2 weeks of fun in Iowa

Wow, I can't believe I've been here for 2 weeks. The time just flew by. and thanks to my awesome schedule organizer I really got to spend time with pretty much everybody. I can honestly say I am ready to go back home and I'm not really sad about it (although I'll miss everyone very much and I wish Tyler could be around them more often). I think in the past I used to come to Iowa to visit, but would leave feeling like I didn't do anything or see enough people. This time I booked the schedule in between Tyler's naps and I even got a few naps in myself! It was relaxing, exciting, fun, wonderful, and jammed packed with my friends and family. Tyler was so great and flexible sleeping in a new place here and there for naps and bedtime. We made it out to the farm for an overnight. We played in the yard and sprinkled him with water. He picked rhubarb with Greatma. And he accidentally stepped on the hose and sprayed his face...oops. He took naps in a church, at greatma's and at my friend Jill's. He switched bedrooms at my parents house after 1 week when Scott left. He really enjoyed sleeping in the same room with mommy...however my alarm clock knows me by name...so I woke up to "MAMA MAMA!" It was cute...but 6:00am! Come on! Tyler has a new hobby of stacking old CD cases in different piles around the house...it was quite comical. I just hope my mom can find them all! Tyler was pretty good with the dog, we have to re-train him on not throwing his food on the floor again though. Bert was really good with Tyler ignoring slaps from Tyler's lovey and CD cases. I'm pretty sure Bert is ready for this toddler to leave him alone by now. I was able to do so much considering I had full time babysitters just waiting for me to ask. I was able to go out to eat with friends, play golf 4 times, type on the computer (right now my mom has Tyler doing errands), go to a movie with my grandma, plant flowers at the farm with my aunt Carla, and the list goes on and on. I really feel I got a break these past 2 weeks with so much help entertaining Tyler. We did things together as well like visit Aunt Debbie at her school, visit Greatpa Burt at the cemetery, go to softplay at Southridge Mall with greatma and her friends,

the zoo with Greatma, cousin Perry and Aunt Chris, the farm, playdates with friends, lots of bubbles with everyone everyday, writing with chalk outside, church at Hope Lutheran (he didn't even cry when I dropped him off in the nursery!), to my old elementary school's jungle gym, Norwalk park with Aunt Debbie, basketball and dinner with Aunt Chris and cousin Harrison, swimming at the Y, swimming at cousin Jimmy's work, again the list goes on and on.

As you can see we had a great time and I'm so excited for Tyler to have all of this excitement and adventure in his young age of 18 months.

Of course the main event was Johnny and Jenny's wedding (aka JJ's wedding). I will be adding more pictures to the previous post to keep it all together.

Johnny and Jenny...

ARE MARRIED!!!

Here are just a few of the moments captured.

Waiting for JJ to come out.

What good looking men I have!Scratch off tickets in a magnet chip clip as Wedding Favors...brilliant.

Dollar Dance!

Tyler and me dancing!

This picture doesn't do the scenery justice.

It was a gorgeous reception at Echo Valley Country Club.

Matthew's Birthday Party

We celebrated cousin Matthew's 8th birthday this week. We went out to Outback Steakhouse for dinner on his birthday day and then he had a swimming pool party yesterday. I can't believe my oldest nephew is 8 already. They all are getting so big and that means that Tyler must be getting big too! Tyler had a blast and LOVES the water. I really am grateful that we get to be here as they are growing up. It's fun watching them grow and mature and it prepares me for my future endeavours with Tyler. And gives me tons of ideas! I really love being close to Scott's family. Although I miss my family in Iowa terribly! We will be seeing them VERY soon. My brother is getting married next week. I am so excited for them to start the rest of their life together...officially!

Tyler is now saying (tr) UCK! He hasn't quite got the T sound out yet...but he's practicing! He is talking up a storm...we have no clue what he's saying but he sure has a lot to talk about. He must be teething or getting ready to because he has been drooling like crazy. He goes through at least 3 shirts a day because they get soaked. I guess he just hasn't learned to swallow his own spit yet! Otherwise he's sleeping so good at night, I never thought I'd get this much sleep after having a baby. I hope I don't jinx myself!

Mother's Day Poem

Mommy,

Thank you for being a good
Mommy to me.
You teach me the animals and
what they say,
You show how to bark, moo,
meow, and nay!
When I poop in my drawers you
show me the way,
With a giggle and smile by with
my arm I sway.
You are so good to take me to
the mall,
On walks with ducks and birds
and clucks.
You play with me outside and
throw me the ball
When all Daddy will do is point
to my trucks.
I just love my Mommy with all
my heart.
And Mommy even laughs at me
even when I fart!

Love,
Tyler
2009

Grandpa's Birthday Surprise and Beach Weekend

SURPRISE! We pulled it off...a surprise birthday party for Scott's dad. Well, neither of us can take too much credit for it. Amy, my sister in law did the majority of the planning and she did a fantastic job. Scott's mom had the toughest duty...keeping it a surprise! Denny's sister and her husband came in town for the weekend and were staying with them as well...so they had a Thursday night and all day Friday to keep the surprise. I was able to call him during the day to sing him happy birthday, but avoided any other conversation. I guess I helped a little by somehow making him think I was coming out to the beach with Tyler after he got up from his nap. Anyways, we all had him guessing! We served a Low Country Boil, coleslaw and a HUGE cake, which was devoured! We danced the electric slide, stomp dance, macarena, the twist...etc. We had a blast. Tyler had a blast as well dancing all the way up to the end.

