He Loves His Music!!

Tyler looked at me like I was crazy when I borrowed these silly lookin' things from Grandpa. And he probably thought I was crazier when I put them on his head!

But once he figured out that they made music, and not only that, he got to use my iPod, he was totally into it.

His initial reaction once I hit play. :)

Big smiles for Akon!

"How exactly does this thing work?"

"Hey! Where'd the music go??"

 

My two favorites. Is he cute or what?? Sometimes I wonder if all mothers think they're kids are this precious. Because mine is so obviously the most precious. ;)

  

  

We may be borrowing these for a while... ;)

Non-Existent Nap

 Tyler went down for his nap like normal, but apparently decided that he wasn't tired. So he got up waaaay too early for my liking. I wanted a nap of my own! 

We gave him some more milk and attempted to let him sleep with me. That totally did not work, but we got some good snuggling time in, if nothing else. :)

 

When I start rubbing his face, neck, or wrists/hands (his favorite), he'll point to where he wants me to rub. It really is so adorably sweet. Especially when I'm rubbing one hand and he takes it away and puts his other one in my hand. ♥

See what I mean? "Please Mom, rub my cheek, not my head." :)

Bath Time Fun

 Bath time is quite possibly Tyler's very favorite time of day. He gets sooo excited when someone mentions the "B" word! 

Here are just a few cute pictures from last night's bath.

Warning: There may be some adorable baby-butt nudity...

 

This is the "Baby Einstein" character whom Tory has given the name "Scuba Steve". (Yes, from Big Daddy) Don't know why they've named this guy that, but it's stuck! Scuba Steve is a must-have for every bath!

  

Tyler loves to give Scuba Steve his bath. He washes him with the cool kid soap, and says "Scrub scrub scrub" over and over. lol

 

What kind of mother would I be if I didn't have at least one picture of my baby's bottom?? Probably a good one, actually. hahaha

 

 I'll be honest, bath time is actually Daddy/Tyler time. I don't think I've given him one bath since we moved here! I just pop in with the camera from time to time. Tyler prefers it that way. ;)

Cute Happenings and Cute Pictures

 

~My baby and his new backpack... and his adorable raincoat!!~

Word of advice: Do not mention "first day of school" to a mom who's freaking out about how fast her 20 month old is growing. ;) 

*Tyler was playing with my mom's phone- holding it to his ear and saying "hiya!". He then held it to Madden's ear (mom's dog) but Madden wouldn't play. So Tyler picked up Madden's paw and shoved the phone into it.

*Dexter was laying on the floor and Tyler was using human nail clippers on Dex's paws, trying to "cut" them.

 

~That smile is enough to make anyone's day better!~

*Tyler hit the toilet lid and said "BAD!" I said "Tyler, be nice." So he kissed the toilet lid. Not sure whether I should have praised him or corrected him! lol

*While watching an Animal Planet show in which a lion successfully hunts a Zebra, Tyler says "Got it!" as the lion takes the zebra down.

 

~Don't tell Tyler to "say cheese". This is the result.~

*Kevin and Caroline (the kids I babysit) were playing dolls. Kevin asks who the mommy is. Tyler looks up quickly and points to me. ♥

*He has a book called "All Fall Down", which he loves. He randomly (and by himself, I might add) threw all the couch pillows on the floor then, saying "Aah... aah... DAH!" (all fall down, of course) throws himself into them.

 

~Another "say cheese" moment...~

My Lil' Sweet Potato- 18 weeks

 

18 weeks 3 days

The baby is now the size of a sweet potato! How weird is that?? I'll be honest, I had to go to the grocery store in order to see just how big a sweet potato is. lol  Now I know. And that's a pretty good sized baby if you ask me!

I don't remember when I started feeling Tyler move around, but I'm pretty sure it was much later than 18 weeks! I've actually been feeling this one for a while now... at least two weeks. He/she's been getting more and more active every day, and today Tory actually got to feel it for the first time. 

I'd forgotten just how incredible it is to feel those little kicks. There are no words to describe how exciting this is for me- yes, even though I've felt all these things before with Tyler. 

Also just today, we can actually see the baby moving! It's so bizarre to watch! If you've never seen it, you should find a very pregnant woman and ask if you can check it out. It's awesome! ;)

As for symptoms, I'm ready for bed. All the time. haha  Ever since the 2nd trimester started about 4 weeks ago, my only "complaints" are sheer exhaustion and horrible heartburn. It could be a whole lot worse. 

(As I recall from my very pukey pregnancy with Tyler Shmyler... lol)

Pretty much everything about this pregnancy is easier than the first. Really the only issue I have this time is that I'm considered high risk, and have been told by the doctor that I'm not allowed to lift more than 25lbs. That doesn't work out very well, since my 20 month old weighs 33.7lbs! But I am trying to take it easy. 

I have an ultrasound scheduled for March 8, which is when we'll find out if we're buying pink and purple, or getting to re-use all of Tyler's old things! ;) 

Then I have another doctor's appointment a week later for a check up. Can't wait! 

This week's craving: Peanut M&M's!

It makes my heart happy. :)

There is nothing that makes me happier than how much my husband adores our son. Nothing.

A few days ago, I came into Tyler's room to find this: 

A 6'5" Daddy crammed into a teeny little tent reading a book to his son. ♥

My dog = Bad dog

I have to remind myself that I took this picture just this morning... because if I don't, I just might kill him.

The dog. Not the kid. ;)

 

 First, let me say that Dex is closed in the bedroom whenever we leave, because he will eat anything and everything that is in his reach. Considering his size, everything is in his reach. 

