Tyler's Forehand

We've had a tough week with Tyler being sick with something. I suspect spoiled milk? but who really knows. Anyways, he's doing much better. He had threw up on Tuesday and then had the runs for 2 days. He's still a little dehydrated but we are forcing liquids down him as much as we can. You wouldn't even be able to tell he was sick. I took a video of him (in his diaper) playing with his tennis racket and balloon. Watch this forehand...follow through and everything. Enjoy.

15 month Well Child Visit

Tyler is maintaining his 91 percentile in both height and weight. He weighed in at 28.9 lbs and 33". Everything else looked great. He's saying a few new words: nana (banana) and Uh-Oh (very cute...at least for now), when you say cat or dog he clucks his tongue as if he is calling them. He knows what a truck sounds like (vrumm), and he signs please, more, all done, and milk. He still calls out every ball he sees, says dadda for both momma and dadda. Every time he see a white SUV he says dadda and points. He says and waves bye for both hi and bye. He eats with a spoon until he gets impatient and then uses his hands again. He still has 8 more teeth to come in. He LOVES the outdoors and kicks and screams when you bring him in even though the sand gnats have taken over our yard. He has a little badminton racket that he loves to hit balls with and throws them up to hit them. If you give him a balloon he'll play "tennis" with it for hours. He also has a tee ball that we got for Christmas and he'll put the ball on himself and bat it off, then chase it and put it back on and hit it again. He always claps for himself after he hits it!

Atlanta Trip...Aquarium

We took a short trip up to Atlanta this weekend for our friends 40th Birthday. On Saturday we headed to the Atlanta Aquarium with Tyler and had a blast. Tyler really enjoyed looking at all of the fish and especially enjoyed the 3D movie with Deepo the fish. He looked SO cute in his 3D glasses and thought mommy and daddy looked really funny as well. We saw sting rays, whale sharks (HUGE), Baluga whales, and tons of other fish. I also enjoyed the Titanic exhibit with real life artifacts that were in the titanic and the stories behind them. They gave me a boarding pass with my name and brief history and at the end of the museum there was a wall with all those that survived and those that were lost. I survived as a first class passenger, but my husband did not survive. I also got to do a simulation of sterring the titantic and trying to steer it away from the ice berg (going the same speed as they were going and same distance). It was and ok exhibit, but probably not fit for a 15 month old. Scott was a good sport and drug him around and out of the exhibit only to think I had already left them...when I finally came out he had already told the lady at the front that he survived but his wife did not.

Saturday we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant for Clete's 40th birthday (I think our picture is on Facebook from the restaurant). We had a a good time with good friends.

Now we are back and need to catch up on our hour lost this weekend. Yea for summer coming!

Homeade Waffles

Daddy treated us to homeade waffles this morning. I kept saying we were out of waffle mix, but Scott was determined to use that waffle maker that has been sitting idle for years! So he looked up a waffle batter recipe and mixed it all together and WHAM! We had waffles and bacon for breakfast. It was WAY too much effort for me, but that is my husband for you, he will always go the extra mile! And Tyler really loved them!

Later it was time to go play in the rain puddles. We had quite the thunderstorm this morning around 5am and Tyler loves to play in the puddles. Tonight we may even have SNOW!! Don't worry though, the temperature is only supposed to get to 35 so nothing will stick. But it sure has been a windy day...I think it has put Tyler in a trance for his nap today, I don't think he's even moved!

Tyler on the Rocking Horse

This Rocking Horse came from our awesome neighbors who have a 9 year old son. It's really great to see how much fun he is having with it. He has climbed up all by himself before...to our amazement! He is really growing into a little boy!

because pics have been lacking...

Adventures in Mothering

Tyler and I had a great day today. Started off by heading to the local library for a little story time. Tyler didn't know what to think of it...and was pretty much hanging on to me the first 10 minutes. But it was really fun. Today's topic was ducks...which was perfect because it's his favorite song in the car: one little duck with a feather on his hat...he led the others with a QUACK QUACK QUACK! Anyways, after the story we did Head and Shoulder Knees and Toes. And then Where is Thumpkin? She read another story about ducks (both were counting stories). Then she got out the CD player and some music instruments and played the dance song FREEZE. The kids dance and get really loud with their tambourines, but then listen for the singer to say FREEZE. Tyler really liked that and I'm trying to teach him to shake more when he dances. There was a goodbye song and then it was time to get a sticker. Tyler didn't like the sticker though...he was the only one who cried. The other moms thought it was adorable. I thought it was jammed pack for 30 minutes of free entertainment. Anyways, we will definitely be back and we can't wait for the brand new library to open up (1 mile from our house!!!).

