Week at the Beach

We recently went on a family vacation with Tyler's Nana, Papa, Aunt, Uncle and cousin. We traveled the 4.5 hours to Anna Maria Island, although it seemed to take days to get there since we had an unhappy camper sitting in the back seat. It was a great family week with walks on the beach, hours swimming in the pool, precious baby cousins playing, board games, cold beer and fresh seafood. Cousin Caleb was born about 3 months before Tyler and it was so fun to see them together. They are SO different. Caleb seems extremely gentile, laid back, and relaxed, while Tyler is always moving, strong willed, and fast as hell...Matt has recently given him the nickname "Hurricane Tyler", which is very fitting since he leaves a path of destruction wherever he goes. The past few days, the "Hurricane" has been about a category 5. Ty appears to be teething so he has been very fussy. I feel so bad since there's not much to be done about it. We try different things which help a little bit, but I think it's just something he has to bear. Poor babe.

One of my new favorite things to do: When Tyler wakes up from his first nap (usually around 9am), I bring him into our bedroom to wake Matt up for the day. Once we round the corner and Tyler spots his dad lying there, he gets a huge smile on his face and squeals SO loud. This, of course, wakes Matt up with a big smile on his face. I love witnessing my boys love eachother.

I recently was given one of the best gifts I have ever received. As a gift for Tyler's baptism, my parents got me this necklace from Tina Steinberg:


The picture doesn't do it justice! It is so beautiful and has Tyler's fingerprint imbedded in the pendant. Tyler's name and baptism date are engraved on the back.

Tyler has been jabbering a lot lately. His favorite thing to say is "ba-ba-ba" and occasionally I catch a "ma-ma" in there (which I love). One of the best sounds in the world is hearing this kid laugh. And what's a definite way to make him laugh? Dad. Whenever he sees Matt, he smiles. Whenever Matt says anything, he laughs. When Matt attempts to make him laugh, there might just be some all out hysterical laughter. It's the sweetest thing. He's also ticklish so that usually does the trick.

Ready to go on vacation:


This might be my favorite picture of Ty. He looks SO happy to be meeting his cousin, Caleb:



So happy, looking up at his Dad:



It's so cute when Caleb sits on his knees:





Tyler and Caleb in their matching outfits from Nana:



We went on a boat ride off the coast of Sarasota, and it was so hot that Tyler was stripped down to his diaper. He's still working on the sippy-cup. He still needs a little help from Dad.



One of our favorite faces; we call this the "old man" face:






Tyler is 8 months old now, so we lowered his crib mattress and we removed his bumper, all in preparation for him pulling up to stand. Not quite there yet, but I'm sure it's not far off.