Great Birthday

Today was my birthday and it was GREAT! We celebrated last night with "the household." We all went to eat at a Japanese Steakhouse, which for me always comes with consequences but so worth it! Tyler loved all the ruckus that went on and squinted at the fire. Then we had a K-Factor Tennis cake and opened presents. John-E and Jenny got me a 25 piece knife set and a marble cheese board cutter. Scott and my family in Iowa pitched in and got me 2 new tennis racquets (K-Factor/K-Blade 98 to be exact)! I'm really excited because I've been playing with the same racquets for 10 years! Scott's parents got me a "too small for her" golf glove, which was PERFECT for me, a kitchen towel that she put "God loves Stay at Home Mom's" it is so sweet, and gift certificate to Target (my favorite and it helps that it is exactly 1 mile from my house!) My sister-in-law gave me an early gift of Bare Escentuals starter kit a few weeks ago, which I love! My friends called me all day and brought and sent flowers! It was really great! Thank you to everyone!!! I will post more pictures later! Tyler tried to steal my tennis racquet and Scott has some cute pictures from the restaurant on his camera!

Happy 1st Birthday Ava!!!

We are so honored to be able to celebrate with Pat and Kristen for their daughter Ava's first birthday. She was the first baby born of all of our friends in Maryland. We had a great day introducing Ava and Tyler, opening some presents (a new outfit and her first purse that included keys, a cell phone, and mirror).

Then we had lunch, nap time, then we headed down to you guessed it...River Street. Tyler and Ava were amazing and were having a great time in their strollers checking out the beautiful scenery. There was a Latino Festival on River Street so we saw some dancing and heard some great music and then Pat treated Ava to some cotton candy, she wasn't so sure about all that cottony sugary fuz. Next we took the ferry across the Savannah River just for fun. We then headed up to Lady's and Sons and toured the Paula Deen store and then over to City Market where we saw the chariot horses and ate at Wild Wing Cafe. Like I said Tyler and Ava were champs but you could tell they were pretty exhausted by the end of the night. Once we got home it was time for Ava's birthday cake, so we stripped her down and let her go to town on her cake.

She was so adorable! I am so glad that they are here visiting...just giddy. Here is how Scott describes my excitement in an email to them earlier this week...

Dearest Pat and Kristen!

The simple thought of the possibility of having friends from Annapolis visit has Carrie in a childish grade school rage. She was so excited last night she peed the bed and then couldn't sleep from pure hysteria. You would have thought Mickey Mouse was coming to town. You'll be surprised to see how homely Carrie has become now that I keep her barefoot in the kitchen and pregnant. Not only that but since we have moved to Georgia she has developed a tremendous southern draw and sometimes needs to use sign language to communicate with northerners.

From Columbia it is a very easy drive if you take 26 to 95 to 204. After 204 it would be the 5th traffic light (Rio Rd). Got swim suits? We will have the help make up the guest suite on the west wing of the property for you.

What will make your visit even better is the sad fact that I will be at a meeting in Texas; so the ability for you all to keep Carrie occupied and entertained would be legendary. I'll be sure to leave a cake, a high chair, and a water hose for Ava.

Scott

You are so funny honey...I love you!

Happy Anniversary...3 Years!

I love you more and more each and every day! I can't wait for many more years to come in this wonderful adventure!

Happy First Father's Day!

Also happy 27th Father's Day to my Dad back home in Iowa! I love you DAD! Miss you!

And happy Father's Day to Scott's Dad...we both love you and I am so blessed to have you as a Father-in-law! Thank you for all you do for us!

Baby Dedication Pictures

Bath and Rinse

Just to keep up with the other people that always get at least one shot of the kitchen sink bath I have attached the bath and rinse from our 1952 Boaning Queen kitchen sink. Just another example of the many pictures that will one day haunt Tyler.

Scott

Swim Suit BUG

Every woman hates swimsuit shopping, am I right? Well, now I have a whole new perspective on swimsuit shopping and why I hate it! It also doesn't help that I had a baby in the last year either...but anyway. Friday I tried to go to Target to find a suit, but Tyler was a little too restless so I decided to wait until maybe mommy could go alone. Well, then Scott offered to go with me Friday night. Perfect now he can help me out. I was in search for a two piece with a short mini skirt bottom. Finally found some a Macy's...like 100. So I tried on 15-20 it seemed. I bought 2, both on sale. Friday night come home, try them on again to decide, no decision not really happy with either. Scott and I decide to go out to the dock...it was beautiful and no bugs! As we were coming in...I was feeling a little nauseous. And then it hit me and hit me HARD! I threw up everything for the next 2 days, with low-grade fever, and you guessed it diarrhea. I couldn't do anything! It was horrible. I don't know how I could have gotten it except the swimsuit dressing room. It couldn't of been food poisoning because everything I ate Thursday and Friday Scott ate as well. I can't remember the last time I've been that sick let alone breastfeeding and taking care of an infant. It was a good thing it was on a weekend and Scott was amazing...we even hosted our small group from church for a full day of fun on the water. I stayed in bed. Monday I was a little better...but still weak from not eating for 2 days. Today a little better...but talk about a crash diet ladies!

Dedicating Tyler...

We are dedicating Tyler to the Lord on June 14th at our church, Savannah Christian Church. This means that Scott and I are dedicated to living a Christ-centered life and to help guide Tyler in the ways of the Lord so that one day he will accept Jesus as his Savior. Scott and I were baptized by his father on June 19, 2005 (the day after we were married) in the Gulf of Mexico side of Key West. I was also baptized as a baby by method of sprinkling in the Lutheran Church. I was also confirmed in the Lutheran Church in 9th grade. I am glad I went to church growing up, but nothing ever stuck in me until I moved and found a nondenominational church and every time I went there the message really hit home. It was great...however every time I went I got tears in my eyes, probably knowing that I needed to make changes in my life, but didn't want to, but then I realized the message was so true and I just wasn't being honest with myself, let alone to God. So, not until I met Scott, we started dating, and I started being around his family did I start to get it. Wow, it's not just about believing in Jesus, it's about having a relationship with Jesus...every minute of every day. It's not about going to church 1 day a week, it's about walking with Jesus through everything in life, from doing the dishes to working on your marriage. It's about putting all your trust in Him and being obedient to his word. And to make this quick and to the point, not until I started obeying His word have I started to become completely content. I worry less, I stress less, I'm more happy....because when you focus on eternity and being with Jesus FOREVER, does this short little life really deserve anything less than your best? I'm not saying that I don't have my bad days but what I realize now is that when I do have bad days, bad thoughts, and I sin...that it is not God...it's Satan trying to get me off track. God is ALWAYS good. I pray every day that Tyler will accept Jesus and walk with him through life, but ultimately God gave us free will to choose. Tyler will have to make that decision for himself when he is old enough to not only understand that Jesus is his Savior, but that we are ALL sinful and we ALL need forgiveness and because Jesus died for our sins, we are saved.

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!