Then after nap time we headed out for some errands and stopped at McDonald's to enjoy his FREE small cone Valentine from a friend. He wasn't too interested in the cone...but enjoyed drinking the big boy water out of a straw. They have a play land, so I thought we'd check it out. We (14 month old and mom) scaled the play land up the circle twisted stairs and through many tunnels, steps, and obstacles and FINALLY went down the slide (which shocked us all the way down). I have to tell you I was getting a little claustrophobic while I was crawling through the tubes and tunnels. (I will have to take my camera and let you all get the full effect of what actually went down today). And Tyler would not go...so I had to push him along a little just to get out of there. I would say it was quite adventurous for me...and I will never do it again. I guess that's why it says ages 3-12. Maybe you can do it on your own in a few years, cuz this mom is not doing that again! He enjoyed it and thankfully he enjoyed chasing the birds more than doing the whole thing again.

And then yesterday was yet a whole other adventure of feeding the ducks, seagulls, and pigeons at Lake Mayer. Oh my...I really thought my/our life was in danger! I had 5-10 seagulls hovering right over my head (like 1-2 feet away, I could have reached up and grabbed them) and at the same time Tyler had these huge ducks with their beaks right in his face. I kept having to lift Tyler up and move him...and with the other 4 hands throw the bread crumbs every which way. It should have been a scene it a movie...it was pretty funny, but scary too. I was beginning to think someone was going to have to rescue us...I only had 3 stale pieces of bread! Tyler LOVED it and chased those birds every which way...laughing and screaming the whole time...he did not want it to end.

So much fun...and many memories.

Happy Valentines Day

We had a wonderful evening ALONE! Yep, Tyler had his first overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's house (without mommy and daddy!). Grandpa picked Tyler up after he got off work around 4pm and then it was OUR time to enjoy doing things we wanted to do. This may not seem that exciting to anyone but we played tennis for over an hour (Scott's favorite!) and then ate some sushi (bought earlier in the day from our favorite place at lunch price menu!) all I did was put it in the toaster oven for 5 minutes and it was perfect! They were crispy salmon rolls...so they are served warm. Anyways, Scott got me my favorite Lindt milk chocolate truffles (he heard me gawking over a commercial!) and FREE set of pearl earrings! Oh, and a marriage proposal card...how sweet! Anyways, I made him 2 BIG Cookies and a homemade card. We then got showered and dressed and headed to Wal-mart to get a Red Box movie (we tried to rent Fireproof from Blockbuster but after 4 years of renting $1 video's you can't all of the sudden rent a movie for $5.02!!!! Can you believe what they are charging now! I'm sure I embarrassed Scott as we walked out of there without a movie). Anyways, we rented a great love story called Though none Go with me. It was a made for TV movie, but perfect for Valentines Day. And also Mama Mia (for $2.14), which we watched this morning after a full course breakfast cooked by my sweet husband! And then it was already time to go pick up our sweet child.

Even though it was a mere 8 hours of Tyler's awake time we didn't have him, it was so worth the ability to do what we wanted (after 8pm) and sleep in ('til 8am...wow) and then enjoy a morning breakfast together and a movie. You just can't do those things with a hyper 14 month old that wants your constant attention and needs to be fed, changed, and played with. Thank you to my awesome, fun, patient in-laws who agreed to take him for the night so we could enjoy Valentine's Day (1 night early) alone together.

When we picked him up he was happy as can be...he just sort of walked over to me and hugged me put was perfectly content. They said he did great and let them hold him and play and didn't get too whiny. I'm really happy it all worked out! And they said they didn't starve him, when we arrived he had a big string cheese in his mouth. I didn't have any doubts!

Thanks Lord for such awesome blessings and Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

Bullet Point Happenings

* My good friends Sarah and Kenny had their baby boy on Wed. I got to see them at the hospital and now they are home and all are doing well. He is so sweet and can't wait to see more of him. (that's me holding the sweet thang!)

