new food every 3-5 days to make sure there is no allergic reaction. So far Tyler is taken really well to eating like a Big Boy. Tonight he even sat at the big boy table and ate dinner with all of us.

Speaking of dinner...I've been meal planning with posted meals for the week on the refrigerator. I've been having a blast. This week I've made oatmeal cookies, homeade biscuits, shortcake (for strawberries), oven fried porkchops, real mashed potatoes, and pasta primivera! I love my new job of stay at home wife/mother/sister. I am so thankful for this opportunity! Praise Jesus!

Tyler's First Baseball Game...and more

Grandma takes Tyler to his first baseball game! "Look at all these people...this is baseball!" Tyler is sporting his Iowa Cubs gear which was Grandma's gift to Tyler before he was even born!

Last night was a monumental night for Tyler...not only did he go to his first baseball game, he stayed awake for the whole game PLUS fireworks at the end. This really made my mom's trip memorable and exciting. She was really happy! We had a cookout at our house before the game and invited Tyler's three cousins and our neighbor Alex, the boys played football, some of them ate and others forgot. At the game my mom treated to some drinks and I had a few skittles to share...but all in all we made it through 9 innings (besides getting there a little late and barely finding seats!) and the boys were boys, they dodged the foul balls, except one lady in the stands did not...she got knocked out with a bloody nose...but she was OK and got a standing ovation from the crowd. They found a baseball only to have to return it to it's owner, played tag, and of course annoyed a few fans jumping over and over and over them. It was exactly what was expected with four boys and a baby! Here are pictures of our eventful night out on the town.
A family affair!

The boys hanging out on the fence (James, Matthew, and Alex).

The fireworks show was pretty good...at first we were worried about Tyler, but he really enjoyed them and never really got scared...hopefully he won't have nightmares!


Also this week we ventured out to River street for lunch that my mom treated us to. Nothing too exciting except that Tyler was a really good baby. We had a really good time with Grandma A. this week, but now she has to go...until next time. We love you and will miss you!

Grandma A is BACK!

My mom (Tyler's Grandma) made it back to Savannah Monday night. She started her drive from Iowa on Saturday but made a pit stop in Savannah, TN where she toured the battle fields of Shilo. She said she had a blast and learned so much! She is quite the Civil War nut. Anyways, when she arrived (I was at a meeting) she ran in asking where her baby was...running right past John-E! Scott said, Well, John-E is right there and Carrie is at a meeting!" She said no....Where's Tyler? You see where we stand in her life anymore! He was in his crib taking an evening nap...it was OK though for her to get him up. She had a blast and he was of course spoiled with two big stuffed animals and lots of hugs and kisses. I keep saying...isn't he big...can you believe it? Here are some pictures and I'm sure more to come later. Feeding Tyler some Cereal with his new I LOVE GRANDMA bib!

Tummy time is getting much better....but he sure does drool a lot!

March 3, 2008

April 8, 2008. They say he's gained 5 inches on his height...it looks like a lot more than that and look at those huge legs...they barely fit in the bumbo seat!

Tonight for dinner we had my Dad's famous Pizza....newly named...Mr. John A's pizza (pause) LOADED! With sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms and lots of cheese!

Solids and Nap Boot Camp

So we've started feeding Tyler cereal. The first go at it last Thursday went OK...we kept it pretty liquidy but then he got all congested. So, last night we decided instead of using breast milk we would use water and maybe he wouldn't get so much mucus caught in his throat. He really liked it and we made it thicker and warmer. We have it on video...he whined every time Scott took the spoon away. It was so cute. It's really messy and who know how much he actually eats but he's getting the hang of it. We're starting with 1 meal a day and working towards 3 meals before we introduce any new flavs! It kind of makes me sad already...our little boy is growing up. This was him today...he wasn't as interested in it this time as you can tell!Nap Boot Camp. OK I had to do it, mainly for his own benefit and a little sanity on our part. I know he needs to learn to fall asleep on his own and I also know that we're the one who created this monster...but hey he had a rough start to life. So far it's going OK, I still go in to settle him after a certain amount of time, but I keep it short and don't talk to him (much). I'm moving to the 10minute time frame tomorrow. We're on our third day. Every once in awhile I think, "wow he's getting it." Then something like, "mom, I'm hungry cry comes up" so I feed him and back down for more napping...then he spits up as he is crying, so I comfort him and can tell he's still very sleepy, especially from all of his crying! So here I am now and he's finally back to sleep. Hey, we're on a 25 minute continuous nap right now though. We're getting there, I can tell already that he is much happier in the off-nap time. Oh here he goes again...he can't get past that transition sleep without waking up crying AHHHHHHHHH! 7 minutes of crying...gotta go! oh maybe he's settling...nope, yes, nope...yes...please...nope