Afterwards, we headed to Tybee Island and stayed at Scott's brother's beach house for the weekend.

If you can believe it, he kept those glasses on the whole time we were at the beach. He's still afraid of the ocean water coming in at him but he loves throwing shells and rocks in the water and he loved playing in the pools of water grandma made for him.

It was so nice and relaxing. During Tyler's naps I went up to the roof and fired myself like an egg. I wanted to get some color...but the sun was a bit stronger than I thought. We also played some Domino's...a family staple. I lost by 5 points to Aunt Rose. It was fun!
Some Grandpa and Grandson time on the porch.

It was truly a wonderful weekend, thanks to everyone who made it happen for Scott's dad!

Love,

Scott, Carrie, and Tyler

Gotta love softplay!

Softplay just gives us moms a place to wear out our kids. Tyler loves it and then gets really tired and usually has a really good nap!

Hopefully some of my friends will send me some pics of MOPS Farm Day that I can post. We spent the day at the Life of Riley farm April 17th. One of our MOPS leaders family lives and runs a farm. We had a blast. We fed the horses whole pieces of bread, went on a hay ride, saw 100's of cows, colored chicks, bunny rabbits, squealing pigs, goats, a turtle and a dog that lives on the roof of the barn? Now Tyler knows what a horse says and what a cow says. Neigh and MOOO (just in case you forgot!). So cute. Pictures to follow soon!

Isaiah 40:31

I asked God to give me comfort today when reading the bible. This is where He directed me. Isaiah 40:31

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

In the side notes of my Quest Study Bible it says this about hope.

What does it mean to hope in the Lord? (Isaiah 40:31)
The word hope implies both trust and patience. Trust involves confidence in God's power to deliver and faith that he will keep his promises. Hoping in the Lord also implies the patience to wait for God's promises since God works according to his own timing.

My Superhero

We went to a superhero birthday party recently. We didn't really have an outfit, but I found some PJ's handed down from Tyler's cousins with an A (I think Alvin Superhero but not really sure). Anyways, Tyler had a blast...here he is carrying around a part to the swing set. When I first saw him with it, I thought it was a noose.

Isn't he a cutie?

Happy Easter...Myrtle Beach Trip

Happy Easter everyone! Jesus has risen and is alive! We had a wonderful day today with a beautiful church service with a professional sand artist live at the church. After church we headed out to Aunt Amy's for a wonderful Easter dinner of lamb and crab cakes. We had great conversations and fellowship, the kids had an Easter egg hunt (Tyler needed some coaching...but started to get the hang of it), we watched the Master's on TV and searched for Uncle Rob and Grandpa but never could spot them among the huge crowds. The kids played with the bubbles that Grandma Easter bunny brought. Tyler's new word! He really loves the bubbles! We ate too much and then ate more desert and now we are home. Tyler is snug in bed and I've realized I haven't updated in weeks! We've had such a wonderful time the past few weeks...I've put the computer aside and really only checked my email once a day! It has been nice.

Last week we were blessed with a vacation with Grandma and Grandpa to Myrtle Beach, SC. We stayed in a hotel suite right on the ocean with a gorgeous view. Scott and I got the room with the view because it was the room with the pull out of the wall Murphy bed. So we got to wake up to the sunrise every morning! Tyler loved swimming in the indoor heated pool (somewhat heated). Daddy really won the prize of swimming with Tyler 3 days in a row!We both got to play 2 rounds of golf with Grandma babysitting Tyler (even though she had a sling on her arm protecting her recent shoulder surgery) she was such a trooper, we both appreciated her so much. Scott golfed on the coldest and windiest day, we both golfed on Wednesday at a course called The Wizard, and I golfed on Thursday (the nicest day!). We also went to the big Broadway on the Beach area where they had fun games and rides. We were trying to tire Tyler out this night. He loved the skee ball!

This vacation was the perfect distance away (only 3-4 hour drive), the perfect company, the perfect amount of nights (5 nights), and perfect relaxation and stimulation vacation I've had in a long time. We can't say thanks enough to Scott's parents for inviting us and treating us to such an amazing trip. We love you.

Love's Seafood...by Boat

Scott and I were blessed with an invitation to dinner on Friday night to Love's Seafood in Richmond Hill, and we arrived there by boat. It was about a 40 minute boat ride there with only 1 wrong turn. We had to take a canal built by Civil War soldiers to get to the Ogeechee River from the water we live on. It was really amazing! Our neighbors wanted to test out their new boat...and their memories on getting there. We had a blast. The restaurant was great I ordered the salmon and they served a fillet big enough for 3 people! We had to kind of eat and run at the restaurant because we were getting low on sunlight and there was no moon out Friday to give us a moonlit ride home. It was getting pretty darn close to pitch black when we arrived home at 8:15pm. Our awesome friends Elisa and Greg held down the fort with Tyler and even put him to bed for us! We had such a great time. Once our neighbor figures out his camera I'm sure he'll send us the picture we took before we left and I will post it. We had to get bundled up because the wind on the boat made it a little chilly...but it was not too bad!

We took Tyler on another boat ride tonight and he seems to LOVE to do whatever daddy is doing these days so he really enjoyed it! The last time we took him when my dad was in town in January he whined and cried the whole time, this time he talked and pointed and made boat sounds. It was really fun. I really can't wait for summer now!

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.