* Tyler is still only saying BALL...and now will wave bye...but only after the fact. He prepares WAY in advance for going down stairs. Like 10 feet in advance sometimes, it's pretty hilarious. He will even go down backwards over the tiniest little step. He loves the outdoors and just like any boy doesn't need any form of entertainment but nature itself. He already has eaten dirt twice! He found little red berries (don't worry I was watching him closely) and says ball. He loves the helicopters that fly over our house. He HATES loud piercing noises, including the door bell and runs and screams to mommy or daddy. His appetite is all over the place and can't really figure out what he likes or doesn't like because it's new everyday. So far what works best is banana's, grapes, canned green beans, cheesy eggs, graham crackers, anything sweet (of course), and good ol' oatmeal. He hasn't had a bottle in over a week now! He's drinking out of every kind of sippy cup and drinks best out of a straw. I still am horrible about brushing his teeth. He has cut his top molars (that was tough!). He still has extreme separation anxiety. He loves his rocking horse from our neighbors (video to follow) and can climb up all by himself. He is such a climber and thrill seeker. He has his 2nd cold in 2 weeks. URH! And he's developed quite the attachment to his lovey's and paci. It's really only right after he wakes up and wants to cuddle on the couch before playtime. When I get him out of the crib, he's already thrown both the lovey and paci out...so I just bring him straight to the living room. Not a minute goes by before he's back in his room grabbing them both from the ground and walking back in the living room to cuddle. It's pretty sweet! He will only do his #2 duty with a fresh diaper. So much for trying to save that pee diaper, just change it so he will get it over with before it's time to go!

* This is our Annapolis home that is on the market.

* Scott is doing great and is my rock during the uncertainties of the market and everything else. God is really putting the right people in my path to get through these trials and praying for us.

* Not really much going on....so that's why there hasn't been many posts. We are just kind of in a lull. We'll be back though!

Dad's visit/Annapolis House

My dad came down last week to hang out with us. We had a great time, we had lunch down on River street on the coldest day in Savannah this year (I think) 30 something degrees. and then on Thursday Jenny came over and babysat while my dad and I went and played golf (I scored 107). Johne and dad spent the week installing new windows at their house and also played golf on Friday. Tyler came down with some type of cold/fever over the weekend. My dad came and watched me play tennis on Sunday. He left on Monday morning at 4:30am to get to Atlanta to play golf with a buddy. The life of a "independently wealthy" (minus the wealthy part) man! I'm so happy he's enjoying the retired life. Scott also brought him home an old scale from an office he calls on so he was excited to take that back home to Iowa. He drove through a few ice/snow storms to get back, so he said on Wed morning that he was getting ice chips off the scale (it was in the back of the truck). I hope it still works right! We had a great time with him here!

Scott is in Annapolis, MD right now working his tail off to get the house ready for the market. Our renters moved out last month and we have no choice but to brave the sunken market to get rid of it. We need lots of prayers that it sells quickly and for at least what we owe on it. I am so proud of Scott and all he can do in such a short period of time. I worry and pray for him that he stays strong and God keeps him encouraged and looking to Him for guidance.

Happy Birthday Honey!

Today is Scott's birthday. We tried out the new "Japanese Fire" but WAIT...there was no fire. Miyabi is the newest Japanese Steakhouse in Savannah and they do not do the fire tricks! Can you believe it? Tyler was still pretty entertained and since we had 2 tables worth of family we had a shrimp tail food fight from across the tables. Then we went out to Scott's parents where we sang Happy Birthday and Scott opened presents. He got lots of good stuff including a cast iron grill weight and Staples gift card...to go towards a new laser printer....someday....some shirts and Balderdash board game.

For the 2nd time I attempted a caramel cake for Scott. He requested a 6 layer caramel cake, but I only made a 4 layer. It actually turned out pretty good, well at least they told me it was good. I even made extra frosting for Scott and his brother Rob...both have the biggest sweet tooth's I've ever seen! I have some tweaks I will do for next year...but Thanks to Paula Deen...it was a success!

Well, Happy Birthday honey...I love you! and so does Tyler!!

Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon.

Christmas in Savannah

We were able to celebrate our family Christmas at home in Savannah on Christmas night (we only have video of Tyler getting his basketball hoop from Santa and here are the Refrigerator magnets from us. We also had a few extra gifts from Santa for all of us. Scott and I got to enjoy the excitement of opening 2-3 gifts each from Santa. Scott and I both got a book, a weather stick, a ceramic dip bowl, and Tyler got a new outfit, a ceramic molding kit, and a stuffed camel and even Chance got some Friskies Steak Dinner! On the 26th we headed to Scott's parents to exchange gifts (before dinner) and then a fantastic Turkey dinner. It was good to be with another loving family. Tyler got many new toys and outfits. It was a little overwhelming opening the gifts for Tyler and for myself...don't get me wrong, it was fun...but easy to loose track who they were all from. Our family was definitely blessed this year.

I don't know what happened in Des Moines as far as family pictures go...but we didn't get one. BUT we did in Savannah.

Scott's camera alows him to take 3 pictures in a row on timer. He didn't quite make the first one...and here is the result...him flying through the air. I think it's pretty funny.

HERE IS A GOOD ONE!