I closed him in the room today, double checking the door that doesn't latch easily. It was shut, and there was a shelf in front of it, just in case. Seriously. I double checked it.

I got home a couple hours later to find that he had somehow moved the shelf, opened the door, and gotten into the main room... where the food is. 

And then I looked around. 

And I pretty much wanted to cry and kill him all at once.

He had gotten 3 bags of chocolate chips (totaling 8 pounds) and thrown them all over the living room area. Eight freaking pounds. 

 (Not to mention he ate a plate of cookies and a package of Club crackers.)

He'd probably be dead if he liked chocolate... fortunately for him, he's never liked it at all, so he just played with it.  

Normally I'd have taken a picture, but I was (and am) too mad to stop to do that. I just shoved him out the back door and cleaned up. Probably shaking in anger.

Hey, I was going to use those for cookies tomorrow! And I just today told my mom not to buy chocolate chips because I have plenty and I'd give her some...

Valentine's Day Morning

 I got Tyler a baby doll for Valentine's Day. Does that make me weird??

I thought he'd love to feed it and play with it and walk with it (when I eventually get him a play stroller) etc...

I was right. :)

He got right to work feeding the baby breakfast.

 

And giving him his bottle. ♥

  

No, that's not mouth to mouth... that's kisses! ♥  

I can't wait til he's kissing his baby brother or sister!

 

So so sweet.

 

Oh, and we can't forget to show off his new Panda Bear slippers! ;)

 

Disney on Ice

 Tory, Tyler, and I went to Disney on Ice in D.C. on Feb 13, 2010.  We were joined by Kels, Mike, and Abby.

It was really a lot of fun! Tyler enjoyed watching the lights more than the skaters though. ;) He also loved the loud music, and danced to quite a few songs. I'm pretty sure his favorite thing was watching the little girl behind us though. She was totally into it the whole time, and every few minutes Tyler would squirm around in his seat to stare at her. lol

Me and my baby waiting for the show to start.

 

He got a crown with Mickey Mouse ears! At first he thought it was dumb, but then I got him to realize just how cool it really was. ;)

 

He also liked playing with the popcorn box... crazy kid!

 

We had a great time, even though we had to leave early. I think sitting still for hours on end is not a talent that Tyler has yet. ;)

Nick and the Churro

Tyler's uncle Nick brought Tyler a churro yesterday. 

He enjoyed sucking the cinnamon sugar off of it. lol

Tyler thought it was rather amusing that Dexter wanted some.

 

Tyler, Nick, food, and a phone. That's all they need.

My kiddo looooves his uncle Nick. I think he isn't quite sure what to make of him sometimes, but he definitely loves him. ;)

Bracelets Galore!

Another favorite "toy"...

Mommy's bracelets and watches!! ALL of them. At once.

There is no such thing as too many.

 

He will walk around all day like this.

 

Not a bit embarrassed about his fashion choices. ♥

The Next Wolfgang Puck...

 Whenever anyone is in the kitchen, Tyler is there too. He just loves to help cook. 

  

  

Yesterday we were at my mom's house and Tyler went into the kitchen and pointed to the Kitchenaid mixer. Mom said "Do you want to make cookies?" Tyler nodded yes. So they did! lol

His current favorite thing to play with is the blender... that is, if he's not allowed to help with the real food.

We had to take a few of our boxes out of their storage area. I stacked them out of the way, and next thing I knew the pots and pans were unpacked and scattered all over the floor. Tyler was in heaven! (And has been ever since.)

 

He was cooking the Goldfish- see the package in the background?? ;)

  

And cooking a dog toy.

And cooking some Club crackers. He really isn't picky about what he makes. lol

Cooking makes him sleepy, so he decided to take a rest on the cookie cooling rack.

Those pictures are from last night. As I type, he's playing with them yet again, only now he's added the coffee pot and a bunch of ladles to his collection.

Dex in the Snow

If you were to guess his breed based soley on his love of the snow, you'd come up with Siberian Husky! 

This dog runs and runs and runs and jumps and leaps and runs some more. And he doesn't appear to get cold.

Crazy Great Dane.

Running in circles

More circles

 

Being a gentleman and making a trail so that teeny Cubby and Chipper can go out too. 

("Teeny" = 60lbs and 45lbs. lol)

Two big trees are down in the back... down and not goin' back up. One big cherry tree and one huge cedar. :/ Tory said they came up at the roots, but I'm not goin' out to check that out.

Such a Good Helper!

 I can't find an "official" amount of snow that we've gotten, and I'm not about to go outside to measure. Let's just say that if I were to drop Tyler in it, he would disappear. lol

And it's shown no sign of stopping.

That's my RAV4 on the left, and my MIL's Corolla on the right. And a heck of a lot of snow between.

I think that's a tree on top of my car, but I can't be sure.

Tory and his parents shoveled this morning, and after a while I bundled up the kiddo to go "help". He loves doing anything that the grown-ups are doing!

 

  

He was so proud of himself when he got a giant chunk of snow on his shovel. ♥

He wasn't fond of stopping for a picture. He wanted to keep workin'!

Fortunately the power has only gone out a few times, the longest being for about 30-40 minutes last night. Good thing, since it gets cold real fast when it does! We are lucky though... I know some people who haven't had power since 3am. I hope it comes back soon for them. (Hang in there Meagan! :))

Oh yea, it's Saturday afternoon and they just cancelled school for Loudoun County for Monday and Tuesday! Wow!!