Saturday night we got together with Johne and Jenny and her mom, dad, and brother who were visiting for Christmas since Jenny's work didn't let her have any holiday time off this year. They weren't able to go to Des Moines for Christmas but we did...how ironic is that?

Jenny gave us our first gift from Tyler...it was a clay hand print that she helped him do one day when she was babysitting him. It was really sweet and my favorite gift this year!

This year had a basketball theme for Tyler...he got a mini Leap Frog counting and letters basketball hoop from Santa in Iowa and then a real basketball hoop from Santa in Savannah and then this bathtime basketball hoop from Aunt Jenny and Uncle John-e.

Christmas Highlights

Let me begin by saying this was the best Christmas I've ever had! Not because of the presents, but the time spent with family. And because we traveled to Iowa this year we got to celebrate 2 more Christmas celebrations that we don't get to when we stay in Savannah. I will highlight some of the best moments with pictures. My favorite part of Christmas this year was my dad. He made our stay in Iowa so wonderful, I can't thank him enough. He cooked "made to order" breakfast every morning and dinner every night...except one night when Scott and I had a date night.

Tyler did great on the plane...we lucked out with the entire back row for the long flight from SAV to Chicago. Here are a few cute shots.

Tyler, Grandma, and Max playing in the snow. (video in an earlier post) We visited Greatma's new senior living apartment. She sold her house of 52 years in December after having a sign in front of her house for 5 days (FOR SALE BY OWNER). If that's not God's calling I don't know what is! Anyways, Tyler spent quite a bit of time there when Greatma and Cousin Perri babysat while I went to the Drake vs. Iowa basketball game. They all had a great time and were even successful at getting Tyler to take a nap. Very impressive. When we got back he was happy as can be playing with a ball in the living room. I am very happy with where my grandma lives now, she is safe, has a garage, neighbors all down the hall, the apartment is spacious and all one level. We are very excited for her.

Greatma wanted a day to spend with both of her Great Grandkids and so we took a trip up to Great Aunt Carla's farm and spent the day. Here is a special picture of Great Grandma, Lindsay and Tyler all on her lap. They played catch with a ball, watched the hopping snowman fall off the table, played "This little piggy" with Tyler's toes, read books, and went sledding. It was really fun seeing my cousin Andy and his wife and talking about parenthood. Lindsay is 17 months so only 4 months or so older than Tyler. So they are just steps ahead of us...it was fun to see what we can look forward to. Lindsay speaks both English and Spanish and I think that is so cool. Tyler received his first kiss...yes, from a cousin.Both Lindsay and Tyler went sledding for the first time. I think Lindsay liked it better than Tyler. Daddy and son in the open country on sled in Iowa. POOPED OUT! What a fun time at the farm!We are all ready for Christmas Eve celebration at Great Aunt Chris and Tony's. But first we must stop at Pal's.Christmas Eve Night: Recently we have changed from giving many gifts to everyone and opening them 1 AT A TIME to a White Elephant Gift Exchange. I miss the old way, but maybe that is because my brother and I were the only kids and the ones that always had the most presents. When John-E and I were really young the gift opening would last hours and had snack intermissions. Then as we got older and the family started drawing names and now we are down to only white elephant gifts. Anyways, it's a smart way, none of us NEED anything and the fun of family is all that really matters anyway. I will still treasure those memories forever. Especially a themed Christmas like when Uncle Chuck got a ton of boxer shorts and grandma a ton of ear muffs. I think my grandpa got a ton a one thing one year, but I can't remember what it was...any help family?

So this year Tyler and Lindsay got the illegally bought gifts...since they are just babies. They both got a monkey and lots of books. And a few others gave out small gifts as well. It was fun...and I sure hope we continue to break the rules.

The youngest families. We were both married in the the same month and had our first child 4 months apart!

Below is the pile of White Elephant gifts. I drew the best number of all...the last one!! I ended up getting to unwrap 2 presents and choosing one for my parents to keep and one for my parents to keep. One was a dirty ol' picture frame with bugs and cobwebs on it (Thanks Chuck), and the other was another laptop bag with a $1 bill inside. This year there were 3 laptop bags...so next year we may just have to ban them! We ended up with a cheated bought gift that Great Aunt Chris bought that was a toy for Tyler...a baseball tee ball and bat. He loves it! Uncle Chuck got our one of our gifts that was a cordless phone with answering machine...and the joke was it had all my recorded messages on it. And then it was time for the annual Girls against Guys Trivial Pursuit. Guys win again. OOPS clarification...Guys won this year but Girls won last year (I wasn't there...maybe that's why we won?). It was a little tougher this year concentrating...with Tyler and it getting late for him. Christmas Day Dinner at my parents with my Grandma, Aunt Debbie, cousin Jimmy and his girlfriend Ginny.And then soon after dinner...we were packed up with 1 extra suitcase and headed back to the airport for a day of uneventful travel. We had 3 quick flights with 3 quick layovers. Tyler slept the first flight and the last flight and was really good on the middle flight. Scott's parents picked us up at the airport on Christmas night. We made it!

Next post...Christmas in Savannah.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here's to a great 2009. Farewell 2008!

We were blessed to spend the evening with friends, watching fireworks from our dock, and toasting in the new year. I'm really excited for 2009, especially my brothers wedding in May. And everything that Tyler will have in store for us in his toddler years.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We made it back to Savannah! We had such a wonderful time with family and friends back in Iowa and even in the cold and snow. I really enjoyed a good ol' fashioned Iowa Christmas.

More on our trip later...need sleep!

It's COLD here!

This is Tyler's first experience actually playing in snow and he is with Grandma and our 15 year old dog, Max. She even attempts to make a Tyler Snow Angel. I think he is thinking, "What are you doing to me? Get me back inside!"



We are having a great time here, today I went to the Drake vs. Iowa men's basketball game with my mom. It was an exciting game as Drake won 60-43. My grandma and cousin, Perri babysat Tyler while Scott and my dad lounged around home all day. The temp dropped 10 degrees and the wind picked up 20mph while we were inside during the game. We are under a wind chill advisory. We are definitely getting a change of season from sunny mild temp Savannah to wintery COLD Iowa! It really makes it feel like Christmas time though!

Off to Iowa for Christmas

I can't believe we are leaving 70 degree weather to go to 9 degree weather and a snow storm in IOWA. We must really love our family there...and Scott must really love me! However, we will miss everyone here in Savannah for the Christmas Eve celebration.

Here is a preview of Aunt Jenny's Christmas photo shoot...photo in place of card of Tyler are mailed. Very simple this year...so no expectations.

Christmas with Tyler will be exciting. I think Tyler will have a more interesting Christmas, having fun opening new toys and walking around...and he may even get to play in snow. We've really enjoyed listening/reading/singing to Little Town of Bethleham book that Tyler received for his birthday. When you open the book stars light up to the tune of Little Town of Bethleham...mommy tries to sing it...it's a little rough but Tyler likes it! It will be going on the plane with us, so I'm sure everyone else will enjoy it too...except I won't be singing...maybe someone else will!!!!

I'm sure there will be plenty of updates from the Iowa homefront. stay tuned.

Please pray for safe and uneventful travel and for us traveling with a newly walking 1 year old!

Family Stockings

ALL 3 FOR UNDER $10!!! I did it myself. There is hope for this semi-crafty mom...getting to be more crafty....but still was really dizzy inside AC Moore yesterday. It was fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas Tree...DEAD

Yep, only 1 week in and I've already killed it! Funny thing though...it's still sucking up water but the branches are turning brown and the needles are all over the place. I'm so disappointed, but hey, maybe it's a sign that we are going to get a great deal on a fake tree after Christmas and from now on I won't have to worry about killing the tree and traveling every other year. Now we really do have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree...DONE

Tonight I spotted our Charlie Brown Christmas tree from the road and bet Scott that it would only be $$20. It ended up being $28.95 plus tax...but when I told the guy I bet my husband that it would only be $20 he gave it to me for $25 including tax! YIPEE! I just love getting a deal.

So here it is...sitting on top of the table....with 3 strands of WHITE lights and pretty much all the ornaments we own...except the gold balls...we only used the silver. This will be our last year (for a while) with a real tree. We are going to get a "deal" on a faux tree after the holidays. Mainly because we we only be here for Christmas every other year and with little ones running around I thought it might be easier to keep clean, put up and take down. But who knows what next year will bring???

I got to make every decision this year and not a word of protest from Scott (aka he was "under" on the decorating this year).

And then the fireplace mantel with the nativity scenes, the wooden one passed down from my grandma and of course last years family Christmas picture!

This picture shows the beautiful christmas boxes that are nice and decorative...whenever I try to give one away as a present, Scott gets really stingy and wants to keep them!

Anyways, we enjoyed some sparkling wine, Christmas music, and William Sonoma hot chocolate.

It's Christmas time....in the city!

PS-this might be a record as far as how early we got the tree up...last year may have been close because my mom was here to help. We leave Dec. 17th for Iowa and are staying until Christmas day. THEN having Christmas in Savannah on the 26th.

Love to all!
Carrie